Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 849
Democrats move to take power with narrow Pa. House majority
HARRISBURG — Democrats who barely won back a majority of seats in the Pennsylvania House in November moved to take control of the chamber Wednesday and replace one of their incumbents who died and two others who won higher office. Shortly after Democratic Leader Joanna McClinton of Philadelphia was quietly...
Pitt faculty members protest slow contract talks
About 75 University of Pittsburgh faculty members, frustrated by the slow pace of trying to secure their first union contract, protested Wednesday outside the provost’s office in the Cathedral of Learning. They did not manage to get a face-to-face meeting with Provost Ann Cudd, Pitt’s chief academic officer. Instead, the...
Pittsburgh International Airport to get new flight to Southern California
Pittsburghers who love Disneyland, beaches, and sunshine can rejoice. Pittsburgh International Airport is getting a new flight to Orange County in Southern California. The low-cost carrier Breeze Airways announced Tuesday it will be flying nonstop between Pittsburgh and John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, Calif., starting on March 31. Breeze...
‘City of Steel’ lets former workers chronicle the rise and fall of Pittsburgh steel industry
When Bruce Spiegel was a child, he would look out his Greenfield window at the heart of American industry: the U.S. Steel Homestead Works. “I would look out into the night and watch the Homestead furnaces blowing blue flames,” Spiegel said. “I thought steel-making was never going to end.” In...
Database spotlights those who died at Pearl Harbor
JOHNSTOWN — The stories of the more than 2,300 American service members who died at Pearl Harbor, including Cambria County Military Hall of Fame member Navy Petty Officer 1st Class John Lipple, from Ashville, have been chronicled by Stories Behind the Stars. The nonprofit is working to compile brief bios...
USS Arizona survivor: Honor those killed at Pearl Harbor
HONOLULU — USS Arizona sailor Lou Conter lived through the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor even though his battleship exploded and sank after being pierced by aerial bombs. That makes the 101-year-old somewhat of a celebrity, especially on the anniversary of the Dec. 7, 1941, assault. Many call him and...
Police say Penn Hills man’s Facebook car ads were a setup to steal buyers’ cash
Pittsburgh police said a man used Facebook marketplace to set up four purported vehicle sales around Homewood and then robbed potential buyers of the cash they brought, according to court papers. Alan Green, 29, of Penn Hills is facing nine charges of robbery and three counts of conspiracy that were...
East Hills mother dies of injuries from shooting that killed her 4-year-old daughter
An East Hills woman died late Tuesday at a hospital, five days after being wounded in a Lincoln-Lemington shooting that killed her 4-year-old daughter. Temani Lewis, 21, had been scheduled to stand trial next month in connection with a separate shooting over the summer. The 4-year-old girl, Kaari Thompson, and...
Pleas issued for blood donations as supply suffers holiday season shortage
Regular blood donor Kayani Hull had an extra incentive to roll up her sleeve for a donation drive last week at the University of Pittsburgh’s Greensburg campus. “I found out that B-type blood is pretty rare, and I have B blood,” said the Pitt-Greensburg sophomore from Verona. “It makes me...
Hundreds of new charges filed against Squirrel Hill man accused of hiding cameras in bathrooms
A Squirrel Hill man arrested last month for planting a hidden camera in a restroom at The Frick museum now faces a slew of additional charges for hiding the device and spying on restroom-users elsewhere. Todd Bueschen, 35, was charged Tuesday with eight counts of sexual abuse of children by...
Congress set to rescind covid-19 vaccine mandate for troops
WASHINGTON — The covid-19 vaccine mandate for members of the U.S. military would be rescinded under the annual defense bill heading for a vote this week in Congress, ending a directive that helped ensure the vast majority of troops were vaccinated but also raised concerns that it harmed recruitment and...
Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock beats Herschel Walker in Georgia runoffVideo
ATLANTA — Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock defeated Republican challenger Herschel Walker in a Georgia runoff election Tuesday, ensuring Democrats an outright majority in the Senate for the rest of President Joe Biden’s current term and capping an underwhelming midterm cycle for the GOP in the last major vote of the...
