Top Stories category, Page 100
Penn State approves new deal to keep WPSU public media open
A month after voting down an earlier proposal, Penn State University’s board of trustees approved a plan to transfer WPSU-TV and public radio to WHYY in Philadelphia. The deal means Penn State won’t have to pay an additional $17 million subsidy over the next five years to keep WPSU operating,...
Pittsburgh Action Against Rape ‘in crisis’ amid state budget impasse
Pittsburgh Action Against Rape, Allegheny County’s only rape crisis center, is facing severe financial strain as Pennsylvania’s months-long budget impasse cuts off a key source of funding. Sadie Restivo, PAAR’s executive director, said the nonprofit relies on the commonwealth for about 20% of its budget. As the stalemate drags on...
Man accused of breaking into North Huntingdon Aldi, smashing police cruiser
A man is behind bars after North Huntingdon officers said he used a hammer to break into an Aldi grocery store and shatter the windshield of a police cruiser, according to court papers. Township police said they were called to the market on Norwin Avenue around 2 a.m. Tuesday for...
Heights Plaza in Harrison on the market for $16M
The Heights Plaza shopping center in Harrison is for sale. The 30-acre property, owned by New York-based Benbrooke Realty Investment Co., is on the market for $16 million, according to a listing on LoopNet.com. Rich Lubkin of Benbrooke did not return TribLive calls or email requests for comment. The sale...
Pittsburgh councilwoman mulls spending freeze amid financial concerns
A Pittsburgh councilwoman on Tuesday said she intends to introduce a bill that would freeze city spending. Councilwoman Theresa Kail-Smith, D-West End, said she believes the city needs to curb spending as the city is facing financial challenges. Pausing spending could help the city stave off a tax hike, which...
Supreme Court rejects Alex Jones’ challenge to $1.4 billion defamation judgment
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Tuesday to hear a challenge by conspiracy theorist Alex Jones to a $1.4 billion judgment awarded to families of the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting in Connecticut over the Infowars website founder’s false statements that the 2012 incident...
Pittsburgh council strikes down plan to ask Munhall for snowplow help
Pittsburgh City Council on Tuesday rejected a proposal to ask neighboring Munhall for help with snow plowing after members pushed back last week against the idea of outsourcing the work in exchange for street cleaning services. Councilwoman Barb Warwick, D-Greenfield, pitched the idea of an agreement with Munhall that would...
Steelers’ minority owner killed in ATV accident in North Carolina
The CEO of a North Carolina corporation, who bought a minority stake in the Pittsburgh Steelers from a Steel City-bred billionaire, died in an all-terrain vehicle crash over the weekend, the business he founded said Monday. Doug Lebda was 55. In a company announcement, LendingTree confirmed that Lebda died Sunday...
Water service restored after main break affected service in New Kensington, Lower Burrell areas
A water main break along Freeport Road in New Kensington left many in the area with low water pressure for part of Tuesday. The main break occurred directly adjacent to the New Kensington Municipal Authority’s reservoirs. General Manager Ed Saliba said Tuesday afternoon that workers were still investigating the cause...
Government shutdown is impacting Social Security. Details on payments, offices, more
As the government shutdown nears the two-week mark, several federal agencies, including the Social Security Administration (SSA), remain impacted by furloughs and cannot operate as usual. Thousands of SSA employees have been furloughed, in turn limiting the agency’s available services during the shutdown. However, Social Security and Supplemental Security Income...
Pennsylvania man pleads guilty in arson attack at governor’s mansion while Shapiro’s family slept
HARRISBURG — A man who scaled an iron security fence in the middle of the night, eluded police and used beer bottles filled with gasoline to ignite the occupied Pennsylvania governor’s mansion pleaded guilty Tuesday to attempted murder and other charges. Cody Balmer, 38, also entered pleas to terrorism, 22...
Pittsburgh solicitor Krysia Kubiak to leave post, return to Duquesne Light
Pittsburgh solicitor Krysia Kubiak is leaving her post at the city later this month, officials announced Tuesday. When Mayor Ed Gainey took office in 2022, he appointed Kubiak to lead the city’s law department, which oversees attorneys specializing in corporate counsel, civil litigation, labor, real estate, tax, contracts, and workers’...
