Top Stories category, Page 596
2nd person in 3 days arrested with gun at Pittsburgh airport
Transportation Security Administration officers stopped two passengers at Pittsburgh International Airport Thursday after they tried to carry guns onto flights — the fifth time TSA has confiscated weapons there in the past eight days. The guns were the 37th and 38th confiscated this year at the Findlay airport — a...
Butler teachers organize concert fundraiser for colleague who lost husband, home in Plum explosion
It was from the shape of a swimming pool that Valerie Lepage realized her friend and colleague, Jackie Thomas, was among those affected by the August house explosion in Plum. The pool was all that was left of the Thomas home, which burned after the house of Paul and Heather...
Biden awards $7 billion for clean hydrogen hubs, including West Virginia
WASHINGTON (AP) — Clean-energy projects in seven states from Pennsylvania to California have been selected by the Biden administration for a $7 billion program to kickstart development and production of hydrogen fuel, a key component of President Joe Biden’s agenda to slow climate change. His goal is to establish seven...
Ohio man faces human trafficking charges after 2 women, teen found in Monroeville motel
An Ohio man is accused of keeping two women and a teen captive in a Monroeville motel for at least four months and forcing them to work as prostitutes. Donte LaShawen Cole, 38, of Euclid, Ohio, was charged Thursday with 19 felonies — eight counts of human trafficking, six counts...
5 things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend: Oct. 13-15
Don’t let the rainy forecast dampen your weekend plans. There are plenty of fun things to do around the Pittsburgh area. Let’s take a look at just five highlights. Night market The Allentown Night Market is from 7 to 11 p.m. on Saturday along Warrington Avenue in Allentown. There will...
5 things to watch in Week 7: How will WPIAL teams approach late-season nonconference matchups?
The WPIAL schedule-makers gave McKeesport a nonconference game this week, which some coaches might dread this late in the season. It interrupts a stretch of seven consecutive conference games for the Tigers, but coach Matt Miller said they’ll attack a matchup with Gateway as seriously as they do any Big...
3.2% hike in Social Security benefits fails to keep up with rising costs, Western Pa. seniors say
Millions of Social Security recipients will get a 3.2% increase in their benefits in 2024, far less than this year’s historic boost and reflecting moderating consumer prices. The cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, means the average recipient will receive more than $50 more every month beginning in January, the Social Security...
Swifties turn out to Western Pa. theaters for advance showings of ‘Eras Tour’ concert film
Lexi Levendosky of Scottdale missed out on Taylor Swift’s hugely popular Eras Tour when the singer came to Pittsburgh earlier this year. Despite her and her family’s best efforts, and even a trip to stand outside the stadium, tickets remained elusively out of reach. Levendosky, 14, got lucky Thursday night,...
GOP’s Steve Scalise ends his bid to become House speaker after failing to secure the votes to win gavelVideo
WASHINGTON — Republican Steve Scalise has ended his bid to become House speaker after failing to secure the votes to win the gavel. Scalise told GOP colleagues at a closed-door meeting late Thursday of his decision. Next steps are uncertain as the House is essentially closed while Republicans try to...
1 officer convicted, 1 acquitted in death of Elijah McClain
BRIGHTON, Colo. — Jurors convicted a Denver-area police officer Thursday and acquitted another of charges in the 2019 death of Elijah McClain, a Black man whose name became a rallying cry in protests over racial injustice in policing. Aurora police officer Randy Roedema was found guilty of criminally negligent homicide...
Pennsylvania counties tell governor, lawmakers it’s too late to move 2024’s primary election date
HARRISBURG — Counties in Pennsylvania have told Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro and lawmakers that it is too late to move up the state’s 2024 presidential primary date if counties are to successfully administer the election. In a letter, the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania said there is no longer enough...
Israeli Jews with links to Pittsburgh settle into new, wartime routines
Ahmi Ben-Yehudah’s nightmares begin before he falls asleep. The Israeli Jew and former Pittsburgh resident has slumped in his bed the past six nights fiddling with his cellphone, worried that he won’t wake up to respond to a possible late-night text from his son, who is at war. The young...
U.S., Qatar agree to prevent disbursal of recently unfrozen Iranian funds as Israel-Hamas war ragesVideo
WASHINGTON — The U.S. and Qatar have reached an agreement that the Qataris will not act on any request from Tehran for the time being to access $6 billion in Iranian funds that were unblocked as part of a prisoner swap last month, a U.S. official said Thursday. The move,...
