Top Stories category, Page 46
What’s next in the national redistricting fight after California approved a new U.S. House map
The new congressional map that California voters approved marked a victory for Democrats in the national redistricting battle playing out ahead of the 2026 midterm election. But Republicans are still ahead in the fight. The unusual mid-decade redistricting fray began this summer when President Donald Trump urged Republican-led states to...
What to know about the Supreme Court arguments over Trump’s tariffs
WASHINGTON — Three lower courts have ruled illegal President Donald Trump’s use of emergency powers to impose worldwide tariffs. Now the Supreme Court, with three justices Trump appointed and generally favorable to muscular presidential power, will have the final word. In roughly two dozen emergency appeals, the justices have largely...
Editorial: The common cents of planning ahead on eliminating the penny
Sometimes a decision is as easy as a coin toss. The stakes are low. The outcome is variable. Heads, you win. Tails, you lose. No big deal either way. Others may seem easy up front, but a little digging shows the process needs more care. Take, for instance, the penny....
Community Roundtable hopes to help people struggling with SNAP, LIHEAP benefits
Michael Eckert knows the struggle of relying on government assistance to stay warm and fed. The East Deer resident received benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) in previous years. “These programs didn’t just help my wife and I survive,”...
Challenger slate ‘Together for PR’ sweeps election for Pine-Richland School Board
A slate of Democratic candidates swept the fight for four seats that were up for election Tuesday on the Pine-Richland School Board, according to unofficial Allegheny County Election Results. The four candidates running across three district regions — Liz DeLosa in Region 1; Amy Cafardi and Melissa Vecchi in Region...
Rebuking Trump, California passes Prop 50 to redistrict in favor of Democrats
California voters sent a strong anti-Donald Trump message on Tuesday by passing Proposition 50, another big win for Democrats during the 2025 off-year election that helps the party in the nationwide redistricting frenzy that will help decide who controls the U.S. House in the final two years of the Republican...
Leechburg Area School Board retains 2 incumbents, adds two new members
The Leechburg Area School Board will be a mix of new and familiar faces this coming year. According to unofficial results from the election bureaus in Armstrong and Westmoreland counties, Darius Lovelace, 73, Candi Stewart, 68, Danielle Reinke, 44, and Janie Borsh Symons, 66, will be sworn in for four...
2 injured after vehicle crashes into woods off Route 30
Two people were hospitalized after their vehicle crashed down a steep embankment in a wooded area off Route 30 in Southwest Greensburg. Westmoreland County Public Safety officials said state police responded to the wreck on the eastbound side of Route 30 near the Route 119 exit around 10:10 p.m. Tuesday....
Deer Lakes School Board will have familiar, new faces come December
The Deer Lakes School Board will be a mix of familiar and new faces this December. According to Allegheny County Elections Division unofficial election results, incumbents Jeremy Love, 49, and Kristi Minnick, 55, both cross-filed, and Jonathan Majernik, 46, Democrat ballot, will be sworn back in this December. Newcomer Darlene...
8 candidates win seats on Allegheny County Common Pleas Court
All eight new judges who will take the bench in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court in January are registered Democrats. The top vote-getters, according to county elections results late Tuesday, included a union labor-law attorney, several former prosecutors and a district judge. Ballots in Allegheny County listed 13 candidates for...
Democrats take all 4 Plum School Board seats, defeat incumbent candidates
A slate of Democrats swept aside a Republican majority on Plum School Board, taking all four of the open seats. Unofficial results show Jill Klipa as the top vote-getter with 14.9%, followed by Adam Hill with 14%, Tiffany Hyde with 13.6% and Geter Sloan with 13%. Among the four victors,...
Westmoreland judges win retention
Westmoreland County voters on Tuesday overwhelmingly returned three local judges to the Common Pleas Court bench. With all 306 precincts reporting, incumbent judges Tim Krieger, Scott Mears and Harry Smail Jr. won new 10-year terms. Krieger’s retention was supported by 65% of voters, Mears’ by 66% and Smail’s by 66%....
Incumbents hold onto Springdale Council seats as data center debate continues
Springdale voters elected a slate of four mostly incumbent Democrats to council as hearings for the massive proposed data center in the borough carry on. Among the four victors, three are incumbents. But Deborah Piontek — who rallied the most support — will be a new face on council. According...
