Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 768
Pleas issued for blood donations as supply suffers holiday season shortage
Regular blood donor Kayani Hull had an extra incentive to roll up her sleeve for a donation drive last week at the University of Pittsburgh’s Greensburg campus. “I found out that B-type blood is pretty rare, and I have B blood,” said the Pitt-Greensburg sophomore from Verona. “It makes me...
Hundreds of new charges filed against Squirrel Hill man accused of hiding cameras in bathrooms
A Squirrel Hill man arrested last month for planting a hidden camera in a restroom at The Frick museum now faces a slew of additional charges for hiding the device and spying on restroom-users elsewhere. Todd Bueschen, 35, was charged Tuesday with eight counts of sexual abuse of children by...
Congress set to rescind covid-19 vaccine mandate for troops
WASHINGTON — The covid-19 vaccine mandate for members of the U.S. military would be rescinded under the annual defense bill heading for a vote this week in Congress, ending a directive that helped ensure the vast majority of troops were vaccinated but also raised concerns that it harmed recruitment and...
Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock beats Herschel Walker in Georgia runoffVideo
ATLANTA — Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock defeated Republican challenger Herschel Walker in a Georgia runoff election Tuesday, ensuring Democrats an outright majority in the Senate for the rest of President Joe Biden’s current term and capping an underwhelming midterm cycle for the GOP in the last major vote of the...
Pittsburgh Regional employees sue over covid-19 vaccine mandate
A group of Pittsburgh Regional Transit employees and former employees filed a discrimination lawsuit in federal court Tuesday challenging the authority’s covid-19 vaccine mandate. The lawsuit, filed as a class action, seeks to represent not only employees who were terminated by PRT for failing to get vaccinated but also employees...
Stowe fire chief punched firefighter during blaze, police say
A fire chief is facing charges after police say he punched a firefighter at a McKees Rocks blaze the two were battling. Stowe Fire Chief Matthew Chapman was charged Tuesday with simple assault and harassment in connection to the Sunday incident. Chapman was the first to arrive on scene and...
Trump Organization convicted in executive tax dodge schemeVideo
NEW YORK — Donald Trump’s company was convicted of tax fraud on Tuesday in a case brought by the Manhattan District Attorney, a significant repudiation of financial practices at the former president’s business. The guilty verdict came on the second day of deliberations following a trial in which the Trump...
Pittsburgh unemployment near record lows, but region is slow to regain workers
Pittsburgh’s unemployment rate is one of the lowest the region has seen in the past 50 years, but that isn’t necessarily a sign that the city’s economy is humming, according to a University of Pittsburgh economist. The unemployment rate for October was 4.1%, the Pennsylvania Center for Workforce Information and...
Big Tech, free speech advocates join to oppose journalism bill
WASHINGTON — Top social media companies and free speech advocates, groups that usually take opposing views over tech policy, are coming together to oppose a measure that would allow journalism organizations to jointly negotiate with tech companies. The groups are opposing any inclusion in the fiscal 2023 Pentagon policy bill...
DOJ subpoenas state election officials, including Allegheny County, for Trump documents
MADISON, Wis. —Special counsel Jack Smith has subpoenaed local election officials in Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona and Pennsylvania, asking for communications with or involving former President Donald Trump, his 2020 campaign aides and a list of allies involved in his efforts to try to overturn the results of the election. The...
Pittsburgh unemployment near record lows, but region is slow to regain workers
Pittsburgh’s unemployment rate is one of the lowest the region has seen in the past 50 years, but that isn’t necessarily a sign that Pittsburgh’s economy is humming, according to a University of Pittsburgh economist. The unemployment rate for October was 4.1%, the Pennsylvania Center for Workforce Information and Analysis...
Pittsburgh’s part of 412 Boulevard of the Allies renovation gets extra $3 million
Pittsburgh’s portion of the renovations needed to create office space in the 412 Boulevard of the Allies Building will get an added $3 million over its initial budget. City Council on Tuesday approved a measure to allocate an additional $3.2 million for the project, which will relocate several city offices...
