Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 406
Norfolk Southern will pay $15 million fine as part of federal settlement over Ohio derailment
The federal government agreed to a modest $15 million fine for Norfolk Southern over last year’s disastrous derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, and the railroad promised to pay more than $300 million to complete the efforts to improve safety that it announced after the crash and address community health concerns....
Government sues Ticketmaster owner and asks court to break up company’s monopoly on live events
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department sued Ticketmaster and its parent company Thursday, accusing them of running an illegal monopoly over live events in America and asking a court to break up the system that squelches competition and drives up prices for fans. Filed in federal court in Manhattan, the sweeping...
Cemetery operator laments lack of volunteers to place flags at Mon Valley Memorial Park
Operators of the Mon Valley Memorial Park Cemetery were unable to find enough volunteers to place flags Thursday at the gravesites of 2,000 veterans. The cemetery in Donora, Washington County, is one of 26 cemeteries in five states owned by Life Remembered. The director of administrative support at Life Remembered,...
Steelers, UPMC Magee hold SteelHERS Social at Acrisure Stadium
Mary Beth Shaw ran a route, caught a pass from Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Rodney Williams and gave wide receiver Calvin Austin III a little shove to reach the end zone for the touchdown. Shaw was one of 1,000 women on the Acrisure Stadium field Wednesday evening. It was the...
After Times Square controversy, breastfeeding billboards arrive in Philly
Drivers near Callowhill Street in Philadelphia and on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Plymouth Meeting and Lower Southampton can now see a billboard that was, for a time, deemed too controversial for Times Square. With pregnant belly out and breasts covered by her cookies, said to stimulate milk production, cookbook author...
U.S. intelligence agencies’ embrace of generative AI is at once wary and urgent
ARLINGTON, Virginia — Long before generative AI’s boom, a Silicon Valley firm contracted to collect and analyze non-classified data on illicit Chinese fentanyl trafficking made a compelling case for its embrace by U.S. intelligence agencies. The operation’s results far exceeded human-only analysis, finding twice as many companies and 400% more...
Paul Skenes on an encore for his Chicago masterpiece: ‘I’m going to do something cooler than that in my career’
Pittsburgh Pirates rookie pitcher Paul Skenes mesmerized the baseball world with his outing Friday at Wrigley Field. He was spinning a no-hitter with 11 strikeouts before getting pulled after six innings. Pitch No. 100: ????6 innings0 hits11 K's Paul Skenes. Wow. pic.twitter.com/3nDXqJfJ8w— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) May 17, 2024 Now, Skenes...
Morning Roundup: Firefighter among 3 injured in Washington County house fire
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Thursday, May 23: 3 injured in Washington County house fire Three people, including a firefighter, were injured in a fire that destroyed a Washington County house early Thursday morning. The fire broke out around 12:20 a.m. at a house...
Natural gas well fracking plans on hold in Indiana Township
A decision regarding a rezoning request in Indiana Township that could pave the way for new gas well construction won’t come for two months. The township’s planning commission voted 4-0 Wednesday night, May 22 before an overflow crowd to postpone its decision on a proposal by Cranberry-based MPF Management for...
Florida Sen. Rick Scott, a close Trump ally, joins race to succeed Mitch McConnell as GOP leader
WASHINGTON — Florida Sen. Rick Scott said Wednesday that he will run for Senate Republican leader when Mitch McConnell steps down from the post, becoming the third Republican in the race. South Dakota Sen. John Thune, the current No. 2 Republican in the Senate, and Texas Sen. John Cornyn have...
Experts encourage property reassessment at Allegheny County public hearing
Allegheny County could be on a collision course with a countywide property reassessment, and experts at a Wednesday public hearing encouraged the county to take that step. Several public school districts across Allegheny County have voiced support of a countywide reassessment, and Pittsburgh Public School district has actually sued to...
‘I was afraid of dying’: Trooper defends killing knife-wielding Washington County man
Pennsylvania State Trooper Chad Weaver said that in the moment before he shot Anthony Gallo 10 times with his AR-15 rifle in a Washington County trailer, the suspect, just 2 feet away, took a step toward him and tried to stab him. “Anthony Gallo didn’t comply with my commands, and...
