Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 601
Tropical Storm Franklin nears Dominican Republic and Haiti, bringing ‘life-threatening flooding’Video
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Authorities in the Dominican Republic shut schools and government offices Tuesday as Tropical Storm Franklin took aim at the island of Hispaniola that it shares with Haiti and threatened to unleash landslides and heavy floods. The storm was expected to make landfall on the island...
A day after protest, West Virginia University announces 1 administrator’s retirement, HR restructuring
West Virginia University says it intends to restructure a large administrative unit on the Morgantown campus as part of its continuing review and transformation efforts. It was not known if or how many jobs would be impacted, beyond a vice president who is retiring and will not be replaced. Changes...
Pittsburgh police: Stolen dump truck hits vehicles in Shadyside, 1 hurt
One person was injured and several vehicles damaged when a stolen landscaping dump truck plowed into up to four cars Tuesday afternoon in Pittsburgh’s Shadyside neighborhood. The incident began shortly before 3 p.m. when Pittsburgh police responded to reports of a landscaping company dump truck being stolen from the 4900...
Longtime defense attorney acquitted in Allegheny County Jail drug caseVideo
A longtime defense attorney accused of sneaking drug-soaked papers into Allegheny County Jail more than four years ago is not guilty. Paul Gettleman, 78, was charged with contraband, drug delivery and conspiracy, after a grand jury said he delivered papers soaked in K-2, or synthetic marijuana, to an inmate at...
Local doctors: New RSV vaccine can help protect newborns from severe illness
A newly approved vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus, better known as RSV, will give pregnant moms a chance to protect their babies from wheezing, coughing and other more serious symptoms that can land infants in the hospital. Pfizer Inc.’s Abrysvo is the first vaccine for use during pregnancy that works...
Pittsburgh police issue charges in hit-and-run that killed 66-year-old pedestrian
Pittsburgh police issued an arrest warrant Tuesday in connection with an April 11 hit-and-run that killed a Pittsburgh pedestrian. Joseph Betha, 54, of Wilkinsburg has been charged with homicide by vehicle, accidents involving death, accidents involving death while not property licensed, and involuntary manslaughter, police spokesperson Cara Cruz said. It...
Nurse’s aide accused of prying rings from Murrysville dementia patient’s hand
A nurse’s aide accused of stealing a Murrysville dementia patient’s engagement and wedding rings likely pried them from the elderly woman’s hand, police said. Christina L. Ankney, 39, of Braddock is charged with robbery in connection with the incident at Redstone Highlands in Murrysville. A warrant has been issued for...
Cleveland-Cliffs wants U.S. Steel to disclose other buyout proposals
Cleveland-Cliffs, the steelmaker attempting to acquire the historic Pittsburgh company U.S. Steel, wrote a letter demanding that U.S. Steel disclose any other buyout offers it has received. Last week, the United Steelworkers union (USW) said it would only back the Cleveland-based steel producer in acquiring U.S. Steel. The letter, dated...
Spotted lanternflies are swarming Western Pennsylvania
When Moshe Marvit got off work in Green Tree this week, he noticed that every single car in the parking lot was covered in spotted lanternflies. “There were tens of thousands of them in a small space,” said Marvit, a lawyer who lives in Pittsburgh’s Greenfield neighborhood. “It felt like...
Dick’s Sporting Goods to lay off employees as retail theft cuts into profits
Dick’s Sporting Goods said on Tuesday that retail theft has hurt its profits, one of the reasons the Findlay-based chain is laying off an unspecified number of employees. “We are conducting a business optimization of our organization to better align our talent, organizational design and spending in support of our...
Father of NFL cornerback Caleb Farley killed in explosion at North Carolina home
RALEIGH, N.C. — The father of Tennessee Titans cornerback Caleb Farley died overnight in an explosion that destroyed the NFL player’s North Carolina home and left another person injured, authorities said. Robert M. Farley, 61, was found dead in the debris of the Lake Norman, N.C., house Tuesday morning, said...
Western Overlook to be dedicated at Flight 93 National Memorial
A new project at the Flight 93 National Memorial will be finished in the coming weeks. Work on the Western Overlook is being completed and a dedication ceremony is planned for Sept. 9 after the annual Heroes’ Walk, said Friends of Flight 93 executive director Donna Gibson. The renovated area...
