Top Stories category, Page 424
Justice Clarence Thomas took more trips paid for by donor Harlan Crow, Senate panel revealsVideo
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin says his committee has uncovered at least three additional trips given to Justice Clarence Thomas by GOP megadonor Harlan Crow as part of the panel’s ethics investigation into the Supreme Court. Durbin, D-Ill., said Thursday the committee obtained information from Crow that Thomas took...
Tropical rainstorms in South Florida lead to flight delays and streets jammed with stalled carsVideo
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A tropical disturbance that brought a rare flash flood emergency to much of southern Florida delayed flights at two of the state’s largest airports and left vehicles waterlogged and stalled in some of the region’s lowest-lying streets. “Looked like the beginning of a zombie movie,” said...
ATI’s $1.2B hot strip mill in Harrison marks 10 years, remains world’s most powerful, company says
Lou Koprivnikar launched his career at ATI 36 years ago when everything was hands-on. Employees would load 43-ton metal coils by crane and affix labels on specialty metals fresh out of a 2,250-degree furnace. Today, operations are fully automated inside the Hot Rolling and Processing Facility (HRPF), a $1.2 billion...
Westmoreland register of wills meets deadline, pays $422,000 into county treasury
More than $422,000 from court fees collected by the Westmoreland County Register of Wills Office was turned over Thursday to the county treasury. Treasurer Jared Squires confirmed the embattled row office met a court-ordered, afternoon deadline to turn over funds it received from routine office filings since the start of...
Citing toxins in garlic, group says EPA should have warned about chemicals near Ohio derailment
The Environmental Protection Agency should conduct additional soil studies near the site of a toxic train derailment in Ohio and warn people it might not be safe to garden there after independent testing showed high levels of chemicals in locally grown garlic, a watchdog group said Thursday. In a petition...
Live Nation presents music venue plan for Pittsburgh’s Lower Hill District
Entertainment giant Live Nation presented plans Thursday for a 4,500-seat entertainment venue at the former Civic Arena site in Pittsburgh’s Lower Hill District. The plan, first approved in May 2023, is seeking an adjustment, as the attached parking garage now will be pursued separately. California-based Live Nation told officials at...
Senate Republicans block bill on women’s right to IVF as Democrats make push on reproductive careVideo
WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans blocked legislation that would make it a right nationwide for women to access in vitro fertilization and other fertility treatments after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer forced a vote on the matter Thursday in an effort to drive an election-year contrast on reproductive care. Sen. Tammy...
Marquette University President Michael Lovell, who had ties to Pitt, dies at 57
Michael Lovell, the president of Marquette University with deep ties to the University of Pittsburgh, died in Rome on Sunday after a battle with cancer. He was 57 and grew up in Meadville. Lovell earned three mechanical engineering degrees including a doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh in 1994. He...
North Huntingdon teen killed in Butler crash
A North Huntingdon teen who graduated from Norwin High School last year was killed early Thursday morning in a one-vehicle crash in northern Butler County, state police at Butler said. The victim, Josiah Pastories, 19, was traveling northward along Kittanning Pike in Fairview Township at about 6:20 a.m. when he...
Freeport woman celebrates $1 million lottery win while mourning husband’s deathVideo
Two weeks after Karen Coffman became a millionaire, her husband died. “When I told him about the prize, he thought I was lying to him,” Coffman said of Robert, her husband of 31 years. Robert Coffman died April 10 from complications of a brain tumor. His death made her million-dollar...
Derry Township man surrenders after overnight standoff
A lengthy overnight standoff in Derry Township ended peacefully early Thursday when a man surrendered to state police, according to Trooper Steve Limani. Benjamin T. Clawson, 42, was taken into custody on charges of simple assault, harassment and terroristic threats stemming from an incident that prompted troopers to be called...
Pittsburgh man charged in fire at Monroeville church, 5 other fires in Allegheny County
A Pittsburgh man was arrested in connection with several fires across Allegheny County, including a fire early Thursday morning that badly damaged the office and rectory building of Christ the Divine Shepherd Parish in Monroeville and a former Wilkins restaurant. Wilkins police charged David Harknett, 41, with aggravated arson, criminal...
