Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1713
NYT video spotlights U.S.-Mexico border history as immigration debate continues
Immigration continues to be a hot-button topic, with Washington politicians — including ones who represent Western Pennsylvania — trekking to the U.S.-Mexico border on frequent visits to weigh in on the subject. U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Scranton, last week visited detention centers along the Texas border that house migrants and...
Steelers players arrive at Saint Vincent for training camp
Steelers players have begun arriving at Saint Vincent College for the 54th annual training camp at the campus. Center Maurkice Pouncey and guard Ramon Foster were among the first to arrive. The team will spend the next three weeks at the college dorms getting into shape and practicing before the...
4 hurt in Port Authority bus crash in East Hills
Four passengers were hurt when a car crashed into a Port Authority bus Thursday morning in Pittsburgh’s East Hills neighborhood, officials said. The 77-Penn Hills bus was inbound at about 8:45 a.m. at Frankstown Road and Eymard Street when a car crashed into the driver’s side of the bus, pushing...
Justice Department to restart federal executions for 1st time in 16 years
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department says it will carry out executions of federal death row inmates for the first time since 2003. The department says five inmates will be executed, starting in December. In 2014, President Barack Obama directed the department to conduct a review of capital punishment and issues...
Police: Washington County man flees traffic stop, crashes into 2 houses
A Washington man caught driving without a license plate fled state police for about a mile early Thursday, hitting multiple parked vehicles and two houses, according to police. Troopers were on patrol on Fayette Street and Baird Avenue in Washington County’s Canton Township when a white GMC Sierra Denali without...
Hersheypark’s tallest, fastest coaster, Candymonium, coming in 2020Video
Another marquee roller coaster is coming to Pennsylvania. Following on the heels of the opening of Kennywood’s Steel Curtain roller coaster this month, Hersheypark announced Wednesday that Candymonium is coming next summer. Billed as the “World’s Sweetest Coaster,” Candymonium will open in summer 2020 as part of Hershey’s new Chocolatetown...
Police seek help solving McKeesport homicide
Allegheny County police said they are seeking the public’s help as they investigate the July 13 shooting death of Delquay James. Police and EMS responding to a 911 call just before 8 p.m. found James, 21, dead of multiple gunshot wounds near a vacant home at 2001 Beacon St. in...
ABC’s ‘Good Morning America’ broadcasts live from PittsburghVideo
The first fans lined up on Pittsburgh’s North Shore at 4:45 a.m. Thursday for an opportunity to board the Gateway Clipper’s Empress boat and join the “Good Morning America” live broadcast with Ginger Zee, T.J. Holmes and Tory Johnson. Friends Patty Kolesar of West Mifflin and Marlene Ordonez of McKeesport...
Elizabeth woman charged in connection with man’s 2017 overdose death
An Elizabeth woman is accused of supplying the drugs that caused a man to die from an overdose nearly two years ago. Police arrested Melanie Sphar, 43, on Wednesday and charged her with delivery of drugs resulting in death and three other related felonies in connection with the August 2017...
Puerto Rico governor says he is resigning Aug. 2
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló said late Wednesday that he will resign Aug. 2 after nearly two weeks of furious protests and political upheaval touched off by a leak of crude and insulting chat messages between him and his top advisers. A crowd of...
Man gets 6-plus years for $2M counterfeit Darknet scheme that hit Pittsburgh, Uganda stores
The former head of an international counterfeit operation will spend more than six years behind bars for a scheme that used the so-called “Darknet” to flood Uganda and the Pittsburgh region with more than $2 million in fake U.S. currency, prosecutors said Wednesday. Ryan Andrew Gustafson, 31, also must pay...
Murrysville Council approves GetGo near Giant Eagle on Old William Penn Highway
Murrysville residents will get a GetGo convenience store and gas station off Old William Penn Highway, but they’ll have to get their cars washed elsewhere. Council gave unanimous approval Wednesday night for development of a 4,900-square-foot store alongside a dozen fuel pumps near the existing Giant Eagle. Giant Eagle officials...
Trump vetoes congressional effort to block Saudi arms sales
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Wednesday vetoed a trio of congressional resolutions aimed at blocking his administration from bypassing Congress and selling billions of dollars in weapons and maintenance support to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last month cited threats from Iran...
