TribLive stories, Page 346
TribLive wins national award in best website category
TribLive has earned a top honor in the prestigious EPPY Awards, a national competition that recognizes the best in digital journalism. TribLive placed second in the “Best Daily Newspaper Website” among news organizations with more than 1 million unique monthly visitors. The EPPY Awards, now in their 26th year, drew...
Jane Hillstrom: Why aren’t more people talking about America’s alcoholism?
I come from a family of alcoholics. Sarah, my cousin, was the most recent to die of complications from alcoholism, at 41. Before her, seven people in our extended family, including her father, my father and our grandfather, died from alcohol-related problems. At one Thanksgiving, my grandfather passed out drunk...
Gallery: Photos from Dec. 13, 2024
Embark on a visual journey around the Western Pennsylvania region with TribLive’s latest collection of captivating images for Friday, Dec. 13, 2024....
Letter to the editor: Nothing frivolous about Trump
In answer to the letter “Trump’s win will make us safer, more secure” (Nov. 25, TribLive): With due respect to the writer, I ask, what is frivolous about inciting a riot and trying to overturn a legitimate election, falsifying records and mishandling government documents? Not to mention tax evasion, fraud,...
Letter to the editor: Is Allegheny County Council listening?
I attended the Dec. 3 Allegheny County Council meeting in the courthouse’s fourth-floor Gold Room. All the seats were filled when the meeting was called to order. The council was scheduled to vote on the proposed 2025 county budget. First, John Palmiere made a motion to reduce the three minutes...
Take the TribLive weekly news quiz: Dec. 13
The following is a regular feature from TribLive: A weekly news quiz:...
5 things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend: Dec. 13-15
From cookie lovers to Swifties to those who can’t get enough of the holiday season, Pittsburgh will offer a little something for everyone this weekend. Grab a cocktail, beer or sweet treat, enjoy some tunes and relax with these events. Lawrenceville Cookie Tour This weekend is the perfect time to...
Laurels & lances: Rescue & ratings
Laurel: To those who helped. Elizabeth Pollard, 64, was last seen Dec. 2, looking for her missing cat near Monday’s Union Restaurant near the village of Marguerite in Unity. About 3:30 a.m. Tuesday, a search began for Pollard, centered around a sinkhole into an abandoned mine nearby. The search went...
In brief: Gift giveaway, Christmas classics and more in the Quaker Valley
Gift giveaway Leetsdale police officers are ready to give away some holiday spirit. They’re preparing for their eighth annual drive-thru gift giveaway, with Santa making a special stop at the Leetsdale VFW Post 3372 from 10 a.m. to noon Dec. 21. The event is designed to provide presents to borough...
The Stroller, Dec. 13, 2024: 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. Food bank accepting donations...
Letter to the editor: Ranked choice voting gives all voters a say
In the Bob Casey-Dave McCormick Senate race, no candidate received the majority of votes. McCormick won with 48.8% of the vote, narrowly edging out Casey’s 48.6%. Meanwhile, 200,000 voters — 2.6% of the total — backed third-party candidates and didn’t have a say between the two front-runners. Some states hold...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Dec. 12, 2024
High schools Basketball Boys Thursday’s results Class 6A Section 2 Imani Christian 71, Canon-McMillan 60 (OT) Class 5A Section 2 Shaler 63, Armstrong 45 Section 3 South Fayette 63, Ringgold 48 Class 2A Section 3 West Greene 54, Carmichaels 27 Nonsection Archbishop Hoban (Ohio) 76, North Catholic 53 Neighborhood Academy...
High school roundup for Dec. 12, 2024: Bethel Park stages furious 4th-quarter rally to beat Trinity
Ella Sabatos scored 19 points and Bethel Park rallied from a 12-point deficit at the end of the third quarter for a 54-52 victory over Trinity in Section 4-5A girls basketball Thursday night. Fiona O’Neil and Sadie Orie added 15 points apiece for the Black Hawks (3-1, 1-0), who outscored...
