Top Stories category, Page 174
Trafford man gets at least 16 years for fatal Homewood shooting
A Trafford man will serve at least 16 years in state prison after he was sentenced Thursday for killing a man he said was his friend. Christopher Papalia, 33, was found guilty by a jury of third-degree murder on Feb. 7. According to the criminal complaint, Pittsburgh police were called...
Trump says he’s naming Fox News host and former judge Jeanine Pirro as top federal prosecutor in D.C.
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Thursday that he is naming Fox News host Jeanine Pirro, a former county prosecutor and elected judge, to be the top federal prosecutor for the nation’s capital after abandoning his first pick for the job. Pirro, who joined Fox News in 2006, cohosts the...
Area Catholics laud Pope Leo XIV, confident he’ll be a ‘bridge builder,’ serve the poor, marginalized
Area Catholics lauded the selection of Pope Leo XIV, not just because he’s American born, but because they’re confident he’ll be a “bridge builder,” dedicated to serving the poor and marginalized. Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, originally from the Chicago area but serving the church for decades in South America, was...
Up to 1,000 transgender troops being moved out of the military in new Pentagon order
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon will immediately begin moving as many as 1,000 openly identifying transgender service members out of the military and give others 30 days to self-identify, under a new directive issued Thursday. Buoyed by Tuesday’s Supreme Court decision allowing the Trump administration to enforce a ban on transgender...
U.S. to stop tracking costs of extreme weather fueled by climate change
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will no longer track the cost of climate change-fueled weather disasters, including floods, heat waves, wildfires and more. It is the latest example of changes to the agency and the Trump administration limiting federal government resources on climate change. NOAA falls under the U.S....
‘About time’: Pirates fans react to Derek Shelton firing
When Jim Emmerling found out the Pittsburgh Pirates fired manager Derek Shelton on Thursday, he was elated. “I’ve been asking for this,” he said. “The last six years have been the worst baseball I can remember.” Shelton was replaced by bench coach Don Kelly as the team languishes in last...
Tim Benz: Pirates made a needed change in firing Shelton, but they didn’t go far enough
Trading Josh Bell on Christmas Eve 2020 was one heckuva news dump by the Pittsburgh Pirates. That was an all-time favorite of mine. But releasing news of a managerial change about 25 minutes after white smoke emerged from the Vatican to announce the election of a new pope is next-level...
WQED lays off staff, suspends Creator Academy
This week, WQED Multimedia laid off four full-time staff and one part-time employee and announced the suspension of its Creator Academy, formerly known as WQED Film Academy and before that, Steeltown Entertainment Project. In an online post at wqed.org/thecreatoracademy, WQED cited the “unprecedented threats to federal funding for the arts,...
Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, overcame a taboo against a U.S. pontiff
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis brought Robert Prevost to the Vatican in 2023 as the powerful head of the office that vets bishop nominations, one of the most important jobs in the Catholic Church. On Thursday, he ascended to become Pope Leo XIV — the first American pontiff. Prevost, 69,...
Robert Prevost, first American pope in history of the Catholic Church, will take the name Leo XIV
VATICAN CITY — Robert Prevost, the Chicago-born missionary who spent his career ministering in Peru and took over the Vatican’s powerful office of bishops, was elected the first pope from the United States in the history of the Catholic Church on Thursday. Prevost, a 69-year-old member of the Augustinian religious...
Pirates fire Derek Shelton, promote bench coach Don Kelly to manager for rest of 2025
Sitting in last place in the NL Central and with their season spiraling, the Pittsburgh Pirates fired manager Derek Shelton on Thursday and named bench coach Don Kelly his successor for the remainder of the 2025 season. Shelton was relieved of his duties following a 5-0 loss to the St....
White smoke pours out of the Sistine Chapel chimney, signaling the election of a new popeVideo
VATICAN CITY — White smoke poured from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel and the great bells of St. Peter’s Basilica tolled Thursday after cardinals elected the 267th pope to lead the Catholic Church on the second day of their conclave. The crowd in St. Peter’s Square erupted in cheers,...
