Top Stories category, Page 714
After week of selection, 27 people eligible for jury in Pittsburgh synagogue shooting trial
Questions about feelings on the death penalty continued to dominate the process on the fifth day of jury selection in the case against a man accused of killing 11 people at a Squirrel Hill synagogue in 2018. Through Friday, the government and defense have interviewed 81 prospective jurors, and, of...
Woodland Hills district makes historic effort to cut property taxes
Homeowners in the Woodland Hills School District will get a break on their property taxes under a preliminary budget approved on Wednesday. The school board voted 8-1 to approve a 0.5 mil reduction on their tax bill for the 2023-2024 school year. Woodland Hills says its the first tax cut...
Dr. Jonas Salk polio vaccine exhibit opens at University of Pittsburgh
The polio vaccine was created by Dr. Jonas Salk at a University of Pittsburgh laboratory about 70 years ago, and Pitt is honoring that legacy by opening a public exhibit of Salk’s personal equipment to remind visitors and students of the importance of vaccines to public health. The exhibit spans...
Pittsburgh in stable fiscal condition after weathering worst of pandemic, controller says
Pittsburgh is in a stable financial condition following the covid-19 pandemic and its economic challenges, City Controller Michael Lamb said Friday in his annual report of the city’s finances. The report showed the city ended last year with a surplus as revenues from various taxes increased. About half of the...
2 U.S. Army helicopters crash in Alaska, killing 3 soldiers
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska — Two U.S. Army helicopters crashed Thursday in Alaska while returning from a training flight, killing three soldiers and injuring a fourth. Two of the soldiers died at the crash near Healy, Alaska, and a third died on the way to a hospital in Fairbanks. A...
Plum man pulled gun on 2 council members, candidate at Republican meeting, police say
A man who ran for Allegheny County Council two years ago is accused of threatening several people with a gun at a Plum Borough Republican Committee meeting Thursday evening, according to authorities. Eric Phillip Casteel, 62, was arrested at his Plum home Thursday and charged with three misdemeanor counts each...
Morning Roundup: Pittsburgh Zoo welcomes Amur leopard cubs
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Friday, April 28, 2023: Pittsburgh Zoo welcomes 2 Amur leopard cubs The Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium this week announced that two Amur leopard cubs were born at the zoo on March 18. They have been “thriving under the care...
Fort Duquesne Bridge outbound lanes to close overnight this weekend
PennDOT says overnight closures of the outbound (northbound) Fort Duquesne Bridge will happen Friday and Saturday night, weather permitting. Crews will remove pavement markings and replace them with new, durable pavement markings on the outbound, upper deck of the bridge (I-279) from 9 p.m. Friday to 10 a.m. Saturday, and...
5 things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend: April 28-30
We’ve made it to the final weekend of April. Here are some ways to spend it. Art All Night Art All Night: Pittsburgh is celebrating its 26th year on Saturday and Sunday at 31st Street Studios in the Strip District. It opens at 4 p.m. Saturday and runs until 2...
Youth football league locked out of ATI-owned fields over neighbors’ complaints
A youth football league that serves Highlands School District communities is alleging a major fumble by Harrison-based ATI, one of the Valley’s largest employers. Leaders of the Rams Youth Football Organization (RYFO) said more than 150 young athletes are being evicted from their home facility, Bushman Field, leaving the group...
Who’s left for Steelers? CB Joey Porter Jr. surprisingly goes undrafted in 1st round
If the Pittsburgh Steelers really want Joey Porter Jr. to take up residence in their secondary — after he spent much of his childhood at their practice facility — they’ll have a chance to get him after all. In an unexpected development Thursday, the Penn State redshirt junior cornerback was...
Steelers trade up for Georgia’s Broderick Jones in NFL Draft
When Mike Tomlin attended the Georgia pro day in 2022, he spent the previous night dining with some of the Bulldogs’ draft-eligible prospects, as is his custom when he hits the March scouting circuit. Tomlin asked the assembled players for the name of a prospect that he might want to...
