Top Stories category, Page 878
Twitter readies edit feature for premium users
Permanently misspelled tweets might soon be a thing of the past. Twitter said Thursday it will roll out an editing feature to subscribers of its premium Twitter Blue service later this month. In an update on its plans to introduce an edit button, the social media company said it has...
Decline in gas prices continuing into Labor Day weekend, price tracking service says
Going into the Labor Day weekend, which many mark as the traditional end of summer, gasoline prices are expected to be the lowest since March 3 and 20% less than July 4, price tracking service GasBuddy said. According to GasBuddy, prices this holiday weekend will continue to fall slightly from...
Police academy classes could help address Pittsburgh police staffing concerns
After some Pittsburgh City Council members raised concerns Wednesday about the dwindling number of officers in the city’s police bureau, Mayor Ed Gainey announced two new police academy classes are planned. The Pittsburgh Bureau of Police now has 852 officers, according to Public Safety spokeswoman Cara Cruz. She said the...
Gov. Wolf starts process to pardon lower-level pot convictions
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvanians with minor, nonviolent marijuana criminal convictions could be pardoned beginning Thursday in a period until the end of the month under a joint effort from Gov. Tom Wolf and Lt. Gov. John Fetterman. The so-called “one-time, large-scale pardon effort” will allow anyone who has been convicted of...
Biden at Independence Hall: Trump, allies threaten democracy
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden warned Thursday night that “equality and democracy are under assault” in the U.S. as he sounded an alarm about his predecessor, Donald Trump, and “MAGA Republican” adherents, labeling them an extremist threat to the nation and its future. Aiming to reframe the November elections as...
Trump documents: No immediate ruling on outside legal expertVideo
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A federal judge heard arguments Thursday on whether to appoint an outside legal expert to review government records seized by the FBI last month in a search of former President Donald Trump’s Florida home. There was no immediate ruling, but the judge had indicated last...
Former McKeesport middle school teacher facing charges of sexually assaulting children
A Pleasant Hills man with ties to at least three Allegheny County school districts is accused of sexually assaulting at least four boys over the past three years, and police said they are investigating “many other potential incidents.” Eric Vincent Fairman, 26, taught middle school math in McKeesport Area School...
Mosaics unveiled at Natrona trail, complete connection to community park
Eighty-six-year-old Helen Strzesieski grew up on Chestnut Street in Natrona, one block from what is now the community park. She was among those who gathered Wednesday for the reveal of a 13-set mosaic panel installed along the Harrison neighborhood’s newest asset, a 100-foot concrete trail that connects to the Allegheny...
Norwin school director sues ex-board president, claims he posted inappropriate photos of her on Facebook
A Norwin School Board member is suing a former school board president, claiming he used an alias on social media to post “decades-old” pictures of her “in a state of partial undress” in her home. School board member Shawna Ilagan of North Huntingdon alleges in the three-count lawsuit that Brian...
Greensburg barber opts for retirement after more than 60 years in business
Ed DiOrio knows the long and the short of hair, and a related fact that’s kept him in business for more than 60 years: “Hair grows back.” At 85, the Greensburg man is retiring Thursday from his trade as a barber, along with the barber chair that has followed him...
Trump legal team says storage of government documents is no ‘cause for alarm’
WASHINGTON — The storage of sensitive government documents at former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida “should have never been cause for alarm,” his lawyers argued in a court filing Wednesday. “The purported justification for the initiation of this criminal probe was the alleged discovery of sensitive information contained...
Sarah Palin loses Alaska House special election to Mary Peltola
JUNEAU, Alaska — Democrat Mary Peltola won the special election for Alaska’s only U.S. House seat on Wednesday, besting a field that included Republican Sarah Palin, who was seeking a political comeback in the state where she was once governor. Peltola, who is Yup’ik and turned 49 on Wednesday, will...
