Visit the links below for more on today’s guests & topics

Pittsburgh Today Live on Social Media

PITTSBURGH (AP/KDKA) — Doug Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris and the first Jewish person to serve as the spouse of a nationally elected U.S. leader, will deliver remarks on Sunday at the groundbreaking of the memorial to victims of the 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue shooting.

The White House announced that Emhoff, who has been among the most visible and outspoken Biden administration officials on combating antisemitism at home and abroad, would attend the groundbreaking ceremony of the new Tree of Life campus.

Designed by architect Daniel Libeskind, who co-designed the Freedom Tower at the World Trade Center site, the building will have a skylit atrium running the length of the building, signifying hope.   

The synagogue in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood was home to the deadliest antisemitic attack in the United States, in which 11 worshipers were killed by a gunman driven by hatred of Jews. The space will include a new place of worship, a museum devoted to studying the hatred of Jews in the U.S. and a memorial to the victims.

The June 23 event will include community leaders, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, who will serve as the ceremony’s host.

Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue awarded $1 million for education

Last month, Senator Bob Casey announced that $1 million in federal funding would be going to the Tree of Life synagogue to develop new educational programming at the K-12 level. The money is broken down into staffing, technology and classrooms.

Across the country, antisemitic incidents are on the rise. According to the Anti-Defamation League, there were more 8,800 last year, a 140 percent increase from 2022.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Tens of thousands of people are without power after storms hit Western Pennsylvania amid a heat wave on Monday. 

Severe weather rolled through the area on Monday evening, as many people saw severe thunderstorm warnings in their cities. All previous severe-thunderstorm-related watches and warnings have since expired. 

Duquesne Light said more than 47,000 customers in Western Pennsylvania are without power as of 7:10 p.m. on Monday. Brighton, Hampton, Monroeville, Moon, Richland and Shaler are among the municipalities that have more than 1,000 customers without power. 

West Penn Power said more than 27,000 customers are without power as of 7:04 p.m. on Monday. Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler and Westmoreland counties all have more than 1,000 customers without power, including more than 9,000 customers in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties. 

The Pittsburgh area is under an excessive heat watch that lasts through the end of the week. A heat wave is a stretch of three or more days in a row with temperatures in the high 90s with no point during the stretch falling below 70 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Western Pennsylvania has not seen this type of heat wave since 1988, and the National Weather Service has only issued three excessive heat watches since 2011. 

Several cooling centers are open to help people catch a break from the heat.