Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 925
DA’s office to seek death penalty in slaying of McKeesport woman and unborn child
The Allegheny County District Attorney’s filed notice Friday that it will seek the death penalty against a man accused of killing a woman and their unborn child in September in McKeesport. Isaac Christopher Smith, 26, is accused of killing Karli Short, 26, on Sept. 13 in an alley behind the...
From the archive: Ex-Tarentum resident Estelle Harris enjoys role in ‘Seinfeld’
In memory of actress Estelle Harris, who died this weekend at age 93, TribLIVE is reposting a story from 1994 where she spoke about her work on “Seinfeld” and her acting career. Story by Rex Rutkoski. Published on Feb. 17, 1994. She’s been associated with some of the best-known people...
Police deploy ‘stop sticks’ to end 8-mile pursuit in Westmoreland County
A 38-year-old Herminie man was jailed on multiple charges including DUI and fleeing police following an 8-mile chase that ended when he lost control of his van and drove off the highway in the Hempfield village of Darragh, according to court documents. Christopher D. Troutman was taken into custody near...
Biden: Putin should face war crimes trial for Bucha killingsVideo
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Monday called for a war crimes trial against Russia President Vladimir Putin and said he’d seek more sanctions after reported atrocities in Ukraine. “You saw what happened in Bucha,” Biden said. He added that Putin “is a war criminal.” Biden’s comments to reporters came...
Handyman who killed Whitehall woman missing for nearly a year gets 17 to 40 years
Since her death nearly three years ago, what would have been Elizabeth Wiesenfeld’s first grandson was born and her first granddaughter is set to arrive soon. But Betsy, as she was known to her family, never had the chance to meet them. Instead, she was killed and taken from her...
Police: Jeannette man without valid driver’s license crashes stolen Cadillac in Hempfield
A Jeannette man who does not have a valid driver’s license crashed a stolen car Sunday evening on Route 30 in Hempfield, according to state police. The crash snarled eastbound traffic in the area of Westwood Drive near the Alpine Pools store around 6:20 p.m. after troopers said Thomas Anthony...
Special elections to determine Harrisburg replacements for Mayor Ed Gainey, Jake Wheatley
Two special election races Tuesday will determine who replaces new Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey and his chief of staff, Jake Wheatley, in the state legislature. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the 19th and 24th legislative districts. Absentee and mail-in ballots must be returned by...
Suddenly, Tesla’s Elon Musk is Twitter’s biggest stakeholder
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has taken a 9% stake in Twitter to become its largest shareholder after raising questions about the social media platform’s dedication to free speech. The ultimate aim of Musk’s 73.5 million share purchase worth $3 billion based on the closing price Friday, is not clear. Yet...
Russia faces global outrage over bodies in Ukraine’s streets
BUCHA, Ukraine — Moscow faced global revulsion and accusations of war crimes Monday after the Russian pullout from the outskirts of Kyiv revealed streets, buildings and yards strewn with corpses of what appeared to be civilians, many of them evidently killed at close range. The grisly images of battered or...
Lamb, Kenyatta face off — minus Fetterman — in debate of Democratic Senate hopefuls
Democratic Senate candidates from both ends of Pennsylvania accused the front-runner, Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman, of flip-flopping on energy issues in the first televised debate in one of the nation’s most-watched campaigns of the year. Fetterman, who is far ahead in the polls, didn’t participate in the debate. Representative Conor...
California police search for shooters who killed 6, hurt 12
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The usual crowds filled the streets as bars and nightclubs were closing in California’s capital city of Sacramento when the sound of rapid-fire gunshots sent people running in terror. In a matter of seconds, the latest U.S. mass shooting had left six people dead and 12 wounded....
Steel made without coal heating up in Sweden
LULEA, Sweden — For hundreds of years, raging blast furnaces — fed with coking coal — have forged steel used in cars, railways, bridges and skyscrapers. But the puffs of coal-fired smoke are a big source of carbon dioxide, the heat-trapping gas that’s driving climate change. According to the World...
2nd mask requirement lawsuit filed against Kennywood, Sandcastle, Idlewild
Parents of three children filed a lawsuit Friday in Westmoreland County against Kennywood, Sandcastle Waterpark and Idlewild & SoakZone, claiming they were improperly excluded from the amusement parks in 2020 for not wearing masks. The claims follow nearly identical allegations raised in a still-pending federal lawsuit filed by the same...
