Top Stories category, Page 727
University of Pittsburgh Chancellor-elect Joan Gabel talks top priorities
University of Pittsburgh Chancellor-elect Joan Gabel said in a wide-ranging interview Monday that her top priorities after taking office figure to include identifying the school’s next provost, initiating a capital campaign and dealing with tuition and labor issues. But Gabel said her first 100 days and beyond “will also include...
Justice Department appeals Texas abortion pill order
AUSTIN, Texas — The Justice Department on Monday appealed a Texas court ruling that would halt approval of a drug used in the most common method of abortion in the U.S., calling the decision “extraordinary and unprecedented.” If allowed to stand, the order issued last week by U.S. District Judge...
Black lawmaker who was expelled to return to Tennessee House
NASHVILLE — One of the two Black Democrats who were expelled last week from the GOP-led Tennessee House was reinstated Monday after Nashville’s governing council voted to send him straight back to the Legislature. The unanimous vote by the Nashville Metropolitan Council took only a few minutes to restore Rep....
Sources say Pittsburgh close to announcing new police chief from list of 3 finalists
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey is expected to name the city’s next police chief soon, possibly within days, according to those close to the hiring process. Gainey and three committees have been working, largely behind closed doors, for nearly six months to find a successor to former Chief Scott Schubert, who...
Indiana County man killed in Route 380 motorcycle crash
A 34-year-old Indiana County man was killed Monday in a motorcycle crash along Route 380 in Washington Township, authorities said. Ryan James Gould of Shelocta died of blunt force trauma, Westmoreland County Coroner Tim Carson said. The wreck was reported near the intersection of North Washington Road shortly before 3:30...
Pa. launches abortion access website in wake of Texas ruling against abortion medication
After a federal judge’s ruling in Texas last week halted the approval of a drug used in medication abortions, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro launched a website informing state residents about their rights to accessing to abortion services. Shapiro said Monday that Pennsylvanians’ reproductive rights have not changed because of the...
Jeannette police officer saves mom, artwork from house fire
Chris Mason bought a 1965 AC Cobra replica two years ago, a car he has dreamed about owning since he was 15. The Jeannette police corporal said he stopped by his mother’s home in the city Monday around 2 p.m. to fire up the engine for the first time since...
Pa. Supreme Court candidates with party backing show fundraising advantage
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 — The candidates running for an open seat on Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court are getting campaign money from wealthy donors, their...
Uniontown man suffered injuries in crash on Route 66 in Hempfield
A Uniontown man was cut out of a pickup truck Saturday and taken to a Pittsburgh hospital with serious injuries, according to state police. Troopers said Jonathan M. Millikin, 41, was traveling north on Toll Route 66 in Hempfield just before 6 p.m. when the Ford Ranger he was driving...
$1 million lottery ticket sold in Greensburg; winner first thought it was worth $1,000
A Greensburg-area man who is a regular lottery ticket buyer thought he was lucky when he learned he had bought a winning Mega Millions Pennsylvania Lottery ticket Friday — but not as lucky as he turned out to be. “He did not know he had won” $1 million when he...
Increased demand, OPEC production cut contribute to rising gas prices
Pennsylvania is among 44 states that saw their average gasoline prices rise over the past week. “Prices are being pulled up not only due to continued increases in demand as temperatures warm, but also pressure from oil prices, which have risen over 20% in the last month, primarily driven by...
Biden kicks off Easter egg roll with talk of reelection bid
WASHINGTON — Not even the annual White House Easter Egg Roll is safe from presidential politics. President Joe Biden, the host of Monday’s festivities on the South Lawn, said he plans to participate in “at least three or four more Easter egg rolls, maybe five.” Biden was alluding to his...
Louisville bank employee livestreamed attack that killed 5Video
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A Louisville bank employee armed with a rifle opened fire at his workplace Monday morning, killing five people — including a close friend of Kentucky’s governor — while livestreaming the attack on Instagram, authorities said. Police arrived as shots were still being fired inside Old National Bank...
