Top Stories category, Page 926
Jan. 6 panel calls surprise hearing to present new evidence
WASHINGTON — The House Jan. 6 panel is calling a surprise hearing this week to present evidence it says it recently obtained, raising expectations of new bombshells in the sweeping investigation into the Capitol insurrection. The hearing scheduled for 1 p.m. on Tuesday comes after Congress left Washington for a...
More passenger rail service coming between Pittsburgh and Harrisburg
Pittsburgh and other Western Pennsylvania municipalities are set to receive additional passenger rail service to Harrisburg, with plans to add another line within three years of the start of construction. The state of Pennsylvania and Norfolk Southern first proposed adding a passenger line in February. The private railway owns the...
Pa. Supreme Court to consider proposed UPMC South hospital in Jefferson Hills
The state Supreme Court has agreed to take up the zoning case involving UPMC’s plans to build a 63-bed hospital in Jefferson Hills amid the community’s opposition to it. Last year, Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court overturned a decision by an Allegheny County judge and declared that UPMC could build the facility...
Russia slips into historic default — what does it really mean?
LONDON — Russia appeared to default on its foreign debt for the first time since the Bolshevik Revolution more than a century ago, further alienating the country from the global financial system following sanctions imposed over its war in Ukraine. Moscow owed $100 million in interest on one bond priced...
Gainey, some Western Pa. officials seek to create local gun ordinances
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey and other regional leaders on Monday called for the right to pass gun reform laws on a local level if state officials in Harrisburg don’t enact such measures. Preemption laws prohibit cities like Pittsburgh from instituting gun regulations, but some officials are urging state leaders to...
Supreme Court sides with coach who sought to pray after game
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday sided with a football coach from Washington state who sought to kneel and pray on the field after games. The court ruled 6-3 along ideological lines for the coach. The justices said the coach’s prayer was protected by the First Amendment. “The Constitution...
Highlands Elementary students collect coins for Kendall, a rescue dog with medical issues
A Tarentum foster dog born with his intestines wrapped around several organs is on the road to recovery thanks in part to efforts by Highlands Elementary students. Kendall, an 8-month-old terrier mix housed at Tarentum-based Paws Across Pittsburgh, has undergone three surgeries to fix a multitude of birth defects, including...
Large raises for Allegheny County’s top staffers raise timing questions
Some of Allegheny County’s top staffers have received large pay raises over the past few years, and elected officials and a good government group are questioning the timing and amount of the raises. Allegheny County salary documents published online show County Manager William McKain and Jennifer Liptak, the chief of...
Motorcycle crashes with vehicle on Route 28
A motorcycle and a vehicle were involved in a crash Monday morning on Route 28. The wreck was in the northbound lanes near the Delafield Avenue exit. The crash occurred around 5:30 a.m., according to an Allegheny County 911 dispatcher. One person was injured in the wreck, the dispatcher said,...
Summer food programs providing free meals to kids in need look for more participation
For Bailey Smith, having the option of free, nutritious lunches for her two children through Greensburg-based United Church of Christ parishes during the summer means “a lot.” Smith, 32, lives in Hawksworth Garden Apartments, a subsidized housing complex in Greensburg, and works just down the road at the Gateway Convenience...
Allegheny County detectives seek tips from public about shooting in Wilkinsburg
Allegheny County police are seeking the public’s help with information about a shooting on Sunday evening in Wilkinsburg. Detectives from the county’s homicide unit responded to the 1300 block of Coal Street shortly before 6 p.m. for a report of a shooting, according to a news release. First responders found...
Safe use of firearms, responsible gun ownership focus of free training in New Kensington
Bill Cleaver feels safer having a gun around the house. But he doesn’t think he will be fully equipped to defend himself until he gets some training. His wife, Kathy, said she doesn’t want to have a gun in her home unless she knows how to use it properly. The...
A ‘sucker punch’: Some women fear setback to hard-won rights
At 88, Gloria Steinem has long been the nation’s most visible feminist and advocate for women’s rights. But at 22, she was a frightened American in London getting an illegal abortion of a pregnancy so unwanted, she actually tried to throw herself down the stairs to end it. Her response...
