Top Stories category, Page 603
Hempfield Area School District committees to discuss high school renovation finances
Members of Hempfield Area School District’s buildings and grounds and finance committees will discuss the financial situation of the stalled high school renovation project tonight. The meeting is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. at the administration building, 4347 Route 136. It will feature presentations from the district’s business manager, bond counsel...
A Gathering of Chefs: Chef Martin Thomas leads kitchen team a final time
Martin Thomas always makes room at the table because to him, enjoying a meal together feeds both the body and the soul. “Meals spent together are just so important,” said Thomas, executive chef at Chartiers Country Club in Robinson. “Being able to prepare food for others is what a chef...
Thousands of U.S. health care workers go on strike in multiple states over wages and staff shortages
LOS ANGELES — Picketing began Wednesday morning at Kaiser Permanente hospitals as some 75,000 health care workers go on strike in Virginia, California and three other states over wages and staffing shortages, marking the latest major labor unrest in the United States. Kaiser Permanente is one of the country’s larger...
What comes next in the Speaker of the House situation?
WASHINGTON — The House of Representatives is entering uncharted territory after a far-right effort to remove fellow Republican Kevin McCarthy from the speakership succeeded thanks to support from Democrats. A resolution — titled a motion to vacate — from Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., passed Tuesday with the support of eight...
The U.S. is forgiving more federal student loans in a bid to tackle ‘unsustainable debt’ for borrowers
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden outlined a new round of federal student loan forgiveness on Wednesday to address the “unsustainable debt” that borrowers accumulate to complete their college education. The announcement comes as borrowers brace for payments to restart after a three-year pause that began during the covid-19 pandemic and...
Morning Roundup: Kittanning man found guilty of sexual assault; West Mifflin man missing
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Wednesday, Oct. 4: Kittanning man found guilty of sexual assault A Kittanning man has been convicted of multiple sexual offenses and domestic violence crimes against three young women between the ages of 16 and 20. A jury on Tuesday...
2 men killed in Hill District shooting
Two men were killed early Wednesday following a shooting in Pittsburgh’s Hill District neighborhood. Pittsburgh police from Zone 2 responded to the 2300 block of Webster Avenue for a 16-round ShotSpotter alert at about 3 a.m., police spokeswoman Cara Cruz said. Officers found a man with a gunshot wound to...
‘He saved my life’: Hillandale Farms founder donates $25M to Pitt after back surgeries
The pain in Orland Bethel’s lower back and hips became excruciating. In 2014, he was diagnosed with spinal stenosis — a narrowing and squeezing of the nerves and spinal cord. The 87-year-old Greensburg resident consulted with six orthopaedic surgeons. They told him they would need to “cut a chunk of...
Lana Del Rey strikes right notes in sold-out Pittsburgh area debut
Lana Del Rey could be described as an enigma, even calling herself “a modern day woman with a weak constitution” in one song. Yet there was little weakness on display Tuesday — just vulnerability, and isn’t purposefully exposing that actually a true sign of strength? Sure, her songs often dwell...
Westmoreland 250: 10 things to see in South, Southwest Greensburg
(Editor’s note: To mark Westmoreland County’s 250th birthday this year, we’ve come up with a list of 250 things — 10 things in 25 communities — that we consider to be important to the makeup of our area. This series will appear each week through December. If you have a...
5 people were wounded in a shooting after a homecoming event at Morgan State University in Baltimore
BALTIMORE — A shooting interrupted a homecoming week celebration at Baltimore’s Morgan State University on Tuesday, wounding five people and prompting an hourslong lockdown of the historically Black college. Students hunkered down for about four hours, as police went room to room looking for suspects. No arrests were made. Police...
Sara Innamorato, Joe Rockey debate crime, public safety ahead of Allegheny County executive race
Former state Rep. Sara Innamorato and former PNC executive Joe Rockey on Tuesday outlined their platforms in an hourlong live, televised debate hosted by Tribune-Review news partner WTAE and the League of Women Voters. Innamorato, of Pittsburgh’s Bloomfield neighborhood, and Rockey, of Ohio Township, spent much of the debate discussing...
