Top Stories category, Page 688
Trump lawyers meet with Justice Department officials as charging decision nears in Mar-a-Lago caseVideo
WASHINGTON — Lawyers for Donald Trump met with Justice Department officials on Monday as a decision nears on whether to bring criminal charges over the handling of classified documents at the former president’s Florida estate. The Trump lawyers two weeks ago requested a meeting with Attorney General Merrick Garland to...
California officials: Florida picked up asylum-seekers on Texas border and flew them to Sacramento
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The state of Florida picked up asylum-seekers on the Texas border Monday and took them by private jet to California’s capital city at taxpayer expense for the second time in four days, California officials said, prompting allegations that migrants were misled and catching shelters and aid workers...
Crews continue to address aftermath of smokestacks’ implosion in Springdale
The dust has settled in Springdale, but crews and residents continue to clean and address the aftermath of the implosion of the two smokestacks at the Cheswick Generating Station. The stacks, staples of the Springdale and Cheswick skyline for years, went out with a bang Friday morning through a planned...
Code Orange air quality warning issued amid Canadian wildfires
Smoke from Canadian wildfires will cause a decline in the region’s air quality on Tuesday. A Code Orange Air Quality Action Day was declared by the state Department of Environmental Protection for Tuesday because of fine particulate matter in the air, in part from wildfires in eastern Canada, the DEP...
Dispute between Murrysville Golf Club owner, management company lands in court
A Westmoreland County judge will be asked to decide whether the management company that leases the Murrysville Golf Club can remove the 18-hole course’s irrigation system and concrete cart paths as part of an ongoing dispute over terms of its agreement to operate the 137-acre property. Golf course owner BIB...
Father of New Kensington cop killer accused of making sexual advances on minors in Latrobe
The father of a man on death row for killing a New Kensington police officer was arrested Sunday after, police said, the 52-year-old made sexual advances toward two 16-year-old girls in Latrobe. Gregory Baucum Jr. was charged with two counts each of unlawful contact with a minor, interference with custody...
GoFundMe established for Tarentum stabbing victim
Friends of a man stabbed to death Sunday in Tarentum have started a GoFundMe to help his family with burial expenses. Thomas Baczynski, 26, died about 6:30 p.m. at a local hospital after a fight in the rear of Davidson Street along Companion Way. “Thomas was a quiet young man...
Arrest warrant issued for Murrysville man accused of stealing Steelers QB Kenny Pickett’s SUV
An arrest warrant has been issued for the 60-year-old man accused of taking Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett’s SUV from a Monroeville auto dealership in late May. Christopher Carter, 60, of Railroad Lane in Murrysville failed to show up for a preliminary hearing Monday morning in District Judge Jeffrey Herbst’s...
Donnie Iris cancels Youngstown show as he receives cancer treatment
Donnie Iris has canceled an upcoming appearance with REO Speedwagon because of ongoing health issues. Western Pennsylvania’s “King Cool” was scheduled to appear June 21 at the Foundation Amphitheater in Youngstown. A Facebook post says that Iris has been receiving treatment for cancer and, while his prognosis is good, he...
Westmoreland school districts struggle with funding shortfalls
In the past decade, Westmoreland County’s 17 school districts incurred more than $115 million in costs to pay for state-mandated programs. But funding from the commonwealth covered just 54% of those expenses. Revenue figures recently released by the Westmoreland Intermediate Unit revealed all but one school district in the county...
1 taken to hospital following 3-truck crash on Route 30 in North Huntingdon
The eastbound lanes of Route 30 in North Huntingdon were closed for more than an hour Monday near Colony Road while emergency crews responded to a three-truck crash, according to Westmoreland County dispatchers. Responders were called to the scene at 12:30 p.m. A county 911 supervisor said one person was...
‘Bro, I can’t move,’ critically wounded officer told medics after being shot in Pittsburgh synagogue
Critically wounded Pittsburgh SWAT Officer Timothy Matson had just been carried down the stairs by two of his colleagues when SWAT Medic Justin Sypolt began to evaluate him. They put the largest member of the SWAT team — previously described as 6-foot-5, 315 pounds — in the Tree of Life...
