Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 650
McKees Rocks shooting turns into a police chase; officers fire 3 times
Ashooting on Thursday afternoon in McKees Rocks prompted a police chase through several municipalities that ended in Robinson, according to Allegheny County Police. Police said three officers fired at the car as the chase ensued. One of the suspects was shot and wounded, but police did not say whether he...
1 killed in Washington County wreck
One motorist was killed in a crash Thursday afternoon in Washington County. Derek Hartzog, 32, of Washington, died following the wreck in South Franklin Township, Washington County Coroner Tim Warco reported. The cause of death is pending autopsy results. Hartzog was driving a northbound vehicle that left the road and...
Air quality alert issued for region
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has declared a Code Orange Action Day for air quality on Friday in Western Pennsylvania because of smoke from wildfires in Canada. The orange alert indicates unhealthy pollution levels for sensitive groups of people. Young children, the elderly and those with respiratory problems such...
Trump charged over classified documents in 1st federal indictment of an ex-presidentVideo
MIAMI — Donald Trump said Thursday that he has been indicted on charges of mishandling classified documents at his Florida estate, igniting a federal prosecution that is arguably the most perilous of multiple legal threats against the former president as he seeks to reclaim the White House. The Justice Department...
Main suspect in 2005 disappearance of Natalee Holloway arrives from Peru to face chargesVideo
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Joran van der Sloot, the chief suspect in the 2005 disappearance of Natalee Holloway, arrived in the United States from Peru on Thursday to face charges that he attempted to extort money from the missing teen’s mother. An FBI-operated plane carrying van der Sloot landed at Birmingham’s...
Westmoreland park police hired to work at Steelers training camp
Westmoreland County Park Police again will help with security at Pittsburgh Steelers training camp this summer at Saint Vincent College near Latrobe. Commissioners on Thursday approved a new deal for park police officers to patrol the three-week event, set to begin July 27, mirroring the pact approved last year. The...
Pittsburgh Regional Transit riders involved in November crash sue driver who struck bus
Two Pittsburgh Regional Transit bus riders involved in a head-on crash in November sued the driver who hit them Thursday in the Court of Common Pleas. Victoria Coleman, of the Hill District, and John Peters, who listed his home address as the H. John Heinz III Department of Veterans Affairs...
Supreme Court rules in favor of Black Alabama voters in unexpected defense of Voting Rights ActVideo
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday issued a surprising 5-4 ruling in favor of Black voters in a congressional redistricting case from Alabama, with two conservative justices joining liberals in rejecting a Republican-led effort to weaken a landmark voting rights law. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh...
State Rep. Mandy Steele seeks answers to lingering questions from implosion of smokestacks in Springdale
The fallout from the former Cheswick Generating Station’s smokestack implosion last week has caught the attention of at least one state lawmaker. In a statement issued Tuesday, state Rep. Mandy Steele, D-Fox Chapel, acknowledged the two Springdale smokestacks — about 750 and 550 feet tall — fell June 2 where...
Republican Joe Rockey picks up key labor endorsements in Allegheny County executive race
The Republican candidate for Allegheny County executive picked up a rare, but not unprecedented, endorsement from a large labor union on Thursday. The Pennsylvania District Council of the Laborers International Union of North America endorsed Republican Joe Rockey, a retired chief risk officer at PNC. He is facing state Rep....
2 men convicted in Downtown Pittsburgh killing of 18-month-old
De’Avry Thomas was a happy toddler. “He never really cried,” said Khalil G. Darden, Jr., 22, of Pittsburgh, the boy’s godfather. “He always wanted to have fun. He was always smiling.” De’Avry just 18 months old, was killed in a drive-by shooting Downtown over Memorial Day Weekend in 2022. On...
2nd week of Pittsburgh synagogue attack trial wraps up with testimony from police, FBI
The tourniquet wasn’t working. In the minutes after Pittsburgh SWAT Officer Anthony Burke was shot through his right hand during a gunfight at the Tree of Life synagogue in Squirrel Hill, he moved to another upstairs classroom, and another team member placed the tourniquet around his arm. “My hand was...
