Pittsburg, PA

Pro-Palestinian rally and vigil for Israeli hostages killed held separately in Pittsburgh

Published

2 weeks ago

September 4, 2024

Pro-Palestinian rally and vigil for Israeli hostages killed held separately in Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — A pro-Palestinian rally and a vigil for Israeli hostages killed in Gaza were held a couple of miles from each other in Pittsburgh on Tuesday.

Student groups demonstrating near the University of Pittsburgh’s campus showed their support for people in Gaza and ending the war between Israel and Hamas. And a couple of hours later, a vigil at the Jewish Community Center in Squirrel Hill paid tribute to six people who were kidnapped, held hostage and then killed.

Just down the street from one another stood gatherings representing both sides of the Israel-Hamas war.

There was a pro-Palestinian group of Pitt students at Schenley Plaza.

“It’s not just grief,” Karim Safieddine, a third-year PhD student at Pitt, said. “To people there, this is an end-of-their-world scenario.”

There was a pro-Israel group in Squirrel Hill.

“We stand here together with our non-Jewish allies and friends to unite in grief, in sorrow and in mourning,” said Julie Paris, the Mid-Atlantic regional director of StandWithUs.

Both groups are grieving.

“Every single person in Gaza awaits death,” Safieddine said.

“I’m feeling absolutely heartbroken that there is still a genocide after almost a year,” Pitt senior Cameryn Gray said. “I think it’s absolutely shameful.”

Schenley Park held host to chants, while the Jewish Community Center played host to songs focusing on the deaths of the six Hamas-held hostages found over the weekend.

“We come together tonight to feel each other’s pain,” Congregation Poale Zedeck Rabbi Daniel Yalkut said.

The faces of the hostages flashed across the screen as a community looked on. The names of those who were lost were read. Once face, Hersh Goldberg Polin, was familiar to Yalkut.

“He just came from a family of such incredible warmth and faith and good humor,” he said.

Sen. John Fetterman told KDKA-TV why he attended.

“Those six innocent civilians were executed on Oct. 7 and we’re now coming upon the first anniversary,” Fetterman, a Democrat, said.

The vigil and rally came days after two Jewish students were attacked on Pitt’s campus

“It is that responsibility that makes us release a statement condemning the vicious attack on Jewish students in the Cathedral of Learning,” Safieddine said.

He says they must reject antisemitism in their name

“Grief, death and violence will proceed and will continue to dominate everything that’s happening as long as these structures prevail,” Safieddine said.

There was a small group of pro-Israel protesters at the rally for Gaza, which agitated the pro-Palestinian demonstrators. Despite some tension there, everything remained peaceful

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Pittsburg, PA

Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Denver Broncos odds, expert picks, how to watch: Faith in Steelers holds on

Published

5 hours ago

September 15, 2024

Press Room

Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Denver Broncos odds, expert picks, how to watch: Faith in Steelers holds on

It doesn’t look like we’ll get a Russell Wilson revenge game against the Denver Broncos as the Pittsburgh Steelers are preparing to start quarterback Justin Fields for the second game in a row. Despite the unsettled quarterback situation and the lack of a touchdown in their Week 1 win, the Steelers are still a small road favorite.

That is almost entirely due to the combination of the Steelers defense being one of the best in the NFL — coming off a dominant showing in Week 1 — and getting to play against rookie quarterback Bo Nix, making his second NFL start. Nix averaged just 3.3 yards per attempt in his Week 1 debut while throwing two interceptions. Mike Tomlin is also 24-6 in his head-coaching career against rookie quarterbacks.

Given that, as well as the notoriously conservative nature of the Steelers offense, points might be a problem in this game, and the 36.5 total reflects that. This is the lowest total in the NFL this week and one of only three under 40 points.

Even though the Steelers offense did not produce a touchdown on Sunday, the offense still moved the ball better than it had in previous seasons, generating six scoring drives (all field goals) and having only two three-and-outs. Fields was able to make plays and extend drives with his feet, and seemed to get more comfortable as the game went on and the Steelers introduced more play-action passing to get him on the edge.

The Steelers are only 31-40-3 against the spread as road favorites in the Tomlin era but are 6-5-1 over the past five years in such games.

This is just the second time Denver has been a home underdog under Sean Payton, winning the only other game.

All odds from BetMGM. Looking for NFL tickets? Find them here.

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Venue: Empower Field at Mile High — Denver
Time: 4:25 p.m. ET, Sunday
TV: CBS
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Pittsburg, PA

AAA hosts steering wheel lock giveaway

Published

13 hours ago

September 14, 2024

Press Room

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Hyundai and Kia drivers know there have been problems over the past few years with car thefts.

On Saturday, AAA and three partners were in East Liberty to give out devices for Kia and Hyundai owners to help defend their cars.

It’s about providing a layer of protection for Hyundai and Kia owners. They armed those who showed up with steering wheel lock devices.

Ike Hamilton wouldn’t want his golden Hyundai gone.

“I want to protect my vehicle as well, so that’s why I’m here,” Hamilton said.

Yellow club-like locks are what AAA partnered with Pittsburgh and Allegheny County Police to give out.

“They’ve been around for years. They are an effective deterrent,” Jim Garrity of AAA East Central said.

They stop people from getting behind the wheel and stealing these cars. It’s something Pittsburgh Police Chief Larry Scirotto says has happened over 140 times since May of this year.

“It’s not organized crime,” Scirotto said. “They’re not stealing them for profit; they’re stealing them for fun.”

Scirotto said a lot of the culprits are young people. All parties involved in Saturday’s event said there are basic steps people can also take.

“Not leaving your keys in the car, not leaving your cars unlocked, is really important,” Scirotto said.

“It’s just one extra thing that these vehicle owners can do,” Garrity said.

And Ike Hamilton is going the extra mile.

“I’m spreading the word to everybody else who needs a club,” he said.

AAA says it has at least four more of these events planned over the next couple of months.

A list of planned future events is below:

White Oak: Oct. 21, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Washington: Oct. 21, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Wexford: Oct. 23, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

McMurray: Nov. 18, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Locations for these events were not provided to KDKA-TV at the time of this report.

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Pittsburg, PA

Pittsburgh proposes a $500,000 payment to settle bridge collapse lawsuits

Published

20 hours ago

September 14, 2024

Press Room

Pittsburgh proposes a 0,000 payment to settle bridge collapse lawsuits

PITTSBURGH — The city of Pittsburgh is seeking approval of a half-million-dollar payment to settle lawsuits over the collapse of a bridge into a ravine more than 2 1/2 years ago.

Deputy Mayor Jake Pawlak said Friday he had asked the Pittsburgh City Council to authorize a payment of $500,000, the full liability damage cap, to settle lawsuits filed on behalf those who were on the city-owned Forbes Avenue bridge when it fell Jan. 28, 2022, plunging a bus and four cars about 100 feet (30 meters) into the Fern Hollow Creek. Another vehicle drove off the east bridge abutment and landed on its roof. There were injuries but no one died.

The agreement needs approval from the council and a judge overseeing the case.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs said the action was a surprise but that they appreciated the city “accepting responsibility for allowing one of its bridges to collapse, and agreeing to pay its statutory limits to partially resolve this case,” the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported. Legal action against three engineering firms will continue, they said.

Federal investigators have said that the city didn’t adequately maintain or repair the bridge and failed to act on inspection reports, leading to the corrosion of the structure’s steel legs. City officials didn’t dispute the findings and cited creation of a new bridge maintenance division and a tripling of funding for maintenance and repairs.

A new bridge at the site 5 miles (8 kilometers) east of downtown Pittsburgh opened in December 2022.

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