Top Stories category, Page 68
Trump determines U.S. is at war with drug cartels, document to Congress explains
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has determined the United States is engaged in “a non-international armed conflict” with drug cartels, according to a document notifying Congress of its legal justification for deadly U.S. strikes on boats off Venezuela. The text of the document, which was reviewed by Reuters on Thursday,...
Jerry Sandusky claims prosecutors gained financially from his sex abuse case
In a new appeal, convicted child molester Jerry Sandusky alleges the lead prosecutors in his case gained financially from a post-conviction relationship with one of the eight victims who testified at trial. The once-lionized Penn State football coach also presents a sworn statement from a second victim who, according to...
Pa. attorney general charges Pine woman for alleged forged signatures for school board election
Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday announced charges against a Pine woman on Thursday for allegedly forging at least four signatures on primary nomination paperwork for a Pine-Richland School Board candidate. Kayla Van Blargan, 36, is charged with forgery, perjury and several other related offenses. According to the Attorney General’s Office,...
Conservatives furious as FDA approves new generic abortion pill
The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new generic version of the abortion drug mifepristone, as conservatives slammed the decision as a stab in the back to the anti-abortion movement. The new generic mifepristone is manufactured by Evita Solutions, which says its mission is to “normalize abortion” and make...
Trump eyes cuts to ‘Democrat Agencies’ in government shutdown
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said he will meet with his budget director Russell Vought on Thursday to determine which “Democrat Agencies” to cut, as he looks to inflict pain on his political opposition in the second day of a government shutdown. “I can’t believe the Radical Left Democrats gave...
Upper Burrell data center to be live by end of year
The TECfusions data center in Upper Burrell will be live by the end of this year, according to founder Simon Tusha. Part of the 1,395-acre site, located at the former Alcoa Research Center, already has been built out to accommodate some tenants, Tusha said. The Florida-based company is working through...
Missing pilot found dead with crashed ultralight aircraft after search in Indiana County
A Blair County man was found dead Thursday morning after an ultralight aircraft he was piloting crashed in an Indiana County corn field. The body of David Edward Wittmer, 75, of Logan Township and his aircraft were found after 10:30 a.m. Indiana County Coroner Jerry L. Overman Jr. said the...
Meijer eyes Cranberry for superstore, gas station
Midwestern grocery chain Meijer is eyeing Cranberry as it pushes into Western Pennsylvania. A proposed development would give Meijer a 159,000-square-foot supercenter in the township, according to Ron Henshaw, Cranberry’s director of planning and development services. The store would offer groceries, apparel, garden supplies, drive-through pharmacy service and curbside pickup,...
West View man charged with igniting Ross ATM as anti-government act
A West View man turned himself in connection with the firebombing of an ATM in Ross early Wednesday, telling police he wanted to make a “statement” against the federal government. Keith J. Coyne, Jr., 46, is charged with arson and criminal mischief. Police say Coyne confessed to lighting a Chase...
Man who fell at PNC Park charged with prowling at ex’s house
The man who recently made a triumphant return to PNC Park after suffering serious injuries from a 21-foot fall there in April has been charged with prowling at his ex-girlfriend’s house. Kavan Markwood, 21, of McKeesport faces a misdemeanor charge of loitering and prowling at nighttime. Markwood’s ex-girlfriend, who has...
2 dead in attack at U.K. synagogue on Yom Kippur, suspect fatally shotVideo
MANCHESTER, England — Two men were killed on Thursday when a man drove a car into pedestrians and stabbed a security guard in an attack at a synagogue where worshippers were marking Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, British police said. Greater Manchester Police said the man...
Morning Roundup: Police arrest man accused of armed robbery in Hazelwood
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Thursday, Oct. 2: Man arrested, accused of armed robbery Pittsburgh police arrested a man suspected of armed robbery in the city’s Hazelwood neighborhood Wednesday evening. Police were dispatched to the GoGo Market in the 5000 block of 2nd Avenue...
Repairs at Vandergrift’s Casino Theater set for completion by end of year
Another piece of the decades-long repair efforts at Vandergrift’s Casino Theater is set to wrap up by the end of the year, borough engineer Lucien Bove said. He said crews will complete the second phase of a restoration project that will see sections of the building’s masonry repointed, windows replaced...
