Top Stories category, Page 1042
Ask the doctor: Excela’s Dr. Fox weighs in on vaccines, Thanksgiving gatherings
The Tribune-Review asked Dr. Carol Fox, chief medical officer at Excela Health, a few questions regarding vaccines and holiday gatherings. Here are her responses: Q: Should people consider the vaccination status of others when planning holiday gatherings? A: I think that would be wise. Ideally, everyone that you gather with...
Penn State enrollment numbers mirror national trends
We are? If the answer to the popular college cheer is “Penn State,” there are fewer voices chiming in these days. Although Penn State’s University Park campus, which turns away hundreds of well-qualified students every year, bounced back to better than 2019 enrollment numbers, increasing from 46,313 students last year...
Pittsburgh’s Light Up Night returns
Light Up Night festivities returned to Pittsburgh this year after being canceled in 2020 due to the covid-19 pandemic. The event, which has historically taken place on a Friday evening, was moved to Saturday this year. Highlights of the event included the City of Pittsburgh’s 106th Tree Lighting ceremony and...
Conflict over abortion laws won’t abate if Roe v. Wade falls
On both sides of America’s abortion debate, activists are convinced that Roe v. Wade — the 1973 Supreme Court ruling establishing a nationwide right to abortion — is imperiled as never before. Yet no matter how the current conservative-dominated court handles pending high-profile abortion cases — perhaps weakening Roe, perhaps...
Tarentum-Brackenridge holiday parade wows crowds with Grinches, clowns and Santa
Dressed in a green Grinch sweatshirt and leggings spattered with red poinsettias, Maria Hoscheid was the image of Christmas at the 16th annual Tarentum-Brackenridge holiday parade Saturday. “We never miss this,” said Hoscheid, who lived in Tarentum for 28 years before recently moving to East Deer’s Creighton neighborhood. “It’s not...
Greensburg Holiday Parade returns after 2020 hiatus
The Greensburg Holiday Parade returned this year after being canceled in 2020 due to the covid-19 pandemic. Thousands of people gathered downtown Saturday afternoon to celebrate the holiday season as floats, bands and groups from local organizations traveled along Main Street. A visit by Santa and Mrs. Claus capped off...
Car crashes into Derry Borough house, driver airlifted to hospital
The driver of a car that crashed into a house Saturday afternoon in the 500 block of W. Fourth Avenue in Derry Borough was airlifted to a local hospital with injuries he suffered in the accident. A spokesman for the Derry Volunteer Fire Department said the gas company was called...
Poll: More American adults say they don’t expect to have a child
A growing share of U.S. adults who aren’t already parents say they probably won’t have children, citing reasons such as apathy, financial instability or the lack of a partner. A new survey from the Pew Research Center found that 44% of non-parents ages 18 to 49 say it’s not too...
Cyclists brave cold for Pantry Pedal on Greensburg Trail
Call them the few, the hardy, the Flat Tire Co. Fellows. On Saturday morning, while much of the rest of the region might have been sipping hot chocolate, nursing a strong cup of coffee or reluctantly rolling out of a warm bed, Ashley Reefer was layering up, preparing to lead...
New welcome sign lights way to downtown Latrobe
It’s appropriate that Latrobe’s new community entrance sign greets downtown visitors with the message, “Welcome to the neighborhood.” Illuminated for the first time Friday night, the sign is the work of homegrown talent from the city and neighboring areas — much of it donated. Motorists and pedestrians will spot the...
2 top executives quit giant Pa. pension fund amid FBI, SEC probes
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 — Following months of controversy and amid an ongoing federal investigation, Pennsylvania’s biggest pension fund on Thursday announced that its...
Cyclist dead in early morning collision in Pittsburgh
Authorities are investigating a collision that left a bicyclist dead shortly after 1 a.m. Saturday when he collided with a vehicle on the 5700 block of Stanton Avenue in Pittsburgh. First responders from Pittsburgh EMS, fire and police said they found the cyclist unconscious when they arrived and began CPR....
Cranberry man, 44, dies after being rescued from fire on Pittsburgh’s South Side
A Pittsburgh man who was in critical condition early Saturday morning after firefighters rescued him from a burning South Side building has died, authorities said. Joseph B. Traynor, 44, of Cranberry died on Sunday of injuries sustained in the fire in the 1100 block of East Carson Street. Authorities said...
