Top Stories category, Page 9
Lawsuit claims parents allowed ‘party house’ that led to fatal dirt bike crash of Norwin teens
Families of two Norwin High School students killed in a 2024 dirt bike crash have filed wrongful death lawsuits against the parents of two other teens, claiming they allowed and enabled underage drinking that led to the fatalities. In two separate court filings in Westmoreland County Court, the parents of...
FBI seizure of Georgia ballots reflects pursuit of Trump’s 2020 election grievanceVideo
ATLANTA — In an extraordinary scene this week, FBI agents pulled box trucks up to a warehouse south of Atlanta and drove away with hundreds of boxes containing ballots and other documents related to the 2020 election in Georgia’s most populous county. Fulton County, which votes overwhelmingly Democratic, has been...
Ice forces closure of Allegheny River traffic, disrupting Pittsburgh shipping
The Allegheny River in Pittsburgh is shut down to all traffic through March 1. The U.S. Coast Guard made the announcement Thursday afternoon after several inches of ice accumulated in the wake of last weekend’s snowstorm. “I’ve been referring to this as a once-in-a-decade freeze,” said Shane Checkan, navigation chairman...
Democrats, White House strike spending deal that would avert government shutdown
WASHINGTON — Democrats and White House have struck a deal to avert a partial government shutdown and temporarily fund the Department of Homeland Security as they negotiate new restrictions for President Donald Trump’s surge of immigration enforcement. As the country reels from the deaths of two protesters at the hands...
Pollution control equipment breaks down at Clairton Coke Works
The Allegheny County Health Department has found no indication of a long-term health emergency after U.S. Steel’s Clairton Coke Works experienced a breakdown of pollution control equipment this week. A breakdown occurs when equipment stops working properly and releases more pollution than usual, county health officials said in a statement...
West Deer house fire kills homeowner and dog as exploding ammunition hampers firefighters
Fire crews attempting to knock down a West Deer blaze Wednesday were hampered by heavy rounds of ammunition exploding in the back of the home, authorities said. “When we got on scene, there was heavy fire — about 60% involved — and a solid half-hour of ammunition going off,” said...
Allegheny County GOP Chairman Jason Richey to run for lieutenant governor
A Sewickley attorney who serves as Allegheny County’s GOP chairman said Thursday that he is running for lieutenant governor with the endorsement of the presumptive Republican nominee for the state’s highest office, Stacy Garrity. Jason Richey, 54, said he arrived at the decision to run over the past two weeks...
Parkway East’s ‘bathtub’ area reopens after water main break
A stretch of the Parkway East known as the bathtub is reopened Thursday afternoon after a water main break had forced a closure. The portion of I-376 inbound between Grant Street and the Fort Pitt Bridge and the on-ramp from Grant Street to westbound I-376 reopened before 3 p.m., the...
Veteran prosecutor who helmed Pittsburgh synagogue shooting case named U.S. Attorney for Western Pa.
A prosecutor who helped convict the gunman now on death row for fatally shooting 11 congregants in a Squirrel Hill synagogue in 2018 is officially at the helm of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Pittsburgh. U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi has appointed longtime prosecutor Troy Rivetti as U.S. Attorney for...
Watershed association awaiting response on proposed lease with Ligonier Country Market
Susan Huba, executive director of the Loyalhanna Watershed Association, is in waiting mode after Ligonier Township officials told the environmental nonprofit and the organizers of the Ligonier Country Market this week to figure out a solution on their own for the 2026 season. The Country Market, launched about 50 years...
Man who led police on hours-long chase up frozen Allegheny River remains jailed
Police say a Pittsburgh man who shouted to them that he wasn’t “going back to jail” as he led officers on a slow, 5-mile foot pursuit on the frozen Allegheny River on Wednesday is, in fact, back in jail. Gary Cawley, 47, is facing felony charges of burglary and criminal...
UPMC gives $10M to Pittsburgh for ambulances, freeing up money for snowplows
UPMC on Thursday donated $10 million to Pittsburgh for new ambulances, freeing up money for the city to also buy additional snowplows. Mayor Corey O’Connor joined UPMC President and CEO Leslie Davis at a Downtown medic station — standing in front of a 31-year-old ambulance that has been driven over...