Man struck by vehicle on Pittsburgh’s South Side
A man was struck by a vehicle early Monday near 12th and East Carson streets on Pittsburgh’s South Side, according to city police. Officers said they found the man after responding to a call of shots fired at 2:16 a.m. He was taken to a hospital in critical condition. Police...
Trump’s response to criminal charges revives election lies
NEW YORK — Legally, the most important words former President Donald Trump said after he was charged with 34 felonies by the Manhattan District Attorney last week were “not guilty.” But, politically, the most significant may be “election interference.” Trump’s repetition of those words, which have been taken up by...
Pa. Democratic Sen. Bob Casey to seek 4th term
HARRISBURG — Democratic Sen. Bob Casey will seek a fourth term in office, bringing the power of incumbency and unmatched name recognition in Pennsylvania politics to his party’s defense of a seat in a critical presidential battleground state. The announcement by Casey, the longest-serving Democratic U.S. senator in Pennsylvania history,...
Tractor-trailer crash spills chemicals near Monongahela River
A tractor-trailer that crashed into a creek early Monday morning along Bellbridge Road in Lincoln Borough has not yet spilled chemicals into the Monongahela River, officials said. The truck, which was hauling about 80 drums (each 55-gallons) of a two-part epoxy chemical, drove into the stream just after 1 a.m.,...
Pa. Turnpike Commission renting homes it bought in Plum, Penn Township
The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission does more than operate a highway across the breadth of the state. In several locations, it’s also a landlord, including in Plum, where the turnpike commission bought a single-family house that had been for sale in the Regency Park neighborhood. The turnpike commission paid $247,000 for...
China military ‘ready to fight’ after drills near Taiwan
TAIPEI, Taiwan — China’s military declared Monday it is “ready to fight” after completing three days of large-scale combat exercises around Taiwan that simulated sealing off the island in response to the Taiwanese president’s trip to the U.S. last week. The “combat readiness patrols” named Joint Sword were meant as...
As runway near-misses surge, radar that keeps planes apart is aging and unreliable
A crucial safety system that’s relied on to avoid potentially fatal collisions at major U.S. airports is aging and plagued by outages that have left travelers unprotected for months at a time. At some airports, it hasn’t ever been installed. The technology — which tracks vehicles on or near runways...
Pitt study shows probiotics boost cancer treatment in mice, could be precursor for human treatment
A new University of Pittsburgh study shows how good gut health could be beneficial at fighting certain kinds of cancer. A study published Thursday in the science journal Cell showed probiotic bacteria in mice traveled from the animals’ guts and established in tumors, where the bacteria directly stimulate immune cells...
Building the Valley: Moonlight Inn restaurant in Vandergrift stands test of timeVideo
Jim Baker of Carrick doesn’t mind taking a road trip for a hearty meal. Baker recently drove 40 miles to meet with former classmates from his 1973 Kiski Area High School graduating class for an evening of food and fellowship at Moonlight Inn in Vandergrift. He ordered a Franco’s Ribeye...
Unemployment fell to 3.5% under Biden. For how much longer?
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden keeps seeing good economic news and bad public approval ratings. The unemployment rate fell to 3.5% in March. More than 236,000 jobs were added. But there has been no political payoff for the president. A poll last month by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public...
Fetterman, Casey slam federal judge’s ruling against abortion medication
Pennsylvania’s Democratic U.S. Sens. John Fetterman and Bob Casey did not mince words when responding to Friday’s ruling by a federal judge in Texas halting the approval of an abortion medication. “This ruling by a hard-right Trump appointed judge is simply bull(expletive),” Fetterman said in a statement released Saturday morning....
Pope at Easter: Pray for Ukrainian, Russian people, refugees
VATICAN CITY — In an Easter message highlighting hope, Pope Francis on Sunday invoked prayers for both the Ukrainian and Russian people, praised nations which welcome refugees and called on Israelis and Palestinians wracked by the latest surge in deadly violence to forge a “climate of trust.” Francis, along with...
