Top Stories category, Page 866
‘Serial’ case: Adnan Syed released, conviction tossedVideo
BALTIMORE — A Baltimore judge on Monday ordered the release of Adnan Syed after overturning Syed’s conviction for the 1999 murder of high school student Hae Min Lee — a case that was chronicled in the hit podcast “Serial,” a true-crime series that transfixed listeners and revolutionized the genre. At...
Skill games company woos Pa. lawmakers with trips to wild Wyoming rodeo
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 the sounds, the lights, the competition or the experience of a lifetime. Everyone comes for a different reason...
Prosecutors ask for ‘Pink Hat Lady’ charged in Capitol riots to be placed on electronic monitoring
Federal prosecutors have asked a judge to require a Mercer County woman charged in last year’s Capitol riots to wear electronic monitoring while under home confinement. In a motion filed Thursday, the U.S. attorney’s office said Rachel Powell — who became known as “the Pink Hat Lady” — has violated...
North Hills School District to vote on Indian nickname ‘compromise’ at next meeting
Compromise is the name of the game when it comes to North Hills School District and its Indian mascot. On Sept. 15, the school board presented a resolution that allows for the discontinuation of the current Indian logo, but the continuing use of the name “Indians’ as the identifier for...
Police use dog to capture woman they say sped through Mt. Vernon yard sale
A New Kensington police dog was used to apprehend a woman police say fled from an officer in Parnassus and sped through a neighborhood yard sale in Mt. Vernon on Friday afternoon. Alyssa Nicole Depanicis, 32, was arraigned Saturday on several felony charges including fleeing, escape and resisting arrest, misdemeanor...
GOP congressional candidate Jeremy Shaffer picks up U.S. Chamber of Commerce endorsement in key race
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has endorsed Republican Jeremy Shaffer in a key race to represent part of suburban Pittsburgh in the U.S. House. Shaffer, an engineer and former Ross commissioner who founded a software company focused on infrastructure, said he was honored to be endorsed by one of the...
Travel alert: Long-term single-lane restrictions along Route 28 begin this week
More traffic delays are likely along Route 28 beginning Wednesday, when single-lane restrictions take effect near O’Hara and Aspinwall, PennDOT announced. Work will begin at 6 a.m. in the northbound lanes and is expected to be ongoing through mid-October. Restrictions will be in place from Exit 7 (Delafield Avenue off-ramp)...
How to get a student loan refund if you paid during pandemic
NEW YORK — When President Joe Biden announced a plan to forgive student loan debt, many borrowers who kept making payments during the pandemic wondered if they’d made the right choice. Borrowers who paid down their debt during a pandemic freeze that started in March 2020 can in fact get...
Pa. sending search-and-rescue personnel to Puerto Rico to assist with Hurricane Fiona response
Gov. Tom Wolf on Sunday announced that two members of the state’s urban search-and-rescue task force will be deployed to hurricane-battered Puerto Rico to assist with emergency response efforts. This comes as Hurricane Fiona struck Puerto Rico’s southwest coast Sunday, bringing with it floods, high winds, landslides and massive power...
After mass resignations, Kiski Township hires more officers to restore positions
After Kiski Township police Sgt. Thomas Dessell, four other officers and the police secretary quit in protest in early July, the township supervisors whose actions they objected to have scrambled to replace the officers. The township is recovering from the mass resignation. The township supervisors have restored the positions with...
Decline in gas prices breaks 2018 record, but change to winter gas could snap trend
With gasoline prices falling for a 14th consecutive week, the drop in the national average has surpassed the record decline of 2018 and is now the longest downward streak since 2015, an industry analyst said Monday. According to AAA, the national average is now about $3.68, down 4 cents from...
Leaf disease continues to ravage Pa. beech trees
There’s a disease wreaking havoc on beech trees in Pennsylvania. Beech leaf disease currently is found in all but two of the state’s 67 counties. Caused by microscopic nematodes, the disease infects native American beech trees and commonly planted European ones, said Mihail Kantor, an assistant research professor of nematology...
