Regional category, Page 65
Charges against Mercer man accused of killing, dismembering transgender teen held for court
A murder charge filed against a Mercer County man accused of killing a transgender teen and dismembering their body was held for court on Thursday. State police charged Dashawn Watkins, 29, of Mercer with first-degree murder, aggravated assault, abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence in the death of...
Casey: State Dept., Biden silence on Marc Fogel’s Russian imprisonment is intolerable
WASHINGTON — The State Department isn’t doing enough to bring Oakmont teacher Marc Fogel home, U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Scranton, told TribLive. “I believe the administration’s outreach to and communication with the family has been unacceptable. They simply haven’t done enough of it,” Casey said. Fogel, 62, was sentenced to...
‘I always need the first day of Steelers training camp off’: Fans flock to Saint Vincent as practices begin
It doesn’t take a trained eye to see that Jaime Lucchetti is a diehard Steelers football fan. Her arms, legs and collarbone are decorated with 30 tattoos of Pittsburgh players’ faces, team logos and iconic phrases such as former quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s 2018 huddle call, “dilly dilly.” It took her...
Butler County DA disputes testimony that officers left posts to look for Trump rally shooter
The Butler County district attorney on Wednesday disputed congressional testimony that two Butler County law enforcement officers left a key post shortly before a gunman opened fire from a nearby rooftop at former President Donald Trump — even as he acknowledged that one officer briefly did just that. Pennsylvania State...
Plum man discharged from hospital after Trump shooting
A Plum man wounded during a shooting at a Donald Trump rally in Butler County was discharged from a hospital Wednesday, officials said. Allegheny Health Network released an update Wednesday on both patients being treated at Pittsburgh’s Allegheny General Hospital following the shooting at the former president’s July 13 campaign...
Video released by lawmaker shows aftermath of Trump rally shooting
Bodycam footage of local law enforcement officers and U.S. Secret Service personnel responding to the scene of the shooter at the Trump campaign rally in Butler County has been released by Sen. Chuck Grassley. The footage shows officers gathering facts and recapping the timeline leading up to the Crooks’ attempt...
$1.2M in federal cash to help Pa. expand Eastern Massasauga rattler’s habitat
The Eastern Massasauga rattler is one of the few venomous snakes native to Pennsylvania. It’s also the least likely to be spotted, because its historic range only includes parts of Butler, Clarion, Venango and Mercer counties along with a small slice of Armstrong County. But there may be a few...
Butler legislator’s bill to shape House probe into security lapses at Trump rally shooting
The U.S. House plans to create a bipartisan task force to investigate security lapses that led to the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, and it will be based on a resolution introduced by U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Butler. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson and Democrat House Minority Leader...
Judge orders Comprehensive Healthcare to pay nearly $36M for labor violations
A federal judge on Monday ordered an embattled nursing home corporation to pay nearly $36 million in back wages and penalties after finding that Comprehensive Healthcare Management Services violated U.S. labor laws. U.S. District Judge William Stickman IV ordered the company, which operated 15 nursing homes in Western Pennsylvania, to...
‘Completely unacceptable’: Committee tours site of Trump assassination attempt
A bipartisan congressional delegation got a firsthand look Monday at the place where a 20-year-old nursing home aide came within a hairsbreadth of killing Donald Trump. After climbing the same Butler County roof from which Thomas Crooks fired shots from an AR-15 rifle, members of the U.S. House Committee on...
Pennsylvania boosts student teacher stipend, but funding still falls short to cover all
Pennsylvania has allocated a total of $30 million to a stipend program for student teachers, but the funding will cover only about half of the students who applied for it. Gov. Josh Shapiro signed off on the stipend program in December, allotting $10 million to support college students spending a...
‘That last debate ruined him’: Western Pa. residents react to Biden bowing out of race
President Joe Biden halting his presidential campaign and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris shocked some and came as no surprise to others in Western Pennsylvania who spoke with TribLive on Sunday. “I don’t think he has it in him for another four years,” said Scott Wolfe of New Kensington. Calls...
