Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 624
Advocacy groups accuse DA’s office of not properly charging sexual assault cases
Nine advocacy groups have concerns that the Allegheny County District Attorney’s office is failing to prosecute sexual assault crimes in cases where the alleged assailant and victim had a previous relationship. The groups, which include Pittsburgh Action Against Rape, the Women’s Law Project and the Greater Pittsburgh Women’s Center &...
On track: U.S. Steel converts 2 diesel locomotives to battery power
Within U.S. Steel’s Mon Valley Works, diesel-powered locomotives chug along the plant’s rail lines, hauling tons of steel, coke, scrap metals and iron ore for steel production. Now, those engines will be a little cleaner. U.S. Steel converted two of its diesel switcher locomotives at the Mon Valley Works’ Edgar...
Westmoreland commissioners say no rush to hire new jail warden
Leaders say morale has improved at the Westmoreland County Prison in Hempfield in the weeks since Warden Bryan Kline resigned, and the county hasn’t set a timetable to find a permanent replacement. The jail’s deputy warden for security, Steve Pelesky, is the interim warden. “He’s done a good job in...
Point Park University wants to increase enrollment by 30%, house older adults
Point Park University wants to attract artists, single parents and retirees to live on its campus as part of an effort to reinvigorate Downtown Pittsburgh and add 30% to the school’s enrollment by decade’s end. On Monday, leaders of the Downtown university with 3,300 students unveiled a strategic plan outlining...
Police say man escaped serious injury after car went off road, down hillside in Plum
The driver of a vehicle escaped serious injury Monday after he went off the road and down a hillside along Coxcomb Hill Road in Plum. The crash near the intersection of Kerr Road was reported around noon, according to Plum police Detective Joe Little. Initial reports from emergency dispatchers said...
The art of the haunt: a behind-the-scenes look at local spooky attractions
Shortly before the ScareHouse at Pittsburgh Mills Mall in Frazer opens, the staff makes final preparations. Much like the backstage of a Broadway show, the cast and crew hurry to make last minute repairs or add the final touches to their costumes. Each Halloween season, thrill-seekers of all ages willingly...
Mark Madden: In a QB-driven league, Kenny Pickett isn’t getting it done for Steelers
Rookie quarterback Will Levis made his NFL debut for Tennessee on Sunday. Levis did extremely well: He completed 19 of 29 passes for 238 yards, four touchdowns and a passer rating of 130.5. The Titans beat Atlanta, 28-23. That’s of interest for two reasons. • The Titans and Levis visit...
Pittsburgh zoning board rejects variance for Irish Centre development
A controversial housing development near Pittsburgh’s Frick Park faced a massive setback with a zoning decision that would likely end the possibility of a large multi-family complex at the edge of Squirrel Hill. The Pittsburgh Zoning Board of Adjustments on Monday denied a variance request sought by Toronto-based Craft General,...
‘Disorderly’ Georgia man hits fans with towel, kicked out of Steelers game, police say
An Atlanta-area football fan who trekked to Acrisure Stadium over the weekend to catch Sunday’s game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Jacksonville Jaguars also got a trip to a Downtown Pittsburgh jail. Richard Bryant, 33, of Fairburn, Ga., a suburb 20 miles southwest of Atlanta, remained in Allegheny County...
Fish reefs to be built on Monongahela River
Work is scheduled to start Monday on a project to build stone fish reefs along the Monongahela River near Elizabeth, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. This is the first of five segments of a $2.4 million contract that will install fish reefs at various sites along on...
Man sentenced to jail in Lake Erie fishing tournament scandal facing new charges
HERMITAGE, Pa. — One of two men who admitted stuffing fish with lead weights and fish fillets last year in an attempt to win thousands of dollars in a walleye fishing tournament on Lake Erie in Ohio is facing new charges in Pennsylvania. Chase Cominsky, 36, of Hermitage was charged...
IUP set to open $90 million classroom hall
Hannah Borys and her classmates may feel like time travelers once their Indiana University of Pennsylvania science classes move from a dated 1960s hall into a gleaming venue designed to promote collaboration across disciplines. The $90 million John J. and Char Kopchick Hall at IUP is set to open in...