Labor Party’s Alex Rose leads in race for at-large seat on Allegheny County Council
Labor Party candidate Alex Rose held a sizable lead Tuesday night over Republican incumbent Mike Embrescia for an at-large seat on Allegheny County Council. Democrats were leading in seven other races in smaller county council districts. If the results hold up, Republicans would hold just one seat on the 15-member...
Pa. Supreme Court retention race called in favor of 3 Democratic justices
Voters overwhelmingly chose to retain three Democratic justices on Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court on Tuesday, according to results posted just an hour after polls closed. Both the Democratic National Committee and NBC called the race by 9:15 p.m. in the justices’ favor, and the Associated Press later confirmed the projection. The...
Democrat Mikie Sherrill elected governor of New Jersey, defeating opponent who aligned with Trump
TRENTON — U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill on Tuesday was elected governor of New Jersey, shoring up Democratic control of a state that has been reliably blue in presidential and Senate contests but had shown signs of shifting rightward in recent years. Sherrill, a former Navy helicopter pilot and four-term member...
Democrats coast to apparent victory in 3 Pittsburgh City Council races
Democrats made a clean sweep Tuesday night across three contested Pittsburgh City Council races, handily defeating their Republican opponents. Voters in the city’s West End neighborhoods, choosing a new council member for the first time since 2010 with the pending retirement of Councilwoman Theresa Kail-Smith, stuck with what they knew....
Allegheny County Sheriff Kevin Kraus up big in bid for 2nd term
Allegheny County Sheriff Kevin Kraus held a commanding lead Tuesday night over Republican challenger Brian Weismantle and appeared on his way to a second term in office. As of 11:30 p.m., with 90% of precincts reporting unofficial results and about 115,000 mail-in ballots counted, Kraus, a Democrat, had collected 64.4%...
O’Connor defeats Moreno in Pittsburgh mayor’s race
Democrat Corey O’Connor took the stage before hundreds of supporters at a South Side union hall an hour after polls closed Tuesday night and declared victory in his race for Pittsburgh mayor. “I am humbled and inspired by the great honor and privilege of serving as your next mayor,” O’Connor...
Abigail Spanberger elected Virginia governor in historic first that boosts Democrats ahead of 2026
RICHMOND, Va. — Democrat Abigail Spanberger won the Virginia governor’s race Tuesday, defeating Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears to give Democrats a key victory heading into the 2026 midterm elections and make history as the first-ever woman to lead the commonwealth. Spanberger’s victory will flip partisan control of the governor’s...
2025 Western Pennsylvania election results roundup
The polls closed at 8 p.m. for election day in Western Pennsylvania. The biggest race in the area was for Pittsburgh mayor, while the retention bids of three Pennsylvania Supreme Court justices are also getting considerable public attention and financial support. In Westmoreland County all three Common Pleas judges were...
Man wanted in connection with Wilkinsburg killing apprehended in Florida
A Wilkinsburg man wanted for murder in connection with a fatal shooting in the borough was apprehended in Florida, federal authorities announced Tuesday. Harvey Scott, 37, was taken into custody by the U.S. Marshals Florida Regional Task Force near Miami after a brief foot chase. He is charged with homicide,...
Zohran Mamdani wins NYC mayor’s race, capping a stunning ascent
NEW YORK — Zohran Mamdani was elected mayor of New York City on Tuesday, capping a stunning ascent for the 34-year-old state lawmaker, who was set to become the city’s most liberal mayor in generations. In a victory for the Democratic party’s progressive wing, Mamdani defeated former Gov. Andrew Cuomo...
‘Catastrophic’ UPS plane crash near Louisville airport leaves at least 7 deadVideo
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — At least seven people were killed after a United Parcel Service cargo plane was involved in a “catastrophic crash” near Louisville’s Muhammad Ali International Airport on Tuesday, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said. The death toll is likely to grow, Beshear said late Tuesday. He added that first...
Monroeville man, 21, found shot dead in car
A man found dead Tuesday morning inside a vehicle in Wilkinsburg had been shot multiple times, Allegheny County Police said. Wilkinsburg police said they found the man after they were dispatched to the 1600 block of Penn Avenue around 7:35 a.m. The man was pronounced dead at the scene at...