Ligonier Valley School Board taps McKeesport Area administrator as new superintendent
Matthew Mols, assistant superintendent at McKeesport Area School District, is set to take on the role of superintendent at Ligonier Valley School District. Ligonier Valley School Board at a special Wednesday meeting voted unanimously to hire Mols under a five-year contract, with a starting base salary of $160,000. Mols was...
Pa. House gun bill vote debate leads to expletive-fueled shouting match among lawmakers in Capitol
HARRISBURG — A fiery state House debate on a gun bill turned into a ugly shouting match on the floor Wednesday, that included expletives and a comment taken as a threatening racial epithet, according to lawmakers who witnessed the events. The fight over gun legislation was the most raucous in...
Federal agencies’ websites: A spectrum of reactions to the shutdown
Federal agencies and departments are discussing the recent government shutdown differently. Just take a look at their websites. The government stalled much of its operations at midnight Wednesday as Congress and the White House remain in a deadlock regarding the 2026 budget. It’s the first time since December 2018 —...
Many Americans ‘in limbo’ as federal government shuts down
Marsha Chapple doesn’t know how — or if — the government shutdown will impact her and the physically and mentally disabled adults she serves. Chapple, 56, of McKees Rocks, is a caregiver for Trinity Home Care, a Coraopolis-based company that receives federal funding. “I called in this morning, and we’re...
Trial testimony: McKeesport man accused of shooting his mother had violent past
Prosecutors on Wednesday set out to show John Malcolm Smith V had a history of violence before he allegedly shot his mother. On the second day of the trial, Danita Jones and Sonya Peoples of the neighborhood “happy hour crew,” testified on behalf of their dead friend, Antoinette Porterfield. “She...
Ex-Pittsburgher charged in $2M investment scam sent to federal prison
An ex-Pittsburgher and former investment broker who admitted his role in stealing more than $2 million through a sham energy company is going to federal prison. Jonathan Freeze, 66, who pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to commit mail and wire fraud last year, was sentenced in Pittsburgh on...
Beaver County DA: ATF agent justified in fatal shooting of Aliquippa teen
A teen killed in Aliquippa by a federal agent last month was the first to pull the trigger, shooting twice with a semiautomatic handgun before the officer returned fire, Beaver County District Attorney Nathan Bible announced Wednesday. Kendrick Curtis Jr., 18, was shot around 6:20 p.m. Sept. 18 on steps...
Veteran charged with ramming Pittsburgh FBI gate has troubled past
A man accused of ramming his car into a security gate at the FBI’s Pittsburgh headquarters had a long history of mental illness, according to testimony Wednesday at a detention hearing in federal court. Donald Henson had previously been involuntarily committed, spent six months in an intensive-inpatient treatment program through...
White House freezes funds for Democratic states in shutdown slap
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s administration on Wednesday froze $26 billion for Democratic-leaning states, following through on a threat to use the government shutdown to target Democratic priorities. The targeted programs included $18 billion for transit projects in New York, home to Congress’s top two Democrats, and $8 billion for...
Experts see huge appetite for new supermarket chains in Western Pa. as Meijer, Wegmans move in
Western Pennsylvania shoppers will have their appetites for new grocery stores put to the test once supermarket chains Wegmans and Meijer arrive in the region. Experts believe customers have room to spare. “You still have one of the most acute shortages of supermarket chains anywhere in the continental United States...
Swastikas found on signs in Mt. Pleasant borough, surrounding communities
Mt. Pleasant Borough Police are investigating numerous swastikas spray painted on signs around town over the last few days, said Mayor Diane Bailey. Authorities are asking that residents and business owners leave the symbols associated with antisemitism or of Nazism alone while they try to figure out who is behind...
Fetterman breaks with Democrats to support stopgap spending bill
For the second time in less than 24 hours, the U.S. Senate blocked a stopgap spending bill that would fund the government through late November. The proposal needed support from 60 senators to end a filibuster and advance to a final vote, but it fell short Wednesday with just 55...
