Top Stories category, Page 14
Crash that killed pedestrian in Aspinwall spurs lawsuit against driver
The daughters of a woman fatally struck by an SUV earlier this year in Aspinwall are suing the driver. Patricia A. Doane, of McDonald and Priscilla Pasikowski, of Shaler, filed the lawsuit as co-executors of their mother’s estate. Judith A. Mierzwa, 83, of Aspinwall, was struck Feb. 5 around 7:08...
Pittsburgh School Board elects new officers amid financial uncertainties
The Pittsburgh School Board elected new officers for the 2026 fiscal year. The board members were sworn in on Monday at the district’s Board Organization Meeting. New to the board of directors are Tawana Cook Purnell (District 1), Eva Diodati (District 7) and Erikka Grayson (District 3). Purnell grew up...
Legislation from Summer Lee, Democratic colleagues would combat discriminatory AI
Artificial intelligence is transforming the world, one algorithm at a time. U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, D-Swissvale, wants to make sure those algorithms don’t violate people’s civil rights. Lee and three of her Democratic colleagues in the House are introducing a bill that would aim to prevent companies from using discriminatory...
Stumping the dump: Pittsburgh mulls ban on waste transfer stations near homes
A Pittsburgh councilwoman wants to keep waste transfer stations away from residential areas where neighbors could be disrupted by frequent garbage truck trips and air pollution. Councilwoman Barb Warwick, D-Greenfield, proposed a zoning bill that would prohibit such uses within 500 feet of residential areas, elementary or secondary schools, parks...
Seven Springs set to open its slopes
As the first significant snowfall of the season rolled through Western Pennsylvania on Tuesday, Seven Springs Mountain Resort announced its official season opening. The Somerset County resort, which received its first snow of the season Nov. 10, will open for skiing Saturday. A celebration will include a live DJ, cookies,...
East Huntingdon man sentenced for shootout with state police
An East Huntingdon man, convicted last fall of firing shots at two state police troopers, was sentenced Tuesday to serve up to 44 years in prison. James R. Miller Jr., 63, declined to speak and presented no witnesses on his behalf during the court hearing in which prosecutors said his...
Federal authorities plan operation in Minnesota focusing on Somali immigrantsVideo
MINNEAPOLIS — Federal authorities are preparing a targeted immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota that would primarily focus on Somali immigrants living unlawfully in the U.S., according to a person familiar with the planning. The move comes as President Donald Trump again on Tuesday escalated rhetoric about Minnesota’s sizable Somali community,...
Man charged in National Guard shooting pleads not guilty during court appearance from hospital bed
WASHINGTON — A man accused of shooting two National Guard troops near the White House pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to murder and assault charges during his first appearance before a judge via video from a hospital bed. Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national who was also shot, faces charges...
Hegseth cites ‘fog of war’ in defending follow-on strike on alleged drug boatVideo
WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday cited the “fog of war” in defending a follow-up strike on an alleged drug-carrying boat in the Caribbean Sea in early September. During a Cabinet meeting at the White House, Hegseth said he did not see any survivors in the water, saying...
State budget was 135 days late, but Pa. lawmakers got their pay raise on time
Pennsylvania lawmakers just received a 3.25% pay increase on Dec. 1, raising their base salary to $113,575. Only New York and California’s legislators make more. The national average for state lawmakers was $47,904, less than half of what the commonwealth’s lawmakers made, per the National Conference of State Legislatures. The...
Pittsburgh man dies days after being shot in East Liberty
A man shot last week in Pittsburgh’s East Liberty neighborhood died late Monday. Bryon Lewis, 36, of Pittsburgh was shot in the chest around 1 a.m. Friday outside a home in the 400 block of Omega Court, according to authorities. First responders took Lewis to UPMC Presbyterian hospital in critical...
Police search for suspects accused of trying to steal ATM machine from the Cheswick Sheetz
Allegheny Valley Regional Police are searching for several people accused of trying to steal an ATM on Monday evening from the Sheetz in Cheswick. Four people, who police believe are juveniles, used a dolly to wheel the PNC bank machine from the gas station to a waiting pickup truck outside,...
Gallery: 1st snow of the season falls on Pittsburgh and Western Pa.