Proposal would provide bike-share memberships to all Pittsburgh city employees
City of Pittsburgh employees could receive annual bike-share memberships under a proposal before City Council. Councilman Bobby Wilson, D-North Side, introduced legislation this week to enter into an agreement with bike-share provider POGOH to provide all of the city’s thousands of employees with memberships that would include unlimited 30-minute rides....
Larry Scirotto sworn in as Pittsburgh’s police chief
Larry Scirotto on Wednesday was formally sworn in as Pittsburgh’s 55th police chief. Scirotto has been serving as acting chief since Mayor Ed Gainey nominated him for the position last month. City Council unanimously confirmed his appointment weeks after he was nominated. A Pittsburgh native, Scirotto, 49, retired from the...
Murrysville staple Dick’s Diner under new ownership
Vasil Oblockovich’s work day starts about 3 a.m., when he turns on the lights in the kitchen at Dick’s Diner and starts a full day of pastry baking. Oblockovich is part of a new team at the longtime Murrysville restaurant, which opened in 1946 and marked its 75th anniversary in...
Republican presidential field is largely set. Here are takeaways on where the contest stands
NEW YORK — After a trio of new announcements this week, the Republican Party’s 2024 presidential field is all but set. A handful of stragglers may jump in later, but as of now there are at least 10 high-profile Republican candidates officially seeking their party’s nomination. And with the announcement...
Pat Robertson, broadcaster who helped make religion central to GOP politics, dies at 93
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Pat Robertson, a religious broadcaster who turned a tiny Virginia station into the global Christian Broadcasting Network, tried a run for president and helped make religion central to Republican Party politics in America through his Christian Coalition, has died. He was 93. Robertson’s death Thursday was...
Hempfield high school project cost rises to $132 million
“Hyperinflation” has driven the Hempfield Area High School revitalization project to an estimated cost of $132 million, according to new details shared by school officials and engineers at a town hall meeting. Originally estimated in January 2022 to cost between $97.4 million to $109.9 million, the project aims to keep...
Morning Roundup: Mars woman charged with homicide after deadly Butler Township wreck
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Thursday, June 8: Mars woman charged with homicide by vehicle after deadly Butler Township wreck A woman who was driving one of the vehicles involved in a fatal crash in Butler Township Tuesday was charged with homicide by vehicle,...
Penn State New Kensington supports proposal for student housing in downtown New Ken
A New Kensington business owner wants to build housing for college students and others on Fifth Avenue. Jake Lydick, owner of Eye-bot Aerial Solutions and Patriot Technology Holdings, has a plan to build residential units in existing buildings at 713, 715 and 717 Fifth Ave. The addresses are among nine...
House Republicans pull back contempt charge against FBI director Wray over Biden doc
WASHINGTON — The Republican chairman of the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday called off a vote on a contempt of Congress charge against FBI Director Christopher Wray, accepting a last-minute offer by the bureau to allow the full committee access to a confidential document of an unverified tip about President...
Justice Department moves closer toward possible indictment of Trump in classified documents investigationVideo
WASHINGTON — A federal grand jury investigating Donald Trump in Florida heard from at least one additional witness Wednesday amid signs that the Justice Department was moving toward a possible indictment over the former president’s mishandling of classified documents. In the last week, his lawyers have met with Justice Department...
Colleges and universities moving away from standardized tests in admissions decisions
More than eight out of every 10 colleges and universities that award bachelor’s degrees no longer require or do not consider standardized tests in admissions decisions, according to a national survey released Wednesday. The latest tally from FairTest, an Arlington, Mass., group that has long been critical of the SAT...
Claims for properties impacted by Springdale implosion due Friday
Springdale-area residents impacted by the smokestack implosion last week at the former Cheswick Generating Station have until 5 p.m. Friday to submit claims and concerns to the property owner. Sam Miller of Louisville, Ky.-based Charah Solutions said crews are continuing to address the aftermath of the implosion, where two smokestack...
New Kensington defendant expected to testify in second day of sex assault trial
Chester Elmer Green Jr. of New Kensington is expected to take the stand Thursday in his defense against charges that he sexually assaulted a 9-year-old girl almost a decade ago. His accuser, now in her late teens, testified Wednesday in Westmoreland County Court that she wasn’t sure of the date...
