Top Stories category, Page 14
Westmoreland County officials sworn in; new judge, register of wills take office
Judge Harry Smail Jr. knows how well-versed Katie Pecarchik is in the operation of the Westmoreland County Register of Wills Office. As a clerk, she left a lasting impact on him when he as a young attorney filing estate matters. She again impressed him after taking over as acting register...
White-out on Route 119 near Westmoreland-Fayette border leaves 1 injured after multiple crashes
One motorist was injured in one of a series of three wrecks that happened during white-out conditions Tuesday morning along a stretch of Route 119 near the border of Westmoreland and Fayette counties. A PennDOT plow on hand to clear snow from the highway was involved in the last of...
Pittsburgh Councilwoman Theresa Kail-Smith retires
After 16 years on Pittsburgh City Council, Theresa Kail-Smith is retiring. That doesn’t mean she plans to stay away from council chambers, however. Kail-Smith said she expects to return to offer her perspective during the public comment periods that open each meeting. “Being a council member’s not all glitz and...
The Future of Pittsburgh Ball ready to shine on New Year’s Eve
The nearly 1,000-pound Future of Pittsburgh Ball was tested Tuesday and is ready to rise on New Year’s. Mounted on an 80-foot-tall pole atop Penn Avenue Place in Downtown Pittsburgh, the illuminated sphere will rise Wednesday night as the city rings in the new year during the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s...
Tatiana Schlossberg, a granddaughter of the late President John F. Kennedy, has died at 35
Environmental journalist Tatiana Schlossberg, one of three grandchildren of the late President John F. Kennedy, has died. She was 35. Schlossberg, daughter of Kennedy’s daughter, Caroline Kennedy, and Edwin Schlossberg, revealed she had terminal cancer in a November 2025 essay in The New Yorker. A family statement disclosing her death...
Got Fios? Here’s how to watch the Steelers game on Sunday
As of Dec. 15, customers of Verizon Fios TV do not have access to local NBC affiliate WPXI — which also means no access to the Steelers’ final regular season game against the Baltimore Ravens this Sunday night. The current blackout is due to a dispute about retransmission fees between...
The 25 most-read stories of 2025 on TribLive.com
The year 2025 was marked locally by the changing of the guard in the Pittsburgh mayor’s office, the changing of hands of U.S. Steel, uncertainty on college campuses and tragedy at PNC Park and PPG Paints Arena. We covered the stories, and you responded in droves online. Here were the...
More musicians cancel Kennedy Center concerts following addition of Trump’s name to building
More artists have canceled scheduled performances at the Kennedy Center following the addition of President Donald Trump’s name to the facility, with jazz supergroup The Cookers pulling out of a planned New Year’s Eve concert, and the institution’s president saying the cancellations belie the artists’ unwillingness to see their music...
Pittsburgh Brewing Co.’s football watch parties expand to college bowl games
Pittsburgh Brewing Co. is kicking off the new year with a series of football watch parties. The East Deer brewery will host watch parties for college bowl games and the Pittsburgh Steelers game coming up in the first week of the new year. Kicking off on Jan. 1, the brewery’s...
Russia’s nuclear-capable Oreshnik missiles have entered active service, Moscow says
Russia’s nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile system has entered active service in Belarus, Russia’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday, as the U.S. efforts to broker a deal to end the nearly four-year war in Ukraine have entered a pivotal stage. The ministry released a video showing combat vehicles that are part of the...
Leechburg Veterans Memorial Bridge lights are all back on
Things are looking a little brighter in Leechburg. At least they are on the Leechburg Veterans Memorial Bridge. After more than a year of working with PennDOT to repair the lights on the bridge, borough leadership announced last month the bridge is now fully lit for travelers. “The lights going...
Western Pennsylvania restaurant openings and closings in 2025
Many restaurants and other food and beverage establishments came onto the culinary scene in Western Pennsylvania in 2025, while others had to close their doors for good. Here are the notable food scene openings and closings in 2025. _______________________________________ Hi, We’re Open 1930 by Atria’s This well-known establishment in Mt....
Western Pa. expected to see respite from windstorms, power outages
Monday’s windstorm that resulted in thousands of power outages throughout Western Pennsylvania appears to be winding down. Gusts peaking around 45 mph to 55 mph left about 10,000 customers without power in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties Monday. As of 6:30 a.m. Tuesday, First Energy and Duquesne Light are reporting about...
