Top Stories category, Page 781
UPMC grew too fast, gained too much market share, report says
A report released Thursday said Pittsburgh-based health care giant UPMC has gained too much share of the market and has too much power. The American Economic Liberties Project, which produced the report, is a nonprofit group that formed to research consolidated corporate power and advocate for stronger antitrust regulations. In...
Debra Todd to be installed as first female chief justice of Pennsylvania Supreme Court
Debra Todd knew that in 2023, she would become the first female chief justice in the 300-year history of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Her predecessor and longtime friend Max Baer had planned to retired in December, and as the next longest-serving member, the role of chief would fall to her....
House GOP rewards hard-liners, George Santos with committee seatsVideo
WASHINGTON — The most far-right House Republicans, early opponents of Speaker Kevin McCarthy and even embattled new Rep. George Santos all are in line for coveted committee assignments. Some are set to serve on the high-profile oversight committee investigating President Joe Biden’s administration. Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and...
Former Franklin Regional board member not guilty of Hempfield political sign thefts
A jury deliberated less than 30 minutes Thursday before finding a former Franklin Regional School Board member not guilty of stealing political signs from Hempfield roadways. Since his arrest nearly two years ago, Gary English, 66, of Murrysville claimed he was simply clearing litter and performing a task — removing...
Strong winds knock out power around Western Pa.; snow forecast for Friday
Sporadic power outages swept across Allegheny and Westmoreland counties Thursday night. The outages and strong winds followed a cold front that brought with it heavy winds, rain and thunderstorms earlier in the evening. Larger outages were reported by Duquesne Light in Pittsburgh’s Lawrenceville neighborhood, Penn Hills and Plum. FirstEnergy reported...
Suspect arrested in fatal Downtown Pittsburgh shooting; victim identified
Editor’s note: Officials initially misspelled the victim’s last name. It has been corrected. Police arrested an 18-year-old man Thursday night in connection with the fatal shooting of a man that afternoon in Downtown Pittsburgh,. Police charged Erique Collington, no address given, with criminal homicide, criminal conspiracy, tampering with physical evidence,...
Larimer man whose blood-alcohol level was 4 times legal limit gets prison for deadly crash
A Larimer man will spend at least 2-1/2 years in state prison after pleading guilty to killing a pedestrian while driving drunk in 2021. Cody Riggins, 28, pleaded guilty to homicide by vehicle and driving under the influence in December. On Thursday, Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Kelly Bigley sentenced...
Allegheny County Chief Public Defender Matt Dugan announces run for district attorney
Matt Dugan has worked in Allegheny County’s criminal justice system for 16 years, holding nearly every attorney position in the Public Defender’s Office during that time. He has been among the youngest in the room as a pretrial attorney, and he’s been among the most experienced, trying homicide charges before...
Pa. woman accused of killing parents, living with their dismembered bodies
A Montgomery County woman found at home with her parents’ dismembered bodies was charged Wednesday with killing them, according to the Montgomery County District Attorney’s office. Police found the bodies of a 73-year-old man and a 72-year-old woman in a home in the 1100 block of Beverly Road with their...
Pirates ranked 28th overall, last in NL in payroll last season, per league figures
The Pittsburgh Pirates had the lowest payroll in the National League and third-lowest in baseball in 2022, at $61,196,070, according to MLB figures obtained by the Associated Press. The Pirates ranked 28th overall, directly behind the Cleveland Guardians ($69,080,715) and ahead of only the Baltimore Orioles ($60,377,739) and Oakland Athletics...
Gov. Shapiro signs order moving state’s hiring emphasis from degrees to experience, skills
Trying to deliver on a 2022 campaign promise, Gov. Josh Shapiro signed an executive order Wednesday designed to encourage more people without college degrees to seek out employment opportunities within state government. The order flatly declares that 92% of all executive branch jobs don’t require four-year degrees, though in reality,...
Alec Baldwin to be charged with manslaughter in set shooting
SANTA FE, N.M. — Actor Alec Baldwin and a weapons specialist will be charged with involuntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on a New Mexico movie set, prosecutors announced Thursday, citing a “criminal disregard for safety.” Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies issued a statement announcing the...
