Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 427
Remains found in Fayette County identified as missing 17-year-old girl
Skeletal remains found last week in Fayette County have been identified as a 17-year-old girl who was reported missing in November, according to Coroner Bob Baker. The remains found in North Union were that of Kaitlin Whoolery, he said. Authorities were led April 16 to an area near Washington Avenue...
Demonstrators move protest off Pitt campus to Schenley Plaza
A group that includes University of Pittsburgh students began Tuesday occupying the lawn outside of the Cathedral of Learning to demand the school divest itself from war-related investment in Israel. As the crowd grew throughout the day, the protest moved across the street to Schenley Plaza. The students announced their...
Tabloid publisher says he pledged to be Trump campaign’s ‘eyes and ears’ during 2016 race
NEW YORK — A veteran tabloid publisher testified Tuesday that he pledged to be Donald Trump ‘s “eyes and ears” during his 2016 presidential campaign, recounting how he promised the then-candidate that he would help suppress harmful stories and even arranged to purchase the silence of a doorman. The testimony...
Kennywood kept Steel Curtain closure secret to bolster sales, lawsuit says
A New Kensington man is suing Kennywood, contending the West Mifflin amusement park withheld information about a seasonlong closure of its flagship attraction to bolster its season pass sales. Kennywood officials last week announced the Steel Curtain roller coaster would not open in the 2024 season, disappointing riders and leaving...
Greensburg nonprofit hosts workplace diversity conference to boost Westmoreland businesses, create welcoming community
Carlotta Paige wants people to feel welcome in Westmoreland County. Paige of Unity grew up in Greensburg. Apart from a 20-year stint in New York, she has lived in Westmoreland County her entire life. When Paige heard complaints from Westmoreland residents and business owners about population decline, she took action....
Jerry’s Custard to open 2nd store in Indiana Township
Jerry’s Custard will be taking some of its sweet treats to the other side of the Allegheny River this summer. The Lower Burrell business, situated at 2705 Seventh Street Road, is opening a “mini version” of its store at 725 Dorseyville Road in Indiana Township, owner Tammy Connolly said. Connolly...
Judge conducts hearing on request to hold Trump in contempt for social media posts
NEW YORK — Prosecutors in the historic hush money trial of Donald Trump urged a judge Tuesday to fine him and hold him in contempt over social media posts that they say violated a gag order barring attacks on witnesses, jurors and others involved in the case. Citing 10 posts...
Primary 2024: ‘No sense complaining if you’re not voting’
It’s Primary Day in Pennsylvania. Among voters’ options on this year’s ballot will be candidates for president, the U.S. Senate, and the state’s attorney general. Despite it being a presidential election year, local officials say they expect low voter turnout. That could be due to the fact that both of...
Morning Roundup: 1 stabbed in Beltzhoover; police collecting old medications
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Tuesday, April 23: Man stabbed in Pittsburgh’s Beltzhoover neighborhood A man was stabbed early Tuesday morning inside a residence in Pittsburgh’s Beltzhoover neighborhood. Pittsburgh police were called to the 100 block of Climax Street just before 2:30 a.m. Officers...
Fire at Unity shopping plaza damages multiple businesses
Jackie Tustin was treated like family when she worked once a week at Roadman’s Country Living Shoppe in Unity. “This isn’t my full-time job. It’s my fun job,” she said. But she and a few other employees are out of work, at least for now, after a fire Tuesday severely...
Election primer: What to know heading into the 2024 primary
There’s no way around it: This year’s Pennsylvania primary lacks much intrigue. The presidential contenders from both major parties clinched their nominations weeks ago. The state’s U.S. Senate race also has only one nominee for each party: incumbent Democratic Sen. Bob Casey and Republican David McCormick, a former hedge fund...
Regional surveillance system will record license plate images on major roads
Five years after toddler Nalani Johnson was kidnapped and murdered, license plate readers that law enforcement officials say could have saved her will be installed in numerous municipalities across Westmoreland County. The readers will be part of a multicounty surveillance network spearheaded by district attorneys and local law enforcement officials....