10 people, 2 cats rescued from Marshall-Shadeland house fire
Ten people and two cats were rescued from a house fire early Tuesday morning in Pittsburgh’s Marshall-Shadeland neighborhood, according to Pittsburgh Public Safety. Fire crews were dispatched around 1 a.m. to the 800 block of Woods Run Avenue. The blaze was brought under control around 1:45 a.m., Public Safety said....
Steelers 2025 in review: 4-time MVP Aaron Rodgers’ arrival defines season — but results appear similar
Great hope remained for the 2024 Steelers as the calendar flipped to 2025. A playoff berth long clinched after a 10-3 start, hopes for a division title endured into the regular season’s final weekend. Instead, the Steelers dropped their Jan. 4 finale to Cincinnati, and a week later they fell...
Latrobe joins Leechburg in switch to Indiana County no-kill group for animal control service
Latrobe is dropping its longtime Salem-based animal control provider in favor of an Indiana County nonprofit that has added a stray animal pickup service to its animal shelter and sanctuary operation. City officials said Whiskey Acres Rescue and Sanctuary’s no-kill policy was a primary factor in making the switch. “My...
Penn State board deliberated its business in public more often this year, Spotlight PA analysis shows
This story was produced by the State College regional bureau of Spotlight PA, an independent, nonpartisan newsroom dedicated to investigative and public-service journalism for Pennsylvania. Sign up for Talk of the Town, a daily newsletter of local stories that dig deep, events, and more from north-central PA, at spotlightpa.org/newsletters/talkofthetown. The...
Narcan in schools? Educators react to proposed legislation
Public school officials statewide administered medication to reverse an opioid overdose 32 times during the 2023-24 school year, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Who received the naloxone dose and in which schools it was administered were not made public by the health department. But the growing impact of...
Death of teen struck by car in West Mifflin ruled accidental
The death of a 13-year-old boy struck by a car in West Mifflin over the weekend has been ruled an accident, the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office said Monday. Terrel “TJ” Byars Jr. was struck Saturday evening in front of a Speedway convenience store at 4315 Kennywood Blvd. He died...
Water main break temporarily closes Pittsburgh Zoo
A water main break has disrupted several events at the Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium. The zoo shut down for repairs Monday around 12:30 p.m., according to its website. That forced the closure of Wild Illuminations, its annual holiday lantern experience, according to Michael Schroeder, a zoo spokesman. Wild Illuminations, which...
Playoffs arrive early for Steelers with must-win game against Ravens in season finale
As disappointing as the 13-6 loss was Sunday to the Cleveland Browns, it could be worse for the Pittsburgh Steelers this weekend. They could be the Browns, hanging their hat on a win that gave them all of four on the season. Or they could be the Cincinnati Bengals, who...
Pittsburgh invokes eminent domain to seize Homewood apartment building
Pittsburgh City Councilman Khari Mosley is invoking the city’s eminent domain powers in an effort to preserve a 100-unit apartment complex in Homewood as affordable housing. “We’re really trying to do three things: prevent displacement, preserve affordable housing and prevent the property from going into the hands of another bad...
Penguins acquire forward Yegor Chinakhov from Blue JacketsVideo
One day after the NHL’s holiday roster freeze was lifted, the Pittsburgh Penguins broke the ice in a major way Monday. They acquired forward Yegor Chinakhov from the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for forward Danton Heinen, a second-round draft pick in 2026 and a third-round selection in 2027. Chinakhov,...
Community rallies around Leechburg business after Christmas vandalism
The Leechburg community wasted no time rallying around a local business after it was vandalized late Dec. 25. Honeybee and Co. on Market Street has received monetary and product donations after the shop’s “Lovely Little Locker,” a donation cabinet filled with free hygiene items, was vandalized. Destiney Beatty, who co-owns...
Buffalo Township approves tax hike to rebuild reserves
Buffalo Township residents will see another bump in their property taxes next year after township supervisors opted to raise the township’s millage rate in their recently passed budget. It raises real estate taxes about 22%, from 13.5 mills to 16.5 mills. That means the owner of a property at the...
