Top Stories category, Page 864
Donora man contends bar fight that left three injured started by jealous boyfriend
A Donora man told a Westmoreland County jury Wednesday he pulled out a knife to protect himself during an all-out brawl three years ago at a North Belle Vernon bar that left three people seriously wounded. Eric Cook, 46, testified during the third day of his attempted murder trial that...
House passes election law overhaul in response to Jan. 6Video
WASHINGTON — The House has passed legislation to overhaul the rules for certifying the results of a presidential election as lawmakers accelerate their response to the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and Donald Trump’s failed attempt to remain in power. The bill, which is similar to bipartisan legislation moving through the...
Expert refutes concussion claims in suit against West Mifflin Area School District
The neuropsychologist who invented the widely used ImPACT test to help diagnose concussions testified on Wednesday that symptoms experienced by a West Mifflin man hurt on the high school football field 13 years ago are unrelated to that injury. Dr. Mark R. Lovell told a jury that he believes Shane...
Regular private meetings among top Penn State trustees may be violating Pa.’s transparency law
This story was produced by the State College regional bureau of Spotlight PA, an independent, nonpartisan newsroom dedicated to investigative and public-service journalism for Pennsylvania. Sign up for our regional newsletter, Talk of the Town. STATE COLLEGE — For more than a decade, some of the most powerful members of...
Mellon Park plan calls for better connections and traffic calming
A public park in Pittsburgh’s East End is looking for some upgrades and a new plan details the desire to better connect the park’s two halves and to slow drivers down as they pass through. The Mellon Park Action Plan was released Wednesday, and it lays out the community’s priorities...
Pittsburgh projected to spend $2 million more in gas for fleet this year
The city of Pittsburgh is expected to spend about $5 million in gas this year — about $2 million more than last year — to keep its fleet running amid soaring gas prices. The city spent $3.2 million in gas to fuel its vehicles in 2021, Councilman Anthony Coghill said....
Jurors begin deliberations in 2017 Homewood triple fatal fire trial
The victims didn’t have a chance. Sandra Carter Douglas. Shamira Staten. Ch’yenne Manning. None of them, said Deputy District Attorney Brian Catanzarite, played any role in a fight Martell Smith had early on the morning of Dec. 20, 2017. A fight, the prosecutor continued, that drove Smith into such a...
Parents charged in New Kensington boy’s death
Both parents of 9-year-old Azuree Charles were charged Wednesday in connection with the New Kensington boy’s death in May. Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli said the boy’s father, Jean Charles, 40, of Brackenridge, is charged with first-degree murder, criminal homicide, abuse of a corpse, unlawful restraint of a minor...
Shogan promises transparency at hearing for National Archives leadership role
A North Huntingdon native was questioned for 30 minutes Wednesday during a Senate confirmation hearing to review her nomination to be archivist of the National Archives and Records Administration. Colleen Joy Shogan said she would provide transparency in regards to all emails and communications between the agency and the FBI...
Mt. Pleasant man facing more charges after another assault at county jail
A Mt. Pleasant man accused this week in an incident in a Westmoreland County courtroom was charged Wednesday with head-butting a second guard at the county jail in a month, according to court papers. Joe Paul Biller, 37, is facing aggravated and simple assault charges. He was being readied for...
How steep Fed rate hikes affect your finances
NEW YORK — Mortgage rates have jumped, home sales have slumped and credit cards and auto loans have gotten pricier. Savings rates are slightly juicier, though. As the Federal Reserve has rapidly increased interest rates, many economists say they fear that a recession is inevitable in the coming months —...
Trump accused of vast fraud in lawsuit by New York Attorney General Letitia James
New York’s attorney general sued former President Donald Trump and his company for fraud on Wednesday, alleging they padded his net worth by billions of dollars by lying about the value of prized assets including golf courses, hotels and his homes at Trump Tower and Mar-a-Lago. Attorney General Letitia James...
Biden: Russia ‘shamelessly violated’ UN Charter in UkraineVideo
UNITED NATIONS — President Joe Biden declared at the United Nations Wednesday that Russia has “shamelessly violated the core tenets” of the U.N with its “brutal, needless war” in Ukraine. He said the war is an affront to the heart of what the international body stands for as he looked...
