TribLive stories, Page 995

The pandemic-era freeze on student debt payments has “dramatically” improved credit scores for Americans who borrowed money to pay for college, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said. About 30 million people saw improvements in their risk profile, with the biggest gains going to borrowers who were delinquent before...

College buddies Trey Parker and Matt Stone needed a theme song for their upcoming TV show, an irreverent cartoon about four foul-mouthed young boys in a Colorado mountain town called South Park. When they asked avant-garde rock band Primus to record the intro music, not even bassist and vocalist Les...

State Sen. Doug Mastriano, the Republican nominee for governor in Pennsylvania, had a very brief visit Tuesday with the congressional committee investigating the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. His attorney, Timothy Parlatore, confirmed that Mastriano spent fewer than 15 minutes speaking to the Jan. 6 committee...

Part of our role as legislators is to help increase access to opportunities for those we are elected to represent. Act 77 of 2019 did just that. It was a bipartisan bill that expanded access to the ballot by moving the commonwealth on a path toward normalizing no-excuse mail-in voting....

Amid rising inflation, interest rates and recession worries, money is getting tighter for many folks — and probably for you. Yet there may be charitable organizations you want to support, friends or family asking for financial help and things you want to buy for yourself. It’s possible to do these...

Sen. Doug Mastriano has booked a Republican A-lister to help boost his campaign for governor of Pennsylvania. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has committed, the Mastriano campaign announced Monday, to an Aug. 19 appearance with Mastriano in Pittsburgh. It’s part of a series of swing state rallies being organized ahead of...

I took a glance at the two sides last week, and it didn’t look pretty. On Wednesday, I attended a township board meeting, where an owner’s right to open a gun shop in our town just west of Philadelphia was challenged. In one corner: an Orthodox Jewish owner, operating a...

Federal and state law enforcement officials on Tuesday announced health care fraud charges against the owners and management staff at troubled Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center in Beaver County and Mt. Lebanon Rehabilitation and Wellness Center. Both facilities, owned by Comprehensive Healthcare Management Services LLC, have long been the target...

Local residents celebrated National Night Out on Aug. 2 at Monroeville Community Park West in Pavilions 2 and 4. Despite a morning of rain, the sun came out just in time for the festivities to proceed in full force. Attendees received an up-close look at municipal safety services while viewing...

STATE COLLEGE — Mike Yurcich’s first year at Penn State did not go as planned. The offensive coordinator presided over a unit that averaged just 3.2 rushing yards per attempt and scored an average of 25 points per contest. Those numbers must improve in Year 2, and improvement is likely...

“My body, my choice,” Planned Parenthood: Sounds to me that you want what James Bond has, “a license to kill.” Lots of aid is available to you if you want to keep your baby. Larry Howard Plum...

I’d like to offer letter-writer Sandy Kremer some factual corrections (“Stop legislators’ power grab,” July 29, TribLIVE). She claims constitutional amendments are done to “circumvent the bill-writing and vetting processes.” In truth, these measures must be approved in two consecutive sessions of the General Assembly. She claims that for a...

Letter-writer Robert Mitchell (“What the real science world says about climate models,” July 1, TribLIVE) states that climate models have predicted for decades that the global temperature would now be about 1 degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels, in good agreement with current measurements. Mitchell’s information is derived from a publication...

It is often said that those who do not study history will be doomed to repeat it. Whatever afterlife David McCullough finds himself in, it will not involve repeating history. The Pittsburgh native and world-renowned author died Sunday. He was 89. But what does the death of a historian matter...

Many elites in the media and politics think populism is a threat to democracy. But are they correct? A dictionary definition of populism is “a political approach that strives to appeal to ordinary people who feel that their concerns are disregarded by established elite groups.” What’s so wrong about that?...

Publicize your community events, fundraisers and club meetings for free in The Stroller. Send information at least a week in advance to vndnews@triblive.com or The Stroller, 210 Wood St., Tarentum PA 15068. Please include a daytime telephone number. Food truck festival to accompany Tarentum concert The Tarentum Summer Concert series...

Authorities have identified a man who died in a Greensburg apartment building fire Monday night. The Westmoreland County coroner’s office listed the victim as David M. Bramini, 40. A ruling on the cause and manner of death is pending results from an autopsy and from toxicology testing. Greensburg Fire Chief...

Ed Collins is wrong in his letter ”Jefferson may have OK’d Jan. 6 insurrection” (July 31, TribLIVE). Thomas Jefferson would not have approved. That insurrection was neither good, nor brief. It is ongoing, and I predict it will end in a Trump dictatorship if not stopped. Sure, Jefferson is famous for his...

RENTON, Wash. — Through all the understandable attention on the two rookie cornerbacks the Seattle Seahawks drafted in the spring and the revival of the career of former Washington Huskies star Sidney Jones IV, Artie Burns just keeps hanging in. When the Seahawks took the field for their ninth practice...

LOS ANGELES — Anne Heche was in a coma Monday as authorities continued to investigate an accident Friday that left the actress with serious burns, her spokeswoman said. “Shortly after the accident, Anne Heche became unconscious, slipping into a coma and is in critical condition. She has a significant pulmonary...

A 47-year-old Bethlehem woman was charged Monday with burglary and related offenses after stealing 30 ounces of gold coins valued at more than $55,000 from an 86-year-old Bethlehem Township woman for whom the suspect was supposed to be caring, police report. Ivette Robles was arraigned Monday morning before District Judge...

Cranberry Public Library will host a curator from the Heinz History Center for a program about the Pittsburgh region’s contributions to the space race. Curator Emily Ruby will present “From Pittsburgh to the Moon,” on Aug. 30 at 6:30 p.m., to look back at the history of the Apollo 11...

The Pittsburgh Penguins hired Chris Butler as a player development coach, Greg Pateryn as a professional scout and Garrett Peters as a global crossover scout, general manager Ron Hextall announced Monday. Butler, 35, spent last season as an amateur scout with the Arizona Coyotes. He will work with hockey operations...