TSA confiscates 26th gun of year at Pittsburgh airport, matching last year’s total
An Indiana County man was stopped from carrying a handgun onto a Pittsburgh International Airport flight Monday, bringing the total number of firearms confiscated there since January to 26, matching 2022’s figure, officials said. Transportation Security Administration officers detected the .380 caliber gun in the man’s backpack, TSA spokesperson Lisa...
NTSB will not investigate fatal Plum home explosion for now
The National Transportation Safety Board has opted not to investigate this month’s massive fatal explosion in Plum based on preliminary information that the source of the blast was inside the home that blew up — not in an outside pipeline. That could change, as more details emerge about the disaster...
Pennsylvania court says state police can’t hide how it monitors social media
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that the state police can’t hide from the public its policy on how it monitors social media. Advocates for civil liberties cheered the decision. The law enforcement agency had argued that fully disclosing its policy for using software to monitor online postings may...
Who’s in, who’s out, who’s boycotting: The 8 candidates expected on-stage for the first GOP debate
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Donald Trump won’t be on the Republican debate stage Wednesday. But the former president is driving the conversation on and off the debate stage anyway. Trump supporters including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene will be in Milwaukee. There are questions about how many of his campaign surrogates will...
Downtown Pittsburgh to get temporary public bathrooms
Officials are working to have temporary public bathrooms installed in Downtown Pittsburgh, but it’s unclear when and where they’ll be available. “We understand the critical need,” said Maria Montaño, a spokesperson for Gainey. “Right now there are zero public bathrooms in the Downtown neighborhood, and that creates a lot of...
Large crowd voices opposition as Highlands renews superintendent’s contract
An overflow crowd turned out Monday to hear the Highlands School Board consider a contract renewal for Superintendent Monique Mawhinney, seven months before her term is set to expire. Close to 100 people crammed into the high school library, with several asking the board to consider the district’s economics, test...
Temporary Cleveland-to-Pittsburgh flight coming this winter
Though just a bit over two hours away by car, Alaska Airlines soon will be offering a flight from Cleveland to Pittsburgh this winter. The daily, afternoon flight only travels one way from Cleveland to Pittsburgh. According to the Alaska Airlines website, tickets start as low as $129. The Seattle-based...
How Trump’s attacks on prosecutors build on history of using racist language and stereotypes
NEW YORK — Donald Trump’s aggressive response to his fourth criminal indictment in five months follows a strategy he has long used against legal and political opponents: relentless attacks, often infused with language that is either overtly racist or is coded in ways that appeal to racists. The early Republican...
Man shot in Pittsburgh’s Beechview neighborhood has died
A man wounded in a shooting Thursday in the Beechview neighborhood of Pittsburgh has died. The victim, Carl J. Meyers, 21, of Pittsburgh, was taken from the scene to the UPMC Mercy emergency room and died two days later in the hospital, according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office....
‘It’s a small number of people who are very loud’: Local libraries grapple with book challenges, bans
Over the past few years, Librarian Sharon Coronado has been tested by select patrons who oppose the presence of certain voices in books at Ligonier Valley Library, particularly the voices of people of color and LGBTQ individuals. In one instance, Coronado recalls, a group of parents came into the library...
Morning Roundup: Truck crashes into Etna house, sends person to hospital
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Tuesday, Aug. 22: Truck crashes into Etna house, sends 1 to hospital At least one person was taken to a hospital after a truck crashed into a house Monday evening in Etna , Tribune-Review news partner WTAE-TV reported. The...
Whistleblower lawsuit claims Pa. state police bypassed spouse of fellow officer for promotion
A state police trooper is claiming she was passed over for promotions on the force in retaliation for her husband’s role as a whistleblower. Lauren Spallone of Unity, a 14-year veteran with the Pennsylvania State Police and a sergeant since 2019, claims in a lawsuit filed in Westmoreland County court...
Rustic Ridge families organize 2-day back-to-school event for neighborhood kids
In her 20 years as a resident of Plum’s Rustic Ridge neighborhood, Jennifer Corson, a mother of three, had never seen an event like she saw Monday. Another resident, Kristie Keller, organized a two-day back-to-school affair to help the area’s children prepare for their return to the classroom Wednesday while...
