Top Stories category, Page 577
Jury views surveillance video that shows New Kensington slayingVideo
A group of armed men and teens gathered in the lobby of a New Kensington apartment building and tussled just minutes before 39-year-old Jason Raiford staggered outside and was gunned down, according to video shown to jurors Tuesday. During the first day of the murder trial of three men charged...
Greensburg Salem superintendent addresses incident involving elementary school child
Police are investigating an incident in a Greensburg Salem elementary classroom that was reported in October, Superintendent Ken Bissell told school board members Monday. Few details about what’s being investigated have been released. A letter Bissell sent to parents last week notified them of an incident that came to the...
Voting experts warn of ‘serious threats’ for 2024 from election equipment software breachesVideo
ATLANTA — An effort to access voting system software in several states and provide it to allies of former President Donald Trump as they sought to overturn the results of the 2020 election has raised “serious threats” ahead of next year’s presidential contest, according to a group of experts who...
Man believed to have fired shots at officers before a Virginia house exploded is dead, police sayVideo
ARLINGTON, Va. — The suspect who fired at officers from a duplex in an Arlington, Virginia, neighborhood before the home exploded on Monday night is presumed dead, according to authorities. Fifty-six-year-old James Yoo was identified by Arlington County Police Chief Andy Penn at a press conference Tuesday as the the...
New Pa. House rules sought to strengthen bipartisanship, but insiders say they didn’t work
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. HARRISBURG — During the chaotic start to this year’s legislative session, Pennsylvania House Democrats used their new majority to pass a high-profile set of changes...
Monroeville parents whose 5-year-old killed younger sibling get probation, house arrest
The parents of a 5-year-old Monroeville boy who shot and killed his 3-year-old sister in 2021 were sentenced to probation on Tuesday. Martaz Colvin, 31, who pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and recklessly endangering another person, and Brea Sanders, 29, who pleaded guilty to recklessly endangering another person were sentenced...
Senate approves hundreds of military promotions after Sen. Tuberville ends blockade of nominees
WASHINGTON — The Senate in a single stroke Tuesday approved about 425 military promotions after Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama ended a monthslong blockade of nominations over his opposition to a Pentagon abortion policy. Tuberville had been under pressure from members of both sides of the political aisle to end...
Man accused of fleeing from traffic stop, assaulting and trying to disarm Arnold police officer faces charges
A Pittsburgh man accused of assaulting and trying to disarm an Arnold police officer told investigators that he fled from a traffic stop because he was wanted on a drug warrant and had a large amount of crack and heroin in the SUV he was driving, according to authorities. Tyrone...
Pitt opens 2nd location of Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology at the Pete
Patrons of Pitt’s Petersen Events Center will now have an AI-powered market for snacks and beverages and can skip the sometimes lengthy concession lines. The university announced Monday a second location for Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology, “Pitt on the Go,” located at the Pete. The initiative, a collaboration with...
Suspect in deadly Carrick bar shooting turns himself in
A Pittsburgh man suspected of fatally shooting a man over the weekend in Carrick turned himself in on Monday. Corey Anthony Rall, 25, Pittsburgh, was arraigned on a charge of criminal homicide and taken to Allegheny County Jail after being denied bail. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the...
3 hospitalized after fire in 6th-floor cell at Allegheny County Jail
Three people were hospitalized late Monday after a small fire broke out at the Allegheny County Jail, Pittsburgh police said. Police and firefighters responded to the jail on Second Avenue at about 10:30 p.m. for reports of “smoke inside the building,” police spokeswoman Cara Cruz said. Firefighters found the smoke...
Southwestern Pa. enjoying low natural gas prices after large drop from last year
Historic levels of natural gas production are among factors leading to low prices in Southwestern Pennsylvania. There are signs natural gas prices could stay low moving into next year. Purchased gas prices for Pennsylvanians are down 9% to 65% compared to where they were last year, according to Pennsylvania’s Public...
Can JetBlue buy Spirit? Trial on deal that could further consolidate industry comes to a head
BOSTON — Lawyers for the Justice Department and JetBlue Airways are scheduled to make closing arguments Tuesday in a trial determining whether JetBlue can buy Spirit Airlines, the nation’s biggest low-fare carrier. The Justice Department argues that the proposed $3.8 billion merger would hurt consumers by eliminating Spirit and its...
