Top Stories category, Page 65
Jury convicts man of 1st-degree murder for gunning down his mom, her friend
A McKeesport man will spend the rest of his life in state prison after a jury on Tuesday found him guilty of killing his mother and her friend last year in Homestead. John Malcolm Smith V, 26, was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder for killing Antoinette Porterfield, 45,...
Pamela Bondi stonewalls Democrats at DOJ oversight hearing
WASHINGTON — Attorney General Pamela Bondi repeatedly declined to answer questions from Democratic senators during a Senate oversight hearing Tuesday on some of the largest controversies involving the Justice Department. The close ally of President Donald Trump often took a combative attitude with Democratic senators when pressed on those topics,...
Hamas says on war anniversary it’s ready to reach Gaza deal, but conditions remain
SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt — Hamas said on Tuesday it was ready to reach a deal to end the war in Gaza based on President Donald Trump’s plan but still has demands, as Qatar’s prime minister and senior U.S. mediators headed to Egypt to join indirect negotiations between the Palestinian militant...
U.S. Supreme Court seems skeptical toward Colorado LGBT ‘conversion therapy’ banVideo
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday appeared receptive to a challenge on free speech grounds to a Colorado law banning psychotherapists from conducting “conversion therapy” that aims to change a minor’s sexual orientation or gender identity. Questions posed by the court’s conservative justices during arguments in the case...
Illinois sues to stop National Guard deployment as Trump escalates clash with states
The state of Illinois and the city of Chicago sued President Donald Trump on Monday, seeking to block the deployment of federalized National Guard troops to Chicago, as hundreds of National Guard troops from Texas headed to the nation’s third-largest city. Trump then escalated the widening clash with Democratic-led states...
For local governments, winter road maintenance is summertime concern
Long before he jumps in his salt truck, Unity Supervisor Mike O’Barto says, the township has to consider winter road maintenance and road salt acquisition. O’Barto is among 21 plowmen, including two other township supervisors, who work to clear the 165 miles of roads in Unity, which is one of...
Westmoreland County approves ballot curing process for November election
The Westmoreland County commissioners on Tuesday approved a process to allow voters this fall to correct mail-in ballots. Republicans Sean Kertes and Doug Chew, who for the past five years have opposed efforts to allow what is known as ballot curing, said they were required to reverse course and implement...
Jan. 6 probe analyzed GOP lawmakers’ phone records, senators say
WASHINGTON — Federal investigators collected and analyzed call records from the personal cellphones of eight senators and one representative as part of an investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol building, the office of Senate Judiciary Chairman Charles E. Grassley said Monday. The FBI in 2023 sought...
No students seriously injured in Moon bus crash
Moon Area School District elementary students were safe and accounted for after their bus crashed with another vehicle in Moon Township on Monday afternoon, according to authorities. At 3:48 p.m., first responders were dispatched to the intersection of Montour Run Road and FedEx Drive for the crash, according to the...
Car rams into Pizza Hut in Harrison
A Tarentum woman suffered a medical emergency before her car crashed into the Pizza Hut in Harrison on Monday night. Harrison police were dispatched to the crash at around 6:45 p.m. Monday at the Pizza Hut, 3036 Freeport Road, said Chief Brian Turack. Two people were inside the car when...
Trump says he would invoke the Insurrection Act ‘if it was necessary’
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said he would consider invoking the Insurrection Act to send the military into cities if courts block his deployment of National Guard troops. “I’d do it if it was necessary. So far, it hasn’t been necessary. But we have an Insurrection Act for a reason....
Staffing issues cause delays at U.S. airports as shutdown persistsVideo
The Federal Aviation Administration said staffing issues were causing delays at several airports, including Newark and Denver on Monday, just hours after the top U.S. transportation official said air traffic controllers calling in sick had risen slightly since the government shutdown began. Some 13,000 air traffic controllers and about 50,000...
Trump bailout for trade-hit farmers expected this week
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is expected to announce a plan as soon as Tuesday to bail out U.S. farmers stung by trade disputes and big harvests, with the initial outlay potentially totaling up to $15 billion, according to sources familiar with the matter. The plan, however, could be difficult...