Downtown Pittsburgh winter homeless shelter reopens, but covid limits capacity to 68 people per night
Amid bouts of chilly wind, icy rain and temperatures dipping into the 30s, several dozen people showed up at the steps of Downtown Pittsburgh’s Smithfield United Church of Christ this past week in need of a warm place to sleep. An average of 25 to 35 people who are homeless...
Senate GOP hires firm to review Pennsylvania’s 2020 election
HARRISBURG — Republicans in the Pennsylvania Senate said Friday they will pay up to $270,000 over the next six months to have an Iowa consulting firm examine the 2020 election with an eye toward developing changes to state election law. The “forensic investigation” is being launched in response to pressure...
Fake energy company jilts investors out of $2M used to buy boats, jewelry, wedding gifts; 1 of 3 indicted pleads guilty
A Greene County man admitted bilking Western Pennsylvania investors out of more than $2 million under the guise of funding a promising renewable energy company, only to use the money to pay for lavish personal items and the living expenses of he and his fellow schemers. Authorities say the money...
Lots drawn to declare winners in 39 tied election races in Westmoreland County
Lady Luck eluded Nancy Peters on Friday afternoon. Peters, an incumbent councilwoman in Jeannette, was one of 30 people who tied with one write-in vote in the Nov. 2 election for city controller. Ties were broken Friday afternoon through a random casting of lots for that race — and 38...
How will the Penguins be different under Fenway Sports Group?
For Fenway Sports Group LLC, adding the Pittsburgh Penguins, a hockey team that takes pride in the value of its brand, would be another high-profile entity in their realm. Led by billionaire businessman John Henry, Fenway Sports Group owns — to some degree — some of the most iconic sports...
TSA makes travel safer, though security remains imperfect 20 years later, experts say
Since the Transportation Security Administration was created in the wake of 9/11, terrorists haven’t carried out any large-scale attacks involving commercial airliners or U.S. airports. Some say that’s a testament to the TSA and proof that its security measures are working. But some aviation security experts say the TSA, created...
M@C Discount signs lease with Pittsburgh Mills mall to expand its locations
One of the largest empty spaces in the Pittsburgh Mills mall has a new tenant. M@C Discount announced it will open a location Dec. 1 in the space formerly used by Sears Grand. The online bidding store signed a five-year lease with the mall. Spirit Halloween occupied the space during...
Jury finds Kyle Rittenhouse not guilty in Kenosha shootings
KENOSHA, Wis. — Kyle Rittenhouse was acquitted of all charges Friday after asserting self-defense in the deadly Kenosha shootings that became a flashpoint in the debate over guns, vigilantism and racial injustice in the U.S. Rittenhouse, 18, began to choke up, fell forward toward the defense table and then hugged...
Fenway Sports Group board reportedly approves purchase of Penguins
The board of Fenway Sports Group LLC on Friday approved a purchase of the Pittsburgh Penguins, sports business outlet Sportico reported. The Penguins’ board formally approved the potential sale a few days ago, a source with the team told the Tribune-Review. News of the purposed deal first emerged Wednesday. Fenway...
Pitt group seeks solution to Appalachia ‘brain drain’ in Connellsville study
A University of Pittsburgh study is looking at how Connellsville and other distressed communities in Appalachia can use their resources to spur economic development and turn around a decadeslong “brain drain” — where college-educated residents leave to go elsewhere for better jobs, higher pay or a different lifestyle. “Brain drain...
Teen struck, killed by pickup in Duquesne identified
The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office on Friday identified the man who died Wednesday morning after being hit by a pickup in Duquesne. Deveon Franklin, 18, of Duquesne, died at a hospital at 7:40 a.m. Wednesday, following the incident around 6 a.m. in the 100 block of Kennywood Boulevard. The...
Police say wheelchair-bound man punched 1-year-old baby in the face at Butler hospital
Butler Memorial Hospital workers said the usual quiet of a treatment waiting area was shattered Tuesday night when the mother of a 20-month-old toddler screamed for help and accused a wheelchair-bound patient of punching her child, according to court documents. “He hit my baby!,” Butler Township police quoted the mother...