Pittsburgh man accused of plotting to bomb church to support ISIS pleads not guilty
The 21-year-old Northview Heights man accused of plotting to blow up a North Side church pleaded not guilty to terrorism charges Wednesday in federal court in Pittsburgh. Mustafa Mousab Alowemer, a Syrian native admitted to the United States as a refugee three years ago, was arraigned at the federal courthouse...
Mueller: No Russia exoneration for Trump, despite his claims
WASHINGTON — Robert Mueller, the taciturn lawman at the center of a polarizing American drama, bluntly dismissed President Donald Trump’s claims of “total exoneration” Wednesday in the federal probe of Russia’s 2016 election interference. In a long day of congressional testimony, Mueller warned that Moscow’s actions represented — and still...
Primanti Bros, East End Brewing to unveil pickle beer for Picklesburgh
Pickle beer? What will they think of next? Primanti Bros. Restaurant and Bar has partnered with East End Brewing to create the city’s first pickle-flavored craft beer. “Almost Famous” Pickle Beer is being unveiled Thursday morning at the Primanti Bros. location in Market Square. It's a pretty big dill. We...
Reschenthaler questions Mueller, calls report process ‘un-American’Video
U.S. Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, R-Peters, stuck closely to information that has been released regarding the investigation when questioning Robert Mueller during his testimony Wednesday in Washington. He cited opposition by Janet Reno, attorney general under President Clinton, to publication of reports regarding charges that were not prosecuted. Mueller said Reno’s...
Editorial: Should schools turn down free lunch?
It’s fine for a government official to take a stand, as long as he remembers who is picking up the tab. Wyoming Valley West School District is in Luzerne County, and there’s little reason that it would usually attract national attention. According to measurements by Niche.com, the district’s report card...
Nabbed Mt. Pleasant fugitive tells sheriff’s deputies he was ‘tired of running’
A Mt. Pleasant fugitive on the run since May told Westmoreland County sheriff’s deputies who caught up with him this week at a South Huntingdon truck stop that he was glad to finally get caught. Joseph R. Taylor, 36, was arrested about 10:15 a.m. Tuesday by members of the sheriff’s...
What to expect when ‘GMA’ broadcasts live from Pittsburgh
ABC’s “Good Morning America” will set up shop Thursday morning on Pittsburgh’s North Shore. The show, featuring Ginger Zee, T.J. Holmes and Tory Johnson, airs from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. on WTAE. Here’s what you can expect form the show, part of GMA’s “Big Summer Road Trip” series. STEEL...
Pennsylvania high court declines to review Jerry Sandusky decision
HARRISBURG — Jerry Sandusky isn’t getting a fresh chance to argue in state court he should get a new trial, seven years after the former Penn State assistant football coach was convicted of molesting 10 boys. Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court on Wednesday turned down the 75-year-old’s request it review a Superior...
Actor Rutger Hauer, of ‘Blade Runner’ fame, has died at 75Video
Dutch film actor Rutger Hauer, who specialized in menacing roles, including a memorable turn as a murderous android in “Blade Runner” opposite Harrison Ford, has died. He was 75. Hauer’s agent, Steve Kenis, says the actor died July 19 at his home in the Netherlands. Hauer’s roles included a terrorist...
Man expected to plead guilty in 1999 abduction, rape of Somerset girl
A 50-year-old Maryland man is expected to plead guilty Thursday in federal court to abducting and raping a Somerset County girl in 1999. Timothy D. Nelson Jr. of Cumberland, Md., is scheduled to appear before U.S. District Judge Kim Gibson in Johnstown, according to the court docket. Pennsylvania State Police...
Gateway school board condemns member for ‘interference,’ other alleged infractions
The Gateway School Board condemned a board member’s actions through two resolutions approved during a special meeting last week. One resolution condemned board member Valerie Warning’s “interference and intermeddling with the day-to-day operations” of the school district. The other condemned Warning for “disseminating and divulging executive session materials and subject...
Washington Township man behind new sensory-friendly space at Pittsburgh airport
A sensory-friendly space for children and adults with autism and other special needs was unveiled Wednesday at Pittsburgh International Airport. The idea for the room, called Presley’s Place, came from airport employee Jason Rudge, a heavy equipment operator from Washington Township, Westmoreland County. Rudge and his wife, Sharon, have a...
