Top Stories category, Page 924
Pro-choice rally in Greensburg offers support for abortion rights, scorn for Supreme Court
Dana Hiteshue stood Wednesday along Main Street in downtown Greensburg, joined by some 70 other people who voiced their support for women’s reproduction rights and shouted their disdain for the male-dominated Supreme Court that last week overturned the constitutional right to an abortion. The mother of a daughter and grandmother...
Pittsburgh City Councilman Corey O’Connor poised to become Allegheny County’s controller
Pittsburgh City Councilman Corey O’Connor is slated to take over as Allegheny County Controller, the county’s top fiscal watchdog. The position opened up after former controller Chelsa Wagner was elected as an Allegheny County Common Pleas judge. O’Connor said he sent a letter to Gov. Tom Wolf earlier this year...
Jan. 6 hearings ‘poisoned’ jury pool, says attorney for Shaler riot suspect
An attorney for a former Shaler Area substitute teacher charged in the Capitol riot contends the Jan. 6 committee hearings in Washington, D.C., are poisoning the jury pool and producing evidence that must be turned over to the defense. In a motion to compel discovery filed Monday, the attorney representing...
Jan. 6 committee subpoenas Pat Cipollone, former White House counsel
WASHINGTON — The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection issued a subpoena Wednesday to former White House counsel Pat Cipollone, who has been linked to meetings in which lawyers debated strategies to overturn former President Donald Trump’s election loss. The committee said that it required Cipollone’s testimony after obtaining...
PennDOT: Northbound Route 28 ramp to Delafield Avenue reopened to traffic
The Route 28 northbound ramp to Delafield Avenue has reopened to traffic after being shut down seven weeks for construction, PennDOT announced on Wednesday. Work on the northbound Exit 7 ramp is part of a $15.32 million project to improve a 3.5-mile stretch of Route 28 between the Delafield Avenue...
A viral reprise: When covid-19 strikes again and again
For New York musician Erica Mancini, covid-19 made repeat performances. March 2020. Last December. And again this May. “I’m bummed to know that I might forever just get infected,” said the 31-year-old singer, who is vaccinated and boosted. “I don’t want to be getting sick every month or every two...
Pittsburgh revenues bouncing back from pandemic, controller says
Pittsburgh’s revenues are rebounding after the covid pandemic, City Controller Michael Lamb said Wednesday. Lamb’s analysis comes as his office released its popular annual financial report, which he described as “the layman’s version” of the comprehensive annual report he released in April. “It really is a good overview of where...
Wigle Whiskey ordered to pay $39K for making workers share tips with managers
The owners of Wigle Whiskey were ordered by the U.S. Department of Labor to repay nearly $39,000 to 41 employees after an investigation showed that servers were required to share tips with managers and supervisors. The Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division said Pittsburgh Distilling Co., which operates as...
Singer R. Kelly sentenced to 30 years in sex trafficking caseVideo
NEW YORK — R&B star R. Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison Wednesday for using his superstardom to subject young fans — some just children — to systematic sexual abuse. The singer and songwriter, 55, was convicted of racketeering and sex trafficking last year at a trial that...
Court says Port Authority ban on Black Lives Matters masks unconstitutional
A federal appeals court on Wednesday said that a Port Authority policy prohibiting its employees from wearing Black Lives Matters masks was overbroad and violated their First Amendment rights. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld an earlier decision by U.S. District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan. “The government may...
Tree of Life shooting suspect could stand trial next year
The federal judge presiding over the case involving the mass shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in 2018 anticipates a 2023 trial. During an hour-long status conference in the criminal case against Robert Bowers on Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Robert Colville said that a date spanning March through May...
Monkeypox case diagnosed in Pittsburgh
A case of monkeypox has been detected in Pittsburgh, the infected patient’s primary care office said Wednesday in a statement. The individual received testing for monkeypox at Central Outreach Wellness Center on the North Side, according to the statement, and the state Department of Health confirmed the result Tuesday. The...
$90K worth of raw fentanyl seized, man arrested after bust in Ligonier Borough
About $90,000 worth of raw fentanyl in powder form was confiscated from a Cambria County man Tuesday after an arrest in Ligonier Borough, according to authorities. Cortez M. Haselrig, 25, who lives near Johnstown, is being held at Westmoreland County Prison on charges of drug possession, criminal use of a...
