Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 750
Vigil for Brackenridge chief set for Thursday; yard signs also available
The late Brackenridge police Chief Justin McIntire will be honored with a community vigil Thursday at the same community park where he played as a child. People are invited to attend the candlelight event at 7 p.m. in Brackenridge Memorial Park along First Avenue. “It’s really just a time for...
GoFundMe page claiming to raise funds for family of slain Brackenridge police chief has been suspended
The owner of a GoFundMe page claiming to raise funds for slain Brackenridge police Chief Justin McIntire has no connection to his family and has been banned by the company, according to the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office. County sheriff’s office spokesperson Mike Manko issued an initial alert about the page...
Biggest boost in a decade brings maximum Pell Grant award to nearly $7,400 for college students
Millions of college students who receive the federal need-based Pell Grant will see the yearly maximum award increase by $500 to $7,395 this fall, the largest boost in a decade and the second increase in two years. The boost is tucked into the $1.7 trillion omnibus spending bill to operate...
Damar Hamlin jersey sales soaring, raising money for his charity
A message on the Petersen Events Center video board during Tuesday night’s Pitt-Virginia basketball game summed up the way Damar Hamlin’s alma mater feels about him. “Damar, we love you. We are praying for you. Pittsburgh’s always had your back. And now it’s obvious the entire country has your back,...
Here’s what you need to know about new Pa. House Speaker Mark Rozzi
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania House picked state Rep. Mark Rozzi to be the chamber’s new speaker Tuesday in a surprise vote....
Post-Gazette owner to buy City Paper from Butler Eagle
A subsidiary of Block Communications, Inc., which owns the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, is buying the Pittsburgh City Paper from the publisher of the Butler Eagle. The Butler Eagle’s publisher, Eagle Media, acquired the alternative weekly paper in March 2016 from Steel City Media. All employees of the City Paper will be...
Pittsburgh City Council president calls for more oversight of Stop the Violence grants
Pittsburgh City Council President Theresa Kail-Smith introduced legislation Wednesday that would require recipients of the city’s Stop the Violence grants to report to council on how they use the funds. The city announced in November that it had distributed nearly $1 million in Stop the Violence grants to more than...
4 Democrats enter Allegheny County Council races
Four candidates already have come forward to declare runs for Allegheny County Council. Two of the candidates will be challenging incumbent Democrats, while the other two are facing off against one another in the South Hills. The results of these races could shift power on county council, which has seen...
Kevin McCarthy voted down time after time for House speaker
WASHINGTON — House Republicans flailed through a long second day of fruitless balloting Wednesday, unable to either elect their leader Kevin McCarthy as House speaker or come up with a new strategy to end the political chaos that has tarnished the start of their new majority. Yet McCarthy wasn’t giving...
Funeral arrangements set for Brackenridge police Chief Justin McIntire
Funeral arrangements have been set for late Brackenridge police Chief Justin McIntire, who was killed Monday in the line of duty. The arrangements were confirmed by Ross Walker III, owner of Ross G. Walker Funeral Home in New Kensington. Visitation will take place from 2 to 8 p.m. Monday and...
Ward begins brief lieutenant governor term
HARRISBURG — Kim Ward, Pennsylvania’s ranking state senator, ascended to the job of state lieutenant governor Tuesday after Democrat John Fetterman resigned minutes before he was sworn in to office as the state’s newest U.S. senator. Ward, a Republican from Hempfield and the new and first woman to serve as...
Sheriff: No foul play in ‘Avengers’ star Jeremy Renner snow tractor injury
RENO, Nev. — The serious injuries actor Jeremy Renner suffered while using a snow tractor to free a snowbound motorist on a private mountain road near Lake Tahoe appear to be a “tragic accident,” the sheriff in Reno said Tuesday. The 51-year-old “Avengers” star was seriously hurt when he was...
Mega Millions jackpot climbs to $940M after no winner
DES MOINES, Iowa — The Mega Millions jackpot increased to an estimated $940 million after another drawing resulted in plenty of losers but not a single grand prize winner. The numbers drawn late Tuesday were: 25, 29, 33, 41, 44 and gold Mega Ball 18. The next drawing is scheduled...
