Top Stories category, Page 148
Pittsburgh councilwoman raises red flag on winner of $1.8M bid to design public safety facility
A Pittsburgh councilwoman is raising concerns about paying an engineering firm $1.8 million to plan a public safety facility because of a report the company has placed opponents of its projects under surveillance. City Council this week delayed a vote on the measure after Councilwoman Deb Gross said she did...
New Kensington felon charged after raid seizes $10K and 27 bricks of heroin, fentanyl
State troopers arrested a New Kensington man after an undercover drug investigation turned up 27 bricks of heroin or fentanyl and more than $10,000 in cash. Raijon Deqae Wilson, 29, is charged with numerous drug-related counts in connection to a search warrant at a residence in the 1200 block of...
Mark Madden: T.J. Watt got what he wanted, but this contract raises the stakes
A new concept: Refreshing sports notes about one athlete! It’s an honor to chronicle all the skinny about T.J. Watt in the aftermath of his contract extension! Far superior to Myles Garrett notes! • Watt got what he wanted. Maybe less term than he’d prefer. But Watt got a higher...
House approves Trump’s $9 billion cut to public broadcasting, foreign aid
WASHINGTON — The House gave final approval to President Donald Trump’s request to claw back about $9 billion for public broadcasting and foreign aid early Friday as Republicans intensified their efforts to target institutions and programs they view as bloated or out of step with their agenda. The vote marked...
20th annual Kecksburg UFO Festival promises update on 1965 crash
Sixty years ago, a December day changed the course of history for Kecksburg, a small community in Mt. Pleasant Township. People in seven states and Canada reported seeing a fireball in the night sky on Dec. 9, 1965, according to an article that appeared in the Tribune-Review. “Back in ’65,...
Trump mired in Epstein controversy as Wall Street Journal reports on 2003 letter
WASHINGTON — The controversy over President Donald Trump ‘s handling of records from the Jeffrey Epstein investigation entered a new dimension Thursday as his administration struggles to make good on its promises to release details on the sex trafficking case involving a one-time friend of the now-president. Trump promised a...
$5,000-per-plate dinner with McCormick at Carnegie museum spurs backlash
A private event billed as a dinner and fireside chat featuring U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick and his wife at the Carnegie Museum of Art has generated backlash and raised concerns about the propriety of the museum offering space for such a gathering, which cost $5,000 to attend. The dinner occurred...
Flash flood warnings are being issued in W.Pa. at their fastest rate in 20 years
Western Pennsylvania has been awash in flash flood warnings this year. The National Weather Service has issued 112 such warnings so far in 2025, Alicia Miller, hydrologist at the weather service in Moon, said Thursday. That’s more than the past three years combined and more than any year since 2003....
Trump administration hands over Medicaid recipients’ personal data, including addresses, to ICE
WASHINGTON — Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials will be given access to the personal data of the nation’s 79 million Medicaid enrollees, including home addresses and ethnicities, to track down immigrants who may not be living legally in the United States, according to an agreement obtained by The Associated Press....
Trump has no plans to appoint special council for Epstein case, White House says
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Donald Trump would not recommend a special counsel to look into the Jeffrey Epstein case in the face of bipartisan calls for further investigation. “The president would not recommend a special prosecutor in the Epstein case. That’s how he feels,” Leavitt said...
U.S. says it destroyed 500 metric tons of expired food aid but it won’t affect future distribution
WASHINGTON — The State Department says its destruction of 500 metric tons of emergency food aid that was stored in a warehouse in the Middle East was required because it had expired and that the move will not affect the distribution of similar assistance moving forward. The high energy biscuits...
Parents sue Hampton school district over athlete’s injury on baseball field
The parents of a junior varsity baseball player are suing the Hampton Township School District for negligence, alleging that poor conditions on the baseball diamond led to a season-ending injury for their son. Jason and Joy Midgley claim their son, Holden Midgley, was hurt while playing second base during a...