Penn State’s Warren wins Mackey Award as nation’s best tight endVideo
Penn State’s Tyler Warren is officially the nation’s best tight end. The Nittany Lion was awarded the John Mackey Award — which annually goes to college football’s top tight end — during Thursday night’s College Football Awards Show on ESPN. Warren was a dynamic threat for the Nittany Lions all...
Wrongful death lawsuit closes in death of former Steelers quarterback
A dismissal has been filed in Florida in the wrongful death lawsuit of former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Dwayne Haskins. Rick Ellsley, the attorney of Haskins’ wife, Kalabrya, issued a statement Thursday morning. The case was dismissed, and settlements were reached between the parties. “All of the settlements that were obtained...
Mt. Lebanon businessman gets 3 years in prison for fraud stemming from arson
A Mt. Lebanon man will spend three years in federal prison stemming from fraud allegations related to a South Side property he owned that burned down. Prasad Margabandhu, 48, pleaded guilty to bankruptcy fraud and mail fraud in September before U.S. District Judge Christy Criswell Wiegand. On Thursday, she ordered...
Minnesota reaps windfall from epic comeback of lake trout in Lake Superior
MINNEAPOLIS — Once-rare lake trout in Lake Superior are doing so well that state biologists will use the fish to stock the species in lakes around the state, officials have announced. This fall, the Department of Natural Resources successfully harvested lake trout eggs from fish captured in two nets set...
Pittsburgh Riverhounds to play in 2025 Jägermeister Cup
For the first time, a U.S. soccer league will hold its own interleague cup, and Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC will participate. The United Soccer League announced Thursday the expansion of the USL Jägermeister Cup, which will unite teams from the USL Championship and League One. The USL Jägermeister Cup will include...
Barn burns at Critter Country in South Huntingdon
An icy wind whipped across an empty, snow-dusted field off Route 981 in South Huntingdon on Thursday afternoon as flames punched through the roof of a barn at Critter Country Animal Farm. At least a dozen fire trucks and ambulances lined Route 981, blockading the roadway for about an hour...
5 things to do in Westmoreland this weekend: Dec. 13-15
’Tis the season for hot tunes, winter traditions, Swiftie fun and more this weekend in Westmoreland County. Shake off your week and head out to some of these events. Community Light Up Night Visit Amos K. Hutchinson Elementary School’s campus to view its dazzling lights display Friday night. This event...
Peter Morici: Trump’s tariffs are the opening rounds of Trade War II
China, along with the rest of Asia and Europe are bracing for U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s threatened steep trade tariffs. But Trump should consider how much the world has changed since he first campaigned on a protectionist platform, as well as make the connection between trade and U.S. national security....
Jordan Brown loses civil case against troopers who charged him
Jordan Brown set out to prove he should never have been arrested for the 2009 shooting death of his father’s pregnant fiancee. He failed. A federal jury Thursday said the four state troopers who led the investigation and accused then-11-year-old Brown of killing Kenzie Houk had probable cause to charge...
TikToker accepting donations for fake charity scammed followers out of $1 million, cops say
A TikTok personality solicited nearly $1 million in donations for a charity she ran supporting individuals experiencing homelessness and domestic violence, Alabama authorities said. But investigators say the charity didn’t exist. Amy Downs, 57, now faces seven charges of charitable fraud and three charges of tax evasion, the Limestone County...
Vanessa Stine: Close the Moshannon Valley immigration prison, Mr. President
Just over a year ago, Frankline Okpu, a Cameroonian national who was being detained at Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Clearfield County, was found dead in a solitary confinement cell. Okpu was a father and a husband, and his immigration case had just been resolved favorably. He won what’s known...
Letter to the editor: Move on from election results
I just looked at some of the Trib’s letters to the editor. It’s been a long while. It was as if I turned on the TV. Look, there’s nothing any of us can do when our candidate wins or loses. Just accept it. Move on. Whether you like what’s going...