Dueling Pittsburgh Juneteenth celebrations spark controversy, criticism of Gainey
The longtime organizer of Pittsburgh’s most well-known Juneteenth festival harshly condemned Mayor Ed Gainey on Wednesday after learning that the city will not fund his event but will instead pay for a separate celebration of the federal holiday by a different promoter. The move marks a shift by Pittsburgh, which...
Alleged victim takes stand in Homewood school sex assault case
A jury trial opened Wednesday for a former Pittsburgh Faison School fourth-grade teacher who authorities allege sexually assaulted a student multiple times when the pair were alone. Police arrested James Zeigler, 42, of Pittsburgh, last year on six criminal charges — including involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child, and...
Second flag carried by Jan. 6 rioters displayed outside house owned by Justice Alito, report says
WASHINGTON — A second flag of a type carried by rioters during the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was displayed outside a house owned by Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, The New York Times reported Wednesday. An “Appeal to Heaven” flag was flown outside Alito’s beach...
Pa. prison officials want $300M in added funding despite declining population, closures
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania Department of Corrections wants more than $300 million in next year’s budget despite a declining population of incarcerated people and the...
Former Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley says she will vote for Donald Trump
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Nikki Haley said Wednesday that she will be voting for Donald Trump in the general election, a notable show of support given their intense and often personal rivalry during the Republican primary calendar. But Haley also made it clear that she feels Trump has work to do...
Michigan farmworker diagnosed with bird flu, becoming 2nd U.S. case tied to dairy cows
NEW YORK — A Michigan dairy worker has been diagnosed with bird flu — the second human case associated with an outbreak in U.S. dairy cows. The patient had mild eye symptoms and has recovered, U.S. and Michigan health officials said in announcing the case Wednesday. The worker had been...
Prosecutor in Trump classified papers case calls claims of hostility toward co-defendant ‘garbage’
FORT PIERCE, Fla. — A lawyer for Donald Trump’s personal valet accused federal prosecutors Wednesday of targeting the valet because he refused to cooperate against the former president in the classified documents case. A prosecutor called the claim “garbage.” Walt Nauta was charged alongside Trump last year in a federal...
Judge signs off on $600 million Ohio train derailment settlement but residents still have questions
A federal judge has signed off on the $600 million class action settlement over last year’s disastrous Norfolk Southern derailment in eastern Ohio, but many people who live near East Palestine are still wondering how much they will end up with out of the deal. Preliminary approval for the settlement...
Norwin board grapples with covering $7.8M deficit
Even with a 6.8% property tax increase, Norwin School District will have to use $4.8 million of its reserves to balance a proposed $91 million budget for the 2024-2025 school year. If it foregoes the tax hike, the district would deplete its reserves from $9.7 million to $1.9 million to...
Hempfield moving forward with part of $16M municipal complex, park project
Hempfield supervisors are revising some of their plans for a proposed municipal complex and park to try to lower the project’s price tag and attract additional bidders for the work. The board this week approved bids related to site development for the municipal complex and for a multipurpose building but...
Podcast: Controversy surrounds Pittsburgh’s questionable payments to contractor
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey’s administration is embroiled in a controversy involving questionable payments to a contractor and use of p-cards as payment. The city’s Department of Parks and Recreation department has paid Mario Ashkar almost $23,000 for his work as a contractor. The payments have been via municipal credit cards,...
Development featuring $2M homes proposed near Murrysville Community Park
Murrysville council is considering a developer’s proposal to build 24 luxury homes with an average price of about $2 million just south of Wiestertown and Hilty roads. Paul Fischione initially approached the municipality with a request to rezone about 55 acres near Murrysville Community Park to create 28 large single-family...
Lawsuits claim 66 people were abused as children in Pennsylvania’s juvenile facilities
HARRISBURG — Dozens of children who were sent to juvenile detention centers and similar facilities in Pennsylvania suffered physical and sexual abuse including violent rapes, according to four related lawsuits filed Wednesday. The lawsuits describe how 66 people, now adults, say they were victimized by guards, nurses, supervisors and others....