Plum Middle School students return to school after odor investigated
Students and staff returned to Plum Middle School about an hour after an odor caused school and district officials to divert its students to another building this morning, district Superintendent Rick Walsh said. What initially was described as a faint natural gas odor in a classroom was detected about 7:50...
Probe continues after hunter, mistaken for coyote, is shot in South Huntingdon
A man wrapping up a day of hunting Friday in South Huntingdon was shot by another hunter, according to Travis Lau, communications director at the Pennsylvania Game Commission. Lau said the hunter was at his vehicle when he heard a gunshot and walked to an area off State Hill Road,...
Morning Roundup: Burglar targets West Homestead convenience store; Wible Run Road reopens in Shaler
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Tuesday, Dec. 5: Burglar targets West Homestead store West Homestead police said a burglary occurred early Monday at a convenience store along West Run Road in the borough. Police told TribLive news partner WTAE that a man in a...
Delay in state subsidy release puts local libraries, district network in budget bind
When Melinda Tanner calls vendors who supply support services for the Westmoreland Library Network, they know she’s going to ask for an extension of a bill payment deadline. “The word spreads,” said Tanner, district consultant librarian for the network, which is holding payments while waiting for a little more than...
Cause sought of explosion that leveled an Virginia home as police tried to serve warrantVideo
ARLINGTON, Va. — Hours before a massive explosion destroyed a duplex and shook a Virginia suburb of Washington, D.C., a suspect inside his home fired a flare gun 30 to 40 times into the neighborhood, drawing a large police response, officials said Tuesday. All officers escaped serious injury, but it...
‘It is a huge increase’ Plum resident tells council as nearly 40% tax hike discussed
A nearly 40% property tax increase sought in Plum is too much for residents to afford at once, one resident told borough council Monday. But leaders in Plum said the hike is intended to fund the borough for the next five years or more. Brenda Demello called the proposed increase...
Large fire breaks out at Shaler home
At least 10 fire departments responded to a large house fire Monday evening in Shaler. According to Cherry City volunteer fire Chief, Nick Skalos, the fire started at 5:30 p.m. in the garage of the home in the 300 block of Hawthorne Road. He said that the fire extended into...
Lawsuit alleges McKeesport, county police illegally searched residents after officer shootingVideo
A group of McKeesport residents who said they were illegally searched and held at gunpoint three years ago as investigators sought a man who shot a police officer filed a lawsuit Monday alleging excessive force, race discrimination and unreasonable search and seizure. The 44-page lawsuit names as defendants the City...
Gov. Shapiro rebukes Philadelphia protesters for chanting outside Israeli restaurantVideo
PHILADELPHIA — Protesters marching in Philadelphia against the bombardment of Gaza chanted about genocide Sunday outside an Israeli-style restaurant, leading Gov. Josh Shapiro to call the demonstration “antisemitic.” In Philadelphia’s Center City and University City neighborhoods, hundreds of people marched to criticize Israel’s military actions in Gaza, The Philadelphia Inquirer...
Former career U.S. diplomat charged with secretly spying for Cuban intelligence for decades
MIAMI — A former career American diplomat was charged Monday with serving as a secret agent for communist Cuba going back decades in what prosecutors portrayed as one of the most brazen and long-running betrayals in the history of the U.S. foreign service. Court papers alleged that Manuel Rocha engaged...
Beaver County man pleads guilty to federal charges he abused care home residents
A Beaver County man pleaded guilty Monday to federal charges that he abused intellectually disabled residents at a care home where he worked as an aid. Tyler Smith, 33, of New Brighton, will be sentenced by U.S. District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan on March 25. The negotiated plea agreement in...
Springdale power plant implosion plan now in the hands of a judge
Whether the former Springdale power plant boiler house will be demolished using explosives is now up to a judge. Both sides in the injunction case filed their final proposed findings of fact and conclusions and, now, Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge John T. McVay Jr. must rule on whether to...
