Top Stories category, Page 927
Hundreds in Pittsburgh protest abortion rulingVideo
Chants of “My body, my choice,” “Stand up, fight back,” “Vote” and “Free, safe and legal” rang out through Downtown Pittsburgh Friday evening as several hundred people took to the streets to protest the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade. The court’s 6-3 ruling puts the abortion issue back...
Funerals for Westmoreland County’s unclaimed veterans moved to larger venue
Funeral services next month for 15 veterans whose remains sat unclaimed at the Westmoreland County Coroner’s Office will be relocated to Hempfield Park to accommodate a larger-than-expected crowd. Officials said there has been an “overwhelming response” from the community to attend the ceremony. Coroner Tim Carson said Friday he expects...
ABORTION DECISION: The ruling, the reaction, the future
On Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court ended constitutional protections for abortion. The 6-3 ruling puts the issue back in the hands of states for the first time in nearly 50 years. The court’s conservative majority overturned the 1973 case of Roe v. Wade and 1992’s Planned Parenthood v. Casey. The...
Guardian Angels Parish expected to close 5 of 7 churches
Meager finances and dwindling attendance will force Guardian Angels Parish in Harrison to reduce its seven churches into two campuses later this year. “Decisions to recommend the closing of churches are never easy and never taken lightly,” said the Rev. John Lendvai in a letter to parishioners. “This is a...
Congress sends landmark gun violence compromise to Biden
WASHINGTON — The House sent President Joe Biden the most wide-ranging gun violence bill Congress has passed in decades on Friday, a measured compromise that at once illustrates progress on the long-intractable issue and the deep-seated partisan divide that persists. The Democratic-led chamber approved the election-year legislation on a mostly...
Biden vows abortion fight, assails ‘extreme’ court rulingVideo
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden said Friday he would try to preserve access to abortion after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, and he called on Americans to elect more Democrats who would safeguard rights upended by the court’s decision. “This is not over,” he declared. “Let’s be very...
Pennsylvania average gas price dips below $5
The average price for a gallon of gasoline has dipped back below $5 in Pennsylvania, according to AAA. The state’s average fell from $5 on Thursday to $4.98 on Friday, AAA reported. The average has come down 6 cents per gallon in the past week. The average cost has been...
Summer swelter: Persistent heat wave breaks records, spirits
From the normally chilly Russian Arctic to the traditionally sweltering American South, big swaths of the Northern Hemisphere continued to sizzle with extreme heat as the start of summer more resembled the dog days of August with parts of China and Japan setting all-time heat records Friday. In the United...
Scottdale Pride expands for year 2, aims to launch nonprofit
Until last year, there was no such thing as an LGBTQ Pride event in Scottdale. Now, the Scottdale Pride committee is looking not only to expand the second annual event, but also the group behind it. Stephen Elcock said he and the other committee members seek to launch an official...
Uniontown woman dead following shooting outside bar
A Uniontown woman was shot and killed outside a city bar on Thursday night, according to police. Officers responded to the 200 block of North Gallatin Avenue outside McPatton’s Pub around 10:20 p.m., where they found Samantha Harden, 34, with a single gunshot wound. She was pronounced dead a short...
Turnpike interchange at I-79 and Southern Beltway now fully open
The Pennsylvania Turnpike interchange connecting Interstate 79 and the Southern Beltway will open fully on Friday. The 19-mile Southern Beltway links I-376 near the Pittsburgh International Airport to I-79 at the line between Allegheny and Washington counties. The $800 million project was undertaken with the goal of easing congestion on...
5 things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend: June 24-26
It’s the final weekend of June. Here are some ways to spend it. Music festival The WYEP Music Festival is Saturday at Schenley Plaza in Oakland. Pittsburgh Community Broadcasting Corporation, the parent organization of 91.3 WYEP, will host a day of live free music from a variety of genres. The...
