Top Stories category, Page 841
Father ordered to stand trial on charges of strangling, murdering son in New Kensington
A man accused of killing his 9-year-old son earlier this year in New Kensington will stand trial. During a preliminary hearing Wednesday, District Judge Frank J. Pallone Jr. held Jean J. Charles, 40, of Brackenridge for trial on criminal homicide, first-degree murder, unlawful restraint, strangulation, concealing the death of a...
How redistricting could alter control of the Legislature — and other changes to watch on Election Day
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 — It’s showtime for Pennsylvania’s brand-new legislative districts. The revamped state House and Senate lines were approved by a commission...
Argo AI, a Pittsburgh driverless car pioneer, goes out of business
One of Pittsburgh’s autonomous vehicle companies announced Wednesday that it is shutting down. It’s unclear how many Pittsburgh workers will be laid off, as some Argo AI employees at the Strip District-based company will be absorbed into two of Argo’s investors: Ford Motor Co. and Volkswagen AG. In addition to...
GOP lawmakers introduce resolution to impeach Philadelphia DA Larry Krasner
Pennsylvania House Republican lawmakers announced on Wednesday their intention to file articles of impeachment against Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, who they say has “tipped the scales of justice in favor of criminals.” The announcement came two days after a Select Committee on Restoring Law and Order issued a second...
Pa. Supreme Court hears arguments on Medicaid funding for abortion
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Wednesday heard arguments over the state Medicaid program’s coverage ban on abortion. Under the 1982 Abortion Control Act, passed by the Pennsylvania legislature, Medicaid prohibits reimbursement for abortions in all instances other than to prevent the death of the woman or in the case of...
Herschel Walker faces abortion allegation from 2nd accuserVideo
LOS ANGELES — A woman came forward Wednesday to accuse Herschel Walker, the anti-abortion Republican running for U.S. Senate in Georgia, of encouraging and paying for her 1993 abortion — an accusation that came just weeks after a former girlfriend said he did the same for her in 2009. Walker’s...
South Carolina judge: Mark Meadows must testify before Georgia grand juryVideo
PICKENS, S.C. — A South Carolina judge ruled Wednesday that former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows must testify before the Fulton County special grand jury investigating attempts to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election. Following a 45-minute hearing in this small city in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains,...
Takeaways from Pa.’s highly anticipated U.S. Senate debate between Oz, Fetterman
Tuesday night’s U.S. Senate debate between Democrat John Fetterman and Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz figures to be remembered mostly for how one candidate spoke instead of what either candidate said. The hourlong debate at the WHTM-TV studio in Harrisburg covered key issues such as inflation, fracking, minimum wage, abortion, international...
Man convicted of killing 6 with SUV in Wisconsin Christmas parade
MADISON, Wis. — A Wisconsin man was convicted Wednesday of killing six people and injuring dozens of others when he drove his SUV through a Christmas parade, wrapping up a trial in which he defended himself with bizarre legal theories and erratic outbursts. It took the jury a little over...
Pa. fisherman pleads not guilty to charges in tournament scandal
CLEVELAND — Two men accused of stuffing five walleye with lead weights and fish fillets during a lucrative fishing tournament on Lake Erie pleaded not guilty to cheating and other charges on Wednesday. Jacob Runyan, 42, of Broadview Heights, Ohio, and Chase Cominsky, 35, of Hermitage, Mercer County, made no...
Fetterman’s health takes center stage at debate with Oz
All eyes on Pennsylvania on Tuesday night seemed to focus on the U.S. Senate debate between Democrat John Fetterman and Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz. Most of the attention focused on Fetterman’s health. “The two candidates differed sharply on multiple issues during the debate, held in a Harrisburg television studio. But...
Remember When: Johnetta was once a thriving town in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Western Pennsylvania has a number of ghost towns that thrived during the Industrial Age. In some cases, not a trace of the towns exist. One example in the Alle-Kiski Valley is Johnetta, a town once located along the Allegheny River north of Gilpin Township’s Schenley section. Johnetta got its start...
