Top Stories category, Page 125
Police say ‘irate’ person stabbed, 2nd suffers cuts in McKeesport bus station incident
A man described as “irate” was stabbed and a second person suffered cuts during an incident at the McKeesport bus station Saturday morning. Port Authority Police charged Brayden Dixon, 21, of Indianapolis, Ind., with a felony count of aggravated assault, misdemeanor counts of simple assault, indecent exposure and open lewdness,...
With 911 working normally, investigation continues into cause of outages
Pennsylvania’s 911 system is again functioning normally. Late Friday, 911 calls resumed routing normally across the state, after what were described as “intermittent outages” earlier in the day. The root cause of the issue is under investigation, and an independent review will be performed to determine what can be done...
Ohio woman charged in Murrysville bank fraud scheme
An Ohio woman police believe is part of an organized crime group is accused of involvement in a check cashing scheme in Murrysville, according to authorities. State police released surveillance photos of the suspect last month, seeking help identifying her in connection with the theft of $5,400 in a fraud...
Jeannette police to patrol highrise
City police will begin patrolling Jeannette Manor after council approved an agreement with the Westmoreland County Housing Authority. Jeannette Police Chief Derek Manley said he thinks the move will boost relationships with residents and deter crime. “I feel that it’s a big benefit for the department and the residents both,”...
Trump announces 30% tariffs against EU, Mexico to begin Aug. 1
BRIDGEWATER, N.J. — President Donald Trump on Saturday announced he’s levying tariffs of 30% against the European Union and Mexico starting Aug. 1, a move that could cause massive upheaval between the United States and two of its biggest trade partners. Trump detailed the planned tariffs in letters posted to...
AI-powered heart scans transform care at Allegheny Valley Hospital
Cardiovascular analysis that used to take hours can now be done with the click of a button at Allegheny Valley Hospital in Harrison. As artificial intelligence seeps into almost every aspect of life, the technology is helping to revolutionize medical care at the Allegheny Health Network community hospital. “When you...
Fireflies are making a noticeable return to Western Pa.
The flickering fields of summer nights are back. Fireflies, it seems, are abundant again. Throughout the region, people are noticing more of the largely nocturnal, flashing insects. Once a staple of summer evenings, lightning bugs had seemed to become scarce over the past few years thanks to a loss of...
Dick’s Diner in Murrysville to be featured as 1 of ‘America’s Best Restaurants’
Jim Fox III remembers sitting down to a table at Dick’s Diner as a child with his father, even though his dad was the founder of the popular Fox’s Pizza chain. The family recognized the appeal of a small-town diner like Dick’s. Today, Fox owns the restaurant, which will be...
Judge orders Trump administration to halt indiscriminate immigration stops, arrests in California
LOS ANGELES — A federal judge on Friday ordered the Trump administration to halt indiscriminate immigration stops and arrests in seven California counties, including Los Angeles. Immigrant advocacy groups filed the lawsuit last week accusing President Donald Trump’s administration of systematically targeting brown-skinned people in Southern California during its ongoing...
Fallout over Epstein files cascades, roiling relations between AG Pam Bondi and FBI’s Dan Bongino
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department and FBI are struggling to contain the fallout and appease the demands of far-right conservative personalities and influential members of President Donald Trump’s base after the administration’s decision this week to withhold records from the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking investigation. The move, which included the...
West Nile virus found in mosquito samples from multiple Allegheny County neighborhoods
Allegheny County Health Department officials announced mosquitoes collected in certain parts of the county this month tested positive for West Nile virus. Samples found to have the virus were taken July 8 from Wilkinsburg, Schenley Park, Mt. Washington, Beltzhoover, Mt. Oliver and Hazelwood. West Nile virus is the leading cause...
Jeannette grad Pryor, Franklin Regional grad Lee make MaxPreps top 100 list
Two WPIAL Hall of Fame members who played at Westmoreland County high schools were named to MaxPreps’ top 100 high school athletes of the 21st century. The high school sports website recognized top athletes from 2001 to present, with staff members each presenting a list if more than 200 candidates....