Downtown Pittsburgh revitalization pushes holiday market to new location
The annual holiday market that usually fills Market Square will move to Pittsburgh’s Cultural District this holiday season. It’s the latest annual event to be relocated as part of a Downtown revitalization effort that has limited use of public spaces like Market Square, which is undergoing a facelift ahead of...
Truck driver killed, traffic diverted after crash on Pennsylvania Turnpike
A 47-year-old man died early Tuesday after his truck struck a concrete barrier and bridge pier, then burst into flames on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, shutting down the highway for hours between Bedford County and New Stanton, according to Pennsylvania State Police. The man, who authorities have not named, was driving...
New covid guidelines add confusion, complications for Americans seeking shots
NEW YORK — Americans headed to pharmacies for covid-19 vaccines are running into roadblocks and confusion due to new U.S. guidance that abandoned broad support for the shots, contributing to the lowest vaccination rates since they were introduced. For the four-week period ended Oct. 3, covid immunizations were down about...
Gaza ceasefire outlook darkens as Israel delays aid and Hamas tightens grip
CAIRO/JERUSALEM — Israel delayed aid into Gaza and kept the enclave’s border shut on Tuesday, while re-emergent Hamas fighters demonstrated their grip by executing men in the street, darkening the outlook for President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war. Three Israeli officials said Israel had decided to restrict aid...
Police charge North Side man with animal cruelty after finding malnourished dogs
A Pittsburgh man was arrested Sunday on animal cruelty charges after one of the dogs in his care died and police found three others “severely malnourished” inside the man’s North Side home. Xavier Williams, 37, of Pittsburgh’s Marshall-Shadeland neighborhood was arraigned early Monday on a total of 29 charges, including...
Why your Halloween candy is costing more this year
Bonnie Ostrowski rolled out of Sam’s Club at Pittsburgh Mills pushing a cart full of Halloween goodies. “I got three grandkids who live with me … that’s why the cart looks the way it does,” Ostrowski said about the bulk-sized packages of candy she purchased recently. Ostrowski, a retiree from...
Fort wall rebuild at Historic Hanna’s Town aims to stay true to period
The fort walls at Historic Hanna’s Town serve as a visual reminder of how the frontier community stayed safe during attacks in the 1700s. That important part of the visitor experience is slated for an update in the coming months, said Mark Katarski, director of Westmoreland County Parks and Recreation....
Westmoreland housing authority gets funding for Rostraver senior apartments
Westmoreland County Housing Authority officials said construction of a new 50-unit apartment building for low-income seniors in Rostraver could begin as soon as next summer. The authority awarded federal tax credits valued at about $15 million last week to pay for what will be the agency’s fifth major construction project...
Thousands of Pa. college students wait for key financial aid due to state budget impasse
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — Financial aid for thousands of Pennsylvania college students is on hold as a result of the state...
‘I’d absolutely do it again’: 911 dispatcher recounts freeing drivers from fiery Parkway West crash
Emergency dispatcher Brian Craig was driving home from an overnight shift around 6 a.m. Saturday when he saw two cars in flames after they had collided on the Parkway West in Robinson. The former police officer and firefighter said Monday he didn’t think about what to do next. His years...
‘It’s a hit to Penn State’: State College dreary and subdued after firing of James Franklin
STATE COLLEGE — Former Penn State offensive lineman Landon Tengwall was shocked by the firing of the university’s longtime football coach, James Franklin. “It has been full-on shock,” Tengwall, 23, of State College told TribLive on Monday. “A lot of people seemed to understand that it needed to be done,...
Pirates fans trek to remains of Forbes Field to relive iconic Mazeroski home runVideo
On Oct. 13, 1960, Tom Richards missed one of the most iconic moments in Pittsburgh sports history. Monday afternoon, the retired police officer tried to make things right. Richards joined more than 100 Pittsburgh Pirates fans at what remains of Forbes Field in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood to listen to a...
Government shutdown could be the longest ever, Speaker Johnson warns
WASHINGTON — Republican Speaker Mike Johnson predicted Monday the federal government shutdown may become the longest in history, saying he “won’t negotiate” with Democrats until they hit pause on their health care demands and reopen. Standing alone at the Capitol on the 13th day of the shutdown, the speaker said...