Kia recalls SUVs again for risk of engine fire
Kia is telling owners of nearly 72,000 older Sportage small SUVs in the U.S. to park them outdoors and away from structures after getting reports of more engine fires. It’s the second time that Sportages from the 2008 and 2009 model years have been recalled due to fire risks that...
Bicyclist injured in crash with school bus in Richland
A bicylist who was injured after being struck by a school bus in the North Hills has been upgraded to stable condition at an area hospital, police said. The 29-year-old man, who police did not name, was riding southbound on Route 8 in Richland around midnight Tuesday when he was...
Tim Benz: Steelers need to get over fear of change at offensive coordinator
During his weekly Tuesday press conference, Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin was reminded that a few weeks ago he said he would be open to changes — if he felt like those changes would yield better results. Now that the team has sunk to 2-5 and the offense is struggling...
18-year-old fatally shot in Pittsburgh’s Highland Park neighborhood
An 18-year-old man died Tuesday after he was shot, according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office. At around 6:45 a.m., first responders found Omar McCord Jr. unresponsive in the area of Ionic Way and Millbrae Way in Pittsburgh’s Highland Park neighborhood. Medics pronounced McCord dead at the scene. Police...
Supreme Court’s Alito says abortion opinion leak made justices ‘assassination’ targets
WASHINGTON — U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito said the leak of his draft opinion eliminating the constitutional right to abortion made members of the majority “targets for assassination.” Speaking in Washington at the conservative Heritage Foundation, Alito gave no indication the court has determined who gave the opinion to...
Fetterman, Oz face off in chaotic debate
In the only debate of Pennsylvania’s Senate race, Democrat John Fetterman and Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz battled in a chaotic event where the candidates lobbed countless attacks at each other in between answering questions from the moderators. Fetterman and Oz squared off for an hour Tuesday night on the WHTM-TV...
Police get DNA from Belle Vernon man accused in New Year’s road rage killing
DNA from three people was found on the gun used to kill a motorist in a New Year’s Day road rage incident in Rostraver, a Westmoreland County detective testified Tuesday. Since August, investigators have attempted to secure a DNA sample from Anthony Hairston, who was charged with first-degree murder and...
Judge denies defense motion to conduct survey on jurors’ religious affiliation in Tree of Life mass murder case
A federal judge on Monday denied a request by defense attorneys for the man accused of killing 11 people at the Tree of Life synagogue four years ago to conduct an anonymous survey of potential jurors to determine their religious affiliation. In a seven-page opinion, U.S. District Judge Robert J....
Penn State the latest university to grapple with controversial speech
After violent protests erupted Monday night on Penn State’s main campus, the university became the latest to allow a controversial event and bet wrongly that civil discourse would trump unrest. The situation at Penn State unraveled quickly before a scheduled appearance by Proud Boys founder Gavin McInnes, with police —...
Carrick man acquitted in Club Erotica homicide
A jury deliberated for four days before finding a Carrick man not guilty of all counts on Tuesday in the 2021 shooting death of another at Club Erotica in McKees Rocks. Khalil Walls, 27, left the Allegheny County Courthouse a free man. “I truly believe it is the proper verdict,”...
Derry Township man convicted of attempted murder
A Derry Township man told a judge on Tuesday he just wanted to scare a man who he believed had started a fire near his camper when he fired a series of “warning shots” across a rural field. But at least one round struck Jonathan David Corey in the buttocks...
Judge hears closing arguments in federal bird poisoning case
Defense attorneys for two men accused of poisoning dozens of birds at a Lawrence County farm in 2020 because the birds were damaging their soybean crop said that the government’s theory of the case doesn’t make sense. “We’re supposed to believe Robert Yost was so spiteful he just laid that...
Pittsburgh police respond to gunshots fired near 2 Downtown schools
Police responded Tuesday afternoon to gunfire in front of two Downtown Pittsburgh schools. The incident occurred at 3:30 p.m. in the 900 block of Penn Avenue, in front of Urban Pathways K-5 College Charter School and Passport Academy Charter School. “At this time it is not known what led to...