As Senate-confirmed justices end Roe, how will voters react?
WASHINGTON— The end of Roe v. Wade started in the Senate. It was the Senate Republican partnership with President Donald Trump to confirm conservative judges, and transform the federal judiciary, that paved the way for the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling to overturn the constitutional right to abortion. Senate Republican leader...
Pride parades march on with new urgency across U.S.
NEW YORK — Parades celebrating LGBTQ pride kick off in some of America’s biggest cities Sunday amid new fears about the potential erosion of freedoms won through decades of activism. The annual marches in New York, San Francisco, Chicago and elsewhere take place just two days after one conservative justice...
2 wounded, 2 charged in shooting at Rostraver restaurant/bar, police pursuit
Rostraver Township police have charged a Monroeville man with shooting two other men early Sunday during a fight outside Sweeney’s Steakhouse bar and grill in Rostraver. A Charleroi woman is charged with fleeing the scene along Rostraver Road at high speed behind the wheel of a car occupied by two...
Pittsburgh police investigate shootings that left 1 dead, 1 critical
One of two men who were wounded in shootings and arrived at a Pittsburgh hospital early Sunday has died, according to city police. Officials identified the victim Sunday afternoon as Joseph Mitchell, 39, of Pittsburgh. Detectives from the Violent Crime Unit are working to determine where the shootings took place....
Covid variants inevitable as long as virus continues to spread, doctors say
The virus that causes covid-19 has mutated again and again, and experts say new variants will continue, in part because of the nature of the virus and also because large swaths of the population choose not to be vaccinated. “Should we expect more variants? The answer is yes,” said Dr....
Phase 4 Learning Center’s graduation honors 2 students killed by gun violence
Two chairs sat empty, each with a purple balloon, red rose wrapped in a black ribbon and photos of the teens on what was supposed to be their graduation day. Matthew Steffy-Ross, 17, of Pitcairn died on April 17, Easter Sunday, on Pittsburgh’s North Side. Marvin D. Matthews, 19, of...
14th PA Hero Walk for veterans in need ends statewide trek in Lower Burrell
Spending two weeks walking across the state for the 14th annual PA Hero Walk gives you plenty of time to think, said Travis Reesman after he and five other military veterans were met by an honor guard at the Lower Burrell VFW on Saturday. But the 28-year-old from Kittanning said...
Taking flight: Competitors from across the U.S., Canada in Pittsburgh for Pogopalooza
They say it’s like flying. “They” are athletes who jump on a pogo stick and spring into the air — reaching heights of eight to 10 feet and sometimes higher. There was some flying happening Friday night at the 21st annual Pogopalooza — the world championships of pogo stick jumping...
Air Quality Action Day alert issued for Southwestern Pa.
The National Weather Service and state Department of Environmental Protection have issued an air quality alert for Saturday in several Southwestern Pennsylvania counties, including Westmoreland and Allegheny. The alert also impacts Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette and Washington counties. The Code Orange Air Quality Action Day alert was prompted by conditions...
Gunfire on Pittsburgh’s South Side sends 3 to hospital
An altercation on Pittsburgh’s South Side early Saturday resulted in gunfire that wounded three female victims, according to city police. Police responded to ShotSpotter alerts for multiple shots fired shortly after 3:30 a.m. on South 12th Street, between East Carson and Sarah streets. Soon after, one of the victims arrived...
Biden signs landmark gun measure, says ‘lives will be saved’
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Saturday signed the most sweeping gun violence bill in decades, a bipartisan compromise that seemed unimaginable until a recent series of mass shootings, including the massacre of 19 students and two teachers at a Texas elementary school. “Lives will be saved,” he said at...
Pittsburgh man arrested after 3 wounded, officer shot during gunfire in Knoxville
A Pittsburgh man is under arrest after, police say, he shot a police officer after fleeing another shooting scene. Julian Reese-Krasausky, 21, of Pittsburgh’s Elliot neighborhood was arrested after a foot chase into Mount Oliver, according to police. Reese-Krasausky is accused of shooting a pursuing officer. The bullet struck the...
