Top Stories category, Page 240
‘I’m going to beat her.’ Texts show how sisters tortured Oakmont girl, 3
“I made her nose bleed,” one message read. “Good. I’m going to beat her,” came the response. Those were just two of hundreds of text messages between Alexis Herrera and her sister, Laura Ramriez, in early 2020 in the months leading up to their arrest for criminal homicide. According to...
Franklin Regional cheers on special-needs athletes in annual Clelian Heights game
Franklin Regional Senior High School Principal Ron Suvak loves to see the joy on the faces of Clelian Heights school basketball players during the annual game the Panthers host for the Catholic educational, vocational and residential facility that serves people with developmental disabilities. But even more than that, he loves...
Steel-processing furnace confirmed as source of Lower Burrell explosion, but details remain scant
Few details have been released about a Lower Burrell steel plant explosion that killed a Tarentum man. Brennan Sites, chief of Lower Burrell No. 3 Fire Company, confirmed a steel-processing furnace was the source of the explosion. Daniel R. Vakulick, 20, died from injuries sustained in the blast just before...
What JFK assassination files are still classified? Trump’s order could bring them to light
DALLAS — Millions of documents related to the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas have already been made public, but President Donald Trump has ordered the release of thousands of still-classified files. Trump signed the executive order Thursday as part of a flurry of executive actions taken...
Abortion pill-related social media posts blocked, hidden by Meta
Social media posts related to obtaining abortion pills were blocked and hidden on the platforms Instagram and Facebook, the New York Times reported. Specifically, two abortion pill providers’ posts were recently blurred, blocked or removed on the platforms, the Times said, and several abortion pill providers’ accounts were suspended on...
Trump ends Fauci’s security detail and says he’d feel no responsibility if harm befell him
President Donald Trump has ended the federal security detail for Dr. Anthony Fauci, the infectious disease expert who advised him on the COVID-19 pandemic, a person familiar with the matter said Friday. Fauci is the latest in a string of former Trump aides-turned-critics to see their federal protection canceled despite...
Police charge Downtown Pittsburgh Jimmy John’s manager as 3rd assailant in employee beating
Police have charged a Jimmy John’s manager with participating in the brutal assault last month of an employee at the sandwich shop’s Downtown Pittsburgh location, accusing him of punching the man at least nine times. Melvin Robinson, 29, of Penn Hills, is the third man arrested in the attack, which...
Mark Madden: Justin Fields has better options than staying with Steelers
This space recently floated the largely accepted notion that starting Justin Fields at quarterback next season makes sense for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Fields is 25 and has pedigree, having been selected 11th overall in the 2021 NFL Draft. He’s mobile and athletic: Lamar Jackson Lite. If Fields blossoms, perhaps he’s...
‘This city needs a change’: Pittsburgh mayoral contender Tony Moreno rips Gainey in campaign launch
Retired police officer and former Democrat Tony Moreno roundly skewered Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey Friday as he announced plans to run as a Republican for mayor of the city in the spring primary. “We have no accountability in this city. We have no transparency,” said Moreno, 56, of Brighton Heights,...
Trump proposes ‘getting rid of FEMA’ while touring disaster areas
LOS ANGELES — President Donald Trump surveyed disaster zones in California and North Carolina on Friday and said he was considering “getting rid of” the Federal Emergency Management Agency, offering the latest sign of how he is weighing sweeping changes to the nation’s central organization for responding to disasters. In...
Franchising equal parts rewarding, rigorous for new owners of McDonald’s stores in Penn Hills
Eugenia and Michael Cassidy took over the two McDonald’s stores in Penn Hills last year, and, so far, they’re “lovin’ ” it. But there’s more to getting in on one of the world’s most recognizable brands than just pooling together at least $500,000 in nonborrowed funds, the minimum for prospective...
4 found dead in suspected Hempfield murder-suicide; victims include children ages 1, 5
Dick Shawley held back tears while standing on his Hempfield front porch Friday morning after learning four of his neighbors are dead in what police deemed a murder-suicide. He recalled all the times he gave the kids — Connor, 1, and Evelyn, 5 — money for their birthdays and Christmas...