Beef prices have soared in the U.S. — and not just during grilling season
OMAHA, Neb. — Anyone firing up the grill this summer already knows hamburger patties and steaks are expensive, but the latest numbers show prices have climbed increasingly fast. And experts say consumers shouldn’t expect much relief soon either. The average price of a pound of ground beef rose to $6.12...
Man charged with stabbing victim up to 40 times in Downtown Pittsburgh heads to trial
An Ohio man is headed to trial on charges that he stabbed a 65-year-old man dozens of times on a Downtown Pittsburgh sidewalk last month. A district judge Thursday sent the case of Christopher Leroy Harris Jr., 30, of Sidney, Ohio, 40 miles north of Dayton, to Allegheny County Common...
Jayhawk Commons retail space planned at former Monsour Medical Center property along Route 30
Work on a commercial space at the former Monsour Medical Center property in Jeannette is expected to begin next year, officials said. The retail complex would be accompanied by more than 30 nearby town homes, a project city officials hope will spur additional development. Developer Don Tarosky Jr., chief operating...
T.J. Watt, Steelers agree to contract extension, making him highest paid non-QB in NFL
There will be no hold out. No “hold in,” either, for T.J. Watt. The Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday agreed to make him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history. According to a league source, the Steelers are signing Watt, their 30-year-old outside linebacker, to a four-year, $144.05 million contract that runs...
Emails show DeSantis administration blindsided Florida county officials with plans for ‘Alligator Alcatraz’
TALLAHASSEE — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration left many local officials in the dark about the immigration detention center that rose from an isolated airstrip in the Everglades, emails obtained by The Associated Press show, while relying on an executive order to seize the land, hire contractors and bypass laws...
Trump is checked for lower leg swelling and diagnosed with a common condition in older adults
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump recently had a medical checkup after noticing “mild swelling” in his lower legs and was found to have a condition common in older adults that causes blood to pool in his veins, the White House said Thursday. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said tests by the...
Supermarket squabble: Richland Shop ‘N Save sues neighboring Walmart over grocery sales
When Walmart was planning its Richland location in 1998, the company agreed it would not operate a full-service grocery store there — at least in part to try to protect the Shop ‘N Save store adjacent to it in Richland Mall. But in 2008, Walmart sent a letter offering to...
Bat cam: Streaming video reveals secret life of colony at Land Trust site in Hempfield
They only come out at night. Still, the Westmoreland Land Trust has shed some light on the lives of close to 50 bats that inhabit an old barn at its Hempfield nature park — thanks to some flexible cameras and ultrasonic detectors provided by trust board member Bill Powers. For...
Pittsburgh councilman mulls checkpoints, private security to quash East Carson Street chaos
A Pittsburgh councilman is exploring the use of checkpoints along a stretch of the South Side’s East Carson Street to counter the pandemonium that has rocked the entertainment district in recent weeks. The idea would be to regulate pedestrians and possibly vehicles on weekend nights and require anyone entering the...
Tuition increase approved for state-owned universities for 1st time in 7 years
Tuition for state universities is set to increase by 3.6% for students this fall, but that figure could decrease if state funding increases, the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education said Thursday. In-state undergraduate tuition for this academic year will increase by $139 per semester, to $3,997 per semester, according...
Striking workers from Springdale’s Greco Steel Products push for improved safety, benefits
Worries about safety and his poor life insurance policy pushed Jerry Harris to go on strike from Springdale-based Greco Steel Products. Harris, 35, of Jeannette recalled watching a co-worker fall through a roof and die on the job in June 2023. Several of Harris’ striking colleagues pointed to that moment...
Carnegie Mellon temporarily shuts down The Fence in wake of anti-Trump message
Tensions over free speech continue to mount at Carnegie Mellon University as President Farnam Jahanian on Wednesday announced he was temporarily forbidding any new messages from being painted on an iconic campus fence that has served for a century as a student billboard. The decision was prompted by controversy over...
Tarentum dog-mauling victim reels from learning what police say about attack
Tarentum resident Michael Shutack was still reeling from a Halloween dog mauling when he learned Tuesday that the man who police said helped him escape the jaws of two pit bulls is the person who set them loose. “As much as I went through my whole life, including being in...
