Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 439
Beaver County SWAT details communication breakdown during attempted assassination of Trump
A Beaver County SWAT sniper said his team had no contact July 13 with former President Donald Trump’s Secret Service detail before he spotted would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks scoping out a building with a range finder near the Butler County fairgrounds where the 20-year-old Bethel Park man later fired...
Trump and Harris enter 99-day sprint to decide an election that has suddenly transformed
ST. CLOUD, Minn. — Barely a week ago, a sense of inevitability hung over the U.S. presidential election. Donald Trump’s allies gleefully predicted a landslide victory during a Republican National Convention that felt more like a coronation for a nominee who had just survived an assassination attempt and was promising...
Biden decries ‘extremism’ on Supreme Court, details plan for term limits, ethics code for justicesVideo
AUSTIN, Texas — President Joe Biden said Monday that “extremism” on the U.S. Supreme Court is undermining public confidence in the institution and called on Congress to quickly establish term limits and an enforceable ethics code for the court’s nine justices. He also called on lawmakers to ratify a constitutional...
Entrenched incumbent Maduro is declared winner of Venezuela’s disputed presidential election
CARACAS — Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was formally declared the winner of his country’s disputed presidential election Monday, a day after the political opposition and the entrenched incumbent both claimed victory in the contest. The National Electoral Council, which is loyal to Maduro’s ruling party, announced his victory, handing him...
Volunteers collect ‘depressing volume’ of roadside trash across the state
For Aspinwall resident Kevin Kerr, the worst part of cleaning litter from Freeport Road is the sheer number of cigarette butts. “We get the food wrappers and pop cans, but the most frustrating and plentiful is definitely the butts,” said Kerr, who volunteers twice a year for the state’s Adopt-A-Highway...
Police say security cameras in public parks are an extra tool for departments
Arnold Mayor Shannon Santucci is quick to admit security cameras in the city’s public parks haven’t always stopped crime — but she’s still a proponent of the tool. The city will use a federal Community Development Block Grant, along with a pending $50,000 state grant, to buy additional cameras for...
U.S. Steel marketing blitz puts pressure on government to OK sale to Nippon Steel
U.S. Steel is banking on public pressure to push through a $14.9 billion acquisition by Nippon Steel as lawmakers and regulators balk at putting the domestic icon in foreign hands. An advertising campaign launched this year touts promises by Japan’s largest steelmaker to preserve jobs, upgrade plants and sustain American...
Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy forges forest of the future in face of global warming
In a quiet corner of Pittsburgh’s Schenley Park, Jaci Bruschi has been carefully tending a grove of yellowwood trees since 2019. The trees aren’t native to the Pittsburgh area, but they’ve largely thrived in Fezziwig Grove, a research grove manned by the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy. As the conservancy’s horticultural project...
TSA officers arrest traveler with revolver in a backpack at Pittsburgh International Airport
A West Virginia woman was arrested Sunday after she tried to fly out of Pittsburgh International Airport with a revolver in her backpack, authorities said. Transportation Security Administration officials spotted the gun at the Findlay airport’s main security checkpoint shortly before 10:45 a.m. Allegheny County Police said Amber Brooks, 33,...
A manipulated video shared by Musk mimics Harris’ voice, raising concerns about AI in politics
NEW YORK — A manipulated video that mimics the voice of Vice President Kamala Harris saying things she did not say is raising concerns about the power of artificial intelligence to mislead with Election Day about three months away. The video gained attention after tech billionaire Elon Musk shared it...
No injuries reported in Springdale house fire
A fire tore through a Springdale home Sunday morning, causing no injuries but gutting much of the residence. Emergency crews were dispatched to the 300 block of Murtland Street at around 10:30 a.m. No injuries were reported. A member of Allegheny County Fire Marshall’s investigative team remained at the scene...
Faces of the Valley: The River Church hosts campers in New Kensington on group mission trips
New faces are a regular occurrence during the summer at The River Church in New Kensington. The church, in collaboration with Week of Hope, a group mission trip organization based in Colorado, has been a host site for mission trips for the past 10 years. Week of Hope has been...
