Top Stories category, Page 520
Ex-IRS contractor gets 5 years in prison for leak of tax return information of Trump, rich people
WASHINGTON — A former contractor for the Internal Revenue Service who pleaded guilty to leaking tax information to news outlets about former President Donald Trump and thousands of the country’s wealthiest people was sentenced to five years in prison Monday. Charles Edward Littlejohn, 38, of Washington, D.C., gave data to...
SoCal in New Kensington closes indefinitely; owner seeks new restaurant partner
SoCal Mexicali Grill in New Kensington has closed, but the owner said he’s looking for a new business partner in hopes of reopening. “The volume didn’t come through,” said owner Sean Watson. “We had a great products and people loved it, but traffic wasn’t there to keep it going.” SoCal...
Plans for new Derry-Ligonier power line spark property owner concerns over potential impacts
An idyllic Ligonier Township homestead where a young couple are living the life bucolic by raising exotic fowl and keeping honeybees could be bisected by a high voltage power line proposed by FirstEnergy. The proposed power line “would slice directly through the center” of the eight-acre property on Orme Road...
Strike averted: Union approves new contract with Westmoreland County
More than 500 Westmoreland County courthouse and nursing home employees ratified a union contract Monday. Approval of the three-year deal averted a strike that would have started Friday if a deal wasn’t reached. Rank-and-file members of the Service Employees International Union Local 668 and Healthcare PA overwhelmingly voted to accept...
Westmoreland register of wills faces more questions about office’s handling of filings
Westmoreland County Register of Wills Sherry Magretti Hamilton conceded Monday her office has been scrambling to keep up with its workload. “We understand it is an issue, and we are making progress slowly and we will do whatever we have to do to make it happen,” Hamilton said after another...
Shapiro proposal would steer extra $40M a year to Pittsburgh Regional Transit
Southwestern Pennsylvania’s largest transit agency could see a needed boost of about $40 million annually thanks to a budget proposal unveiled Monday by Gov. Josh Shapiro. If passed, it would be the first funding increase for Pittsburgh Regional Transit in years, an agency spokesman said Monday. Transit agencies across the...
Enemy drone that killed U.S. troops in Jordan was mistaken for a U.S. drone, preliminary report suggestsVideo
WASHINGTON — U.S. forces may have mistaken an enemy drone for an American one and let it pass unchallenged into a desert base in Jordan where it killed three U.S. troops and wounded dozens more, officials said Monday. Details of the Sunday attack emerged as President Joe Biden faced a...
Tarentum man pleads no contest in Route 28 fatal crash
A 79-year-old Tarentum man faces up to five years in prison for killing his front-seat passenger in a single-car crash on Route 28 in 2021. Frederick Fattman pleaded no contest Monday to involuntary manslaughter in front of Common Pleas Judge Jennifer Satler, his attorney, Alexander Lindsay, told TribLive. The plea...
Pittsburgh officials tearing down homeless encampment after flooding
Pittsburgh officials are decommissioning a homeless encampment after first responders had to rescue a man from floodwaters in the Mon Wharf area. The homeless man was rescued with a ladder from about a foot of water around 9:30 p.m. Sunday as the rivers rose, public safety spokeswoman Emily Bourne said....
Allegheny River voted Pennsylvania’s 2024 River of the Year
The Allegheny River has been chosen by public vote as the top waterway in the state. The 325-mile stretch was named 2024 River of the Year, earning 8,307 votes to edge the Youghiogheny, which received 7,212 votes, and the Lackawaxen River, which received 4,740. “I cannot wait to celebrate this...
Game Commission puts hold on plan to return American marten to state woodlands
A plan to reintroduce a native species of weasel into the Pennsylvania wild has been put on hold by the state Game Commission’s board of commissioners. The board voted 6-3 Saturday to table American martens’ potential return to the state’s woodlands. Commissioner Robert Schwalm said he wanted more time in...
Burglarized New Kensington gun store plans to reopen as investigation continues
A New Kensington gun store burglarized last week will reopen Saturday with enhanced security measures. Roy Berg, who runs RC Firearms on Freeport Street with his son, Cole, said they will be having a “big sale” to mark the reopening along with a somewhat early celebration of their first year...
