Top Stories category, Page 180
Watch: Gainey and O’Connor spar in Pittsburgh democratic mayoral debate
Pittsburgh’s Democratic candidates for mayor will meet Tuesday at 7 p.m. for a live, hourlong debate at WTAE’s studio ahead of the May 20 primary. WTAE anchor Shannon Perrine will moderate the debate between Mayor Ed Gainey and Allegheny County Controller Corey O’Connor. Gainey and O’Connor will field questions from...
Justice Department drops lawsuit accusing Pennsylvania city of diluting power of Hispanic voters
HARRISBURG — The U.S. Justice Department has withdrawn its lawsuit that accused a heavily Hispanic city in Pennsylvania of illegally diluting the political power of its growing Hispanic population. U.S. District Judge Karoline Mehalchick in Scranton approved the dismissal of the case against Hazleton on Tuesday, a day after the...
Police confrontation in Lower Burrell ends with no arrests
After a brief confrontation on Tuesday, Lower Burrell police detained four people from a home on Vance Drive before later releasing them. Lower Burrell Detective Steve Aulerich said no arrests were made, but police continue to investigate. He would not give a reason for the warrant’s execution. Upon arrival, the...
Federal judge blocks Trump administration from dismantling Voice of America
WASHINGTON — A federal judge agreed Tuesday to block the Trump administration from dismantling Voice of America, the 83-year-old international news service created by Congress. U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth ruled that the administration illegally required Voice of America to cease operations for the first time since its World War...
Charges upheld against Rostraver man accused in rape of unconscious woman
A Westmoreland County judge on Tuesday rejected a defense bid to dismiss charges against a Rostraver man accused of using a date rape drug to sexually assault an unconscious woman in her home last year. Nathaniel Tire Johnston, 34, is charged with rape and other offenses based on allegations made...
Hillandale Farms, giant egg producer, sells for $1.1B
Hillandale Farms, among the nation’s top egg producers with a corporate office in Hempfield, was sold last month for $1.1 billion to a Luxembourg-based company. Hillandale Farms, founded by Orland Bethel in 1958, sold its 20-million chicken operations in late March to Global Eggs, according to news reports. Hillandale Farms...
Jury finds The New York Times did not libel former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin
NEW YORK — The New York Times did not libel former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin for an error in a 2017 editorial that she says damaged her reputation, a jury concluded Tuesday. The jury deliberated a little over two hours before reaching its verdict after lawyers for Palin and the...
Westmoreland judge schedules 2 oldest criminal cases for September
A trial date was set Tuesday for the capital murder case against a New Kensington man charged with the beating death of a toddler in 2020. Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Scott Mears ordered the case against Keith Dale Lilly Jr., 36, to begin in September. In doing so he...
Top ’60 Minutes’ producer quits, saying he can no longer run the show as he has in the past
NEW YORK — With his show involved in a bitter dispute with President Donald Trump, the top executive at the storied CBS News show “60 Minutes” abruptly resigned on Tuesday while saying he’s losing the freedom to run it independently. Bill Owens, executive producer of television’s most popular and influential...
Gov. Shapiro reopens fire-damaged residence to the public as cleanup goes on
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro reopened the governor’s official residence to the public Tuesday for an Easter egg hunt barely a week after an alleged arsonist’s fire tore through one of its wings and said he will begin sleeping there again soon. “I’m not going to live in fear,”...
RFK Jr. plans to phase out 8 artificial dyes from U.S. food supply
WASHINGTON — U.S. health officials said they plan to phase out eight petroleum-based artificial colors from the nation’s food supply, triggering an overhaul of scores of brightly hued products on American store shelves. Details of the plan are expected to be announced Tuesday afternoon by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy...
Carnegie Mellon president joins university leaders in condemning ‘unprecedented government overreach’
Presidents of nearly 200 U.S. colleges and universities, including a dozen in Pennsylvania, have co-signed a letter condemning what they called “unprecedented government overreach and political interference” by the federal government. Carnegie Mellon University President Farnam Jahanian was the lone co-signer from a Southwestern Pennsylvania institution. A Carnegie Mellon spokeswoman...