Families clash at Downtown Pittsburgh DMV, person flashes gun
Pittsburgh police responded to a fight Friday afternoon at the PennDOT Driver & Vehicle Services on Smithfield Street. Emily Bourne, a city public safety spokeswoman, said the fight broke out around 2:30 p.m. between two separate families who were in line at the DMV. Bourne could not identify how many...
Monessen man appeals life prison term for rape, child murders
A judge abused his discretion by reimposing a life prison sentence for a Monessen man convicted of raping of a young mother and murdering her children in 1973, his attorney claims in court papers. Defense attorney Mark Shire argued in an appeal filed Friday that his client, John Veltre Jr.,...
Kraft Heinz to split, report says
Kraft Heinz may be headed for a breakup. The packaged food conglomerate is planning to spin off a large chunk of its grocery business, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday, effectively undoing a 2015 merger that’s now widely regarded as a strategic blunder. Anonymous sources told the newspaper the new...
911 service restored in Pennsylvania; state official says investigation underway
911 service has been restored in Pennsylvania. Late Friday, 911 calls resumed routing as normal across the state and an investigation into what caused an hours long outage was ongoing, according to the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency. In a post on social media just before midnight, the agency reported 911...
VA insists veterans services remain robust in Pittsburgh despite staff departures nationwide
Pittsburgh-area veterans won’t see any interruption to their care or benefits, the Department of Veterans Affairs claims, even as thousands of its employees head for the exits nationwide. The department is on pace to lose nearly 30,000 employees, or about 6% of its workforce, by the end of September. Already,...
Allegheny County creates new way for workers to report threats to union rights
Allegheny County launched a web page Thursday for workers to report violations or threats to their union organizing rights. The move comes at a time of local labor flare-ups and gridlock at the National Labor Relations Board. This new, confidential Right to Organize Incident Report Form asks for information about...
Pitt approves tuition and fee increases for fall term, lifts hiring freeze
Tuition for students at the University of Pittsburgh will increase again. The $3.2 billion budget, approved Friday by the Board of Trustees, includes a 2% tuition increase for in-state undergraduate and gradate students attending the Oakland campus, a 4% hike for out-of-state students and a 1% increase for students attending...
Appeals court throws out plea deal for alleged mastermind of Sept. 11 attacks
WASHINGTON — A divided federal appeals court on Friday threw out an agreement that would have allowed accused Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to plead guilty in a deal that would have spared him the risk of execution for al-Qaida’s 2001 attacks. The decision by a panel of the...
Pittsburgh housing authority pares voucher programs over fears of 2026 federal budget cuts
The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh intends to scale back some programs benefiting low-income residents, landlords and developers amid fears of massive federal budget cuts next year. The government is proposing to slash nearly $27 billion for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Any such cuts...
Lane closures at Squirrel Hill tunnel begin Sunday
Motorists planning on taking the Squirrel Hill Tunnel should prepare to alter their routes, because starting Sunday night the tunnel will be down to one lane. The single-lane closures will begin at 10 p.m. and last through 5 a.m. Friday morning, while inspections take place, according to a Pennsylvania Department...
Pennsylvania man who posted video of father’s severed head online is found guilty of murder
DOYLESTOWN — A Pennsylvania man who posted a video of his father’s severed head on YouTube was convicted of murder Friday and sentenced to life without parole. Bucks County Judge Stephen A. Corr found Justin D. Mohn, 33, guilty in the January 2024 shooting death of his father at their...
Safe to splash? State parks, watershed associations monitor rivers for E. coli contamination
When it rains, it pours E. coli. That’s what water quality testers across Western Pennsylvania might tell you right now. Every week during the summer months, volunteers and employees monitor the region’s public waterways for E. coli, which can flow into lakes and streams from agricultural and sewer systems overwhelmed...
Trump plans to hike tariffs on Canadian goods to 35%
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said in a Thursday letter that he will raise taxes on imported goods from Canada to 35%, deepening a rift between two North American countries that have suffered a debilitating blow to their decades-old alliance. The letter to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is an...