‘We’re stretching’: As grocery prices continue to climb, shoppers redefine their staples
The sticker shock is real: Grocery prices’ month-over-month increase in August were the highest they’ve been in three years. And relief doesn’t appear to be on the horizon, according to one food economist. The reasons might sound familiar. “There’s been a convergence of factors: lingering supply-chain issues from covid, the...
Strip District merchants drag Pittsburgh back to court over bike lane project
Last week, a judge agreed to block Pittsburgh from changing one lane of traffic into a bike lane along part of Penn Avenue in the Strip District. But the injunction never took effect because of a technicality. The plaintiffs — the Strip District Business Association — were supposed to put...
Bus crashes into house in Forward Township
A school bus ran into a house Monday afternoon in Forward Township. At 3:32 pm, the bus rammed into a building at 3206 Rainbow Run Road, according to Allegheny County Emergency Services. When crews from the Gallatin Sunnyside Volunteer Fire Department arrived on scene, responders saw that the bus had...
Lawnmower explosion suspect used fishing line to rig bomb, police sayVideo
It took more than two hours of interrogation before James M. Sever began to share information about the explosion of a riding lawnmower at a Salem property from which he had been evicted, Trooper Jacob Feryus testified Monday. “He had said that he had rigged up the bomb with fishing...
Health official calls for separating measles combination shots, pulls broad covid vaccine support
A top U.S. health official on Monday called for the combined measles-mumps-rubella shot to be broken up, drawing a quick rebuke from vaccine maker Merck, which said there is no scientific evidence that shows any benefit to doing so. The U.S. CDC earlier on Monday pulled broad support for covid-19...
Joe Grushecky remembers Houserockers keyboardist Gil Snyder
Gil Snyder, keyboardist for the Iron City Houserockers and collaborator with several other groups, died Sunday. He was 72. The Iron City Houserockers were a legendary Pittsburgh band fronted by Joe Grushecky, who posted the news of Snyder’s death on Facebook. “It is with great sadness that our Houserocker family...
‘Russ Vought is the reaper’ as Trump throws shade at Dems
Meet President Donald Trump’s reaper. His name is Russell Thurlow Vought (pronounced “vote”) and he’s in his second stint as director of the White House Office of Management and Budget. The job allows him to exert executive branch control over the nation’s purse strings. Trump is touting Vought’s role as...
Allegheny Valley Regional Police make arrest in international fraudulent banking scam
Police in Springdale Township arrested on Friday a Chinese national believed to be connected with a large-scale scam ring that took one local resident for more than $100,000. Zhudi Chen, 40, of New York is charged with felony theft and financial exploitation. Allegheny Valley Regional Police Chief Michael Naviglia said...
Mail-in ballots are on the way to Allegheny County voters
Allegheny County voters who requested mail-in ballots should start receiving them this week, county officials said Monday. Voters will also be able to cast ballots through the over-the-counter voting option at several locations. Oct. 20 is the last day to register to vote — or to update voter registration information...
Orkin ranks Pittsburgh 12th-worst city for bed bugs
Pittsburgh ranked as the 12th-worst city for bed bugs in Orkin’s 2025 Top 50 Bed Bug Cities List — climbing the ranks higher than in previous years. Last year, the Steel City was in 21st place. Orkin said bed bugs can be found clinging to items like luggage, purses and...
Pittsburgh forecast: Sunshine Monday, rain and frost ahead
If you’re planning to get outside this week, Monday might be the best day to do it. Pittsburgh is in for a taste of summer sunshine even as rain and cooler temperatures loom in the forecast the next few days. Temperatures are expected to reach into the mid-80s Monday —...
Cash 5 lottery ticket sold at Sheetz in Ross lands $675,000 jackpot
Someone who bought a Pennsylvania Lottery Cash 5 with Quick Cash ticket on Saturday, Oct. 4, at the Sheetz along Babcock Boulevard in Ross snagged a $675,000 jackpot. The ticket matched all five balls drawn: 6-30-38-41-43. The lottery retailer at 3025 Babcock Blvd. will receive a $5,000 bonus for selling...
