May 16, 2025 4:05 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI)-A woman has pleaded guilty to vandalizing a Squirrel Hill synagogue. The words “Jews 4 Palestine” and an inverted triangle were spray-painted onto the exterior of Chabad of Squirrel Hill last July. An entry sign at the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh was vandalized on the same day. Two people were later federally charged with the vandalism. On Thursday, Talya Lubit, of Pittsburgh, pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy and defacing and damaging a religious building. During the multi-federal agency investigation, agents uncovered that Lubit had been communicating with a man named Muhammad Hamad. Their conversations consisted of anti-Semitic rhetoric. Plus, according to investigators, Hamad was making homemade bombs. In fact, he detonated three of them, and detectives included the photos in their complaint. Through the investigators, detectives learned a third person was involved in the vandalism. That person is also now facing charges. Lubit, according to the Department of Justice, has agreed to pay full restitution for the damage done to the Chabad property and the Jewish Federation of Pittsburgh sign. She’ll be sentenced in September.
May 15, 2025 5:06 am
DOHA, Qatar (AP) — President Donald Trump is urging Qatar to use its influence over Iran to persuade the country’s leadership to reach an agreement with the U.S. over its rapidly advancing nuclear program. Trump is visiting Qatar as part of a three-country Mideast swing. He made the appeal during a state dinner held Wednesday in his honor by Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. Trump, who also visited Saudi Arabia this week, will wrap up his three-country Mideast tour with a visit to the United Arab Emirates. While in Riyadh on Wednesday, Trump met with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, a one-time insurgent leader who fought against the U.S. in Iraq.
May 15, 2025 5:04 am
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri lawmakers have approved a referendum seeking to repeal an abortion-rights amendment passed by voters six months ago. The Republican-led Senate voted Wednesday to place a new amendment on the statewide ballot that would instead impose a ban on most abortions, with exceptions for rape and incest. The vote came after the GOP majority used a rare procedural move to cut off debate by Democrats who opposed the measure. The new referendum would go before voters in November 2026 unless Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe calls a special election sooner than that. Missouri senators also passed legislation that would repeal a voter-approved paid sick leave law.
May 15, 2025 5:01 am
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — A hospital in southern Gaza says 54 people have been killed in overnight airstrikes on the city of Khan Younis. An Associated Press cameraman counted 10 airstrikes on the city overnight into Thursday and saw numerous bodies taken to the morgue in Nasser Hospital. Some bodies arrived in pieces, with some body bags containing the remains of multiple people. The hospital’s morgue confirmed 54 people had been killed. The strikes come as U.S. President Donald Trump visits the Middle East, visiting Gulf states but not Israel. There had been hope that Trump’s regional visit could usher in a ceasefire or renewal of humanitarian aid to Gaza. An Israeli blockade of the territory is now in its third month.
May 15, 2025 4:55 am
ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) — Russian officials say Russia’s delegation has arrived in Istanbul for peace talks with Ukraine. However, President Vladimir Putin was not part of the delegation, according to a list released by the Kremlin Wednesday night, prompting criticism from Western officials that Moscow isn’t serious about the peace effort. AUkrainian official said a delegation including President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was on its way the Turkish capital Ankara. Earlier this week, Zelenskyy challenged the Russian leader to meet in person in Turkey. Earlier this week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy challenged the Russian leader to meet in person in Turkey. Ukraine’s presidential adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, said Zelenskyy will sit at the table only with Putin
May 15, 2025 4:58 am
DOHA, Qatar (AP) — President Donald Trump says he’s not surprised that Russian President Vladimir Putin will be a no-show for anticipated peace talks with Ukraine in Turkey this week. Trump had pressed for Putin and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to meet in Istanbul this week. But on Thursday he brushed off Putin’s decision to not take part in the expected talks in Istanbul. Trump said, “I didn’t think it was possible for Putin to go if I’m not there.” The president’s comments came in an exchange with reporters as he took part in a business roundtable with executives in Doha, Qatar, on the third day of his visit to the Middle East.
May 15, 2025 4:03 am
WEST BROWNSVILLE, Pa. —(WPXI)- A body was found in the Monongahela River in Washington County on Wednesday afternoon. Washington County Coroner Tim Warco says a barge operator found the body floating in the river near West Brownsville around 4:30 p.m. According to Pennsylvania State Police, the body found belongs to a man and is “believed to have been in the water for a considerable amount of time.” Warco says the man’s age is between 30-50. The man has not yet been identified, but state police think he could be a previously reported missing person from Point Marion Borough in Fayette County. Anyone who may have information is asked to contact the Washington County Coroner’s office at 724-228-6785 or the Belle Vernon barracks of the Pennsylvania State Police at 724-929-6262.
May 15, 2025 3:56 am
ROSTRAVER, Pa. —(WPXI)- Law enforcement released an update Wednesday on the investigation into the murder of a 24-year-old woman in Rostraver. The Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office said the man considered a person of interest in the case is in custody on unrelated charges. According to sources, the person of interest, Dorian Jeri-Greene, was arrested in Florida. Jennah Siebert, 24, was found shot to death inside her home on Lenity School Road on April 11. A few days later, investigators said surveillance video showed the man they considered a person of interest inside a Monongahela gas station. The DA’s office said over the last few weeks, investigators have collected evidence, conducted hundreds of interviews and pursued every lead. Police said they do not believe there is any further threat to the public or the Rostraver Township community. Jeri-Greene is being held in the Hillsborough County Jail in Tampa. Tampa police picked him up on a fugitive warrant on Tuesday. Jeri- Greene has been charged in a home invasion and robbery in Washington County two months before Seibert’s murder. According to court documents, Jeri-Greene is accused of breaking into his ex-girlfriend’s home by destroying a door frame, then strangling her before running out of the home with a hatchet. The investigation into Siebert’s death remains active and is ongoing.
May 15, 2025 3:50 am
PITTSBURGH —(WPXI)- State lawmakers are preparing a first-of-its-kind legislation in Pennsylvania, seeking a regulatory framework around pet funeral home services. Patrick Vereb of Vereb Funeral Home and Eternity Pet Memorial is accused of dumping over 6,500 pets into a landfill after owners paid hundreds of dollars for the cremation of their pets. The memo about the bill, which will be known as Holding Funeral Homes Accountable for Pet Cremations, says it’s an effort to “create an offense related to misrepresenting the disposal of animal remains and include additional penalties on funeral directors and their licenses for violating this act. ”There is no timeline for when the bill will be introduced or reach the Governor’s desk, but Senator Nick Pisciottano (D-45), Co- Chairman of the Animal Protection Caucus, hopes it will move quickly as it has support from both sides of the aisle. A class action lawsuit was filed at the Allegheny County Courthouse against funeral home owner Patrick Vereb. He is also facing state charges and is currently out on bail. Vereb is scheduled for an arraignment on June 18 at 2 p.m.
May 15, 2025 1:46 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Gov. Josh Shapiro is warning that cuts to Medicaid health care that Congress is considering would mean billions of dollars in lost federal aid to Pennsylvania, hundreds of thousands of people losing access to the program and more rural hospitals shutting their doors. Shapiro said Wednesday that the state will be unable to make up that amount of lost federal aid. The precise contours of cuts to Medicaid are being hammered out in the GOP-controlled U.S. House. Republicans say they’re trying to make Medicaid work better. Estimates from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office show that at least 7.6 million people could lose health insurance with the proposed Medicaid cuts.