Here are 5 things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend: Jan. 24-26
Feeling a little cooped up after an arctic-cold week in Pittsburgh? Get cozy with indoor events — or embrace the freeze with a few outdoor ones. Here’s a little inspiration. Anatomy of a Lasagna Winter calls for comfort food, and what’s more comforting than a big, heavy rectangle of pasta,...
Roundup: Missing Pitt med student found dead
A missing 30-year-old University of Pittsburgh medical student has been found dead. The body of Luis Espinoza, who had been missing since Monday, was found Friday around 8:30 a.m. in the 100 block of Sterling Street in the city’s South Side Slopes section. Espinoza was last seen around 10:30 a.m....
Lori Falce: A message from the pulpit transcends politics
When I was a kid, my favorite part about going to church was the homily. While the rest of Mass was a patchwork of Bible stories, songs and the kneeling, standing and sitting calisthenics of a Catholic Sunday morning, the homily was always new. It was different. It had a...
Iron Horse Bridge rehab seen as ‘linchpin’ in effort to expand trails — and Connellsville’s economy
The Great Allegheny Passage bike trail between Pittsburgh and Cumberland, Md., has been a boon for communities that sit along it — and business owners hope a nearly $4 million study will provide a blueprint for boosting its impact in the region. A key component of the study will be...
The legal weed debate is starting up again in Pa.
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 — No one in the Pennsylvania Capitol is prepared to say if this is the year the state will legalize marijuana. But that hasn’t...
Saudi crown prince says kingdom intends to invest $600 billion in U.S. during call with Trump
Saudi Arabia’s crown prince said the kingdom wants to invest $600 billion in the United States over the next four years, comments that came after President Donald Trump put a price tag on returning to the kingdom as his first foreign trip. Trump’s 2017 trip to Saudi Arabia upended a...
Some Unity residents look forward to easier ride on proposed Route 981 realignment
Unity resident Tracy Lemmon is among those who are eagerly awaiting construction of a new alignment for Route 981 that PennDOT is planning south of Arnold Palmer Regional Airport. “I’m actually very anxious for it,” she said during Thursday’s public display of plans for the second section of the Laurel...
Wilkinsburg man accused of shooting at police in Penn Hills arrested in Florida
A Wilkinsburg man who Allegheny County Police said shot at two officers in October in Penn Hills was arrested Thursday in Fort Pierce, Florida. Pittsburgh detectives — who had a court order to conduct surveillance on Darrell Barham’s vehicle — were investigating early Oct. 17 when police said Barham, 40,...
Hearing begins for last defendant in torture death of Oakmont girl, 3, to determine degree of guilt
Wooden signs throughout the Oakmont house and decorative pillows in the entryway featured words like “home,” “family” and “happy.” The kitchen pantry was stacked with snacks like peanut M&Ms, Kraft macaroni and cheese, Bugles and cake mix. The refrigerator was stocked with frozen meats. And yet, police said, nearly 4-year-old...
Ed Blank, former Tribune-Review critic and reporter, dies at age 81
Ed Blank, former critic and reporter for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, passed away Wednesday at 81. No immediate cause of death is known, though he had been in ill health for some time, his family said. Edward L. Blank was the youngest of five children and moved from Shadyside to Mt....
Trump orders release of JFK, RFK and MLK assassination records
DALLAS — President Donald Trump has ordered the release of thousands of classified governmental documents about the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy, which has fueled conspiracy theories for decades. The executive order Trump signed Thursday also aims to declassify the remaining federal records relating to the assassinations of...
Senate confirms John Ratcliffe to lead CIA, giving Trump his 2nd Cabinet memberVideo
WASHINGTON — The Senate on Thursday confirmed John Ratcliffe as CIA director, giving President Donald Trump the second member of his new Cabinet. Ratcliffe was director of national intelligence during Trump’s first term and is the first person to have held that position and the top post at the CIA,...
Lower Burrell steel plant explosion claims Tarentum man’s life
One of three people injured Wednesday in a Lower Burrell steel plant explosion has died. Daniel R. Vakulick, 20, of Tarentum was identified by the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office on Thursday. He died after being injured in an explosion at Braeburn Alloy’s Steel Division. He was one of two...
