Free Republic

Development of a proposed hyperloop transportation system linking Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Chicago would not only be a boon to communities along the travel corridors but also would be a strong business investment. That’s the conclusion of a 157-page feasibility study released Monday in Cleveland by the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency and Hyperloop Transportation Technologies Inc., a California-based company developing the technology to move passengers and freight at more than 500 mph through low-pressure tubes. Consultant Transportation Economics and Management Systems performed the $1.3 million study of the proposed Great Lakes Hyperloop System. For the first time, the study estimated...

Pittsburgh Steelers safety Kameron Kelly fought with police after he was thrown out of a South Side bar early Friday morning when he became irate at the jukebox selection, according to charges filed against him. Kelly, 23, is charged with two counts of making terroristic threats and one count of resisting arrest, court records show. He was arraigned about 4:30 a.m. and released on nonmonetary bail. A Pittsburgh police officer working security outside of Mario’s on East Carson Street was approached by the bartender sometime after midnight seeking help to get a man later identified as Kelly out of the...

In the highly competitive race to get self-driving cars to the market, most companies hold their secrets close. But when it comes to helping those cars figure out where they are on the road, some experts are ready to open up. Argo AI, based in the Strip District, and Aptiv, based in O’Hara, publicly released some of their own data sets earlier this year in an effort to further advancement in the field. The companies shared parts of their own maps of cities where they are testing self-driving cars, including Pittsburgh. That may seem strange considering the abundance of applications...

Several groups that often are at odds over environmental rules are on the same side when it comes to easing methane regulations at oil and gas sites. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection joined major oil and gas companies, environmental groups and lawmakers from both parties last week in urging the Trump administration not to go through with its proposal to eliminate methane control requirements from well sites and pipelines across the country. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to roll back rules adopted in 2016 that require companies to identify and stop methane leaks from new and modified...

A self-described progressive activist, who helped found an advocacy group in Pittsburgh that supports autistic people, is mounting a challenge against longtime incumbent state Rep. Harry Readshaw. Jessica Benham, 28, of the South Side Slopes, is bidding for the Democratic nomination in the 36th legislative district, shaping her candidacy after the campaigns of a number of progressive women who have toppled longtime Democratic incumbents in the past two years. Her campaign is framing the race that way, too, and in a recent email, used the secondary headline to proclaim “Progressive Benham to challenge conservative incumbent Harry Readshaw.” “In some ways,...

The Pittsburgh Steelers will start Devlin Hodges, who made waves earlier this season with his outspoken support of President Trump, at quarterback Sunday as they take on the Cleveland Browns, more than two weeks after a helmet-swinging melee that shook the NFL, coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday. While Hodges may have been ecstatic about getting the start, he quickly became the target of social media trolls who resurfaced his past tweets – mostly about President Trump. The Samford product was caught deleting the tweets about Trump, but Twitter users saved the receipts.

The NFL "found no such evidence" that Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph directed a racial slur at Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett just prior to last week's brawl, league spokesman Brian McCarthy said Thursday. Garrett made the allegation during an appeal hearing with the NFL on Wednesday, sources told ESPN's Josina Anderson and Adam Schefter. Rudolph has strongly denied it. "Mason vehemently denies the report of being accused of using a racial slur during the incident Thursday night in Cleveland," Steelers spokesman Burt Lauten said in a statement. "He will not discuss this accusation any further and his focus...

The Rev. Hugh Lang, a priest for 63 years, was convicted Friday of indecent assault and unlawful contact with an 11-year-old boy while he was pastor at St. Therese of Lisieux parish in Munhall. Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Mark V. Tranquilli announced the verdict, ending a three-day bench trial that played out before a courtroom filled with nearly 30 of the priest's supporters. The 88-year-old priest took the stand Friday morning and vigorously denied the charges. But the judge said testimony convinced him that the incidents described by the 30-year-old accuser were true. The man, who lives in Southeast...

ALLEGHENY CO., Pa. - The Pennsylvania State Education Association and Sto-Rox School District teachers held a demonstration before a school meeting Thursday night. They claim 18 teachers have been seriously injured in school this year, mostly from breaking up school fights. Some of them had to be hospitalized. And they said the district isn't doing anything about the problem. --snip-- "Teachers and para-professionals have been hospitalized. We've had some that have missed work because of their injuries," said Engelherd. Teachers said this has been a growing issue since the first day of class, but some school board members said they...

PITTSBURGH - A man was left unconscious in the street, and a woman was pepper-sprayed after a fight in a local McDonald's spilled out the front door, police said. Court documents said the victims of the attack were Marc Conn and Billie Jo Goldsworthy. Documents said Conn was left paralyzed. Investigators said the attack happened at the location on Wood Street around 10:15 p.m. Monday. During the investigation, police said they learned the victims were inside the restaurant when they got into an argument with another man. Police said two employees -- identified as Roneese Davis and Kaniya Martin --...

