Top Stories category, Page 844
Norwin director objects to book on inclusion, diversity used in second grade classroom
A Norwin School Board member has criticized a children’s book read to some Norwin second graders because he claimed it celebrated sexuality while emphasizing diversity and inclusion, with drawings of same-sex couples with children, interracial couples and rainbow-colored items, which could symbolize gay and lesbian pride. “I feel it is...
City Council, activists call for $10 million ‘food justice fund’ from federal covid money; mayor says money isn’t available
In a public hearing this week, Pittsburgh City Council members and activists called for the creation of a $10 million “food justice fund” using American Rescue Plan Act dollars, though the Mayor’s Office said that federal funding isn’t available for such an initiative. Councilwoman Deb Gross late last year sponsored...
Pittsburgh airport security confiscates 5th gun in past 8 days
For the fifth time in eight days, a handgun has been confiscated from a passenger at Pittsburgh International Airport, authorities said. On Friday night, a California man was arrested at the airport when security officers found a carefully concealed Sig Sauer 9mm handgun in a passenger’s duffel bag at the...
Penn Hills man dies following Crescent Gardens Drive shooting
Police investigated a fatal shooting late Friday in Penn Hills in which someone shot two unoccupied cars in a driveway before shooting into a house, killing a 31-year-old man. Allegheny County Police reported that the incident took place shortly after 8:30 p.m. in the 300 block of Crescent Gardens Drive....
Biden student debt relief plan blocked by appeals court
WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court late Friday issued an administrative stay temporarily blocking President Joe Biden’s plan to cancel billions of dollars in federal student loans. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals issued the stay while it considers a motion from six Republican-led states to block the loan cancellation...
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey announces measures to make neighborhoods safer
Pittsburgh is nixing a requirement that crossing guards have driver’s licenses. The city is also moving ahead with plans to install traffic calming measures in the city’s Glen Hazel neighborhood. The measures, which Mayor Ed Gainey said aim to create safer neighborhoods, were spurred in part by a community meeting...
Squirrel Hill residents concerned about intersection near Fern Hollow Bridge
Some Squirrel Hill residents are petitioning Pittsburgh officials to temporarily hold off on reconfiguring a dangerous intersection in their neighborhood. City officials, however, claim the proposed work needs to be done quickly because money for it is included in the $25.3 million of federal funding being used to pay for...
11-year-old hit by car in Pittsburgh
An 11-year-old girl was hospitalized after being hit by a car Friday afternoon near a school in Carrick. The girl, who was identified as a Pittsburgh Southbrook School student, was meeting a younger sibling who attends Pittsburgh Concord School when the incident occurred, school spokesperson Ebony Pugh said. The girl...
Pa. Supreme Court rejects appeal seeking parole eligibility for 2nd-degree murder on jurisdictional grounds
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court said this week that a challenge to the constitutionality of sentencing people to a mandatory life-without-parole prison term for second-degree murder must be handled through individual appellate proceedings, not Commonwealth Court. Six people serving life without parole for what is known as felony murder — the...
Guilty plea due in Michigan school shooting that killed 4
DETROIT — A teenager accused of killing four fellow students and injuring more at a Michigan high school is expected to plead guilty to murder next week, authorities said Friday. Ethan Crumbley had created images of violence during a classroom assignment last November but was not sent home from Oxford...
After typical work week, Kenny Pickett eager to start again for Steelers
His pro debut came at halftime of a game after a dispute of some level between his team’s star receiver and its previous starting quarterback. His first start was on the road at the Super Bowl favorites. The result was a 38-3 loss. Then, during the third quarter of his...
North Huntingdon police make another arrest in undercover drug sting
North Huntingdon police made an arrest Thursday after an undercover drug buy of 1,000 stamp bags of suspected heroin/fentanyl, which was at least the second such arrest in eight days in the township. Keith E. Blackman, 30, who lists addresses in Jeannette and North Versailles, was being held at the...
Jan. 6 panel issues subpoena to Trump, demanding he testify
WASHINGTON — The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol issued a subpoena Friday to Donald Trump, exercising its subpoena power against the former president who lawmakers say “personally orchestrated” a multi-part effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election. The nine-member panel issued a...