Pitt AD Heather Lyke hopes Victory Heights project leads to further success
At the moment, the space that will house Pitt’s $240 million Victory Heights Arena and Sports Performance Complex is occupied by a tall crane and several construction vehicles moving tons of dirt. But athletic director Heather Lyke sees the facility that will rise from that dirt setting Pitt up for...
What will Pa. House Democrats do with a majority? First, they’re moving long-stalled priority bills.
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 — Pennsylvania Democrats used the first full week of session since they solidified their majority in the state House to...
Lawsuit claims Westmoreland prison inmate died of overdose while in custody
The surviving family members of a Butler County woman who died while incarcerated in 2019 in the Westmoreland County Prison claims staff at the lockup failed to prevent her from overdosing while she was in their custody. According to an amended complaint filed this month in U.S. District Court in...
Pirates are hot, and so is their merchandise
Bucco fever is contagious, and the wins on the field don’t just mean good numbers in the standings. Those wins can add up off the field, too — in terms of dollars. According to the Pirates official retail partner Fanatics, which handles both in-venue retail and e-commerce for the team,...
Family of man who died after being shocked by Taser reaches $8M settlement with Pittsburgh
The family of a homeless man who died after being shocked with a Taser by Pittsburgh police at least 10 times in less than four minutes has reached an $8 million settlement with the City of Pittsburgh in its wrongful death lawsuit, an attorney said Thursday. Jim Rogers, 54, died...
Reward offered after burned cat found in Ruffs Dale
A reward is being offered for information after a cat was found Wednesday with severe burns in the Ruffs Dale area, according to the Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office. The feline is being cared for by Frankie’s Friends Cat Rescue in New Kensington. Humane officers are offering a reward, though...
Police say Altoona man killed neighbor, lived with the corpse for 3 days
An Altoona, Blair County, man is under arrest after police say he killed his neighbor and then lived with the corpse for three days. According to WTAJ, police were called to an apartment along Eighth Avenue around 3:49 p.m. Wednesday for a report of a robbery involving Raymond Oechsle Jr.,...
Jerry Springer, politician-turned-TV ringmaster, dies at 79
CINCINNATI — Jerry Springer, the onetime mayor and news anchor whose namesake TV show featured a three-ring circus of dysfunctional guests willing to bare all — sometimes literally — as they brawled and hurled obscenities before a raucous audience, died Thursday at 79. At its peak, “The Jerry Springer Show”...
Pirates star Dick Groat, one of Western Pennsylvania’s greatest athletes, dead at 92
Dick Groat long has been considered one of Western Pennsylvania’s greatest sports figures. Which sport depended on the generation, as the Swissvale native was a two-sport star at Duke, one of only 13 people to play in both the NBA and MLB and later spent four decades calling college basketball...
Morning Roundup: 1 injured in overnight shooting in Duquesne
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Thursday, April 27, 2023: 1 injured in overnight shooting in Duquesne One person was injured and taken to a hospital after a shooting early Thursday in Duquesne, Tribune-Review news partner WPXI-TV reported. Police and EMS were called to the...
More than 100 older homes could benefit from Westmoreland County lead removal program
A few new doors and some paint might not seem like much, but it’s been a huge comfort for Michelle Trenk to know her Jeannette home is now free of lead-based paint. Her family isn’t exposed to the toxic metal any longer, thanks to Westmoreland County’s new grant-funded lead removal...
Releasing leak suspect a national security risk, feds say
Federal prosecutors will urge a judge Thursday to keep behind bars a Massachusetts Air National guardsman accused of leaking highly classified military documents, arguing he may still have access to secret national defense information he could expose. In court papers filed late Wednesday, the Justice Department lawyers said releasing 21-year-old...
Man left homeless after fire destroys North Apollo dwelling
A North Apollo house fire has left a man homeless and state police searching for answers. No injuries were reported after firefighters from multiple companies put out a blaze Wednesday night in the 1200 block of Pegtown Avenue near the borough’s Roaring Run Trail access. First responders were dispatched about...
