TribLive stories, Page 905

The Biden/Harris administration has been in power for two years now with total Democratic control of Congress. How should they be graded? Foreign policy — F. The world is far more dangerous now than two years ago. Russia has invaded Ukraine. China is preparing to invade Taiwan, Iran is posturing...

High schools WPIAL Basketball Boys Friday’s results Class 6A Section 1 Central Catholic 55, Butler 33 New Castle 55, Pine-Richland 49 Seneca Valley 64, North Allegheny 42 Section 2 Upper St. Clair 65, Canon-McMillan 39 Baldwin 71, Hempfield 61 (2OT) Mt. Lebanon 69, Norwin 50 Class 5A Section 1 Ringgold...

Royce Parham dropped a game-high 34 points and sank the game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer to lead North Hills to a 62-61 overtime victory over South Fayette in Section 4-5A boys basketball Friday night. Jake Pollaro added 13 points for North Hills (10-2, 4-0). Michael Plasko put up 29 points,...

A 2-year-old girl died after being rescued from a house fire Friday night in Shaler, according to township police. Danika Deramo was found on the first floor of the home and was taken to UPMC Mercy hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 10:34 p.m. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s...

A home in the Mt. Pleasant Township village of Hecla was destroyed in a fire Friday evening, and a neighboring fire company is collecting donations for the family. The blaze was reported around 6:30 p.m. in an old, two-story former “company home” off Hecla Road on Academy Lane. Hecla Assistant...

It’s newly elected Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy. It ended like it should have begun. All the action witnessed, I believed, could have and should have been played out before Jan. 3. But maybe I was wrong. Maybe America needed to see this play out. For a while, I...

Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — Special elections to fill Pennsylvania House seats vacated by Democrats should be held on Feb. 7, Commonwealth Court has...

On Jan. 13, students at Marzolf Elementary School in Shaler Area School District got a vivid illustration of the magic of science through an assembly with Mad Science that explores fire and ice. Experiments brought science concepts about states of matter to life for students. There was fire, ice and...

UNITED NATIONS — A strong majority of the U.N. Security Council urged Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers Friday to immediately reverse all “oppressive” restrictions on girls and women. The council then went into a closed meeting to discuss the Taliban’s latest ban on woman working for humanitarian groups, a move that is...

MILAN — Gucci offered another January surprise to kick off Milan Fashion Week menswear previews on Friday, taking a new direction after Alessandro Michele’s exit as creative director. Very much like Michele’s low-key debut eight years ago heading an in-house team, the Gucci runway show heralding the new post-Michele era...

Apple CEO Tim Cook will take a more than 40% pay cut this year from a year earlier as the company adjusts how it calculates his compensation partly based on a recommendation from Cook himself. Apple Inc. said in a regulatory filing late Thursday that Cook’s target total compensation is...

A struggling right whale is “heavily entangled” in fishing gear off North Carolina’s Outer Banks, and likely won’t survive, according to NOAA Fisheries biologists. The whale’s predicament was discovered Jan. 8, as an aerial team from Florida’s Clearwater Marine Aquarium flew 20 miles off Rodanthe, according to a NOAA Fisheries...

Through the ages, pessimists have warned that new technologies spell doom. Naysayers warn robots will wipe out jobs and want to impose taxes to slow their progress. In a more service-based economy, artificial intelligence has a lot in common with robotics and with AI, the focus is increasingly spreading to...

According to a source, the Pirates and Andrew McCutchen have agreed to a one-year contract, pending a physical. Related • Andrew McCutchen returning to Pirates The veteran outfielder was an MVP and five-time All-Star with the Pirates. McCutchen hit .291 with 203 home runs and 725 RBIs over nine season...

WASHINGTON — It’s President Joe Biden’s refuge from Washington — a place that’s part home office, part Sunday family dinner venue, a safe place for his treasured 1967 Corvette and a makeshift campaign studio during the covid-19 pandemic. Now, Biden’s home in Wilmington, Delaware, is coming under fresh scrutiny as...

As Russian troops wage a ferocious house-to-house fight for control of strongholds in eastern Ukraine, a parallel battle is unfolding in the top echelons of military power in Moscow, with President Vladimir Putin reshuffling his top generals while rival camps try to win his favor. The fighting for the salt...

Some 1,200 state government employees who report to the Capitol Complex to work have an extra long weekend ahead of them. Not only do they have Martin Luther King Day off on Monday, these non-essential employees have Tuesday off to reduce traffic and free up parking for Gov.-elect Josh Shapiro...

The Josh Shapiro Era is upon us and in a lot of very visceral ways it figures to be a lot different from the Tom Wolf Age. First is generational change, and all that entails. Wolf, who became governor at age 66, saw his first run for political office as...

It looks like President Biden and ex-President Trump are both considering running again. Haven’t we taken the phrase “anyone can grow up to be president” a bit too far? Our country has a population of over 330 million. Is this the best we can do? C’mon, man. Alan Critchlow Lower...

The Child Health Association of Sewickley wrapped up 2022 with the Around the World fundraising event at The Edgeworth Club on Nov. 19. This event was a soft kickoff for the organization’s Centennial year, which kicks off in February. Child Health Association of Sewickley was founded in 1923 by four...

I would like to send a blessing out to all the police officers in service. “Whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son” (John 14:13). May each police officer be protected from all evil that runs on this earth....

The beautiful lake in Mammoth Park is now sterile. After a Westmoreland County Bureau of Parks and Recreation sanctioned goose and duck hunt that started Dec. 12 and ends Jan. 14 (the park is closed to all other use from sunrise to 9 a.m. Mondays and Wednesdays during this period),...

After reading the letter “Republicans don’t improve lives” (Dec. 19, TribLIVE), in which the writer states that “Democrats are committed to actually helping Americans in every way,” I was thrown into a state of profound bewilderment. How have the Democrats improved upon anything? By leaving American citizens and in-country allies...

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. Free cancer screenings offered at Allegheny Valley Hospital Allegheny Health Network...

There are no accidents, only collisions. Collisions are preventable (i.e., reduce speed after dark and in bad weather). Why are Westmoreland County taxpayers expected to pay for the transportation needs of elected officials (“Westmoreland DA: Crash involving county vehicle was ‘minor’,” Jan. 7, TribLIVE)? While commendable that District Attorney Nicole...