Senate OKs landmark gun violence bill, House passage is next
WASHINGTON — The Senate on Thursday easily approved a bipartisan gun violence bill that seemed unthinkable just a month ago, clearing the way for final congressional approval of what will be lawmakers’ most far-reaching response in decades to the nation’s run of brutal mass shootings. After years of GOP procedural...
Hyde Park man guilty of third-degree murder in wife’s 2017 death
Jeffrey Mark Fondrk told a jury Thursday that as his wife lay unconscious on the floor of their Hyde Park home, he extracted a gate from under her body and stepped over her to pour a glass of Pepsi and did so again to sit on a sofa and watch...
Pittsburgh argues against release of documents in Fern Hollow Bridge collapse civil case
The City of Pittsburgh is fighting a request by attorneys representing people injured in the Fern Hollow Bridge collapse to turn over inspection reports, maintenance and payment records. Attorneys for Port Authority bus driver Daryl Luciani, who was driving across the bridge when it collapsed Jan. 28, filed a motion...
Jan. 6 panel hears of Trump’s pressure on Justice DepartmentVideo
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump hounded the Justice Department to pursue his false election fraud claims, striving in vain to enlist top law enforcement officials in his desperate bid to stay in power and hosting a dramatic Oval Office showdown in which he weighed replacing the agency’s leader with a more...
Allegheny County GOP chair interviewed by FBI in probe of Trump and 2020 election
FBI agents interviewed Allegheny County Republican Chairman Sam DeMarco at his North Fayette home on Thursday as part of an investigation into whether President Trump tried to send alternate electors in several states to Washington in an attempt to reverse the 2020 election. DeMarco, who also is a county councilman,...
Westmoreland sheriff’s department struggles with staffing shortage
Westmoreland County Sheriff James Albert said his department remains substantially understaffed even after 11 deputies were sworn into duty this week. The department remains about 10 staffers short of a full roster of 78 deputies. “We do all the duties we are required to do, but it’s a constant struggle,”...
Residents continue cleanup after storms; some still without power
At 95, Gerry Mohney of Lower Burrell does just fine living by herself. But the spry woman needed a little help Wednesday evening when a powerful storm blew down trees that blocked the front and back doors of her Russell Drive home. The storm knocked out her telephone service, so...
Man gets 22 years in prison for fatal shooting after 2019 Pittsburgh fireworks
A North Side man who unintentionally shot and killed his stepbrother following a fight after the July 4, 2019, fireworks in Pittsburgh will serve at least 22 years in prison. Camerin Caldwell, 21, pleaded guilty in March to third-degree murder; aggravated assault and firearms counts before Allegheny County Common Pleas...
Children under 5 begin receiving covid-19 vaccines in Western Pa.
Children younger than 5 are beginning to receive covid-19 vaccinations in Western Pennsylvania, offering a long-awaited shot of relief for some parents while others say it’s too soon for them to know whether it’s safe for their kids to get vaccinated. While shots have been widely available for older patients,...
Toomey expects gun safety legislation to pass the Senate by week’s end
On the heels of bipartisan gun legislation passing a procedural vote in the U.S. Senate on Thursday, Pennsylvania’s Pat Toomey told reporters on an afternoon conference call he expects the bill to pass the full Senate very soon. “I believe it will pass. I believe it will be signed into...
Feds search Trump-era official’s home, subpoena GOP leaders
WASHINGTON — Federal agents searched a former top Justice Department official’s home and seized records from key Republicans in at least five states linked to Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election, in what were clear signs that authorities are ramping up their investigation of associates of the former...
Allegheny County certifies primary results, with undated mail-in ballots included
The May primary has finally come to a close, with all races decided and certified. The Allegheny County Board of Elections voted Thursday to certify the 2022 primary results with tallies of undated mail-in ballots included, as directed by the Pennsylvania Department of State. This came following the county completing...
Pittsburgh police urge victims of suspected serial rapist to come forward
Police said they believe a Polish Hill man accused of drugging, raping and filming a half dozen women likely has more victims. Eric Jefferson, 39, faced 81 charges across six rape cases as of Thursday when Pittsburgh police said in a statement that evidence in the cases indicates there are...
