Top Stories category, Page 672
Supreme Court outlaws consideration of race as a factor in college admissions
WASHINGTON— A divided Supreme Court on Thursday struck down affirmative action in college admissions, declaring race cannot be a factor and forcing institutions of higher education to look for new ways to achieve diverse student bodies. The court’s conservative majority effectively overturned cases reaching back 45 years in invalidating admissions...
AHN, Cigna ink 1-year contract, working on longer deal
Allegheny Health Network and Cigna Healthcare reached a deal on a one-year contract while the two organizations work over the next two weeks on a longer, multi-year agreement. The deal is meant to ensure that Cigna Healthcare customers will continue to have in-network access to the Pittsburgh-based health care system’s...
Record travel numbers expected by air, roads for July 4 week
If you’re planning to travel during the upcoming Fourth of July holiday, you will be far from alone. Whether by air or on the road, a record-number of people are expected to be on the move during the long weekend. The Automobile Association of America is projecting 50.7 million people...
Morning Roundup: East Busway’s renovated Negley Station unveiled
Here are some of the latest news items from Thursday morning, June 29: Transit officials unveil East Busway’s renovated Negley Station A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held Wednesday to mark Pittsburgh Regional Transit’s completion of renovations to the Negley Station along the East Busway. The $2.5 million project added a new...
Smoky haze from Canadian wildfires expected to linger over Western Pa. for rest of the week
Young children and those with respiratory ailments are being urged to stay indoors for a second straight day as smoke from Canadian wildfires continues to shroud Pittsburgh in a fog-like haze. A Code Red air quality alert for fine particulates was issued Thursday for 13 Western Pennsylvania counties by the...
Credit rating agency says Butler Health System is backsliding further financially
Butler Health System’s credit rating was downgraded this week. The system, which combined with Greensburg-based Excela Health at the beginning of the year to form Independence Health System, had its rating downgraded three notches from A to BBB on June 26. Excela and Butler Health are rated separately. Fitch previously...
New Kensington considering updated regulations, new fees for restaurants, food trucks
New Kensington is revamping fees paid by restaurants and food trucks in an effort to emphasize food safety. City council is considering an ordinance that would bring the city into compliance with the state’s food laws, health officer Patrick McGuire said. “It makes the licensing and enforcement in compliance with...
Thrasher to resign as Westmoreland commissioner
Gina Cerilli Thrasher will resign from her elected position as the lone Democrat on Westmoreland County’s board of commissioners, her chief of staff Don O’Brien said Wednesday. Thrasher, 37, was confirmed Tuesday by the Pennsylvania Senate to fill a vacancy on the state’s Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board. She will serve...
Doctors emphasize caution amid poor air quality in Western Pa.
Western Pennsylvania’s current poor air quality, caused by smoke from Canadian wildfires, can do more than make you cough — it can exacerbate existing health conditions and irritate the lungs, according to respiratory experts. The particles carried in the smoke can irritate lung passages and make it more difficult for...
Fitzgerald takes county minimum wage increase to court
Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald is asking a court to weigh in on whether the executive’s office or council can determine wages for public employees. The move follows a vote by county council last week that overrode Fitzgerald’s veto of an ordinance that would raise the minimum wage for county...
Madonna postpones upcoming Celebration tour due to ‘serious bacterial infection’
LOS ANGELES — Madonna has postponed her career-spanning Celebration tour due to what her manager called a “serious bacterial infection” and her ongoing recovery. Manager Guy Oseary wrote Wednesday on Instagram that the singer had spent several days in an intensive care unit after becoming ill on Saturday. He said...
Pittsburgh synagogue attacker had ‘very serious mental health history from a very young age,’ expert says
“He moves through the world under a vague feeling of threat and paranoia.” “He is quick to agitation.” “Active psychosis makes it impossible for him to assess stimuli and read the world appropriately.” All of those findings, an expert in neuropsychiatry and epilepsy testified Wednesday, mean that Robert Bowers could...