Control of parking lots on former Civic Arena site to shift from Penguins to 2 government agencies
Control of the parking lots at the former Civic Arena site in the Lower Hill District will shift from the Pittsburgh Penguins to the city’s Urban Redevelopment Authority and the Sports & Exhibition Authority later this month. The Penguins have been paying rent and retaining net parking revenue from the...
PennWest interim president says new university has hit ‘enrollment floor,’ will rebound
PennWest University charges the same tuition and recruits heavily from the same region as fellow state-owned institutions Slippery Rock University and Indiana University of Pennsylvania, yet PennWest’s enrollment plunged again while its two peers have grown. In an interview with the Tribune-Review, PennWest leaders, including interim President R. Lorraine “Laurie”...
Arson suspect heads to court; ‘not the type of person we want in the fire department’
Andrew Bischof, the former Arnold volunteer firefighter charged with arson in connection with four fires in Arnold and New Kensington earlier this month, waived his preliminary hearing Thursday morning before District Judge Frank J. Pallone Jr. Police accuse Bischof, 21, of setting four houses on fire the weekend of Sept....
A new indictment charges Sen. Menendez with being an unregistered agent of the Egyptian government
NEW YORK — Federal prosecutors have rewritten their indictment against U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey and his wife to charge them with conspiring to have him act as an agent of Egypt and Egyptian officials. The superseding indictment, filed in Manhattan federal court on Thursday, accuses Menendez of...
Pittsburgh area school directors say career, technical education centers lack funds to meet modern needs
With 16 career and technical education programs offered in the Pittsburgh Public School District comes the weight of providing quality education in the face of rising expenses. For Angela Mike, executive director of CTE for Pittsburgh Public Schools since 2010, challenges arise when pursuing the results students need to meet...
Social Security benefits will increase by 3.2% in 2024 as inflation moderates
WASHINGTON — Millions of Social Security recipients will get a 3.2% increase in their benefits in 2024, far less than this year’s historic boost and reflecting moderating consumer prices. The cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, means the average recipient will receive more than $50 more every month beginning in January, the...
LCB grants East Deer noise exemption for concerts at Pittsburgh Brewing plant
Pennsylvania’s Liquor Control Board has granted East Deer’s request for the township to enforce its own noise ordinance, as a concert venue at Pittsburgh Brewing Co. plans to open next summer. East Deer established its own noise ordinance in June and sought the exemption from the LCB because of Pittsburgh...
Western Pa. to get Hydrogen Hub designation as part of $7B nationwide investment
The White House is set to announce potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in investment for the Western Pennsylvania region with boosting for an energy project meant to produce hydrogen from natural gas. President Joe Biden is scheduled to visit the Philadelphia area on Friday to announce $7 billion for...
Sara Innamorato denounces Democratic Socialist statement on Israel-Gaza conflict
Allegheny County executive candidate Sara Innamorato is breaking with a left-wing group over the group’s latest statements on the conflict between Israel and Palestine. Innamorato, a Democrat from Lawrenceville, posted on social media Wednesday that she strongly denounces the statements made by the national and local chapters of the Democratic...
Eras Tour on the big screen: Pittsburgh theaters prep for Taylor Swift takeover
The Taylor Swift takeover is far from done — the pop superstar is taking her reputation to the big screen, and Swifties are descending on local theaters. “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” is a film that captures the Pennsylvania native, now a global phenomenon, traveling and performing during the U.S....
Fetterman takes swipes at lawmakers, talks hoodies and health scare in ‘Late Show’ appearance
Pennsylvania U.S. Sen. John Fetterman took some swipes at his colleagues in Washington, D.C., during a Wednesday appearance on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” The interview included discussions about his health issues and the challenges facing the United States. Oh, and confirmation that he’s “a Sheetz guy.” Wearing his...
Murrysville looks to balance growth, rural character that attracts new residents
Murrysville officials are casting an eye toward the municipality’s long-term growth as they begin working with a consultant who will help them take a deep dive into their zoning laws. That’s great news to Councilwoman Jamie Lee Korns, who has been advocating a long look at Murrysville’s zoning ordinances for...