The first snowfall of the season hit Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania on Tuesday morning, blanketing the region with a several inches of snow, closing or delaying schools, and bringing out shovelers to start cleaning up. Though some light snow showers are still making their way through the area, the heaviest...
Former Honduras President Juan Orlando Hernández freed after Trump pardon
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — Former Honduras President Juan Orlando Hernández, sentenced last year to 45 years in prison for his role in a drug trafficking operation that moved hundreds of tons of cocaine to the United States, was released from prison following a pardon from President Donald Trump, officials confirmed Tuesday....
1 year after sinkhole death, Unity residents live in fear of mine subsidence
One year after a deadly sinkhole swallowed a woman searching for her cat near Marguerite Road, fear remains palpable for residents in a small Unity neighborhood. They worry abandoned coal mines beneath their homes could collapse at any time. That anxiety is real on Libby Lane, a few hundred feet...
Westmoreland and Allegheny men among 1,000-plus killed in WWII ‘Little Pearl Harbor’
Five Western Pennsylvania men were among the more than 1,000 killed in a surprise World War II German attack on an Allied port in Italy that has become known as “The Little Pearl Harbor.” The Dec. 2, 1943, air raid on the Adriatic Sea port of Bari, Italy, came nearly...
Decline in alcohol consumption leads to rare sales drop at Pa. liquor stores
Pennsylvania’s wine and spirits sales dipped last fiscal year for only the second time in the past three decades. According to the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board, sales for the 2024-25 fiscal year totaled nearly $3.2 billion. That was down almost $21 million, or 0.6%, compared to the previous year. Net...
Man fatally shot by police on Parkway North was suspect in shooting of teen in Butler
A man who died after being shot by police on the Parkway North Saturday night was a suspect in a shooting in Butler Friday, according to Butler police Chief Bob O’Neill. In a statement released Monday, O’Neill identified the man as Devin Russell, 20, of Butler. According to O’Neill’s statement,...
Westmoreland hospital, former nurses sued over patient photos
A Greensburg hospital and two fired nurses have been named as defendants in a negligence lawsuit filed by the daughter of one of up to 10 former patients whose images were recorded and distributed without consent last year. The three-count lawsuit filed last month contends Independence Health System Westmoreland Hospital...
Shapiro calls $740M Esplanade a ‘game changer’ as Pittsburgh project breaks ground
One of the most expensive development projects in modern Pittsburgh history, the $740 million Esplanade on the North Side, took a definitive step forward Monday with a groundbreaking ceremony that drew Pennsylvania’s governor and generated accolades for its intent to revitalize a long-stagnant brownfield. Gov. Josh Shapiro called the ambitious...
White House says admiral ordered follow-on strike on alleged drug boat, insists attack was lawful
WASHINGTON — The White House said Monday that a Navy admiral acted “within his authority and the law” when he ordered a second, follow-up strike on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean Sea in a September U.S. military operation that has come under bipartisan scrutiny. White House press secretary...
Federal review finds 44% of U.S. trucking schools don’t comply with government rules
Nearly 44% of the 16,000 truck driving schools in the United States may be forced to close after a review by the federal Transportation Department found they may not be complying with government requirements. The Transportation Department said Monday that it plans to revoke the accreditation of nearly 3,000 schools...
Westmoreland preps for 1st snowfall with reduced staff amid limited furlough savings
Furloughs will leave Westmoreland County with just half of its staff available Tuesday morning to maintain 52 miles of roads during the season’s first significant snowfall. Public Works Director Dante DeCario said all four remaining employees will begin salting and clearing county roads as early as 3 a.m. and will...
Shapiro visits Verona to tout $25M in funding for child care workers
Gov. Josh Shapiro visited a Verona day care Monday to tout $25 million in new state-funded bonuses for industry workers, which he says will help attract and retain staff. The initiative, part of the state budget passed last month after a lengthy legislative impasse, gives about $450 annually per employee...
Charlie Puth, Brandi Carlile, Coco Jones to perform at Super Bowl pregame
Super Bowl Sunday’s pregame entertainment lineup just dropped for February — including Charlie Puth singing the national anthem. Super Bowl LX will take place Feb. 8, 2026, at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. — home of the San Francisco 49ers — and air live on NBC, Telemundo and Peacock....