Pittsburgh police: Teen shot multiple times in Carrick
A 16-year-old boy was shot multiple times Wednesday evening in a home across the street from Carrick High School, according to Pittsburgh police. Officers found the boy suffering from several gunshot wounds in the arm and groin area at around 7 p.m. EMS transported him to a hospital in stable...
Brashear High School student caught with gun in backpack
Staff members at Brashear High School caught a student with a gun in their backpack Wednesday after noticing suspicious behavior at dismissal time, a Pittsburgh Public Schools spokeswoman said. Spokeswoman Ebony Pugh said that as students were dismissed, a staff member noticed a student walk into a wooded area before...
Reported sexual assaults across U.S. military increase by 13%
WASHINGTON — Reports of sexual assaults across the U.S. military jumped by 13% last year, driven by significant increases in the Army and the Navy as bases began to move out of pandemic restrictions and public venues reopened, The Associated Press has learned. Mirroring the increase in those reports is...
Thousands of Pa. nursing home workers may strike despite $600M for care in state budget
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 — Months after the state approved hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to bolster caregiving in nursing homes, thousands of...
Pittsburgh’s 3 Sister Bridges to get permanent LED light installations
A temporary lighting display on Pittsburgh’s Rachel Carson Bridge from several years ago was so popular and memorable that Allegheny County officials have decided to make a similar project permanent, and bring artistic lights to all three of the city’s Sister Bridges. The Roberto Clemente Bridge, Andy Warhol Bridge and...
Justice Department is likely to wait past midterms to reveal any charges against Trump, sources sayVideo
WASHINGTON — Federal prosecutors are likely to wait until after the November election to announce any charges against Donald Trump, if they determine he broke laws, according to people familiar. The unprecedented prospect of bringing charges against a former U.S. president is creating intense scrutiny of the Justice Department in...
Single-lane restrictions along Route 28 extended through December
Single-lane restrictions on Route 28 in O’Hara and Harmar will be extended for at least three more months. Work that initially was expected to wrap up in mid-September will run through early December. Motorists should allow extra time for travel, PennDOT announced. Traveling northbound, restrictions will be in place from...
Pittsburgh police, first responders ready for Backyard Brawl, holiday weekend
Pittsburgh safety officials say they are ready for the estimated 70,000 fans set to descend on the city’s North Shore on Thursday for the return of the Backyard Brawl. The Pitt-West Virginia rivalry game, the first in more than a decade, will shut down multiple roads around Acrisure Stadium. Police...
Pittsburgh City Controller Michael Lamb will not seek reelection
Pittsburgh City Controller Michael Lamb announced Wednesday that he will not seek reelection next year. “I think it is important to make this announcement now to give anyone considering a run for City Controller the time to make a thoughtful decision and mount a strong campaign,” he said, adding that...
CDC website for free covid tests set to close
If you want a free covid test sent to your door, you’d better hurry. The popular website run by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that uses the Postal Service to deliver rapid tests to U.S. addresses at no cost will stop taking orders on Friday. The White...
Megabus to expand Pittsburgh service to Buffalo, Central Pa.
A new public transit connection is coming to Pittsburgh thanks to a recently announced partnership between low-cost bus service provider Megabus and Fullington Trailways, a transit service based out of Clearfield County in Central Pennsylvania. The new daily passenger bus service starts on Sept. 1 and will connect Pittsburgh to...
Bed Bath & Beyond to sell stock, shut 150 stores in survival bid
Bed Bath & Beyond said it’s close to securing financing and is putting in place a new business strategy to reduce costs as the troubled retailer tries to convince investors, vendors and customers that it has a credible survival plan. The home-goods retailer said it has received commitments for a...
Updated covid boosters OK’d; shots could begin in days
WASHINGTON — The U.S. on Wednesday authorized its first update to covid-19 vaccines, booster doses that target today’s most common omicron strain. Shots could begin within days. The move by the Food and Drug Administration tweaks the recipe of shots made by Pfizer and rival Moderna that already have saved...
