TribLive stories, Page 12
Appropriators decry firing of Army Chief Randy George
WASHINGTON — At a hearing Thursday, leading House appropriators from both parties condemned Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s recent firing of Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George. Members of the House Armed Services Committee, including GOP Rep. Austin Scott of Georgia, had delivered a similar message about George at a...
ICE acting Director Todd Lyons to depart in May after tumultuous tenure
The acting head of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will leave the agency at the end of May after a tumultuous year managing President Donald Trump’s mass arrest and deportation campaign. Todd Lyons has been the agency’s acting head since March 2025. During his tenure, he oversaw the rapid expansion...
TSA looks to privatize amid continued funding lapse woes
WASHINGTON — The acting administrator of the Transportation Security Administration gave a strong endorsement of President Donald Trump’s budget request for fiscal 2027 before a House Appropriations subcommittee Thursday, saying proposed privatization and modernization efforts would help ensure the agency has the funds it needs amid congressional funding struggles. “As...
Carrie Sampson: District school boards have become political hotbeds for book bans and more — here’s what they actually do
Election races for local school boards have become hotly contested in many states as they have become forums for debates over gender-identity discussions, immigrant students and even prayer at school events. Liberal candidates largely swept school board elections April 7 in politically contentious districts in Wisconsin, Missouri, Alaska and Oklahoma,...
Walmart stores in Bethel Park, Unity among 32 Pa. stores set for upgrade
Walmart plans to remodel 32 stores in Pennsylvania this year, including two in the Western Pennsylvania region. The retailer announced Thursday morning that the remodels are part of ongoing efforts to modernize the in-store and digital shopping experience at its stores. The remodels include upgrades to layouts, technology, and services....
Belle Vernon’s Quinton Martin focused on improvement, future at Penn State
It could be that Quinton Martin Jr. has been hiding in plain sight at Penn State for longer than many fans realize. Martin, a redshirt sophomore from Belle Vernon, was terrific in the Nittany Lions’ 22-10 Pinstripe Bowl victory over Clemson in December at Yankee Stadium. With PSU star running...
Report: Spirit Airlines may liquidate its assets as soon as this weekVideo
Spirit Aviation Holdings could decide to liquidate its assets as soon as this week, according to Bloomberg News, a move that would likely strand travelers and leave Arnold Palmer Regional Airport without a commercial carrier. The Bloomberg report cites sources familiar with the matter, who say the discount carrier faces...
Letter to the editor: AI needs guardrails
The article “Southwestern Pa. is scouting the digital frontier” (March 31, TribLive) put a positive spin on advancing AI. For a different perspective, read TIME magazine’s April 6 article “The Most Disruptive Company in The World.” It tells of a company that is on the frontier of AI development and...
Editorial: Nuclear decay, bureaucratic delay
On April 7, a process 20 years in the making began. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers started excavation at a Parks Township nuclear waste site. This isn’t like other abandoned industrial sites. In Western Pennsylvania, those are familiar — old factories, mine sites, places with lingering chemicals or unstable...
The Stroller, April 16, 2026: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your non-profit’s community events, fundraisers and club meetings for free in The Stroller. Send information at least two weeks in advance to vndnews@triblive.com or The Stroller, 210 Wood St., Tarentum PA 15084. Please include a daytime telephone number. Follow the Stroller on X at @VNDStroller. Taste of Two Towns...
Westmoreland happenings: Night at the races, scholarship, mulch sale, more
Arts Greensburg Civic Theatre’s Greasepaint Players will present, “Diary of a Whimpy Kid, The Musical” at 7 p.m. April 17 and 1 and 4 p.m. April 18 at the Greensburg Garden & Civic Center, 951 Old Salem Road, Greensburg. Cost: $15, plus fees in advance; at the door if available,...
Letter to the editor: Bring back some form of the draft
Is it time for the draft? Not the meaningless NFL Draft where the quid pro quo has already been determined. The city and county will have a financial windfall, probably only to give it up to Steelers owner Art Rooney for facilities improvements. We’ve seen this movie. I’m referring to...