Steelers vs. Jaguars: What they’re saying in Jacksonville after their win
The Jacksonville Jaguars defense got an A for its performance Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers from Florida Times-Union’s sports columnist Gene Frenette. It’s no surprise after the Steelers offense didn’t get its initial first down until well into the second quarter of Sunday’s rain-soaked game at Acrisure Stadium. And the...
Lawyers argue whether the Constitution’s ‘insurrection’ clause blocks Trump from the 2024 ballot
DENVER — Lawyers for a group of Colorado voters on Monday focused on the January 2021 assault on the U.S. Capitol and former President Donald Trump’s role, opening a trial that could determine whether the Constitution’s insurrection clause bars Trump from running again for the White House. Attorney Eric Olson...
State police say man charged at IUP officer after making false robbery report
A Pittsburgh man is accused of attacking an Indiana University of Pennsylvania police officer with a knife after making a false report about a robbery in a parking lot near the football stadium. Cameron H. Raubaugh, 19, is accused of charging at the officer, who then fired a shot. No...
Madden Monday: After enough starts, Kenny Pickett ‘ain’t the guy’ for the Steelers
After getting knocked out of Sunday’s loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, one has to wonder if Kenny Pickett is going to be healthy enough to play for the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday night against the Tennessee Titans. But as Mark Madden of 105.9 The X and TribLIVE said in this...
Multimillion-dollar anonymous donation benefits Catholic high school students in Greensburg and Pittsburgh dioceses
The generosity of an anonymous donor is helping to bridge the financial gap faced by some Catholic school students as they seek to continue their Catholic education into high school. The same donor has contributed nearly $7.5 million to the St. Pope John Paul Tuition Opportunity Partnership over the past...
Federal judge reimposes limited gag order in Donald Trump’s 2020 election interference case
WASHINGTON — The federal judge overseeing Donald Trump’s 2020 election interference case in Washington on Sunday reimposed a narrow gag order barring him from making public comments targeting prosecutors, court staff and potential witnesses. The reinstatement of the gag order was revealed in a brief notation on the online case...
Woman shot in Homewood
A woman was found on a sidewalk in Pittsburgh’s Homewood neighborhood with a single gunshot wound to her hand on Sunday evening. Pittsburgh Police responded to reports of multiple shots fired at Felicia Way at around 5:30 p.m., said Pittsburgh Department of Public Safety. When police arrived, they found the...
Kenny Pickett, Minkah Fitzpatrick injured as Steelers stumble in loss to Jaguars
The weather conditions were sloppy, and so was the Pittsburgh Steelers offense. Not exactly the recipe for another fourth-quarter comeback. Kenny Pickett was unavailable to dial up some more late-game heroics because of sore ribs, and Mitch Trubisky wasn’t up to the task in his absence. And so it was...
Steelers QB Kenny Pickett knocked out of game vs. Jaguars with rib injury
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett was forced out of Sunday’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars because of a rib injury. Pickett suffered the injury while absorbing a hit after throwing an incomplete pass with 17 seconds left in the first half. Jaguars defensive lineman Adam Gotsis drove Pickett into the...
More than 1,000 pay tribute to Maine’s mass shooting victims on day of prayer, reflection on tragedy
LEWISTON, Maine — More than 1,000 people packed a cavernous church Sunday night, and hundreds more spilled outside, to hug, sing, weep and seek comfort in the wake of Maine’s most deadly mass shooting. The crowd gathered for the vigil Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul in Lewiston, where days...
Boys graduate high school at lower rates than girls, with lifelong consequences
BUFFALO, N.Y. — They attend the same classes with access to the same programs, and even come from the same families. But girls consistently are outperforming boys, graduating at higher rates at public high schools around the country. The gap between them is wide, often as wide as the achievement...
Mission impossible? Biden says Mideast leaders must consider a two-state solution after the war ends
WASHINGTON — As the 3-week-old Israel-Hamas war enters what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says could be a “long and difficult” new stage, President Joe Biden is calling on Israeli and Arab leaders to think hard about their eventual postwar reality. It’s one, he argues, where finally finding agreement on...
Gaza receives largest aid shipment so far as deaths top 8,000 and Israel widens military offensive
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip —Nearly three dozen trucks entered Gaza on Sunday in the largest aid convoy since the war between Israel and Hamas began, but humanitarian workers said the assistance still fell desperately short of needs after thousands of people broke into warehouses to take flour and basic hygiene...