After hiring new architect, Hempfield ‘moving forward with a stronger team’ for renovation project
A new architect was hired Monday to work on Hempfield Area School District’s long-stalled high school renovation project. The school board hired Crabtree, Rohrbaugh & Associates of Mechanicsburg to replace Bellevue-based Core Architects, which resigned from the district’s high school renovation project in February. The district’s solicitor and administration will...
New government heat risk tool sets magenta as most dangerous level
WASHINGTON — Forget about red hot. A new color-coded heat warning system relies on magenta to alert Americans to the most dangerous conditions they may see this summer. The National Weather Service and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday — Earth Day — presented a new online...
Biden will send Ukraine air defense weapons, artillery once Senate approves, Zelenskyy says
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday the U.S. will send badly needed air defense weaponry once the Senate approves a massive national security aid package that includes $61 billion for Ukraine. Zelenskyy said in a posting on X that Biden also assured him that...
Papua New Guinea leader takes offense after Biden implies his uncle was eaten by cannibals there
MELBOURNE, Australia — Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister James Marape accused Joe Biden of disparaging the South Pacific island nation by implying that an uncle of the U.S. president had been eaten by “cannibals” there during World War II. Biden’s comments offended a key strategic ally as China moves to...
Passover begins amid ongoing antisemitism and unrest in Israel
Shari Lowenstein Zatman of O’Hara is entering Passover with a mix of emotions this year. “I definitely feel like we’re observing Passover with a heavier heart this year. ’Let My People Go’ is something we say as part of the holiday and it’s taken on a relevant meaning with our...
Pro-Palestinian protests sweep U.S. college campuses following mass arrests at Columbia
NEW YORK — Columbia canceled in-person classes, dozens of protesters were arrested at Yale and the gates to Harvard Yard were closed to the public on Monday as some of the most prestigious U.S. universities sought to diffuse campus tensions over Israel’s war with Hamas. The various actions followed the...
Kenneth Mash re-elected leader of Pa. state university union
Kenneth Mash has been re-elected president of the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties, the 5,000-plus member union for professors and coaches across the State System of Higher Education. The union on Monday announced result of voting by delegates across the state. Mash, a political science professor at...
Pittsburgh City Council’s private meetings raise questions about Sunshine Law compliance
For years, Pittsburgh City Council members have gathered behind closed doors to talk in private about public policy. No one keeps a log of who attends. No minutes are maintained of what is said. And council members, desperate to ensure they don’t have too many people present, sometimes duck out...
Affordable housing in Pittsburgh clears hurdle with City Council vote
Pittsburgh City Council has just made it easier to build townhomes and row houses, a step that supporters say will boost the city’s affordable housing stock. The move came Monday in a unanimous vote approving a zoning change to expand where attached housing can be built in the city. Attached...
Steelers not ‘overly thirsty’ entering draft despite glaring hole at center
The work done in the offseason, via signings and trades, has saturated the Pittsburgh Steelers roster and kept coach Mike Tomlin hydrated as the NFL Draft approaches. “We’ve addressed a lot of needs, and you don’t feel overly thirsty in any particular area,” Tomlin said Monday at a pre-draft news...
We reviewed every song on Taylor Swift’s ‘The Tortured Poets Department’
Taylor Swift’s 11th studio album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” was released Friday. But, surprise, it wasn’t just one album. She released a double album. Swifties, who thought they were getting 17 new songs, actually received 31. No torture at all to Taylor Swift fans. But did we need 31 songs?...
Express files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, announces store closures
NEW YORK — Express Inc — once a trendsetter of casual office attire that has struggled to compete with the likes of Zara and H&M — has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The retailer based in Columbus, Ohio, and founded in 1980 also said Monday it is seeking to...
Judge orders mom of accused McKeesport cop killer to remove online video of shooting
A judge Monday ordered the mother of a man charged with killing a McKeesport police officer to remove video of the shooting and other material from an online fundraising page within 24 hours. The order, by Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Bruce Beemer, followed a hearing to address prosecution fears...