Student-run credit union opens at Kiski Area High School
An on-campus credit union is open at Kiski Area High School in Allegheny Township. The Kiski Area Cash Stash, run by students, opened Monday. In partnership with Pheple Federal Credit Union, the credit union is a fully functioning branch office, staffed by three high school students. It’s the first on-campus,...
Jan. 6 committee to issue criminal referrals, chairman says
WASHINGTON — The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol will make criminal referrals to the Justice Department as it wraps up its probe and looks to publish a final report by the end of the year, the panel’s chairman said Tuesday. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss.,...
Pittsburgh council approves $220K annual snow removal technology contract
Pittsburgh’s snow plows will again be fitted with fleet telematics and snow route optimization technology, including GPS and the technology behind the city’s virtual snow plow tracker, through a Minnesota-based company. This comes despite concerns from some council members about the reliability of the snow plow tracker, an online tool...
Hopeful glimmers in long war on Alzheimer’s disease
After decades of failure in Alzheimer’s disease research, scientists are buoyed by new findings that could mark a turning point in the field, offering hope that treatment may someday slow the grim deterioration of the brain. The data, published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine and presented to...
Warnock or Walker? Georgia runoff to settle last Senate seat
ATLANTA — Georgia voters on Tuesday are deciding the final Senate contest in the country, choosing between Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican football legend Herschel Walker after a four-week runoff blitz that has drawn a flood of outside spending to an increasingly personal fight. This year’s runoff has lower...
Westmoreland man was driving wrong way on Turnpike in fatal crash, police say
A Westmoreland County man killed in a crash over the weekend on the Pennsylvania Turnpike was driving the wrong way on the highway in Somerset County, according to state police. Dustin Brant, 27, was traveling west in the eastbound lanes at 9:15 p.m. Friday in Jefferson Township near mile marker...
W.Pa. LGBTQ community, allies share hope, reservations on Respect for Marriage Act
Steve Clark and Scott Smith of Scottdale traveled to Massachusetts in 2008 to be married. Hempfield spouses Patricia and Kimberly Elliott-Rentler tied the knot in 2016, after same-sex marriages were permitted in Pennsylvania. They and others in the area’s LGBTQ community see the expected passage of the federal Respect for...
Westmoreland recount complete; officials say no evidence of widespread errors found
A court-ordered recount of four Westmoreland County precincts completed Monday revealed a three-vote change from unofficial results released last month. Westmoreland County Election Bureau Director Greg McCloskey said the review of more than 4,200 ballots cast in person on Election Day and ballots mailed in by voters from precincts in...
Justices spar in latest clash of religion and gay rightsVideo
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ‘s conservative majority sounded sympathetic Monday to a Christian graphic artist who objects to designing wedding websites for gay couples, the latest collision of religion and gay rights to land at the high court. The designer and her supporters say that ruling against her would...
Plane makes landing with collapsed gear at Rostraver Airport; pilot not injured
No one was hurt when a small plane landed with its nose gear collapsed Monday afternoon at Rostraver Airport, an airport official said. The nose of the plane remained upright as the plane went down the runway, then hit the runway at the plane lost speed, said Gabe Monzo, executive...
2 charged in Homewood shooting that injured girl after fight
Two 16-year-old boys were arrested overnight after a girl was hospitalized in critical condition following a shooting Monday afternoon in Pittsburgh’s Homewood neighborhood. Raymur Sicklesmith of Homewood and James Acklin of Duquesne are charged as adults with attempted homicide, reckless endangerment and related offenses. Police said they were dispatched around...
Democrats express interest in Tony DeLuca’s state House seat
Penn Hills Mayor Pauline Calabrese and school board president Erin Vecchio have put their names in the hat for the Democratic nomination for the state House District 32 seat. The 32nd District has been represented by Tony DeLuca, D-Penn Hills, for nearly 40 years. He died Oct. 9, 2022, at...
North Carolina power outages could last days after shootings
CARTHAGE, N.C. — Tens of thousands of people braced for days without electricity in a North Carolina county where authorities say two power substations were shot up by one or more people with apparent criminal intent. Across Moore County southwest of Raleigh on Monday, businesses handed out free food or...