Elder fraud cost Allegheny County residents $8M last year, officials say
Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. on Thursday used a video’s release as a springboard to warn residents about elder fraud, which scammed more than 12,000 Allegheny County residents out of nearly $8 million last year. Zappala said his office has prevented an estimated $35 million in elder...
U.S. Supreme Court rules to preserve access to abortion pill
The Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously preserved access to a medication that was used in nearly two-thirds of all abortions in the U.S. last year, in the court’s first abortion decision since conservative justices overturned Roe v. Wade two years ago. The nine justices ruled that abortion opponents lacked the...
Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro popularity soar as weight loss wonders
Editor’s note: This story first posted on June 11, 2023. For Diane Lang, the big push to focus on her health and weight came from her grandchildren. “I was exhausted,” she said. “When they would visit, I would just try to keep up with them. I want to run with...
Heat wave headed to Western Pennsylvania
Forecasters expect a hot welcome to summer next week with temperatures rising to dangerous levels across the Northeastern United States. Lee Hendricks, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Moon, said residents of Western Pennsylvania should brace for high heat starting Sunday, with temperatures expected to climb into the...
Pennsylvania’s failure to fund indigent defense violates the Constitution, lawsuit says
The examples in the lawsuit are many. One man held in jail for three months on $100 bail for a minor trespassing and marijuana possession charge. Another man incarcerated for 10 weeks for charges he drove an unregistered car without proof of insurance. One man who sat in jail for...
Cheers, cake and a fist-bump from GOP as Trump returns to Capitol Hill in a first since Jan. 6 riot
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump made a triumphant return to Capitol Hill on Thursday, his first with lawmakers since the Jan.6, 2021 attacks, embraced by energized House and Senate Republicans who find themselves reinvigorated by his bid to retake the White House. Despite pending federal charges against Trump for conspiring to...
Social media company Rumble clashes with Pa. Democrats over antisemitism, defamation allegations
Rising concerns over global antisemitism are spilling over into a dispute between a right-wing social media platform called Rumble and some members of Pennsylvania’s Democratic Party. Letters obtained by TribLive show Rumble, a Toronto-based social media company, sparring with the Pennsylvania Democratic Party. One side claims that Rumble is abetting...
Morning roundup: Former Hooters restaurant in Wilkins damaged by fire; weekend road closures
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Thursday, June 13, 2024. Fire breaks out at vacant restaurants in Wilkins An old Hooters restaurant in Wilkins went up in flames Thursday morning. First responders say they were dispatched to the scene at 3:45 a.m. on the 3500...
Man dead after shooting in McKeesport
Allegheny County homicide detectives are investigating after a man was shot and killed in McKeesport. Dispatchers were alerted of a shooting at 12:40 a.m. Thursday in the 600 block of Eden Park Blvd. Authorities found Bryant Boyd, 64, of Duquesne dead at the scene. Police have not announced any arrests....
New Kensington innovation projects to continue despite changes at Penn State
As chancellor of Penn State New Kensington, one of Kevin Snider’s goals was to sink his campus’ roots so deeply into the city that its initiatives would continue without him. Now that he’s set to retire at the end of the year with his campus falling under a new leadership...
Deficit, enrollment trends spur leadership revamp for Penn State’s Fayette campus
Students value the small-college atmosphere at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus near Uniontown, but that increasingly intimate nature is triggering a major change. In the face of declining enrollment and budget deficits, Penn State is consolidating oversight of some of its branch campuses and is paring its payroll. The...
Mon Incline’s problems are ‘sporadic and unpredictable,’ report says
The ongoing problems that frequently have shut down the Monongahela Incline appear to be the result of a series of “sporadic and unpredictable causes,” said a newly released report. The report, obtained by TribLive, comes from Philadelphia-based consultants Talson and was commissioned by Pittsburgh Regional Transit in April after intermittent...
Indiana County crash kills 1, sends 2 to Pittsburgh hospitals
A two-car crash Wednesday morning in Indiana County killed one motorist and injured two others. State police said a woman who was driving a Volkswagen sedan was pronounced dead at the scene near Shelocta by Indiana County Coroner Jerry Overman. She was identified as Erma Karen Devivo, 80, of Armstrong...