U.S. Treasury buys time for Biden and GOP on debt limit deal
WASHINGTON — The countdown toward a possible U.S. government default began Thursday with Treasury implementing accounting measures as a stopgap, while frictions between President Joe Biden and House Republicans raise alarms about whether the U.S. can sidestep a potential economic crisis. The Treasury Department said in a letter to congressional...
Primanti Bros. shuts down Michigan locations
Pittsburgh-based Primanti Bros. closed its only two sandwich shops in Michigan on Tuesday. The restaurant chain had expanded into Michigan less than a decade ago, the Detroit Free Press reported, before shuttering its shops in the state Tuesday with no explanation. The Michigan locations in Taylor and Novi are no...
Morning Roundup: Fire damages Zelienople housing complex
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2023: Fire damages Zelienople housing complex Officials said a fire that damaged a housing complex in Zelienople may have started in a car parked in a driveway, according to Tribune-Review news partner WPXI. Harmony Fire Chief...
‘The real McCoy’: Greensburg native appointed acting Pa. attorney general
More than three decades ago, Michelle Henry was walking the halls of Greensburg Salem High School with her classmates. This week, the 53-year-old Greensburg native was named acting Pennsylvania attorney general. After graduating from high school and Allegheny College, Henry headed east to attend the Widener University School of Law,...
Trial begins for Murrysville man accused of taking political signs
According to his lawyer, former Franklin Regional School Director Gary English was just picking up litter when he loaded campaign signs into the back of his pickup truck in April 2020. “Twice a year we are all assaulted by these campaign signs that litter our roadways and are prohibited from...
Hempfield book policy draft could provide guard rails to sexualized content
After a yearlong debate over appropriate books in the school library, Hempfield Area officials have drafted updates to the district’s resource material policy that could shape the future of book selection and challenges in the district. The draft, penned by Superintendent Tammy Wolicki and district solicitor Krisha DiMascio, sets guard...
Plum planners recommend approval of first phase of 158-home development
Plum’s planning commission has recommended approval of the first 35 houses in a planned 158-home development. Plum Council might vote on approval of the first phase of the three-phase Patriot Estates plan in February, Assistant Borough Manager David Soboslay said. The first 35 single-family homes would be built on a...
Bus riding bank robber admits holding up 3 Pittsburgh banks
A former Pittsburgh man pleaded guilty in federal court to three counts of bank robbery Tuesday. The incidents took place between Jan. 31 and Feb. 8, 2022. Calvin Leavy, 68, of Pride Street in the Hill District, admitted attempting to rob the First National Bank at 3721 Forbes Ave. in...
Donald Trump says he never read book accusing him of rape
NEW YORK — Former President Donald Trump said he has never read any part of a book in which the columnist E. Jean Carroll accused him of raping her in a department store dressing room in the mid-1990s, according to court records unsealed Wednesday. Trump was questioned under oath in...
Allegheny County special election date set, results will determine state House control
The dates for three pivotal state House special elections in Allegheny County are set following legal wrangling over who could schedule them and when they would be held. The outcomes of the races will determine which party controls the state House for the remainder of the two-year session. The Allegheny...
Youngwood man cuts trial short, pleads guilty to fatal stabbing
Michael Covington Jr. sat on the witness stand Wednesday and told the surviving family members of Matthew Genard that he struggles to deal with his actions from more than five years ago when, police said, he robbed and stabbed his victim at least 22 times in the back. “His life...
Report: Idaho murder suspect Bryan Kohberger messaged victim on Instagram weeks before slaying
In the weeks before four students were found dead inside a residence near the University of Idaho, suspect Bryan Kohberger messaged one of the victims on Instagram — and then kept reaching out after she did not respond, according to a new report. Kohberger, a criminology graduate student at Washington...
Pittsburgh to issue $68M in bonds to cover capital projects
Pittsburgh City Council voted Wednesday to approve issuing nearly $68 million in bonds to pay for capital projects this year. The measure will fund projects that City Council has already approved in Mayor Ed Gainey’s 2023 capital budget, Jennifer Gula, the city’s finance director, said. This year’s operating budget, which...