Pete Hegseth pulled airstrike info from secure military channel for Signal posts
WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is defending himself against a second assertion that he shared classified material through an unapproved and unsecured network — this time taking airstrike information from a military communications channel and sharing it in a chat with his wife, his brother and others. Hegseth pulled...
As controversies pile up, Trump allies increasingly turn on one another
WASHINGTON — The infighting and backstabbing that plagued President Donald Trump’s first term have returned as a threat to his second, with deepening fissures over trade, national security and questions of personal loyalty. The latest turmoil threatens to engulf the Pentagon, where Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has pushed out top...
Hempfield Area faces $5.1M budget deficit for 2025-26 school year
Rising charter school payments and growing retirement costs have Hempfield Area school officials exploring how to offset a 2025-26 budget deficit that stands at more than $5 million. District business manager Paul Schott said expenditures for next year are up by nearly $7.3 million over 2024-25. “Without the impact of...
Pope Francis lies in state ahead of his funeral, set for Saturday
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis ’ funeral has been set for Saturday at 10 a.m. in St. Peter’s Square, and a viewing of his body will begin Wednesday in St. Peter’s Basilica, days after the popular pontiff died of a stroke at age 88. He is currently lying in state...
Plans for Greensburg Amtrak station include new doors, restrooms for handicapped access
Amtrak is looking to make improvements to its station at Greensburg beginning in 2026, while upgrades at the Latrobe station are set to get underway this year. The station projects, which include improved features for handicapped accessibility, come as Amtrak is planning to expand its passenger service between Pittsburgh and...
Walgreens to pay up to $350 million in U.S. opioid settlement
Walgreens has agreed to pay up to $350 million in a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice, who accused the pharmacy of illegally filling millions of prescriptions in the past decade for opioids and other controlled substances. The nationwide drugstore chain must pay the government at least $300 million...
Bob Dylan’s Rough and Rowdy Ways tour creates memorable night in Pittsburgh
Bob Dylan’s simple line of “I have no apologies to make” — from his song “I Contain Multitudes” — might have seemed an appropriate summation of his concert Monday night in Pittsburgh. Oft heralded as America’s greatest songwriter, Dylan did things his way in a sold-out show at the Benedum...
Norwin’s $25M stadium renovation project panned by critics
The Norwin School Board members who voted last week for a $25 million stadium project were ripped Monday by critics who called it unnecessary, too costly in times of economic uncertainty and too much of a tax burden, particularly on senior citizens. “I think you failed in your fiduciary responsibilities...
Hempfield adjusts school start times to consolidate bus runs, address driver shortage
Board members of Hempfield Area School District voted unanimously — although reluctantly in some cases — to shift the start and end times for school next year. “I think this is the better option. But I still feel bad,” school board member Diane Ciabattoni said. The start and end of...
How will he be judged? Pope Francis’ legacy pondered across religious and social lines
Just a few months into his papacy, Pope Francis made a statement that drew global attention. Chatting with reporters in July 2013, on the plane back from his first foreign trip, he posited, “If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I...
Pirates to announce details on how to collect Paul Skenes bobbleheads this week
Were you among Saturday’s sellout crowd at PNC Park to watch Paul Skenes pitch, only to leave the game without a bobblehead of the Pittsburgh Pirates phenom? Then keep an eye out this week for a pertinent announcement from the Pirates. Per Pirates senior vice president of communications and broadcasting...
Harvard sues Trump administration to stop freeze of more than $2 billion in grants
BOSTON — Harvard University announced Monday that it was suing the Trump administration to halt a freeze on more than $2.2 billion in grants after the institution said it would defy the Trump administration’s demands to limit activism on campus. In a letter to Harvard earlier this month, the Trump...
Allegheny County public defender vows to keep fighting after being put on leave
Allegheny County’s chief public defender, who was abruptly escorted from her office on April 7 and put on paid administrative leave, claims her treatment was unjustified and denies allegations that she made offensive statements to subordinates. In a recent written message to supporters, Lena Bryan-Henderson called the claims “disheartening” but...