Pirates farm report for April 15, 2026: Esmerlyn Valdez hits 4th homer in Indy loss
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple A, 4-13) lost 6-4 to Omaha (Royals). RF Esmerlyn Valdez (.265) went 2 for 3 with a two-run homer, his fourth, and two walks. DH Ronny Simon (.385) went 3 for 4 with a double, run scored and RBI. LF Tyler Callihan (.220) went 2 for 5 with...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for April 15, 2026
High schools Baseball Wednesday’s results Class 6A Section 1 North Allegheny 8, Central Catholic 7 Section 2 Canon-McMillan 3, Mt. Lebanon 2 Class 5A Section 1 Kiski Area 5, Armstrong 3 Latrobe 3, Franklin Regional 2 Plum 7, Penn Hills 0 Section 2 South Fayette 7, Upper St. Clair 6...
Gateway’s Logan Memije wins another section doubles title
Gateway’s Logan Memije won a boys tennis section doubles title for the third straight year, teaming with Troy Boden to defeat Colin Stalnaker and Sanshiro Ogawa of Franklin Regional in the Section 1-3A finals, 6-4, 7-5, on Wednesday. In the third-place match, Franklin Regional’s Prem Nadesan and Arnesh Paura beat...
High school roundup for April 15, 2026: Central Valley outlasts Ambridge in 15-inning marathon
Brandon Woelfel led off with a walk, moved to second on a Daniel McIntosh bunt and scored on a walk-off RBI single by Antonio Perri as Central Valley defeated Ambridge, 1-0, in a 15-inning marathon in Section 1-4A baseball Wednesday. Will Ciucci started and pitched 10 scoreless innings for the...
U.S. probes suspicious oil trades made before Trump pivots
The top U.S. derivatives regulator is investigating a series of suspiciously well-timed trades in the oil futures market ahead of recent policy pivots by President Donald Trump related to the war in Iran, according to people familiar with the matter. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is leading the probe into...
Sonia Sotomayor apologizes for ‘hurtful’ criticism of Brett Kavanaugh
WASHINGTON — Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor issued a rare public apology for criticism she levied toward Brett Kavanaugh during a speaking appearance. “At a recent appearance at the University of Kansas School of Law, I referred to a disagreement with one of my colleagues in a prior case, but...
Trump stokes controversy by posting new AI Jesus image
President Donald Trump on Wednesday posted a controversial AI-generated image of himself and Jesus Christ just a day after he yanked a meme that appeared to depict him as the holy man amid widespread criticism. Trump re-posted an image depicting Jesus blessing him, which was first posted by a right-wing...
Panini A. Chowdhury: Pittsburgh can’t subsidize its way to housing affordability
Housing affordability has become the promise of the moment. Every political and social campaign invokes it. Every local, state and federal government budget claim to advance it. But there is a harder question beneath the surface, one that rarely makes it into speeches: What if some of what we do...
Movie review: ‘Mother Mary’ uses pop stardom to explore creative process
In 2024, Brady Corbet’s Oscar-winning “The Brutalist” used architecture as a metaphor for Hollywood filmmaking — the grinding hustle required to craft something epic in scope, infused with a personal story, but ultimately dependent on patrons who might exploit artists rather than support them. One could argue that “Mother Mary”...
In brief: Antique appraisal, spring cleanups and more in Sewickley area
Antique Appraisal Scour the attic and basement for forgotten treasures and bring them to the Sewickley Antique Appraisal and Donation Day on April 18 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Old Sewickley Post Office, 200 Broad St. The Sewickley Valley Historical Society will host professional antique appraisers, including...
Destenie Nock: This summer, your air conditioner is going to compete with a data center
Western Pennsylvania is on the verge of its biggest infrastructure wave since steel. Data center developers have announced billions of dollars in investments in Springdale, Homer City, Shippingport and Upper Burrell. At full build-out, the facilities planned for just three of those sites would consume enough electricity to power nearly...
Letter to the editor: Better uses for billions than space travel, war
As I write another big check to the federal government I am wondering who benefits by Artemis, the $4.1 billion “trip around the moon”? At $250 per visit, $4.1 billion could send 2 million Americans to the dentist for a checkup/exam/cleaning, but that would be socialism. How many “socialist things”...
Letter to the editor: Does Trump understand what’s at stake?
Notwithstanding the Iran ceasefire, “President Donald Trump’s … threat that ‘a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,’ cannot and should not be forgotten.” The author of those words, Lt. Col. Rachel E. VanLandingham (retired, Air Force), is a professor of law and president emerita of...
