TribLive stories, Page 1158

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has denounced Kwanzaa as a “fake religion” just as millions of Black people start to celebrate the weeklong holiday. The far-right Georgia lawmaker berated the national College Republicans for “pandering and BS” after the GOP group tweeted a seemingly innocuous happy holiday message. “Stop. It’s a...

Brian Baumgartner hasn’t landed a high-profile role since playing awkward accountant Kevin Malone on “The Office.” But he’s too busy leading tours down memory lane to complain. Baumgartner started a podcast last year that serves as the main source for his new book, “Welcome to Dunder Mifflin: The Oral History...

As a wise Oracle once said, “Everything that has a beginning has an end.” Well, maybe she meant everything but the “Matrix” movies. Four films, one “Animatrix,” video games and two decades of enormous cultural influence later, the franchise borne of Lana and Lilly Wachowski’s 1999 sci-fi opus has rebooted...

Grey Arrigonie knows that depth matters. And depth, without question, is something the Latrobe swimming program has much more of this season. “We are bigger than past years,” said Arrigonie, now in his 12th year as Latrobe’s coach. “Last year we had some swimmers opt out. We were really low...

Delaynie Morvosh Southmoreland basketball The last three years have been very good for the Southmoreland girls basketball program, with deep playoff runs happening every season, including a trip to the WPIAL finals in 2020. That success has carried over early in the 2021-22 season, as the Scotties are off to...

Talk in the Midwest in the wake of the Kansas City Chiefs’ 36-10 rout of the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday was all about division titles and possible Super Bowl runs. Meanwhile, in Pittsburgh, many are left wondering how deep of an overhaul the Steelers might consider in the offseason —...

After years of hearing the term “social justice,” you might think you understand the term. I believe we can now definitively say that the term means whatever the “woke” mob wants it to mean. One thing is for certain: It has nothing to do with justice. Taking the case of...

In his column “Pa. Democrats have a union problem” (Dec. 12, TribLIVE), Michael Torres attempts to prove that the Democrats are in trouble because they are siding with hard-working Americans and defending unions (one of the few institutions that actually works to protect working people). Donald Trump, leader of the GOP,...

Publicize your events, club meetings and fundraisers for free in The Stroller. Send information at least a week in advance to vndnews@triblive.com. Please include a daytime telephone number. New award to honor Concordia employees Concordia Lutheran Ministries has announced a new honor, The Stephen W. Johnson Mission Award that will...

The editorial is not a 10- to 15-inch space where a newspaper gets to let down its hair and loosen its belt and change the rules that apply to the rest of its coverage. In a news story, the reporters uncover the story and track down the details. The editors...

State Rep. Leslie Rossi is right: Give everyone “exemption assistance” who needs it and wants it (“Westmoreland Co. lawmaker offers to help with vaccine exemptions as covid-19 infections surge,” Dec. 15, TribLIVE). I have a niece who was fired because she would not get the vaccine because of her rare...

Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Dec. 27....

Editorial cartoons for the week of Dec. 27....

Today we look back on the year in politics and forward to the midterm election, now less than 325 days away. Because 2021 was so much fun, why not live it again? Please. Our plague year began, in fittingly grim fashion, with pro-Trump insurrectionists overrunning the U.S. Capitol in an...

Christmas came a little early for the Penn State offense Friday evening when Western Kentucky transfer Mitchell Tinsley announced he is joining the Nittany Lions. Tinsley is a 6-foot-1, 205-pound wide receiver who will use his final year of eligibility at Penn State. In 2021, Tinsley caught 87 passes for...

High schools WPIAL Basketball Boys Monday’s schedule Bentworth Tournament Waynesburg Central vs. West Greene, 2 p.m. Propel Braddock Hills at Bentworth, 3:45 p.m. Bethel Park Tournament Shaler vs. Worthington Kilbourne (Ohio), 4:30 p.m. McDowell at Bethel Park, 6 p.m. Carmichaels Tournament Jefferson-Morgan vs. Mapletown, 4 p.m. Beth-Center at Carmichaels, 7...

Penn State cornerback Joey Porter Jr. announced Saturday that he’ll return to the Nittany Lions in 2022. In the Christmas morning message on social media, Porter wrote, “At this time in my life, staying in college and completing my college degree is important to me and my family. After much...

Regarding the story “Crews may have found 1887 time capsule in Lee statue base” (Dec. 18): It is not often when an act so precisely defines so many words — arrogance, irony, hypocrisy. To remove a war statue because the history offends you, and then to open a time capsule...

Fines generated through Pennsylvania’s automated red light enforcement program are set to fund two proposed intersection improvements on Route 30 in Westmoreland County. A $167,000 grant has been approved for proposed modifications to improve safety at Route 30 and Wimmerton Boulevard in Unity. In Irwin, the program also is providing...

Relative to the pandemic and why the United States has something like the 70th highest rate of vaccination in the world and is lagging behind our allies is what I see as the incredible growth of anti-government ideology and propaganda. It began to grow around 1980 when Ronald Reagan would...

Gov. Tom Wolf should put away his veto pen. The governor is getting a little too comfortable killing legislation with his signature. He has used it more than any other Pennsylvania leader in 40 years with 53 notches in his belt and another year in his term. He did it...

Publicize your events, club meetings and fundraisers for free in The Stroller. Send information at least a week in advance to vndnews@triblive.com. Please include a daytime telephone number. Library announces annual Quilt Show Community Library of Allegheny Valley will host its annual Quilt Show Jan. 17 to 29 online and...

We are one nation under the Constitution of the U.S. created in 1787 by representatives of “We, the people.” The Founders also incorporated a Bill of Rights in 1791 to protect individual rights and liberties, and citizen independence protected by freedom of speech, peaceable assembly, religious liberty and freedom of...

Alle-Kiski Valley Offensive Player of the Year Tommy Burke QB, Senior, 5-9, 165 pounds, Leechburg The feel-good story of the local football season was Leechburg’s football resurgence. The Blue Devils had their first winning season since 1991, first WPIAL playoff appearance since ’88, won their first playoff game since ’78,...