Top Stories category, Page 678
Hunter Biden will plead guilty in a deal that likely averts time behind bars in a tax and gun case
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s son Hunter will plead guilty to federal tax offenses but avoid a full prosecution on a separate gun charge in a deal with the Justice Department that likely spares him time behind bars. Hunter Biden, 53, will plead guilty to the misdemeanor tax offenses as...
The U.S. Coast Guard says debris field has been found near the Titanic during search for submersible
The U.S. Coast Guard said Thursday that an underwater vessel has located a debris field near the Titanic in the search for a missing submersible with five people aboard, a potential breakthrough in an increasingly urgent around-the-clock effort. The Coast Guard’s post on Twitter gave no details, such as whether...
Morning Roundup: Pittsburgh police nab suspect in 2021 homicide; missing boy sought
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Tuesday, June 20: Pittsburgh police nab suspect in homicide A Pittsburgh man is jailed in connection with the fatal shooting of a man in the city’s Lincoln-Lemington neighborhood in April 2021, police said. Riyad Christian, 24, was arrested in...
Public safety officials warn of dangers at Creek Falls
Greensburg Dive Team Capt. George McFarland knows the dangers that loom at Creek Falls. “When there’s a call that comes over the radio about Creek Falls, a chill goes up my spine because of where it is,” McFarland said of the secluded spot along Jacobs Creek in South Huntingdon, a...
Record air show crowd brings extra traffic, dollars to Latrobe area
Officials say this past weekend’s Shop ‘n Save Westmoreland Airshow attracted a record crowd of about 100,000 in and around Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Unity, and that was a good thing for many local businesses. With the influx of visitors during the two-day show, business at the Valley Dairy...
Remaining United Methodists look to religious life after disaffiliations
ERIE — As a fourth-generation United Methodist and pastor’s daughter, Bishop Cynthia Moore-Koikoi’s roots in her faith run deep. Presiding over the disaffiliation of more than a third of the congregations from the United Methodist Church’s Western Pennsylvania Conference was personal. “It’s friends, family, persons that were formerly part of...
Trump gives reason for hoarding Mar-a-Lago classified documents: ‘Didn’t want to hand them over’Video
Former President Donald Trump said Monday that he didn’t “want to hand over” boxes of classified government documents despite getting a subpoena because he hoped to keep personal items that he believed belong to him. Doubling down on his “my boxes” defense, Trump admitted in an interview with Fox News’...
4 charged with trespassing at Century III site, posting footage online
Four people were charged with felony trespassing for sneaking inside of the former Century III Mall property, according to the West Mifflin Police Department. Christopher Cross, 27, Brody Lones, 23, and Drake Pierce, 22 all of the New Lexington, Ohio area, and Kenlein Ogletree, 21, of Clairton, were identified through...
Pa. lawmakers ask for investigations after gaming regulators met privately with casino lobbyists
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — Two Pennsylvania lawmakers have requested investigations into the state Gaming Control Board following a Spotlight PA story that detailed...
5 years later, some grapple with Antwon Rose’s death coinciding with Juneteenth
For Antwon Rose’s mother, Juneteenth brings sadness instead of celebration. Rose, a Black teenager and Woodland Hills High School student just weeks shy of his 18th birthday, was shot and killed by an East Pittsburgh police officer on June 19, 2018, five years ago today. June 19 is also Juneteenth,...
Juneteenth celebration to include fireworks despite questions surrounding security at Point State Park
The Juneteenth celebration in Pittsburgh will conclude with fireworks Monday night after weeks of questions surrounding security at Point State Park for the fireworks show, officials said. “We expect the fireworks to happen tonight. Everything should be in place,” said Wesley Robinson, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation...
1 hurt in Murrysville crash involving a motorcycle
A Murrysville Medic One ambulance took one person to an area hospital for treatment after a crash Monday afternoon in Murrysville, according to a representative of the ambulance service. The wreck involving a motorcycle and another vehicle occurred at about 1:15 p.m. in the 3200 block of Sardis Road, near...
Pittsburgh Public Schools looks to expand anti-violence program with help of $2M in state funding
A youth anti-violence program in Pittsburgh Public Schools has received more than $2 million in state funding to expand. The Safe Passages program, operated by Pittsburgh-based Operation Better Block, was launched as a pilot at Perry Traditional Academy in the city’s North Side. The grant money from the Pennsylvania Commission...