Asphalt prices pinching municipal paving budgets
Municipalities in the midst of summer paving programs across the region are feeling the impact of the rise in asphalt prices. “It is definitely putting a strain on our budget, what we are able to do in-house,” said Tom Bell, Greensburg’s public works director. The city budgeted asphalt at $51...
Fireworks, parades, festivities planned to celebrate Fourth of July
As the Fourth of July weekend approaches, there are many local celebrations to choose from to spend the holiday with family and friends. Here’s a list of fireworks displays, parades and festivities: ALLEGHENY COUNTY Brentwood On July 3, Brentwood will hold its Street Fair and the Battle of the Barrel,...
Thunderbolt, Steel Curtain at Kennywood temporarily closed for maintenance
Two roller coasters have come to a halt at Kennywood, at least temporarily. The Thunderbolt and Steel Curtain are closed for maintenance, the West Mifflin park confirmed on Wednesday. “We appreciate our guests’ patience as we work closely with the ride’s manufacturer to reopen Steel Curtain as soon as possible,”...
Clinics scramble to divert patients as states ban abortion
They call her, desperate, scared and often broke. Some are rape and domestic violence victims. Others are new mothers, still breastfeeding infants. Another pregnancy so soon, they say, is something they just can’t handle. “Heart wrenching,” said Angela Huntington, an abortion navigator for Planned Parenthood in Missouri, who is helping...
Trump painted in testimony as volatile, angry president
WASHINGTON — When President Donald Trump learned his attorney general had publicly rejected his election fraud claims, he heaved his lunch at the wall with such force that the porcelain plate shattered and ketchup streamed down. On the morning of Jan. 6, 2021, consumed by crowd size concerns, he directed...
Mt. Pleasant-area locals wonder how Excela, Butler intended merger will impact Frick Hospital
As a merger between the Excela and Butler health systems is pursued, those in the Mt. Pleasant area are unsure how the intended merger will affect the local Excela Frick Hospital, but many wish for a positive outcome. “Mergers can go either way,” Mt. Pleasant Mayor Diane Bailey said. “I’m...
Allegheny County Democrats push for Pitt funding as Pa. budget deadline edges closer
Democrats continue to throw their full support behind the University of Pittsburgh’s funding after Pennsylvania House Republicans added a take-it-or-leave-it amendment to Pitt’s appropriation bill. Numerous Allegheny County Democrats gathered Tuesday in Harrisburg to speak in favor of Pitt and decry the amendment that would restrict state-related universities from receiving...
Giant Eagle to pay employee out-of-state travel costs for abortions
Giant Eagle Supermarkets said Tuesday it will reimburse expenses for insured employees and family members who have to travel between states for comprehensive healthcare, including access to reproductive care. The move by the O’Hara-based supermarket chain mirrors policies announced by other corporations since the U.S. Supreme Court ruling last week...
Foot doctor practicing in 5 counties accused in state grand jury indictment of sexually abusing a dozen women
A foot doctor with offices in five Western Pennsylvania counties faces multiple felony charges after a state grand jury heard testimony from a dozen women who accused him of sexually assaulting them during office visits. Some of the women told the grand jury that the doctor got them hooked on...
U.S. officials announce more steps against monkeypox outbreak
NEW YORK — Reacting to a surprising and growing monkeypox outbreak, U.S. health officials on Tuesday expanded the group of people recommended to get vaccinated against the monkeypox virus. They also said they are providing more monkeypox vaccine, working to expand testing, and taking other steps to try to get...
2 detained after shots fired in Downtown Pittsburgh
A man and woman have been detained for questioning in connection with gunshots fired Tuesday afternoon in downtown Pittsburgh, city police said. There were no injuries as a result of gunshots being fired near the intersection of Fort Duquesne Boulevard and Sixth Street around 3:30 p.m. Police did not say...
Supreme Court justices nix 2nd mostly Black district in Louisiana for 2022
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Tuesday put on hold a lower court ruling that Louisiana must draw new congressional districts before the 2022 elections to increase Black voting power. With the three liberal justices dissenting, the high court short-circuited an order from a federal judge to create a second...
