Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 417
Yes, allergy season is particularly bad. Here’s why it’s about to get worse — and what you can do to cope
Allergy sufferers need not look past their vehicle’s hood to see why this season is so bad — if their watery eyes let them. Tree pollen allergy season is nearing its peak, but relief might be available at your local pharmacy or grocery aisle. Grass pollen season is right around...
How 5 Black women are impacting Pittsburgh’s wellness scene
Black women in Pittsburgh are making a mark in the wellness community. Their unwavering commitment and innovative approaches are breaking down barriers and fostering a sense of inclusivity and belonging in a realm often perceived as inaccessible to people of color. The five Black women in this story are a...
Panera to stop serving Charged Sips drinks after wrongful death lawsuits over caffeine content
Panera Bread said it’s discontinuing its Charged Sips drinks that were tied to at least two wrongful death lawsuits due to their high caffeine content. Panera didn’t say Tuesday whether the drinks were being discontinued because of the lawsuits or health concerns, and it wouldn’t comment on the timeline for...
Missing Mount Oliver area teen found safe
Pittsburgh police announced a teen boy missing from the Mount Oliver area Tuesday was found safe overnight....
Pro-Palestine protest in Pittsburgh focuses on Rafah, Israeli actionsVideo
Chants of “free, free Palestine,” “Come November, we’ll remember” and “Hands off the Middle East” rang out through Downtown Pittsburgh streets as about 200 pro-Palestinian protesters marched from Market Square to the City-County Building and back Tuesday evening. Billed as a “Hands off Rafah” emergency rally by the same group...
TV Talk: Does WQED still care about local programming?
WQED Multimedia eliminated five positions on April 29 amid a wave of staff dissatisfaction and concern about the future of the station’s local TV programming. Four of the employees exited immediately while one, IT director Mike Kobulnicky, was “invited” to stay on through June as the station outsources IT and...
Pennsylvania Senate approves GOP’s $3B tax-cutting plan, over objections of top Democrats
HARRISBURG — Republican lawmakers on Tuesday advanced legislation for a $3 billion tax cut, their just-unveiled counterproposal to Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro ‘s budget plan as each side offers a competing vision for how to use a massive cash surplus sitting in the state treasury. The tax legislation cutting taxes...
New Kensington man charged in high-speed turnpike chase in Somerset County
A New Kensington man was among three people arrested by state police Monday after leading them on a high-speed chase in Somerset County that at one point reached up to and over 120 mph. Pharoah Sewell, 20, of New Kensington was charged along with Davontae Trevon Clayton, 19, of Belle...
Judge in Trump’s classified documents case cancels May trial date; no new date set
WASHINGTON — The federal judge in Florida presiding over the classified documents prosecution of former President Donald Trump has canceled the trial date for May 20, postponing it indefinitely. The order from U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon had been expected in light of still-unresolved issues in the case and because...
Judges find Westmoreland register of wills in contempt of court
Westmoreland County’s embattled Register of Wills Sherry Magretti Hamilton faces a potential jail sentence for failing to comply with multiple court orders from two judges. Common Pleas Judges Harry Smail Jr. and Jim Silvis on Tuesday found Hamilton in direct criminal contempt on three counts: disobedience or neglect by an...
TikTok sues U.S. government, saying ban violates 1st Amendment
TikTok, the popular social video app, sued the U.S. government on Tuesday, saying the country’s new law that could ban the app violates First Amendment rights to free speech. President Biden last month signed into law a bill that would effectively ban the service in the U.S. if its Chinese...
Stormy Daniels evokes Ben Roethlisberger during Trump trial
Former Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was mentioned Tuesday during Stormy Daniels’ testimony in former President Donald Trump’s election interference trial. Daniels testified under oath about the sexual encounter she says she had with Trump in 2006 and the alleged $130,000 deal to keep it a secret, made just days before...