Dry conditions expected to continue in Western Pennsylvania
Wildfire season in Pennsylvania typically runs from March to May, when the lack of tree canopy means more dry brush on the ground. But with a forecast that contains barely any rain over the next 10 to 14 days, the dry season is getting an extension in the Greater Pittsburgh...
Mark Madden: Riverhounds could be next Pittsburgh team to win a championship
As a talk-show stooge, I constantly get asked cliched questions. One of the more frequent: Which Pittsburgh team is closest to a championship? It might be the Riverhounds. Sure, it’s only Class AAA soccer. But the Riverhounds are quietly becoming a phenomenon, selling out five of their six home games...
Allegheny County Health Department to take action in slowing mosquito breeding
For the 22nd consecutive year, the Allegheny County Health Department will conduct treatments throughout the Pittsburgh area in efforts to slow the breeding of mosquitoes. Starting Monday , the Health Department will be treating approximately 10,000 stormwater catch basins throughout certain areas of Pittsburgh that have a history of West...
Indiana County man arrested after allegedly arranging payment for sex with 12-year-old girl
A man is being held without bail at the Westmoreland County Prison after agents from the state Attorney General’s office said he set up a meeting to pay for sex with a 12-year-old girl through online communication with a person who he believed was the girl’s mother. Anthony R. Laughard,...
No survivors found after plane that flew over Washington crashes in VirginiaVideo
WASHINGTON — A wayward and unresponsive business plane that flew over the nation’s capital Sunday afternoon caused the military to scramble a fighter jet before the plane crashed in Virginia, officials said. The fighter jet caused a loud sonic boom that was heard across the capital region. Hours later, police...
Officials identify man fatally stabbed in Tarentum
A 26-year-old man died Sunday after being stabbed in Tarentum, Allegheny County Police reported. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner identified the victim as Thomas Baczynski of Tarentum. County homicide detectives said borough police were notified of a stabbing around 6:25 p.m. along the 100 block of Davidson Street. Baczynski was...
Route 30 upgrades, bridge projects among $1.1B in Westmoreland work through 2050
Reconstruction and intersection changes on Route 30 are among more than $1.1 billion in long-term highway projects proposed in a 25-year transportation plan for Westmoreland County. The reconstruction of Route 30 would occur between Leger Road in North Huntingdon and the Irwin borough limits, and improvement is planned for two...
Rustic Ridge Mine opponents to petition DEP to reject mining permit
A Fayette County-based citizens group is planning to present a petition Monday to state officials asking that environmental regulators reject the request for a permit renewal at a Donegal Township mine. The proposal would extend the mine underneath the Pennsylvania Turnpike. The Mountain Watershed Association in Champion plans to hold...
Pa. budget 2023: Your guide to what’s on the table, what comes next and how to follow along
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 — June is budget negotiation month in Pennsylvania, when state lawmakers decide how to direct billions of tax dollars and...
Rockin’ Roosevelt fundraiser highlights ‘jewel of the community’ in Arnold
Back in the good, old days, Roosevelt Park in Arnold served as far more than a playground. There was roller skating. Dancing. Entertainment. The city would feature horror movies and the Three Stooges on outdoor screens. And in the winter, someone would open the fire hydrants and flood the concrete...
Unresponsive small plane over Washington causes military jet to scramble, later crashes in VirginiaVideo
WASHINGTON — A wayward and unresponsive business plane that flew over the nation’s capital Sunday afternoon caused the military to scramble a fighter jet before the plane crashed in Virginia, officials said. The fighter jet caused a loud sonic boom that was heard across the capital region. The Federal Aviation...
Missing man’s body recovered at Iowa apartment collapse site; 2 others still missingVideo
DAVENPORT, Iowa — The body of one of three men who had been missing after the partial collapse of an apartment building in Davenport, Iowa, has been found, a city official confirmed Sunday. Branden Colvin Sr.’s body was recovered Saturday, city spokeswoman Sarah Ott said. Two other men — 51-year-old...
State police: Trooper shot, killed driver during illegal I-95 street racing gathering
PHILADELPHIA — A state trooper shot and killed a man whose vehicle struck two troopers as law enforcement tried to get control of an illegal early morning street racing gathering on a Philadelphia interstate, state police said Sunday. State police say troopers were called to I-95 in the Penn’s Landing...
