Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 622
Sara Innamorato’s state House exit triggers Allegheny County special election
Allegheny County will see another special election this September, the fourth time in 2023 that voters in the county will pick a replacement for state representative. With State Rep. Sara Innamorato, D-Lawrenceville, resigning to focus on her run for Allegheny County Executive, the 21st state House District is vacant and...
Officers begin added South Side patrols
Pittsburgh police has deployed a dedicated unit patrolling the entertainment district in the city’s South Side neighborhood on weekends. The unit includes seven Pittsburgh police officers Thursdays through Sundays, Police Chief Larry Scirotto told the Tribune-Review last week. That effort has started this week, public safety spokesperson Cara Cruz said...
Pa. antlerless deer license sales double last year’s pace as 2nd round nears
The second round of 2023-24 antlerless deer license sales begins at 8 a.m. Monday as the Pennsylvania Game Commission tries to catch up with a huge increase in the number of permits sold during the first round. The agency is allowing antlerless deer licenses to be purchased anywhere hunting licenses...
Judge sets a trial date for May 2024 in Trump’s classified documents case in Florida
WASHINGTON — A federal judge in Florida has scheduled a trial date for next May for former President Donald Trump in a case charging him with illegally retaining hundreds of classified documents. The May 20, 2024, trial date, set Friday by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, is a compromise between...
Morning Roundup: 3 injured in 2-vehicle crash on North Side
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Friday, July 21. 3 injured in 2-vehicle crash on North Side A two-vehicle crash on the North Side of Pittsburgh has left three people injured, one in critical condition. A report from Pittsburgh Public Safety said the crash occurred...
Tony Bennett, masterful stylist of American musical standards, dies at 96
NEW YORK — Tony Bennett, the eminent and timeless stylist whose devotion to classic American songs and knack for creating new standards such as “I Left My Heart In San Francisco” graced a decadeslong career that brought him admirers from Frank Sinatra to Lady Gaga, died Friday. He was 96,...
Severe thunderstorms move through Western Pa.; thousands left without power
Severe thunderstorms and damaging winds moved through Western Pennsylvania late Thursday, leaving thousands in the region without power. As of 11:30 a.m., just under 2,000 customers remained without electricity, including about 1,600 West Penn Power customers. While the number of outages has dropped as the day wears on, the bulk...
Think pink: Barbie-mania takes over Western Pennsylvania
Sorry, Taylor Swift, you’re old news. This week, it’s all about Barbie. The long-awaited, first live-action movie about the world’s best-selling fashion doll arrives in theaters this weekend with Margot Robbie in the title role and Ryan Gosling as her perpetual boyfriend, Ken. “Barbie” finds the pair kicked out of...
5 things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend: July 21-23
We’ve made it to the weekend. If you aren’t attending Picklesburgh or the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix in Schenley Park, here are some other things to do. Edible garden The fifth annual Swissvale Edible Garden Tour is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday. The free event showcases gardeners...
$25 million in upgrades underway at Highlands schools
With the start of school just over a month away, Highlands is readying its buildings with safety upgrades such as lighting and new sidewalks in time for the first class bell. Projects are underway at all four campuses as well as the community center. The cost is about $25 million....
Hempfield closes on former state prison property, bulks up security
Hempfield officially received a full box of keys to the former SCI Greensburg state prison facility after closing on the property last week. “There are a lot of keys to a prison, I found out,” township manager Aaron Siko joked at a meeting this week. The township supervisors announced the...
Penn State tuition to increase by 2% for in-state University Park students
In-state undergraduate tuition is going up this fall and next by 2% on Penn State University’s main campus, but will be frozen for Pennsylvania undergraduates both years on branch campuses statewide. University trustees, meeting Friday at Penn State Behrend in Erie, locked in 2023-24 and 2024-25 tuition schedules for the...
Tiny downtown LA store near Skid Row sells winning Powerball jackpot ticket worth over $1 billion
LOS ANGELES — A tiny neighborhood store in downtown Los Angeles sold the winning ticket for the Powerball jackpot worth an estimated $1.08 billion, the sixth largest in U.S. history and the third largest in the history of the game. The winning numbers for Wednesday night’s drawing were: white balls...