New York judge issues limited gag order after Trump sends disparaging post about court clerkVideo
NEW YORK — A New York judge sternly imposed a limited gag order in Donald Trump’s civil business fraud trial Tuesday after the former president disparaged a key court staffer. Amid a long day of testimony, Judge Arthur Engoron issued the order, which applies to all parties in the case...
Derry Township woman testifies about finding purported trip wire at top of basement stairs
It was a normal Saturday morning until Laura Dankesreiter discovered something odd at her Derry Township home. At first, she thought she had tripped on a ripped piece of carpet after opening the basement door, something she initially attributed to one of her cats. But on further inspection, Dankesreiter noticed...
Speaker McCarthy ousted in historic House vote, as scramble begins for a Republican leaderVideo
WASHINGTON — Speaker Kevin McCarthy was voted out of the job Tuesday in an extraordinary showdown — a first in U.S. history, forced by a contingent of hard-right conservatives and throwing the House and its Republican leadership into chaos. It’s the end of the political line for McCarthy, who has...
String of suspicious fires, shooter on the loose disconcerting for New Kensington, Arnold residents
Melissa McCrory and some friends were sitting on the stoop of her Leishman Avenue home Monday when she heard a volley of gunfire ring out from somewhere up the street. Moments later, she said, she encountered one of the people involved in a shooting that took place in the 1500...
Ray A. Shetler’s trial for assault of a police officer set to begin
Trial is expected to begin Wednesday morning in the case of a New Florence man who is accused of assaulting police officers. A jury was empaneled Tuesday and will hear evidence against Ray A. Shetler Jr., 39. He has been in jail awaiting trial since his arrest in December 2021...
Western Pa. members of Congress weigh in on potential ouster of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy
Congress could lose its House Speaker on Tuesday afternoon, as the U.S. House could vote this afternoon to vacate its top position. The effort is led by U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, a hard-line conservative from Florida, who is upset with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., over a recent vote to...
Pennsylvania House proposes April 2 for presidential primary, 2 weeks later than Senate wants
HARRISBURG — Most Pennsylvania lawmakers want to move their state’s presidential primary election up from late April, but disagreements arose in the House on Tuesday over whether to embrace a Senate-backed plan that would shift the election to mid-March. A House committee first rejected, but later passed, a bipartisan Senate...
Those in solitary confinement unit at Fayette prison face ‘cruel and unusual punishment,’ lawsuit says
Five people who have spent years in solitary confinement at a Fayette County state prison are suing the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections and prison administrators, alleging that people housed there are subjected to cruel and unusual punishment. The lawsuit, which seeks class-action status, also includes claims for due process violations...
Mt. Pleasant Township man accused of stabbing elderly mother
A man accused of stabbing his elderly mother multiple times while she slept in their Mt. Pleasant Township home early Tuesday told authorities he thought she was a Nazi war criminal, according to court documents. Kort Noel Eckman, 45, was placed in the Westmoreland County Jail awaiting arraignment Tuesday on...
Lawsuit claims nurse killed 3rd victim with insulin, blames Lower Burrell nursing home
A woman charged with killing two nursing home patients in Butler County by overdosing them with insulin faces new allegations that she caused a third such death at a Lower Burrell health care facility where she was a supervisor. The claims are part of a wrongful death lawsuit filed Tuesday...
Three juveniles charged, security heightened after gun-passing incident at Hempfield high school
Hempfield Area High School students on Tuesday were met by a robust police presence and handheld metal detectors — a response to guns being found at school a day earlier, and three 15-year-old students have been charged in connection with the incident. Lines stretched across the gym and around the...
Record October heat possible in Pittsburgh before temps plummet
Pittsburghers will be dealing with potentially record-breaking heat for much of the week before a dramatic cold shift this weekend. Meteorologists with the National Weather Service in Moon said Allegheny County might experience patchy fog Tuesday morning, followed by a mostly sunny day with “unseasonably warm” temperatures. The temperature should...
Hunter Biden pleads not guilty to 3 federal gun charges filed after plea deal collapsed
WILMINGTON, Del. — Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to three federal firearms charges filed after his earlier deal imploded, setting the case on a track toward a possible trial in 2024 while his father is campaigning for reelection. President Joe Biden’s son has been charged with lying about...