Trump keeps 10% tariffs on UK but cuts taxes on British autos, steel and aluminum with trade deal
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump agreed Thursday to cut tariffs on U.K. autos, steel and aluminum in a planned trade deal but played down the possibility of other nations getting similarly favorable terms on his import taxes, which are roiling the global economy. Under the framework agreement, the United Kingdom...
Cancer before age 50 is increasing. A new study looks at which types
Cancer before age 50 is rare, but increasing, in the United States and researchers want to know why. A new government study provides the most complete picture yet of early-onset cancers, finding that the largest increases are in breast, colorectal, kidney and uterine cancers. Scientists from the National Cancer Institute...
Gainey orders hazard mitigation plan in response to damaging storms
Last week’s damaging storm has prompted Pittsburgh’s mayor to order officials to draft a plan so the city can better prepare for natural disasters. In ordering the creation of a hazard mitigation plan, Mayor Ed Gainey on Thursday noted that climate change brings additional risks of increasingly severe storms and...
‘My bad’: Pittsburgh top emergency official did not alert city leaders to absence during storms
Pittsburgh’s top emergency management official, who was away during last week’s severe storms, violated protocol by failing to notify city leaders of his absence and who would take over for him. Darryl Jones, the city’s emergency management coordinator and fire chief, acknowledged Thursday he did not alert Controller Rachael Heisler...
No new pope elected yet after black smoke pours out of Sistine Chapel’s chimney
VATICAN CITY — Cardinals failed again Thursday morning to find a successor to Pope Francis, sending black smoke billowing up through the Sistine Chapel chimney after two more inconclusive rounds of conclave voting. The black smoke poured out at 11:50 a.m., signalling that the second and third ballots of the...
Morning Roundup: 2 injured in Apollo fire; Pennsylvania Attorney General warns of scams after storms
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Thursday, May 8: 2 injured in Apollo fire Two people were taken to the hospital after a fire in Apollo early Thursday morning. The blaze started around 1:10 a.m. Thursday in the 400 block of Kiski Avenue, according to...
Western Pa. Catholics anticipate papal conclave to usher in new era
The late Pope Francis opened the way for women in the Roman Catholic Church to serve as readers and altar servers, and to assist priests during services or in administering Communion. But the church continues to bar women from the roles of deacon or priest, and debate over that issue...
Sen. John Fetterman raises alarms with outburst at meeting with union officials
HARRISBURG — Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania was meeting last week with representatives from a teachers union in his home state when things quickly devolved. Before long, Fetterman began repeating himself, shouting and questioning why “everybody is mad at me,” “why does everyone hate me, what did I ever...
Prosecutors: Ex-bar association leader stole $315,000 for lavish vacations, plastic surgery
The former head of the Cambria County Bar Association is accused of stealing more than $300,000 from the organization to lavish herself with trips to Mexico, cosmetic procedures and a timeshare property. Robin Hagins, 56, of Upper Yoder was charged Wednesday with theft, receiving stolen property, forgery, criminal use of...
Site of former Springdale power plant to be sold to data center developer
After a yearslong saga that resulted in the implosion of two towering smokestacks and the two-part demolition of a massive boiler house at the former Cheswick Generating Station, the property owner says the site will likely become a data center. Scott Reschly, president of Charah Environmental Redevelopment Group, the Louisville-based...
Donald Trump taps wellness influencer close to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for surgeon generalVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is tapping Dr. Casey Means, a wellness influencer with close ties to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., as his nominee for surgeon general after withdrawing his initial pick for the influential health post. Trump said in a social media post Wednesday...
Democrats send ‘dead-on-arrival’ marijuana legalization bill to Pa. Senate
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. HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania House took a major step toward legalizing recreational cannabis Wednesday, passing a bill along party lines that would permit the sale...
Ex-Hillandale Farms executive sentenced for embezzling $6.8M
A Canonsburg man who embezzled nearly $7 million from Hempfield-based Hillandale Farms over more than 13 years is going to federal prison. Jonathan Weston, 60, was ordered to serve 27 months incarceration when he was sentenced Wednesday before U.S. District Judge W. Scott Hardy. Weston was indicted May 26, 2021,...