Jamil Bey takes over as Pittsburgh planning czar
An Overbrook resident with a doctorate in geography is Pittsburgh’s new planning director. City Council unanimously approved Jamil Bey as the director of the Department of City Planning. Bey will oversee a roughly $9 million budget and 56 full-time employees at the department, which manages land use, zoning and neighborhood...
Florida man who ripped off feds in $97M health care fraud gets 10 years in prison
A Florida man responsible for $97 million in health care fraud across three separate schemes in Western Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Florida will spend 10 years in federal prison. Daniel M. Hurt, 60, of Fort Lauderdale was also ordered to pay that amount in restitution. On Tuesday, Hurt’s attorney said...
Pittsburgh passes new tax break to tackle high office vacancies Downtown
Developers who transform Downtown Pittsburgh’s empty offices into housing or new commercial uses will now qualify for special tax relief as city officials try to revitalize an area with significant vacancies and declining property values. Pittsburgh City Council on Tuesday approved a new tax break — which can last for...
Where Pennsylvania has lost Democrats since 2008, and what it means for November
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. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — For the first time in at least 16 years, the Democratic and Republican parties in Pennsylvania are...
Boy Scouts of America changing name to more inclusive Scouting America after years of woes
IRVING, Texas — The Boy Scouts of America is changing its name for the first time in its 114-year history and will become Scouting America. It’s a significant shift as the organization emerges from bankruptcy following a flood of sexual abuse claims and seeks to focus on inclusion. The organization...
Verona woman killed in Allegheny River Boulevard crash
A 70-year-old Verona woman was killed Tuesday morning when her vehicle veered into opposing traffic on Allegheny River Boulevard, according to Allegheny County Police. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the victim as Dorothy (Jill) Demko of Verona. Police said Demko’s Ford EcoSport crossed the center line and struck...
Greensburg council to vote on body-worn camera grant, event approval process
Greensburg is expected to outfit its police force with its first set of body-worn cameras. City council will vote next week to accept a $140,000 grant from the state Department of Community and Economic Development to purchase 27 body-worn cameras — one for each of its police officers, said Chief...
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
NEW YORK — Stormy Daniels took the witness stand Tuesday at Donald Trump’s hush money trial, describing for jurors a sexual encounter the porn actor says she had with him in 2006 that resulted in her being paid off to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later. Jurors...
Denial and uncertainty are looming over a Biden-Trump rematch 6 months out from Election Day
WILMINGTON, N.C. — This North Carolina voter is nervous. Will Rikard, a 49-year-old father of two, was among several hundred Democrats who stood and cheered for Joe Biden as the first-term president delivered a fiery speech recently about the billions of dollars he has delivered to protect the state’s drinking...
Tim Benz: If the Pirates ‘haven’t figured out yet’ how to promote Paul Skenes, don’t make it harder than it needs to be
At 17-19, not much has gone right for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2024. At least not since that 11-5 start. At least not before they got back-to-back series on the schedule against the lousy Los Angeles Angels after facing the even worse Colorado Rockies. The hitting has been bad for...
New Kensington gift shop, Ethical Hope, seeks to make a difference around the world
Each of the items for sale in Meredith Hedeen’s New Kensington gift shop has a story behind it. They come from all over the world: hand-painted ceramics made in home studios in San Juan de Oriente, a town in Nicaragua; hand-sewn goods made by a seamstress at a cooperative workshop...
Man arrested for terrorizing North Braddock pastor now charged in cousin’s death
The man arrested for pointing a gun at a North Braddock pastor inside a church on Sunday has been charged with killing his cousin earlier that day. Bernard Polite, 26, is charged with criminal homicide in connection with the shooting death of Derek Polite, 56. Two of Derek Polite’s cousins...
Crews search central Pa. waterways for Pittsburgh area woman police say was killed
The search for a missing Western Pennsylvania woman last seen in the Harrisburg area and deemed a homicide victim was concentrated Friday along two creeks in northern York County. Susquehanna Township police sent out a thank you via Crimewatch on Monday that expressed “its sincere gratitude for the agencies, organizations,...
