Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 850
Guns seized at Pittsburgh airport down from record levels, but still a problem, TSA says
Traffic is gradually returning to normal at Pittsburgh International Airport, but the number of firearms seized at the airport’s checkpoints doesn’t appear to be going back to pre-pandemic levels. The Transportation Security Administration wants to keep it that way. On Wednesday, agency officials held a news conference at the airport...
Stroke in people Kris Letang’s age, condition not as rare as one might think, experts say
Medical experts Wednesday were not surprised to hear the details of Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang’s stroke, saying it might even be considered commonplace for people built as he is. Dr. M. Shazam Hussain, a board- certified neurologist and the director of Cleveland Clinic’s Cerebrovascular Center, estimates one in every...
Date set for special election to replace the late state Rep. Tony DeLuca
A special election to fill the late state Rep. Tony DeLuca’s vacant seat will be Feb. 7, outgoing House Speaker Bryan Cutler announced Wednesday. DeLuca, D-Penn Hills, passed away in October after a brief battle with lymphoma, but his name still appeared on the November ballot, and he was reelected...
Christine McVie, Fleetwood Mac singer-songwriter, dies at 79
NEW YORK — Christine McVie, the British-born Fleetwood Mac vocalist, songwriter and keyboard player whose cool, soulful contralto helped define such classics as “You Make Loving Fun,” “Everywhere” and “Don’t Stop,” died Wednesday at age 79. Her death was announced on the band’s social media accounts. No cause of death...
Cleveland man arrested in connection with killing of woman found in Wilkinsburg
Authorities have arrested a Cleveland man wanted in connection with the killing of Adrianna K. Taylor, whose body was found Thanksgiving night in a Wilkinsburg backyard. Anthony Kennedy, 43, surrendered himself to Allegheny County police at police headquarters at 2 p.m. Wednesday and was placed into custody of the U.S....
‘Dateline’ profiles murder in Africa of Bianca Rudolph by former Westmoreland dentist
“Dateline” on NBC will cover a murder in Africa with connections to Westmoreland County during Friday’s episode. The long-running investigative series will focus on the 2016 death of Bianca Rudolph while on safari in Zambia with husband Larry Rudolph, who founded and once operated Hempfield-based Three Rivers Dental Group. Larry...
Mall at Robinson sold to New York firm in $46M deal
The Mall at Robinson has been sold to New York-based Kohan Retail Investment Group for $46 million. Chicago-based Jones Lang LaSalle, the real estate company that brokered the deal, announced the sale Tuesday. The two-level, 874,533-square-foot mall sees more than 4.8 million visitors per year, placing it among the top...
House votes to avert rail strike, impose deal on unionsVideo
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House moved urgently to head off the looming nationwide rail strike on Wednesday, passing a bill that would bind companies and workers to a proposed settlement that was reached in September but rejected by some of the 12 unions involved. The measure passed by a vote...
Highmark Health reports $268M in losses fueled by declining stock market
More than $670 million in investment losses contributed to an overall net loss for local health care giant Highmark Health during the first nine months of the year, according to the organization’s third-quarter financial report for 2022. Highmark Health reported $19.5 billion in revenue from January through September, about a...
Penguins defenseman Kris Letang suffers 2nd stroke, out indefinitely
Kris Letang said it in a very casual manner. But with undeniable confidence. On July 7, during the first night of the NHL Draft at the Bell Centre in his hometown of Montreal, the All-Star defenseman was asked about the six-year contract extension he signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins earlier...
Jeffries wins historic bid to lead House Dems after Pelosi
WASHINGTON — Emboldened House Democrats ushered in a new generation of leaders on Wednesday with Rep. Hakeem Jeffries elected to be the first Black American to head a major political party in Congress as long-serving Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her team step aside next year. Showing rare party unity after...
Proposed ordinance to allow backyard chickens in O’Hara scheduled for council consideration in January
A proposal to allow O’Hara Township residents to keep backyard chickens is now before O’Hara Council and is scheduled for consideration at its Jan. 3 meeting. Chickens have never been permitted on township residences under 5 acres. Allowing them on smaller properties has been on the radar for several years....
