Regional News category, Page 53
UPMC walks back mask requirements
Two days after issuing a mask mandate for its facilities, UPMC has softened its language, stating that masks are recommended, not required. On Monday, UPMC issued a statement that masks would be required for people at all its facilities in an attempt to curb the spread of respiratory viruses. On...
Butler County storage facility in spotlight after Elon Musk mention
A private storage facility in Butler County found itself in the spotlight after being indirectly mentioned by Elon Musk on Tuesday. The billionaire owner of X and CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, Musk is serving as an adviser to President Donald Trump, spearheading the Department of Government Efficiency’s efforts to...
Photos: Marc Fogel returns to U.S., greeted by Trump
Marc Fogel, an history teacher from Oakmont who was deemed wrongfully detained by Russia, was released and returned to the U.S. on Tuesday. Steve Witkoff, a special envoy for President Donald Trump, left Russia with Fogel and brought him to the White House, where Trump greeted him. “I feel like...
Goodbye, Lincoln? Few lament possible loss of penny as Trump orders Mint to halt production
Ending production of the penny makes sense, a cross-section of area coin collectors and business owners told TribLive after a directive to do so was ordered this week by President Donald Trump. But Trump doesn’t appear to have the authority to make the decision. The U.S. Mint is part of...
‘Unbelievable’: Marc Fogel’s mother celebrates son’s release from Russian prisonVideo
When Malphine Fogel heard the words, she felt dizzy. She took a seat and tried to collect herself. Her son, Marc Fogel, was on the other end of a phone line in Moscow. He was coming home from a Russian prison after more than three years. “He said, ‘I’m waiting...
‘Very excited’: Oakmont residents and visitors react to Marc Fogel’s release
Residents and visitors in Oakmont were all smiles Tuesday when they heard fellow resident Marc Fogel was headed home. According to a statement released by the White House, U.S. officials negotiated a deal with Russian authorities that led to the release of Fogel, an American teacher. Fogel was sentenced to...
Western Pa. politicians laud release of Oakmont’s Marc Fogel
Elected Pennsylvania leaders from both parties lauded Tuesday’s release of Oakmont teacher Marc Fogel after nearly four years in Russian captivity — a rare instance of solidarity in an increasingly divided political environment. “Today is a day of celebration, thankfulness and gratitude knowing our fellow Pennsylvanian will soon be back...
‘Our prayers have been answered’: Marc Fogel freed from Russian prisonVideo
Clutching a can of Iron City beer with an American flag draped around his neck, Marc Fogel met President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday night, telling him he will forever be indebted to him. “President Trump is a hero,” the teacher from Oakmont said during his first...
Device debate: Gov. Shapiro’s proposed tax rate gets pushback from skill game operators
Operators and manufacturers of electronic skill games say they’ve been anticipating Pennsylvania might soon take a tax bite from their revenue, but they protest that Gov. Josh Shapiro’s proposed 52% tax is excessive. “It would kill all of us,” Jordan Scanlan said. “We would never be able to stay open....
Steelers fans pick sides for the Super Bowl
Steelers fan Joe Seneca of South Greensburg wants to see NFL history made Sunday, even if it overshadows those Super Steelers teams of the 1970s. “I like Kansas City. I want to see history made in my lifetime. I did not get to see it in the 1970s,” when the...
Fetterman doesn’t waver on openness to work with Trump, despite backlash from some Democrats
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, the Braddock Democrat who was once a darling of the progressive movement, has drawn the ire of some on the left for his stances on Israel and immigration and, more recently, for his openness to working with President Donald Trump. Just last week, protesters who gathered...
Freezing rain, snow, ice predicted for Laurel Highlands ridges; travel restrictions slated
Roads in the eastern parts of Westmoreland, Fayette and Indiana counties could become treacherous Saturday afternoon, when the National Weather Service predicts the area will get hit with freezing rain and possible snow. The weather service’s Pittsburgh office has issued a winter weather advisory for that area and for several...