Johnstown couple charged in death of man whose body was found in Indiana County
A Johnstown couple has been charged in connection with the shooting death of a man whose body was discovered July 14 along an Indiana County road. State police have charged Justin Allen Green, 41, with homicide and robbery in the death of Daryl Vincent Lee Jr., 44, of Johnstown. Green...
Pollution from Canada’s wildfires was similar to breathing secondhand smoke indoors, study shows
The Canadian wildfires this summer exposed people to secondhand smoke at levels not seen since smoking was banned indoors in 2006, according to preliminary findings from Rutgers University researchers. Since the worst of the pollution from June 6 to 8, Philadelphia and other East Coast cities have continued to experience...
RFK Jr. denies making antisemitic comments as congressional Republicans give him a platformVideo
WASHINGTON — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. worked to defend himself Thursday against accusations that he traffics in racist and hateful online conspiracy theories, testifying at a House hearing on government censorship despite requests from outside groups to disinvite the Democratic presidential candidate after his recent antisemitic remarks. The Republican-led Select...
Pittsburgh’s South Side not getting more violent, crime stats show
Though some have voiced concerns that Pittsburgh’s South Side neighborhood is more dangerous, crime data from Pittsburgh police indicate violent crime there is decreasing. From January through June, the neighborhood saw eight aggravated assault charges, 21 simple assault charges and four criminal mischief charges, according to crime statistics provided by...
Pittsburgh area baristas strike as part of Starbucks union national bus tour
Starbucks workers from across the country joined local baristas at the company’s Bloomfield and Eastside locations on Thursday in a strike against stalled contract negotiations and alleged union busting tactics. The pickets are part of a 13-city Starbucks Workers United bus tour that kicked off in Louisville on July 16....
PennDOT secretary, Pittsburgh officials call for transit funding during budget impasseVideo
Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration met with local officials Thursday in Downtown Pittsburgh to stress the importance of transit and infrastructure funding as the state and region looks to repair hundreds of roads and bridges. PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll met with officials on the Smithfield Street Bridge, a 140-year-old span undergoing...
‘We need homes, not vacant lots’: Pittsburgh council hears public land bank support
Pittsburgh City Council on Thursday heard public support for legislation that aims to make it easier for the city’s land bank to take the city’s blighted properties and bring them back to reuse. The proposed legislation deals with what city officials refer to as the tri-party agreement, which outlines how...
Expert details Pittsburgh synagogue shooter’s troubled childhood ‘laden with trauma’
Time and again, Robert Bowers’ mother was told her young son needed help. When he was an infant, both parents threatened to kill him. When he was a toddler, his speech regressed so much he stopped talking altogether. When he had a rash as a young boy, a doctor thought...
Plans being drafted for public works facility in Brackenridge
Brackenridge officials are eyeing a new public works building to replace one that dates to 1900 and has floors that are caving in. The construction is expected to cost about $750,000, all of which will be covered by grants awarded to the borough. Officials hope to move forward in the...
Court releases family photos of Pittsburgh synagogue shooting victims
There were more than 11 victims when a gunman attacked congregants inside the Tree of Life synagogue in Squirrel Hill on Oct. 27, 2018. Families and friends of those killed. Injured congregants. Police officers and first responders. This week, as the trial entered its sentencing phase, government prosecutors told their...
Fetterman says Senate debate performance sent him into deep depression
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman shared the details of the inner turmoil that led him to seek treatment for depression earlier this year with Time magazine in a story published Thursday. The Pennsylvania Democrat told Time national political correspondent Molly Ball that his stilted performance in the Oct. 25, 2022, debate...
Medical marijuana company to close Pennsylvania operations, laying off 76
A medical marijuana company, Goodblend Pennsylvania LLC, is closing its operations in the state, affecting 76 jobs. The company has a facility on Beaver Avenue in Pittsburgh’s Chateau neighborhood, which is expected to shutter by Sept. 15. It also has dispensaries along Baum Boulevard in Friendship and one in Erie,...