Trump’s border czar suggests a possible drawdown in Minnesota, but only after ‘cooperation’
MINNEAPOLIS — The Trump administration could reduce the number of immigration enforcement officers in Minnesota, but only if state and local officials cooperate, the president’s border czar said Thursday, noting he has “zero tolerance” for protesters who assault federal officers or impede the ongoing operation in the Twin Cities. Tom...
Trump facing growing cultural revolt against immigration crackdown
NEW YORK — No longer confined to the partisans and activists, the fierce backlash against Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown has begun to break out across American culture, spanning the worlds of business, sports and entertainment. Bruce Springsteen released a new song Wednesday that slammed “Trump’s federal thugs.” OpenAI chief executive...
Plans are underway to improve signage, lighting and pedestrian access near Westmoreland MallVideo
Hempfield wants to spruce up the Westmoreland Mall area by adding signage, lighting and pedestrian improvements at the entrance into the township. The township supervisors on Monday approved a $30,000 agreement with Remington & Vernick Engineers for a study and conceptual design for improvements focused on a bridge and ramp...
Communities call in the heavy machinery for snow removalVideo
Some towns are trading in their snowplows for front loaders and dump trucks to deal with the remnants of Sunday’s snowstorm. With bitter cold expected to keep the snow piles around for at least a week, communities have nowhere to push the snow, so they plan to pick it up...
Former Wholey’s cold storage site in Strip District could become parking lotVideo
Demolishing the former Wholey’s cold storage warehouse in the Strip District was supposed to make way for a state-of-the-art office complex. But four years after the building came down, developer Acram Group has yet to break ground on the roughly 20-floor project. A sluggish commercial real estate market means the...
CMU to launch AI platform designed to assist students in introductory courses
Some area college students can boost their studies with a Carnegie Mellon University initiative that uses artificial intelligence to improve learning in introductory courses. The $55 million investment between CMU and the Gates Foundation will launch Learnvia, Inc., free AI-enabled courseware for students that combines lessons, homework and an AI...
Trump signals interest in easing tensions, but Minneapolis sees little change on the streetsVideo
MINNEAPOLIS — President Donald Trump seemed to signal a willingness to ease tensions in Minneapolis after a second deadly shooting by federal immigration agents, but there was little evidence Wednesday of any significant changes following weeks of harsh rhetoric and clashes with protesters. The strain was evident when Trump made...
Democrats poised to trigger government shutdown if White House won’t meet demands for ICE reform
WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats are threatening to block legislation that would fund the Department of Homeland Security and several other agencies Thursday, potentially bringing the government a step closer to a partial shutdown if Republicans and the White House do not agree to new restrictions on President Donald Trump’s surge...
Pittsburgh ‘nowhere near done’ plowing, hauling away snow, mayor says
Crews are still working around the clock to plow and salt roads and haul away massive loads of snow from Pittsburgh’s streets, Mayor Corey O’Connor said Wednesday afternoon. About a foot of snow pummeled Pittsburgh on Sunday, marking the snowiest day the city had seen in 16 years. O’Connor in...
Westmoreland County, Allegheny Township sued over 2024 fatal motorcycle crash
The family of a Butler County man killed in a 2024 motorcycle crash filed a lawsuit Wednesday, alleging that poorly marked curves and a history of “roadway departures” at a local intersection led to his death. Roger Davis Jr., 25, died from injuries suffered in a Sept. 15, 2024, crash...
Federal troop deployments to U.S. cities cost taxpayers $496M and counting
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration’s high-profile deployment of federal troops to six U.S. cities has cost taxpayers roughly $496 million through the end of December, and continued deployment could cost over $1 billion for the rest of the year, according to new data from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. President...
Get used to the snow, forecasters say it could be here until March
Get used to the large piles of snow interfering with roadways, piled in parking lots and blanketing a frozen Allegheny River. Meteorologists say they could stick around until March. After Sunday night’s record-setting snowfall buried Western Pennsylvania, residents have been wondering when the snow will finally melt. Five days after...
Man trying to flee police walks several miles up the frozen Allegheny River, authorities say
A man is in stable condition and facing criminal charges after a three-hour police chase Wednesday over a frozen Allegheny River — from Highland Park to Harmar. Pittsburgh police say they were dispatched at 1 p.m. to the 7100 block of Highland Drive for a report of a person trespassing...