2nd area man injured at Trump rally released from hospital
Moon Township resident James Copenhaver, one of two area residents injured in the shooting at the July 13 Donald Trump rally in Butler County, has been released from the hospital. A spokeswoman for Pittsburgh’s Allegheny General Hospital confirmed the 74-year-old man was released from the medical facility on Friday. Marine...
Editorial: Olympics challenge us all to do better
Every year, the world has a chance to be better for a few days. Right now, more than 10,000 athletes from 206 countries have gathered in France for the Olympic Games. They will compete in 329 events over 32 sports. There are the classics such as running and cycling. There...
Experts call for caution as rush to assess new polls in presidential race intensifies
It’s a new ballgame for pollsters. The models, statistics, results and interpretation of public opinion gathered throughout 2024 and over the past three years was tossed out the window last weekend when President Joe Biden withdrew from the presidential race. With the race now shifted to feature Vice President Kamala...
What is Project 2025, and how could it impact the Pittsburgh region?
Vice President Kamala Harris wasted no time targeting Project 2025. In her first campaign appearances as the likely Democratic nominee for president, Harris took aim at the conservative movement’s 922-page blueprint for remaking America, describing it in a speech Wednesday in Indianapolis as “a plan to return America to a...
Strike on Israeli Golan Heights kills 11, threatens to spark wider war
TEL AVIV, Israel — A rocket strike Saturday at a soccer field killed at least 11 children and teens, Israeli authorities said, in the deadliest strike on an Israeli target along the country’s northern border since the fighting between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah began. It raised fears...
George Pickens isn’t worried about receiving tough love from new Steelers position coach
New wide receivers coach Zach Azzanni hasn’t been shy about expressing his displeasure if he doesn’t like the way his Pittsburgh Steelers players are practicing. That in-your-face approach doesn’t seem to bother third-year wide receiver George Pickens even if he and his position coach have disagreed at times. On the...
Jeannette groups, Red Cross install smoke detectors in city homes in wake of fatal fire
Michael Gendek had a sense of relief Saturday as volunteers updated the smoke detectors in his family’s second-story Jeannette apartment. Since the family moved into the Harrison Avenue rental dwelling in October, he said, the state of the detectors “has just always been a concern. We just wanted to make...
Bill adds free-speech protection against frivolous ‘SLAPP’ lawsuits
A new state law provides some additional free-speech protection to Pennsylvania citizens and groups who find themselves in court after criticizing powerful interests, such as real estate developers or political figures. House Bill 1466 was signed into law July 17 by Gov. Josh Shapiro, protecting free speech on public-sector issues...
‘What if?’: At 37, Andrew McCutchen reflects on place among Pirates’ all-time greats
Andrew McCutchen can become annoyed easily by the mere mention of milestones, as the Pittsburgh Pirates designated hitter has made it clear that he’s more interested in chasing championships than career numbers. McCutchen also is a husband and father of four, so he’s quick to add that being a baseball...
Court tells governor’s office to reveal more details about why it hired private law firms
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 — A three-judge Commonwealth Court panel has directed the governor’s office to reveal key details about why it spent tens of thousands in public...
Life and death in the heat. What it feels like when Earth’s temperatures soar to record highs
BENI MELLAL, Morocco — In the unrelenting heat of Morocco’s Middle Atlas, people were sleeping on rooftops. Hanna Ouhbour needed refuge too, but she was outside a hospital waiting for her diabetic cousin who was in a room without air conditioning. On Wednesday, there were 21 heat-related deaths at Beni...
Benedum estate listed for $2.9M near Ligonier
The Benedum family no longer has any heirs to carry on the family name, or to own and operate the family residence near Ligonier. Butterfly Farm, owned by the late philanthropist Paul G. Benedum, known by most as “Benny,” died from a heart attack while visiting Florida in May 2023....
Some say 7% boost in Pa. Medicaid funding is not enough for nursing homes; Sen. Kim Ward agrees
A 7% increase included in the recently passed Pennsylvania budget for nursing home residents on Medicaid — upping the total to $120 million — will help facilities caring for the elderly but won’t cover the gap between cost of the care and the state’s Medicaid reimbursement, a nursing home official...