UPDATE (2 p.m. Tuesday): The Allegheny County Elections Division provided the following update on issues and concerns -- which were said to be "nothing out of the ordinary" -- so far Tuesday morning at the polls: Clairton 3-2 reported the smell of gas from a kitchen. The gas company responded, but voting continued. McCandless 1-1 reported a calibration issue with a machine, which has been taken out of service while a technician responds to recalibrate it. McKeesport 12-1 opened late (about 8:30 a.m.) because the judge had car trouble this morning. Monroeville 2-2 had operator-error with a machine and used...

As a candidate, Lamb ran on a moderating message and avoided any support for impeachment. He benefited largely from union family support, something his Republican opponents were unable to capitalize on in the same way that President Trump did when he won the district by 2.5 percentage points. On Thursday, Lamb cast a yes vote for an impeachment inquiry of the president. Since the beginning of the 116th Congress, Lamb has voted over 90% of the time against legislation backed by Trump, which is probably why Trump publicly urged Parnell to challenge Lamb when he was speaking at the Shale...

A Pittsburgh activist who regularly organizes protests concerning racism in the city was charged Wednesday with setting fires in Pizza Milano — the Uptown pizza shop that drew ire in 2018 after an interaction between a manager and a black woman — and Cafe Milano Downtown. Nicole Jo Dawson, 36, of Beechview, is accused of walking into Pizza Milano on Fifth Avenue shortly after 10 p.m. Tuesday with a beer bottle that had a cloth sticking out the neck. Ms. Dawson lit the cloth on fire, then walked into the kitchen and threw the bottle into a fryer filled with...

PITTSBURGH - Good things come to those who wait, and for folks who have been craving a Clark Bar, the chocolate covered peanut butter crunch bars first developed in Pittsburgh will be available in November. The maker of Mallo Cups is very close to rolling out Clark Bars at its plant in Altoona, the first to be produced in western Pennsylvania in decades. Anthony Forgione, CEO of Boyer Candy Co., said via email on Friday that Clark Bars will be available in its outlets and online within the next three weeks and will be released nationally by Thanksgiving.

Honeywell is jumping into robotics — with Pittsburgh as its hub. The Fortune 100 company is creating Honeywell Robotics, an advanced technology center tasked with developing artificial intelligence, machine learning, computer vision, and advanced robotics for use mainly in warehouses. Honeywell Robotics will be based at 3 Crossings in the Strip District. The company leased 25,000 square feet of space formerly occupied by Robert Bosch in the development last spring, but did not say why. In an announcement Thursday, Honeywell said the new robotics center will help to shape the warehouses and distribution centers of the future, with automation plugging...

PITTSBURGH - The FBI is investigating after someone drove a car up to the back gate of its office in Pittsburgh's South Side and left it there, authorities said. A bomb squad was called, and FBI agents are working with Pittsburgh police on the investigation into the incident, which was reported shortly before 5 a.m. The car, which was parked in front of a gate to an entrance behind the building, had writing on the driver's side. It said: "Russia plants micro radio devices in ppls ears and controls them using a sound similar to a dog whistle. Subliminal hypnosis."

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – An Allegheny County judge struck down three gun control laws that limit assault weapons and ammunition in Pittsburgh. The laws were passed after the shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue. In 2018, the City of Pittsburgh made three proposals to regulate firearms, ammunition, and firearms The court struck down the ordinances, saying the city didn’t have the authority to implement them. Director of Communications for the Office of Mayor Peduto says in a statement: “The City and its outside legal counsel have always expected this would be a long legal fight and will continue to fight...

PITTSBURGH - A Port Authority bus, with a passenger on board, was swallowed by a massive sinkhole Monday downtown. The bus fell into the giant sinkhole at 10th Street and Penn Avenue just before 8 a.m. The driver and a passenger were on board at the time, Port Authority officials said. The passenger was treated by paramedics, officials said. Witnesses tell Channel 11 the bus was at a red light when the street gave way and the bus fell into the hole.

President Trump said that in addition to border wall construction in New Mexico and Texas, “We’re building a wall in Colorado.” Speaking in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, at the Shale Insight Conference on Wednesday, Trump appeared to flub his geography when it comes to the U.S.-Mexico border. “We’re building a wall on the border of New Mexico, and we’re building a wall in Colorado. We’re building a beautiful wall. A big one that really works, that you can’t get over, you can’t get under. And we’re building a wall in Texas,” Trump said. “We’re not building a wall in Kansas, but they...

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Four protests are planned today for President Donald Trump’s visit to Pittsburgh to speak at the Marcellus Shale Coalition Insight Conference downtown. The first protest began at 9 a.m. at the Gateway Center T station in the heart of downtown Pittsburgh. The protesters marched from the T station over to Point State Park, where they blocked the roads near the Wyndham Hotel. The protesters carried a banner that read “Our solidarity will defeat White Nationalists,” and chanted, “Rise up,” and “You are not welcome here Donald Trump.”