Pittsburgh International Airport auction is back
Looking for a good deal on a rare or everyday item? The Allegheny County Airport Authority is bringing back its annual auction. Over 8,000 items are up for bid Saturday with doors opening at 8:30 a.m. and bidding starting at 10 a.m. A wide variety of items are available, including...
Police: Bell Township man charged with felony in fatal shooting of beagle that wouldn’t listen
State police charged a man from Bell Township with a felony count of aggravated cruelty to animals after his estranged wife told them he fatally shot their beagle because it wasn’t listening. Eric J. Rumbaugh, 51, of the 300 block of Nelson Road also faces charges of simple assault, reckless...
Bannon gets 4 months behind bars for defying 1/6 subpoena
WASHINGTON — Steve Bannon, a longtime ally of former President Donald Trump, was sentenced Friday to serve four months behind bars after defying a subpoena from the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols allowed Bannon to stay free pending appeal...
Rehabbed steel mill eagle Rosie released with a 7-foot wingspanVideo
A young bald eagle from a U.S. Steel mill near Pittsburgh that was missing all of its primary flight feathers on one wing is flying the skies of Crawford County. On Thursday, officials from Tamarack Wildlife Center, the Pennsylvania Game Commission and U.S. Steel released Rosie after she was “imped”...
5 things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend: Oct. 21-23
There’s more spooky season fun this weekend in the Pittsburgh area — and that’s not all there is to do. Not-so-scary ZooBoo ZooBoo, the annual kid-friendly Halloween celebration, is planned for 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, and Oct. 29-30, at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium in...
Biden stumps for Pa.’s Fetterman, says ‘world is looking’
PHILADELPHIA — President Joe Biden said Thursday that the “rest of the world is looking” to see who holds control of Congress after the upcoming midterm elections, warning that Republican victories would jeopardize the nation’s standing abroad as he tried to deliver a boost to Pennsylvania Democrat John Fetterman’s campaign...
Fire marshal: Blaze at abandoned New Kensington house appears suspicious
The cause of a blaze Thursday evening that destroyed a vacant house on Third Avenue in New Kensington will be difficult to determine, a fire official said Friday. State police Fire Marshal Keith Sobecki said the house was vacant, but there was evidence squatters had lived there at some point....
Military suicides drop as leaders push new programs
WASHINGTON — Suicides across the active duty U.S. military decreased over the past 18 months, driven by sharp drops in the Air Force and Marine Corps last year and a similar decline among Army soldiers during the first six months of this year, according to a new Pentagon report and...
Pittsburgh police: Delivery driver victim of carjacking in Garfield
Pittsburgh police are investigating a carjacking that targeted a food delivery driver Wednesday evening in the city’s Garfield neighborhood. Officers responded shortly after 6 p.m. to a report of a stolen vehicle in the 200 block of Fern Street. The driver told police two male suspects drove up as he...
New Kensington man convicted of first-degree murder in 2020 slaying of Brackenridge man
The sound of sniffling and crying filled the courtroom as jurors announced their verdict in the fatal shooting of Michael Coover Jr. The Westmoreland County jury found Mario Gatti of New Kensington guilty of criminal homicide charges following a five-hour deliberation Thursday. Judge Christopher Feliciani described the decision as “citizens...
Suspended Pitt basketball player accused of assaulting woman to stand trial on 2 counts
A highly touted Pitt basketball player will go to trial on two counts — strangulation and simple assault — after three other counts against him were thrown out. Dior Johnson, 18, of Oakland, appeared for a preliminary hearing before Magisterial District Judge Mik Pappas on Thursday. He testified briefly to...
Westmoreland commissioners launch program to link students to local jobs
The Westmoreland County commissioners on Thursday approved the creation of what they termed a “groundbreaking” program to invest in the future of local students. Commissioners allocated $949,000 toward a newly formed Westmoreland Workforce Development Plan that will be available at all 17 county school districts to promote occupational guidance and...