Pa. politicians, party leaders react to Biden dropping out; Shapiro endorses Harris
News of President Joe Biden’s decision to not seek reelection spread swiftly Sunday among Pennsylvania politicians and party leaders, drawing praise and adulation from Democrats and partisan attacks from Republicans. Biden announced that he is dropping out of the race against former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, but will...
Bethel Park, Butler Township communities grapple with aftermath of Trump rally shooting
Butler Township and Bethel Park didn’t share much in common before last weekend. Now, the Western Pennsylvania communities separated by about 50 miles are inextricably linked by the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump. Butler Township, where a gunman wounded Trump, killed a spectator and critically injured two others...
A hectic July propels Trump, GOP to new heights as Biden, Dems flounder
With four months before the presidential election, Republicans are flying high while the Democrats are in a tailspin. It’s been a tale of two parties in July, as a surging Donald Trump keeps racking up the wins even as a wobbly President Joe Biden falters. Capitalizing on the momentum from...
18th century Braddock coat of arms slated for auction
An English auction house will accept bids on a coat of arms belonging to Gen. Edward Braddock, an ill-fated British military leader during Southwestern Pennsylvania’s involvement in the French and Indian War. Painted in oil on canvas, the heraldic design dates from the mid-18th century and is about 10 inches...
Cranberry teen killed in Route 51 crash
A 19-year-old Cranberry man has been identified as the motorcycle driver killed Friday night in a crash along Route 51 in Pittsburgh, the Allegheny County Medical Examiner said. The victim, Aiden Tanner, died in the crash about 8:20 p.m. in the 1000 block of Saw Mill Run Boulevard in the...
Franklin Regional sees benefits of ‘Parents as Allies’ program
Members of a family that just moved to the Franklin Regional School District from overseas might not have the confidence to get up at a school board meeting and ask a question. But get a few of those families together for dinner at a local Italian restaurant, and conversations start...
1 taken to Pittsburgh hospital after crash into Mon River in Washington County
A motorist was taken to a Pittsburgh hospital Friday after being rescued from a vehicle partially submerged in the Monongahela River in Washington County. The vehicle ended up in the river after crossing railroad tracks along Route 88 in Speers, according to a Washington County 911 dispatch supervisor. Charleroi firefighters...
What we know: Pa. AG Henry calls for assault-weapons ban
Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry on Friday called on both state and federal legislators to create or reinstate assault-weapons bans, and stressed more needs to be done to address American politicians’ “collective indifference to addressing this issue.” Former President Donald Trump, who a gunman tried to assassinate at Butler County...
‘Tornado Alley’ shifts east. What does it mean for Western Pa.?
“Tornado Alley” has shifted east, but what does it mean for Western Pennsylvania? Not much, according to meteorologists. The Weather Channel said a new study found that the most active tornado corridor in the United States — known as “Tornado Alley” — has changed in recent decades, and tornadoes are...
Strike averted at Kittanning nursing home after workers approve new contract
Employees of a Kittanning nursing home approved a new contract Thursday, averting a strike that was scheduled to start Friday, their union announced . SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania said workers at Armstrong Rehabilitation & Nursing Center voted in favor of ratifying a new three-year contract that includes improvements to wages and...
Butler County law enforcement asked to testify in D.C. about Trump rally shooting
Two local law enforcement officials have been asked to testify before the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security regarding the July 13 assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump at the Butler Farm Show grounds. Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., announced Wednesday he invited Butler County Sheriff Mike...
Take the TribLive weekly news quiz: July 19
The following is a regular feature from TribLive: A weekly news quiz:...
Rivers Casino workers, fearful of gambling on health, rally behind effort to ban smoking
Alicia Monahan blames secondhand smoke for two fainting episodes she experienced while working at Rivers Casino on Pittsburgh’s North Shore. The table games dealer said she’s otherwise healthy but sometimes feels the effects of the smoke getting to her. Since she started working at the casino in 2019, she collapsed...