Reinventing the dog crate? This Hempfield native hopes to make it apartment-friendly
When Jack Murray moved into an apartment with his roommates, he quickly noticed something: The “pretty small” three-bedroom wasn’t spacious enough for his dog Heidi’s crate. The crate took up “so much room” in Murray’s home and impacted its visual appeal. If he wanted the crate out of the way...
Police: Public’s help needed to locate missing teen girl last seen in Sheraden
Detectives from the Pittsburgh police Special Victim Unit is asking the public for help locating a missing teenage girl. Oujanea Jones, 17, was last seen at 5 p.m. on Sunday in the 3000 block of Glen Mawr Street in the city’s Sheraden neighborhood. Jones is as 5-feet 5-inches tall and...
Sen. Pat Toomey to vote against Judge Jackson’s Supreme Court nomination
U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Lehigh Valley, released a statement on Sunday evening announcing his decision to oppose President Biden’s Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. “While Judge Jackson undoubtedly has an impressive educational and professional background, her inability to define her own judicial philosophy makes it difficult to understand...
Truck drivers needed: job fair to offer opportunities
Edward Roberts recalls how a trucking company offered a student — who had left his minimum wage job to obtain a commercial driver’s license in his driver training school in New Stanton — a shot at a $90,000-a-year job. He would just need to take long-distance routes that would require...
Injuries reported in wreck along Route 30 in Hempfield Township; closed lane snarls traffic
A section of eastbound Route 30 in Hempfield Township is down to a single lane following a two-vehicle accident with injuries, according to authorities. The wreck occurred shortly after 6:15 p.m. near the intersection of Westwood Drive near the Alpine Pools store, according to a Westmoreland County 911 supervisor. First...
Benham, Kinkead criticize Allegheny Democratic committee after failing to win endorsements
The Allegheny County Democratic Committee traditionally endorsed incumbents seeking reelection when it gathered for its annual spring endorsement meeting. But the committee has veered from that norm in recent years, starting in 2020 when the committee did not endorse state Rep. Summer Lee, D-Swissvale, an outspoken progressive lawmaker who had...
Truck flips, spills load on Parkway East; road open while debris being cleared
Crews are clearing debris from the Parkway East near Churchill after a tractor-trailer overturned and spilled its load across the road and down a hillside, according to authorities. The accident was reported shortly after 2:30 p.m. near Exit 11 and emergency responders were still on the scene at 4 p.m....
Jon Batiste tops Grammy Awards, winning 5 trophies
LAS VEGAS — Jon Batiste won album of the year honors for “We Are” at the Grammy Awards on Sunday, giving him five trophies on a night that saw the ’70s funk of Silk Sonic take record of the year and song of the year and newcomer Olivia Rodrigo take...
South Carolina educator buys building in hopes of housing private school in Arnold
An elementary school teacher from South Carolina is planning to open a private, nonprofit middle school in Arnold starting in the fall of 2025. Matt DeHart, 26, a fifth grade teacher in Greenville County, S.C., founded the nonprofit Teach from DeHart Foundation in January 2021. He and his wife, New...
Biden cites economic gains, but voters see much more to do
WASHINGTON — Seven months before he faces a critical test from voters in the midterm elections, President Joe Biden is turning his focus to kitchen-table issues as he struggles to get credit for a recovering economy. Since Biden took office last year, job growth has been vigorous and steady —...
Ukraine accuses Russia of massacre, city strewn with bodiesVideo
BUCHA, Ukraine — Bodies with bound hands, close-range gunshot wounds and signs of torture lay scattered in a city on the outskirts of Kyiv after Russian soldiers withdrew from the area. Ukrainian authorities accused the departing forces on Sunday of committing war crimes and leaving behind a “scene from a...
California mass shooting: 6 dead, 10 injured in SacramentoVideo
SACRAMENTO, Calif — Six people were killed and 12 injured in a mass shooting early Sunday as bars and nightclubs were closing in downtown Sacramento and police in California’s state capital were searching for at least one suspect. Sacramento Police Chief Kathy Lester said at a news conference that police...