Lawyer in Jim Rogers Taser case releases video of Pittsburgh police encounterVideo
Video released publicly Monday showed for the first time how Pittsburgh police repeatedly shocked a homeless man with a Taser in 2021 during a fatal encounter whose details until now had emerged only through official reports. Jim Rogers, 54, died the day after being shocked by Keith Edmonds, a former...
Philips Respironics suspends U.S. sales of CPAP, other breathing machines
In the wake of a disastrous recall involving defective sound-dampening foam in several of its breathing machines, Philips Respironics announced Monday that it was suspending sales of its continuous positive airway pressure — or CPAP — machines in the United States. The decision comes as part of a consent decree...
Steeper gas price increases expected in mid-February, analyst says
While a combination of factors are pushing up the price of oil and the national average price of gasoline, steeper increases are on the horizon, an industry analyst says. The national average rose 4.5 cents per gallon in the past week to $3.07, according to price-tracking service GasBuddy. Despite that,...
Maryland woman faces felony assault charges for allegedly attacking state trooper
A Maryland woman is facing charges of aggravated assault after allegedly attacking a state trooper who stopped her for driving the wrong way on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Margot Bass, 53, of Takoma Park was arrested just before 1 a.m. Thursday. She faces a preliminary hearing before Judge Tom Swan in...
East Huntingdon man taken to hospital after being shot in confrontation with state police
A man who state troopers shot Sunday night in East Huntingdon has been a nuisance in the neighborhood, according to an employee at a neighboring tow company. Jim Miller Jr., 61, started firing guns at his home just off Route 819 around 7 a.m. Sunday and was carrying on all...
Pa. Supreme Court returns Medicaid-funded abortion case to lower court
Abortion rights advocates Monday praised a state Supreme Court opinion that they believe will ultimately uphold a broad constitutional right to abortion in Pennsylvania, even as the justices remanded the narrow merits of the case back to a lower court. The complicated set of five concurring and dissenting opinions spanning...
Morning Roundup: No injuries reported in Ross fire; landslide in Moon
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Monday, Jan. 29: No injuries reported in Ross fire No one was reported injured after a fire broke out early Monday morning at a house in Ross Township, according to TribLive news partner WTAE. First responders were alerted a...
Flooding in Pittsburgh sees 1 person rescued, roads closed
Several days of rain and the potential for flooding along the riverfront in Downtown Pittsburgh has led officials to close roads around the city early Monday morning. The 10th Street Bypass was closed between Interstate 279 Parkway North/Fort Duquesne Bridge and Fort Duquesne Boulevard, according to TribLive news partner WTAE....
Mixed emotions as Allegheny Township catering business Dobi goes up for sale
It’s not usually a good thing when someone cries at work. But happy tears were at the ready recently for Nikki Miller, banquet coordinator at Dobi Catering and Take Out in Allegheny Township. Miller was working last week when an elderly couple showed up to order the signature Dobi chicken,...
Teenager awaiting trial in 2020 homicide who fled outside hospital is captured in Philadelphia
PHILADELPHIA — A teenager awaiting trial in a homicide case who escaped outside a Philadelphia hospital last week was captured on Sunday, police said. Shane Pryor was taken into custody by the U.S. Marshals Service, said Sgt. Eric Gripp with the Philadelphia Police Department. The marshals will hand the 17-year-old...
GOP negotiator defends border proposal amid Trump pressureVideo
A key Republican senator defended an emerging border security deal as a step toward potentially halting illegal immigration, defying persistent pressure by former President Donald Trump to abandon the plan. “I’m looking forward to President Trump getting the opportunity to be able to read it, like everybody else is,” Oklahoma...
Illinois election officials to weigh recommendation to remove Trump’s name from March primary ballot
CHICAGO — Former President Donald Trump should be removed from Illinois’ primary ballot, but the decision should be left to the courts, a retired judge recommended Sunday to the state’s election board, arguing that it was clear Trump engaged in insurrection in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S....
Long-sought charter school changes on table as Pa. lawmakers plot education funding overhaul
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 — Pennsylvania lawmakers are considering significant changes to the way charter schools are funded as they undertake a monumental overhaul of public education mandated...
