Top Stories category, Page 170
State attorney general charges 9 with organizing multi-county drug ring
The state Attorney General’s Office has charged a Beaver County man with heading up a drug operation spanning multiple counties in Southwestern Pennsylvania. Korrtezz M. Martin, 34, of Rochester, was charged with racketeering, conspiracy, weapons violations, multiple counts of drug possession, manufacturing and delivery, in connection with an illegal drug...
Pennsylvania governor’s residence to get an ‘anti-climb’ fence
HARRISBURG — A barrier described as an “anti-climb fence” is in the works for the Pennsylvania governor’s official residence, the state police chief said Tuesday, less than a month after a late-night intruder jumped the existing fence, broke into the home and started a damaging fire. Col. Christopher Paris’ letter...
Blue backpack flagged by private eye as key to solving Cherrie Mahan’s disappearance
A private investigator claims a blue backpack carried by Cherrie Mahan at the time of her disappearance 40 years ago from a Winfield school bus stop could be key to cracking the case. “I am convinced through some fairly recent testimony and input that Cherrie’s book bag was very likely...
Pitt to pay millions to settle pandemic learning lawsuit, but each student will get hundreds
Several universities in the Pittsburgh area have settled lawsuits stemming from the switch to online classes during the 2020 covid-19 pandemic, including, most recently, the University of Pittsburgh for nearly $8 million. Although the settlement amounts range from $1 million to $17 million — bigger schools owe more — the...
What to expect at Pittsburgh airport with (or without) Real ID
Travelers arriving at Pittsburgh International Airport Wednesday without a Real ID or another acceptable form of identification should prepare for possible additional screening. Starting Wednesday, federal Real ID requirement goes into effect and will be enforced by TSA agents at airports across the country. Anyone 18 years of age or...
India fires missiles into Pakistani territory in what Islambad calls ‘act of war’Video
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — India fired missiles into Pakistani-controlled territory in several locations early Wednesday, killing at least eight people including a child, in what Pakistan’s leader called an act of war. India said it was striking infrastructure used by militants linked to last month’s massacre of tourists in the Indian-controlled...
Trump says the U.S. will stop bombing Yemen’s Houthis after rebels say they’ll stop targeting ships
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he’s ordering a halt to nearly two months of U.S. airstrikes on Yemen’s Houthis, saying that the Iran-backed rebels have indicated that “they don’t want to fight anymore” and have pledged to stop attacking ships along a vital maritime corridor. “We’re going...
Supreme Court allows Trump ban on transgender members of the military to take effect, for now
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed President Donald Trump’s administration to enforce a ban on transgender people in the military, while legal challenges proceed. The court acted in the dispute over a policy that presumptively disqualifies transgender people from military service and could lead to the expulsion of...
Fetterman on article about staffer concerns: ‘It’s a one-source story’
Sen. John Fetterman on Tuesday dismissed a news report detailing staff concerns about his health as a “hit piece” and “one-source story.” A New York Magazine story last week raised new concerns about the senator’s health. The article quoted Fetterman’s former chief of staff Adam Jentleson, who wondered whether Fetterman...
Recreational cannabis would be sold at state-run stores under bill advanced by Pa. Democrats
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. HARRISBURG — Democrats in the Pennsylvania House have advanced a bill that would permit the sale of recreational cannabis to adults at state-run stores, an...
Pittsburgh council, despite reservations, will let developers build on smaller lots
Pittsburgh City Council on Tuesday approved letting developers build housing on smaller lots than they now can. It may seem like an esoteric issue, but the move to shrink minimum lot size requirements is seen as an important step to unlock more land for residential development in the city and...
Trump, Carney faceoff in Oval Office leaves gaping differences on tariffs, 51st state
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney faced off in the Oval Office on Tuesday and showed no signs of retreating from their gaping differences in an ongoing trade war that has shattered decades of trust between the two countries. The two kept it civil, but...
Homeland Security chief says travelers with no Real ID can fly for now, but with likely extra steps
WASHINGTON — Travelers who haven’t obtained a Real ID by this week’s deadline received assurances from the head of Homeland Security they will be able to fly after additional identity checks. Her comments came Tuesday as people were waiting in long lines outside of government buildings from California to Chicago...