5 things we learned: Steelers’ loss stands apart from others in AFC North
5 things we learned from Patriots 17, Steelers 14: 1. Northern exposure One consolation for the Steelers as they head into a new work week: they still occupy first place in the AFC North. Another is, that unlike two other division rivals, they didn’t blow a big lead in the...
Locked Up: The prison labor that built business empires like U.S. Steel
More than 150 years ago, a prison complex known as the Lone Rock stockade operated at one of the biggest coal mines in Tennessee. It was powered largely by African American men who had been arrested for minor offenses — like stealing a hog — if they committed any crime...
Steelers vs. Patriots: What they’re saying in New England after win
They haven’t been thrilled about inept offensive performances in New England either. Last week, after the Patriots lost to Miami Dolphins 20-7, the headlines demanded coach Bill Belichick find a way to fix the offense. “Life without Tom Brady was never going to be easy, but the Patriots at least...
Queen Elizabeth II mourned by Britain and world at funeralVideo
LONDON — Britain and the world said a final goodbye to Queen Elizabeth II at a state funeral Monday that drew presidents and kings, princes and prime ministers — and crowds who thronged the streets of London to honor a monarch whose 70-year reign defined an age. In a country...
Madden Monday: ‘Steelers offense has the stench of death. … They should fire Matt Canada’
Here is what we know about the Pittsburgh Steelers offense so far: • The run game isn’t any better than what it was a season ago. In fact, it looks worse. Najee Harris has only 72 yards over two games. • None of the receivers have really found a rhythm...
Biden: Classified documents at Mar-a-Lago raise concernsVideo
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden says the discovery of top-secret documents at former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate raised concerns that sensitive data was compromised and called it “irresponsible.” Biden, who rarely does interviews, spoke to CBS’ “60 Minutes” in a segment that aired Sunday. He said that when he...
Tim Benz: ‘Airing of Grievances’ as Steelers struggle in all phases against Patriots
NFL coaches love to talk about “all three phases” of their team. Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin is no exception. Although Tomlin probably didn’t want to talk about them much Sunday evening. Because even though his team’s 17-14 loss to New England was a close game, all three phases got...
Man expected to survive gunshot wound in Munhall
A man is expected to survive after being shot early Sunday in Munhall, according to Allegheny County Police. County police said a possible shooting in the 4000 block of Center Avenue was reported to 911 about 2:17 a.m. First responders found the man with a gunshot wound to a leg....
Biden, Jill Biden share memories of 2021 visit with queen
LONDON — U.S. President Joe Biden, in London for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, said Sunday that his heart goes out to her family because her death has left it with a “giant hole.” “Sometimes you think you’ll never, you’ll never overcome it,” said Biden, who often speaks in...
Tailgaters come from far and wide for Steelers home openerVideo
Despite the fun happening during tailgating at the first Steelers home game Sunday morning, plenty of folks were serious. Serious about their food. Serious about their tailgating setup. And certainly serious about the game. “All right, buddy, that’s enough, let’s go,” said Jackson Hanley’s dad as the 11-year-old Atlanta resident...
Hurricane Fiona rips through powerless Puerto RicoVideo
HAVANA — Hurricane Fiona struck Puerto Rico’s southwest coast on Sunday as it unleashed landslides, knocked the power grid out and ripped up asphalt from roads and flung the pieces around. Forecasters said the storm would cause massive flooding and threatened to dump “historic” levels of rain, with up to...
Bidens among thousands to pay respects to Queen Elizabeth II
LONDON — U.S. President Joe Biden paid his respects at Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin on Sunday as thousands of police, hundreds of British troops and an army of officials made final preparations for the queen’s state funeral — a spectacular display of national mourning that will also be the biggest...
Busy Beaver officials look to expand use of autonomous inventory robots
Following a successful pilot program at its Irwin store, Busy Beaver officials have put an autonomous robot to work checking inventory at its Delmont location, a move that has bumped up technology across the board. “We’ve implemented electronic shelf labels, which is a change from the pilot, which was done...