Deep-sea craft carrying 5 people to Titanic wreckage reported missing, search underwayVideo
A rescue operation was underway deep in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean on Monday in search of a technologically advanced submersible vessel carrying five people to document the wreckage of the Titanic, the iconic ocean liner that sank more than a century ago. The vessel was reported overdue Sunday...
Mark Madden: We were privileged to listen to Stan Savran
Stan Savran’s funeral begins at 1 p.m. Wednesday. My radio program starts at 3 p.m. So I’ll attend Stan’s funeral but will leave at 1:45 p.m. whether it’s completed or not because I want to make certain I get to the studio on time. That’s the biggest tribute I can...
Morning Roundup: Man’s body pulled from Allegheny River; 2 killed in plane crash; EMS responds to calls at Taylor Swift concerts
Body pulled from Allegheny River in Pittsburgh Pittsburgh police said a man’s body was pulled from the Allegheny River on Monday morning. A boater had spotted the man’s body floating in the river near the southern part of Washington’s Landing, according to Tribune-Review news partner WPXI-TV. A Pittsburgh police spokesperson...
What is Juneteenth? A breakdown on what the holiday commemorates
Juneteenth is a federal holiday recognizing the emancipation of the last enslaved people in the United States. The word comes from a combination of “June” and “nineteenth” and pays homage to the first unofficial Juneteenth celebration, which took place June 19, 1866. It became a national holiday in 2021, when...
Weekend mass shootings leave 6 people dead and dozens injured across the U.S.
Mass shootings and violence across the U.S. killed at least six people this weekend, including a Pennsylvania state trooper, and wounded dozens of people. Multiple people with guns fired shots at a holiday crowd in Missouri and bullets flew among teenagers partying in Illinois. The shootings follow a surge in...
Juneteenth celebration in Greensburg park showcases community organizations
Under a shady grove of tents and trees, locals gathered on Sunday in St. Clair Park in downtown Greensburg as part of a larger, weekend-long celebration of Juneteenth. For nonprofit leader Ronel Baccus, the Juneteenth event was also a celebration of reaching out to Greensburg and the region as a...
Fire damages West Newton house, rekindles Monday morning
A fire that gutted a West Newton house late Sunday rekindled Monday morning, requiring firefighters from multiple departments to respond to the scene. Richard Smith and his son escaped the fire on Mallard Streetat without injury Sunday, but a pet dog died in the blaze, West Newton Fire Chief Craig...
Blinken opens 2nd day of talks in Beijing on mission to ease soaring U.S.-China tensions
BEIJING — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has opened a second and final day of critical meetings with senior Chinese officials as the two sides expressed willingness to talk but showed little inclination to bend on hardened positions that have sent tensions soaring. Blinken was meeting Monday morning with...
Trump’s former attorney general says indictment is his own faultVideo
Former Attorney General Bill Barr said the U.S. has a “very strong” criminal case against Donald Trump for allegedly mishandling classified documents and said the former president has himself to blame. “He had no right to those documents,” Barr, who served as U.S. attorney general under Trump, said Sunday on...
Air quality alert issued for Pittsburgh region
The state Department of Environmental Protection has issued a code orange air quality alert for the greater Pittsburgh area on Monday. The alert is in effect until 4 p.m. for Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Washington and Westmoreland counties. The code orange alert means that air pollution concentrations within the...
Body of Penn Hills man recovered at Creek Falls in South Huntingdon
A 23-year-old man’s body was recovered Sunday morning at Creek Falls on Jacobs Creek in South Huntingdon following a reported drowning on Saturday. The Westmoreland County Coroner’s office identified the man as Deonte Elliot Johns of Sampson Street in Penn Hills. According to the coroner, Johns jumped from a rock...
Westmoreland Airshow a family affair for Latrobe locals, visitors
Lisa Hartman wasn’t always a fan of the Shop ‘n Save Westmoreland Airshow. As a child, she would visit the air show with her dad, but “hated it,” she said. When her own daughter Olivia got involved with Air Force Junior ROTC in high school back in 2016, she gave...