PNC Park employee suspended after fight with fan
A PNC Park employee was suspended after fighting with a fan after Sunday’s Pirates game. As fans were leaving the North Shore ballpark, an argument broke out between two male fans and a female food and beverage employee, said Brian Warecki, senior vice president of communications for the Pittsburgh Pirates....
Morning Roundup: Woman shot in Rankin; gunshot fired at Brookline Recreation Center
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Tuesday, May 6: Woman shot in Rankin A woman was shot multiple times in Rankin early Tuesday morning, according to Allegheny County Police. County 911 was notified at 12:39 a.m. of a shooting in the 200 block of 4th...
3 new grocery stores expected to be ‘life-changing’ for Tarentum, New Kensington, Natrona
Mich Ankney is excited at the prospect of grocery shopping in his Natrona neighborhood. It’s something he’s never been able to do. “We’ve had a few little candy stores that sold basics, like eggs and diapers,” said Ankney, 21. “But it was more like what they’d have at a gas...
Kavan Markwood takes 1st steps since PNC Park fall, family reports
Kavan Markwood, the man who fell over the right field wall at PNC Park last week, took his first steps on Monday, according to an online fundraiser update posted by his girlfriend’s mother, Jennifer Phillips. The update, posted at 4:45 p.m. Monday by Phillips, said Markwood being up and moving...
Latrobe man dies in 2-vehicle crash in Hempfield
A Latrobe man died Monday afternoon after crashing into another vehicle in Hempfield. Westmoreland County Coroner’s Office has identified the deceased as Mario Andrew Dominick, 41. Officials said the driver was the lone occupant of a Chevrolet Cobalt traveling south on Donohoe Road shortly before 4 p.m. His car crossed...
Lawyers spar in Johnstown courtroom over government effort to deport Venezuelan
A skirmish in a nationwide battle over the Trump administration’s push to deport immigrants it claims are criminals played out Monday in a Western Pennsylvania courtroom. Attorneys for a Venezuelan man accused of being part of the notorious Tren de Aragua gang asked a federal judge in Johnstown to bar...
Trump administration asks judge to toss lawsuit restricting access to abortion medication
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Monday asked a judge to toss out a lawsuit from three GOP-led states seeking to cut off telehealth access to abortion medication mifepristone. Justice Department attorneys stayed the legal course charted by Biden administration, though they didn’t directly weigh in on the underlying issue...
Trump administration says Harvard will receive no new grants until it meets White House demands
WASHINGTON — Harvard University will receive no new federal grants until it meets a series of demands from President Donald Trump’s administration, the Education Department announced Monday. The action was laid out in a letter to Harvard’s president and amounts to a major escalation of Trump’s battle with the Ivy...
Badly needed updates to Pa.’s election law unlikely despite new consensus on voter ID
This article is made possible through Spotlight PA’s collaboration with Votebeat, a nonpartisan news organization covering local election administration and voting. HARRISBURG — For two decades, disputes over voter identification have sunk attempts to rewrite Pennsylvania’s badly outdated election law. But in recent years, prominent Democrats have offered tentative support...
Pete Hegseth directs 20% cut to top military leadership positions
WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday directed the active duty military to shed 20% of its four-star general officers as the Trump administration keeps pushing the services to streamline their top leadership positions. Hegseth also told the National Guard to shed 20% of its top positions. In a...
Gainey: Overcrowding complaint, not bias, prompted inspection at Pittsburgh gay bar
A weekend compliance check at P*Town, a gay bar in Bloomfield, was prompted by an overcrowding complaint — not to target the LGBTQIA+ community, Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey said Monday. In explaining the city’s actions, Gainey appeared to be responding to social media commentary that sprang up after police officers...
Rite Aid returns to bankruptcy protection as it seeks to sell all assets
Rite Aid is again seeking bankruptcy protection as the struggling drugstore chain says it will try to sell substantially all of its assets. The company said Monday that its stores will remain open as it returns to Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. The company said it will work to ensure that...