Fern Hollow Bridge to be finished by end of year, officials say
The new Fern Hollow Bridge in Pittsburgh’s East End is expected to open by the end of the year, city and Pennsylvania Department of Transportation officials said. “We are anticipating the bridge will be open by the end of the year, and perhaps before Christmas,” PennDOT spokesman Steve Cowan said....
Westmoreland prison puts out the call for 29 guards
The Westmoreland County Prison has put out a “help wanted” sign for guards — 29 in all. “We definitely have an urgent need for corrections officers,” Warden Bryan Kline said during a prison board meeting this week. Kline said the county has made “significant progress” in reducing the number of...
Gift shop opens at Pittsburgh Brewing Co. site in East Deer
Barry Wagner of Brackenridge was hoping to score a case of fresh-brewed beer when he visited the newly opened Pittsburgh Brewing Co. gift shop. “I’ve been drinking Iron City since 1972,” Wagner said while perusing the T-shirts and tin signs at the site off Freeport Road in East Deer. “I...
Despite concern it’s not enough, Pittsburgh OKs $900K for summer youth food program
Pittsburgh City Council on Tuesday approved a measure to provide $900,000 for a food service program that provides meals to local students over the summer when they aren’t served meals at school, though one council member raised concerns about whether that’s enough funding for the initiative. The amount of money...
Congress prepares to take up bill preventing rail strike
WASHINGTON — Congress is moving swiftly to prevent a looming U.S. rail workers strike, reluctantly intervening in a labor dispute to stop what would surely be a devastating blow to the nation’s economy if the transportation of fuel, food and other critical goods were disrupted. The House was expected to...
Pa. Senate sets rules for Philly DA Larry Krasner’s impeachment trial
HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania Senate on Tuesday approved two procedural measures needed to stage an impeachment trial for Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, the latest step in an unprecedented effort to remove the city’s prosecutor from office. The resolutions set the rules of the trial, which is expected to begin...
3 people shot in McKeesport
McKeesport police are investigating an incident in which three people were shot Tuesday afternoon. The shooting was reported shortly before 1:45 p.m. in the 500 block of Pirl Street. McKeesport police told Tribune-Review news partner WPXI-TV that the wounds suffered by all three victims are considered non-life-threatening. The grandmother of...
Pittsburgh police officer hurt while breaking up fight, separate shooting incident results in arrest
A Pittsburgh police officer was injured while attempting to break up a fight on Tuesday evening in Market Square. A Pittsburgh Public Safety spokesman tweeted about the incident around 8:30 p.m. They said officers responded to a dispute between juveniles at the Five Guys fast food restaurant. An officer suffered...
High school junior, football player, dies after shooting Tuesday in Monessen
Officials have identified a Monessen High School student who died after being shot Tuesday evening in Monessen. Amari Altomore, 16, of Monessen died in an area hospital following the shooting at 8:10 p.m. at 649 S. 14th St., Monessen, according to a report from the Westmoreland County Coroner’s Office. The...
Coraopolis man sentenced to 5 years in federal prison for possessing child porn
A Coraopolis man has been sentenced to spend the next five years in federal prison after he was convicted of possession of child pornography. The sentence was imposed on Christopher A. Sennett, 34, by U.S. District Judge Cathy Bissoon, federal authorities announced Tuesday. Sennett was found guilty of possession of...
Landmark same-sex marriage bill wins Senate passageVideo
WASHINGTON — The Senate passed bipartisan legislation Tuesday to protect same-sex marriages, an extraordinary sign of shifting national politics on the issue and a measure of relief for the hundreds of thousands of same-sex couples who have married since the Supreme Court’s 2015 decision that legalized gay marriage nationwide. The...
Judge orders machine recounts in 4 Westmoreland voting precincts
A Westmoreland County judge on Tuesday ordered machine recounts of election results from four voting precincts, but in doing so rejected requests to review by hand each ballot cast this month in the race for governor and U.S. senator. Voters in five of the county’s 307 voting precincts filed court...
Oath Keepers boss guilty of seditious conspiracy in Jan. 6 caseVideo
WASHINGTON — Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes was convicted Tuesday of seditious conspiracy for a violent plot to overturn Democrat Joe Biden’s presidential win, handing the Justice Department a major victory in its massive prosecution of the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection. A Washington, D.C., jury found Rhodes guilty of sedition...