Pittsburgh Regional employees sue over covid-19 vaccine mandate
A group of Pittsburgh Regional Transit employees and former employees filed a discrimination lawsuit in federal court Tuesday challenging the authority’s covid-19 vaccine mandate. The lawsuit, filed as a class action, seeks to represent not only employees who were terminated by PRT for failing to get vaccinated but also employees...
Stowe fire chief punched firefighter during blaze, police say
A fire chief is facing charges after police say he punched a firefighter at a McKees Rocks blaze the two were battling. Stowe Fire Chief Matthew Chapman was charged Tuesday with simple assault and harassment in connection to the Sunday incident. Chapman was the first to arrive on scene and...
Trump Organization convicted in executive tax dodge schemeVideo
NEW YORK — Donald Trump’s company was convicted of tax fraud on Tuesday in a case brought by the Manhattan District Attorney, a significant repudiation of financial practices at the former president’s business. The guilty verdict came on the second day of deliberations following a trial in which the Trump...
Pittsburgh unemployment near record lows, but region is slow to regain workers
Pittsburgh’s unemployment rate is one of the lowest the region has seen in the past 50 years, but that isn’t necessarily a sign that the city’s economy is humming, according to a University of Pittsburgh economist. The unemployment rate for October was 4.1%, the Pennsylvania Center for Workforce Information and...
Big Tech, free speech advocates join to oppose journalism bill
WASHINGTON — Top social media companies and free speech advocates, groups that usually take opposing views over tech policy, are coming together to oppose a measure that would allow journalism organizations to jointly negotiate with tech companies. The groups are opposing any inclusion in the fiscal 2023 Pentagon policy bill...
DOJ subpoenas state election officials, including Allegheny County, for Trump documents
MADISON, Wis. —Special counsel Jack Smith has subpoenaed local election officials in Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona and Pennsylvania, asking for communications with or involving former President Donald Trump, his 2020 campaign aides and a list of allies involved in his efforts to try to overturn the results of the election. The...
Pittsburgh unemployment near record lows, but region is slow to regain workers
Pittsburgh’s unemployment rate is one of the lowest the region has seen in the past 50 years, but that isn’t necessarily a sign that Pittsburgh’s economy is humming, according to a University of Pittsburgh economist. The unemployment rate for October was 4.1%, the Pennsylvania Center for Workforce Information and Analysis...
Pittsburgh’s part of 412 Boulevard of the Allies renovation gets extra $3 million
Pittsburgh’s portion of the renovations needed to create office space in the 412 Boulevard of the Allies Building will get an added $3 million over its initial budget. City Council on Tuesday approved a measure to allocate an additional $3.2 million for the project, which will relocate several city offices...
Student-run credit union opens at Kiski Area High School
An on-campus credit union is open at Kiski Area High School in Allegheny Township. The Kiski Area Cash Stash, run by students, opened Monday. In partnership with Pheple Federal Credit Union, the credit union is a fully functioning branch office, staffed by three high school students. It’s the first on-campus,...
Jan. 6 committee to issue criminal referrals, chairman says
WASHINGTON — The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol will make criminal referrals to the Justice Department as it wraps up its probe and looks to publish a final report by the end of the year, the panel’s chairman said Tuesday. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss.,...
Pittsburgh council approves $220K annual snow removal technology contract
Pittsburgh’s snow plows will again be fitted with fleet telematics and snow route optimization technology, including GPS and the technology behind the city’s virtual snow plow tracker, through a Minnesota-based company. This comes despite concerns from some council members about the reliability of the snow plow tracker, an online tool...
Hopeful glimmers in long war on Alzheimer’s disease
After decades of failure in Alzheimer’s disease research, scientists are buoyed by new findings that could mark a turning point in the field, offering hope that treatment may someday slow the grim deterioration of the brain. The data, published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine and presented to...
Warnock or Walker? Georgia runoff to settle last Senate seat
ATLANTA — Georgia voters on Tuesday are deciding the final Senate contest in the country, choosing between Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican football legend Herschel Walker after a four-week runoff blitz that has drawn a flood of outside spending to an increasingly personal fight. This year’s runoff has lower...