Pittsburgh synagogue shooting memorial mural met with approval in Squirrel Hill
As with Pittsburgh’s efforts to come to grips with the horror of the events of Oct. 27, 2018, a Tree of Life shooting memorial mural unveiled Wednesday in Squirrel Hill is a work in progress. The mural includes a line of human figures holding hands against a background of hearts...
Coast Guard says ‘presumed human remains’ found in wreckage of Titan submersible
PORTLAND, Maine — The U.S. Coast Guard says it has likely recovered human remains from the wreckage of the Titan submersible and is bringing the evidence back to the United States. The submersible imploded last week, killing all five people on board. The vessel was on a voyage see the...
Woman accused of attacking McDonald’s coworker with headset ordered to stand trial
A former employee at the McDonald’s restaurant in Lower Burrell was ordered to stand trial on charges of assaulting a new co-worker by hitting her in the head with a $900 drive-thru window headset. Nicole Monique Brundage, 37, of the 200 block of Freeport Road in New Kensington, was charged...
They’re back: Furries frenzy arrives in Pittsburgh
Instead of the Kaufmann’s Clock, Pittsburgh will have a new meeting spot this weekend — “Meet me at Anthrocon Avenue and Furry Way.” The Downtown intersection of Penn Avenue and 10th Street has been renamed in honor of the annual Anthrocon convention at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. Every...
Morning Roundup: Cop, 2 teens in stolen car hurt in crash along East Busway
Here are some of the latest news items from Wednesday morning: 3 people injured in crash on East Busway Three people were injured after a stolen vehicle crashed into a police cruiser along the East Busway on Tuesday night, according to authorities. Two teenagers were traveling inbound on the dedicated...
Westmoreland 250: 10 unique things in Jeannette
(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...
A blistering heat wave is turning up the pressure on Texas’ power gridVideo
AUSTIN, Texas — On another 100-degree day in Texas, Sean Whitaker lingered outside a Dallas cafe after polishing off an iced coffee, having switched off the power to everything back home except his refrigerator. “That’s the reason I’m out,” said Whitaker, 52, finding shade at a patio table. As an...
Westmoreland Commissioner Thrasher appointed to state appeals board
Westmoreland Commissioner Gina Cerilli Thrasher was confirmed on Tuesday to fill a vacancy on the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board. Thrasher, 37, a Democrat from Hempfield is serving out her second four-year term and announced in February she would not seek reelection, instead focusing on a career as a lawyer....
Opinions in Jewish community differ on seeking death penalty for Pittsburgh synagogue shooter
Robert Bowers murdered Donna Coufal’s friend. But she doesn’t want him to be executed for it. “I hope that, whatever happens in (Bowers’) trial, people find peace,” said Coufal, 69, a member of Congregation Dor Hadash who lives in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill. “And I hope no other jury would have...
Pair accused of defrauding SBA, banks of $14 million in covid-related aid
A Pittsburgh woman and a Detroit man have been accused of defrauding the U.S. Small Business Administration and at least two lenders of about $14 millions by obtaining fake loans for hundreds of companies from a program designed to help business recover from the covid-related financial losses, the U.S. Attorney...
Gilpin family celebrates million-dollar lottery win in Allegheny Township
A Leechburg Area High School senior is having a summer to remember. Summer St. John, 17, celebrated the news Tuesday of her mother’s million-dollar lottery win with a commemorative check presentation at the Giant Eagle in Allegheny Township. Summer and her parents, Paul and Tricia St. John, shared hugs, smiles...
South Greensburg woman to stand trial on aiding suicide charge in ex-boyfriend’s death
State Trooper Phil Dern testified Tuesday he believes it is clear that a man took his own life at a Hempfield apartment in 2021 because he repeatedly was told to do so by his former girlfriend, Mandie R. Reusch. Dern said the man posted messages he received from Reusch, 35,...
UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh looks to expand in Lawrenceville
UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh is looking to build an addition at its Lawrenceville campus to house its growing Heart Institute. Hospital leaders presented plans Tuesday to the city’s Planning Commission that showed a 50,000-square-foot addition atop an existing parking structure. Diane Hupp, the hospital’s president, said the new addition...