Putin orders partial military call-up, sparking protestsVideo
KYIV, Ukraine — Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a partial mobilization of reservists Wednesday, taking a risky and deeply unpopular step that follows humiliating setbacks for his troops nearly seven months after invading Ukraine. The first such call-up in Russia since World War II heightened tensions with Ukraine’s Western backers,...
Pittsburgh man charged in Jan. 6 Capitol attack
A Pittsburgh man is facing misdemeanor charges after illegally entering the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 attack and entering the conference room of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, officials said. Thomas Carey, 21, communicated with four other men beforehand to coordinate their plans and then all illegally entered the...
Washington School District alerts families to potential monkeypox case
Washington School District alerted students and families of a potential monkeypox case at Washington Park Primary School. A student suspected of having monkeypox or another similar disease was at the school Monday, Superintendent George Lammay said in a letter to families. “The school immediately sanitized all physical locations that the...
Fauci tempers Biden’s declaration that pandemic is ‘over’
Not so fast, Mr. President. Outgoing presidential covid adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci on Monday walked back President Joe Biden’s assertion that the coronavirus pandemic was “over.” A lot depends on how we respond to current variables and future virus variants, the nation’s top infectious disease expert said during a fireside...
Police arrest man in connection with Shadyside, Lawrenceville burglaries
An Aliquippa man wanted in connection with a string of burglaries in Pittsburgh’s Shadyside and Lawrenceville neighborhoods has been arrested. Michael Moffett, 33, who faces multiple charges including burglary, criminal mischief and theft from a motor vehicle, was arrested by North Versailles police on Monday evening, said Cara Cruz, a...
TV Q&A: Can local TV stations refuse politicians’ ads?
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen answers reader questions every Wednesday at TribLive.com in a column that also appears in the Sunday Tribune-Review. Q: Can you tell me if local stations can refuse to put political ads on? I would think whichever stations refuse would get a huge bump...
Fall allergies share symptoms with covid; ragweed a leading trigger
A stuffy, runny nose could be a sign that your body is coping with a flu or covid-19 infection, or it could be an overreaction to an allergen. The maturation of pollen-packed plants like ragweed means the fall allergy season has arrived in Western Pennsylvania. “If you have nasal congestion,...
Motorcyclist injured in New Kensington accident
A motorcyclist is in the hospital after an accident on Tuesday evening in New Kensington. The accident occurred at around 9:50 p.m. in the 1100 block of Seventh Street, according to a Westmoreland County dispatcher. EMS transported the motorcycle driver to an area hospital, the dispatcher said. No further information...
Mail ballot fight persists in key states, sure to slow count
HARRISBURG — Former President Donald Trump and his allies seized on the drawn-out processing and counting in Pennsylvania during the 2020 election to fuel his false claims that fraud cost him victory in the battleground state. Election officials worry that a replay could be on the horizon for November’s midterm...
Burgettstown man gets maximum sentence for third-degree murder in 3-year-old boy’s beating death
A Burgettstown man will serve 20 to 40 years in prison for killing his girlfriend’s 3-year-old son last year. Tyler Scott Mason, 27, pleaded guilty to third-degree murder on June 21 for the beating death of Aiden Lombardi. On Monday, he was sentenced by Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Kelly...
Defendant takes the stand in Homewood triple fatal fire trial
Martell Smith spent nearly eight hours in a Pittsburgh police interview room on Dec. 20, 2017, being questioned about a fire in Pittsburgh’s Homewood neighborhood that killed three people earlier that day. Investigators suspected the fire had been purposefully set and that gasoline was used. They also knew that when...
Trial for sex trafficking of teen ends in guilty plea for Turtle Creek man
A Turtle Creek man pleaded guilty Tuesday to the sex trafficking of a 14-year-old runaway from New Kensington. Davon Allen Fuqua, 36, cut short his trial midway through testimony from his accuser, who told a Westmoreland County jury she was transported with a prostitute to have sex with two older...