Trump’s new strategy for U.S. Steel-Nippon provokes mixed reactions, confusion
President Donald Trump on Friday suggested that Nippon Steel would no longer buy U.S. Steel as planned, but the Japanese company would instead invest in the symbolically important American business. The U.S. president mistakenly referred to Nippon Steel as “Nissan,” the Japanese automaker. But it’s Nippon Steel’s bid that generated...
Trump opposition to U.S. Steel-Nippon deal may be softening
President Donald Trump reportedly is reconsidering his stance on a U.S. Steel-Nippon Steel merger, possibly permitting the $14.9 billion deal to go through. Citing anonymous sources, CBS News reported Friday the president has softened his stance on the deal after firmly opposing it for more than a year. Late last...
Take the TribLive weekly news quiz: Feb. 7
The following is a regular feature from TribLive: A weekly news quiz:...
Task force arrests 2nd suspect in brutal Aliquippa VFW beating
An Aliquippa man accused of nearly beating a fellow city resident to death inside a Veterans of Foreign Wars lodge was arrested Thursday. Brett Ours, 39, was taken into custody without incident at a home along the 400 block of Allegheny Avenue in West Aliquippa. Aliquippa police charged Ours with...
Icy conditions — and fog — expected to linger through morning commute
Cold air and icy conditions lingered early Thursday in the Greater Pittsburgh area, triggering meteorologists to extend a winter weather advisory three additional hours — through 10 a.m. Temperatures could reach the upper 40s Thursday but hovered early in the morning around freezing through much of the region. That means...
Keeping the electric grid humming is costing consumers more
Pennsylvanians, along with a lot of other people, will see higher electric bills this summer. But don’t blame your local power company just yet. Soaring “capacity costs” are the culprit, and they’re largely out of the control of entities like West Penn Power and Duquesne Light. Not even the state’s...
‘Height of the season’: Flu cases surge in Western Pa.
Flu cases are spiking in Western Pennsylvania as the region’s doctors treat high numbers of patients stricken with the seasonal respiratory illness. Dr. Amy Crawford-Faucher, a family physician and chair of the Allegheny Health Network Primary Care Institute, said Wednesday she’s seen a “significant increase” in the number of people...
15 years ago, Snowmageddon crushed Western Pa.
Two days before what came to be known as Snowmageddon, the National Weather Service forecast the Western Pennsylvania region could expect about “6 to 8 inches of snow.” The following day, the forecast was revised: Winter storm warnings were calling for a heavy snowfall beginning Friday afternoon — Feb. 5,...
Parts of Western Pa. on alert for freezing rain
Freezing rain is expected make its way across the region Wednesday evening, with Westmoreland and Fayette counties getting the brunt of bad weather. The chance of precipitation in the area is near 100%, with freezing rain falling mostly after midnight, according to a forecast from the National Weather Service in...
Morning Roundup: No injuries reported in shooting near Rankin apartment building
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025: Shooting at Rankin apartment building Allegheny County Police are investigating a shooting reported early Tuesday at a Rankin apartment building. Police said they were dispatched for a report of gunshots about 1:35 a.m. to Palisades...
Restaurant owners pay twice the cost for eggs as bird flu spreads
Dick’s Diner in Murrysville purchases more than 2,800 eggs every week. That’s 16 cases, each holding 15 dozen eggs. But what used to cost the diner $800 a week has skyrocketed to more than double the price — nearly $1,730 every seven days. That’s nearly 62 cents per egg. General...
Newly approved painkiller Journavx is ‘potentially groundbreaking’
A new painkiller that is said to be free of addiction risks may be transformative for treatment of acute pain, according to local medical professionals. “I think it could be a potentially groundbreaking medication,” said Dr. Richard Gao, anesthesiologist and chronic pain physician with Allegheny Health Network. “I definitely think...
D.C. museum hosts Frank Lloyd Wright’s vision for Southwestern Pennsylvania
Thousands of visitors seek out Fallingwater and Polymath Park in Southwestern Pennsylvania each year to marvel at the works of Frank Lloyd Wright. Why is there such inspiration in this area? Having a wealthy client and patron in Edgar Kaufmann certainly didn’t hurt. And as it turns out, the greater...