Pizza driver robbed, abducted in Elliott
A pizza delivery driver was robbed, assaulted and later, abducted Tuesday night in Pittsburgh’s Elliott neighborhood. The male victim told police he was kicked and beat up by three male suspects with their guns and fists around 10 p.m. after stopping his car to locate a pizza delivery address. According...
Boomerang burglars — same Greensburg store targeted again — in 2 days
Greensburg police officers were looking Wednesday for two potential suspects in connection with two burglaries in three days at Puff n Snuff, according to Chief Shawn Denning. The thieves used a tool to break in through a door at the East Pittsburgh Street business in Greensburg Shopping Center, and police...
First gun of 2023 confiscated at Pittsburgh International Airport
An Ohio woman was caught with a loaded handgun inside her makeup bag at Pittsburgh International Airport on Monday. It was the first gun of the new year found at the airport after 26 guns were caught at Pittsburgh Airport checkpoints in 2022. In this case, it was a loaded...
Police chief’s murder was part of a dayslong manhunt
The murder of Brackenridge police Chief Justin McIntire and subsequent death of his killer were the culmination of a days-long manhunt that stretched from the Alle-Kiski Valley to Pittsburgh. This is a timeline of the events as released by Allegheny County Police, the lead investigators in the case: 11:45 a.m....
Brackenridge police chief was ‘ambushed’ by his killer, investigators say
Brackenridge police Chief Justin McIntire was “ambushed” and shot dead while searching the borough’s Third Avenue for a fugitive late Monday afternoon, Allegheny County Police Superintendent Christopher Kearns said Tuesday. The fugitive — Aaron Lamont Swan Jr., 28, of Duquesne — later used a gun that had been modified to...
Southwest Airlines sending vouchers to passengers disrupted by holiday meltdown
Southwest Airlines is sending out vouchers worth as much as $300 to clean up the reputational damage from canceling more than 17,100 flights in eight days around Christmas. Dallas-based Southwest Airlines is trying to untangle a mess it made after winter weather swept across the country in the days before...
Police find photo of gun, but still lack weapon in Monessen teen homicide case
A gun used in a November fatal shooting in Monessen has not been located, but Westmoreland County Detective Nicholas Caesar said a photograph of the suspect holding a handgun was found on the dead teen’s cellphone. The photo was sent to 16-year-old Amari Altomore from Terry Newton, 16, who is...
Man accused of killing mailman in Collier dies from cancer while in jail
The man accused of killing a mail carrier in Collier last year died Monday while in custody. Court filings said Eric Kortz, 54, had previously been diagnosed with terminal cancer. He was being held in Butler County Prison. Kortz’s federal public defenders filed a motion seeking a detention hearing on...
Divided Pennsylvania House elects Democrat Mark Rozzi as speaker
HARRISBURG — A Democrat who promised to govern as an independent was elected speaker of the narrowly divided Pennsylvania House of Representatives in a surprising move Tuesday on the strength of every Democrat and more than a dozen GOP votes. Rep. Mark Rozzi was elected speaker by a vote of...
Brackenridge Chief Justin McIntire recalled as ‘humble, hard-working hometown son’
Friends of Justin McIntire say that if there’s a heaven, the slain Brackenridge police chief is up there either hunting or playing euchre. “I knew him since he was a little kid, playing in his grandfather’s yard,” said Butch Magnetta, a family friend. “He loved this community, and he always...
Experts: Next 24 hours critical in Damar Hamlin’s recovery
Experts say the next 24 hours will be critical in the recovery of Damar Hamlin, the Buffalo Bills safety and McKees Rocks native who suffered cardiac arrest during a “Monday Night Football” game at Cincinnati. “It’s hard to say exactly what’s going on. But at this point, they are maintaining...
Idaho slayings suspect waives right to fight extraditionVideo
A criminology graduate student accused of the November slayings of four University of Idaho students agreed Tuesday to be extradited from Pennsylvania, where he was arrested last week, to face charges in Idaho. Bryan Kohberger, a 28-year-old doctoral student at Washington State University — a short drive from the scene...
