Top Stories category, Page 18
No parade for this year’s Highmark First Night Pittsburgh event
The annual First Night parade will have a different look this New Year’s Eve. Instead of a single parade route on Dec. 31, there will be roaming performers throughout the Cultural District, according to an announcement by the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust on Wednesday. The change is due to construction in...
Pittsburgh vehicle repairs bust city budget by nearly $600K
Time to search the couch cushions. Pittsburgh has blown through its budget for vehicle maintenance this year by nearly $600,000 and still has a month of repairs to go. Illinois-based Transdev maintains and repairs the city’s 1,200-plus fire trucks, ambulances, snowplows and other vehicles. The aging fleet has been plagued...
Driverless cab service Waymo coming to Pittsburgh
Driverless cabs are coming to Pittsburgh. Autonomous ride-hailing service Waymo is expanding into the Steel City along with Baltimore, St. Louis and Philadelphia, the company announced in a blog post Wednesday. Human-led test drives will start this week in Downtown Pittsburgh as Waymo confirms its technology works on the city’s...
Pennsylvania residents can now apply for LIHEAP heating aid after delay
A day after three inches of snow marked the Pittsburgh area’s first major snowfall of the season, the state finally opened applications for a long-delayed heating assistance program stalled by the federal shutdown. On Wednesday, the Department of Human Services announced that the 2025-26 Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)...
Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s Jeff Plate on ‘The Ghosts of Christmas Eve’ show coming to PittsburghVideo
After more than 25 years of touring, it’s just not feasible for Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s stage production to get any larger. ”We’ve reached the point of we can’t get much bigger, considering the schedule that we run when we do these tours,” drummer Jeff Plate said. “Eight shows in five days...
Ballistic gear in the works for Tarentum police dog
Like their human counterparts, police dogs need specialized equipment to protect them during violent encounters. In Tarentum, K-9 Officer Jeremy Belusar is doing what he can to keep the borough’s police dog, Kilo, safe. The department was awarded a bullet- and stab-protective vest through the nonprofit Vested Interest in K-9s....
Seton Hill unveils plans for indoor athletic center on Greensburg campus
Seton Hill University is looking to develop a new indoor athletic facility on its Greensburg campus and is planning to partner with the Latrobe Industrial Development Authority to help finance the project. The authority has scheduled a special meeting at 4 p.m. Thursday at Latrobe City Hall to review the project...
Oldest tree in Allegheny County stands a little mightier after Eagle Scout project
A Pine-Richland High School senior sought to give special recognition to a piece of Western Pennsylvania history for his Eagle Scout project. Carlton Fogliani of Boy Scout Troop 150 repaired and refurbished the site of the Penn Tree in Richland Township Community Park. The majestic oak tree, believed to have...
Trump-backed Republican Matt Van Epps wins U.S. House special election in Tennessee
NASHVILLE — Republican Matt Van Epps won a nationally watched special election in Tennessee for a seat in the U.S. House on Tuesday, maintaining his party’s grip on the district with help from President Donald Trump. A military veteran and former state general services commissioner from Nashville, Van Epps defeated...
Missouri teen driving stolen pickup arrested after chase with state police in Washington County
A Missouri teen driving a stolen pickup hit a truck and backed into a state police vehicle while trying to flee a traffic stop in Washington County on Tuesday, according to state police. State police said Kemari Kerney Flowers, 19, of Saint Peters, Mo. was arrested and would be charged...
Woman taken to hospital for evaluation after crashing into Washington Township business
A woman was taken to a hospital for evaluation after driving her vehicle into the Pittsburgh Technologies building in Washington Township. Township police Sgt. Vincent Surace said officers responded to a report of a vehicle into a building shortly after 4:30 p.m. Tuesday along the 1000 block of Hunt Valley...
Chances dwindling for renewal of health care subsidies, risking premium spikes for millions
WASHINGTON — Hopes for an extension of health care subsidies were diminishing in Congress this week as Republicans and Democrats largely abandoned the idea of bipartisan talks on the issue, increasing the odds that millions of Americans could see sharp premium spikes starting Jan. 1. Democrats who agreed earlier this...
Indictment says accused cyberstalker blames ChatGPT for condoning behavior
A Whitehall man accused of threatening and stalking more than 10 women on social media and in person was indicted in federal court on Tuesday on 14 counts. Brett Dadig, 31, is accused of cyberstalking, interstate stalking and interstate threats. According to the grand jury indictment, Dadig said he interacted...
Allegheny County Council unanimously OKs budget without tax hike
Allegheny County Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a $3 billion budget for next year that does not raise taxes or lay off workers. The budget is balanced — neither dipping into the county’s reserve fund, which will have about $84 million at the end of this year, nor growing it...
Trump dismisses affordability concerns as Democratic ‘con job’
President Trump on Tuesday dismissed concerns about affordability as a Democratic “con job” in a remarkable shift after recently latching onto the buzzword encapsulating widespread consumer worries about the cost of living. Trump branded affordability as a “hoax” in a speech to his Cabinet in which he also downplayed the...
Man arrested in Springdale Township sting on scam charges escapes custody
A Chinese national charged in connection with a large-scale scam in Springdale Township walked away from an alternative housing facility last month after being released there from jail. Zhudi Chen, 40, whom police have accused of stealing more than $100,000, left the facility in Pittsburgh using a fourth-floor fire escape,...
Crash that killed pedestrian in Aspinwall spurs lawsuit against driver
The daughters of a woman fatally struck by an SUV earlier this year in Aspinwall are suing the driver. Patricia A. Doane, of McDonald and Priscilla Pasikowski, of Shaler, filed the lawsuit as co-executors of their mother’s estate. Judith A. Mierzwa, 83, of Aspinwall, was struck Feb. 5 around 7:08...
Pittsburgh School Board elects new officers amid financial uncertainties
The Pittsburgh School Board elected new officers for the 2026 fiscal year. The board members were sworn in on Monday at the district’s Board Organization Meeting. New to the board of directors are Tawana Cook Purnell (District 1), Eva Diodati (District 7) and Erikka Grayson (District 3). Purnell grew up...
Legislation from Summer Lee, Democratic colleagues would combat discriminatory AI
Artificial intelligence is transforming the world, one algorithm at a time. U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, D-Swissvale, wants to make sure those algorithms don’t violate people’s civil rights. Lee and three of her Democratic colleagues in the House are introducing a bill that would aim to prevent companies from using discriminatory...
Stumping the dump: Pittsburgh mulls ban on waste transfer stations near homes
A Pittsburgh councilwoman wants to keep waste transfer stations away from residential areas where neighbors could be disrupted by frequent garbage truck trips and air pollution. Councilwoman Barb Warwick, D-Greenfield, proposed a zoning bill that would prohibit such uses within 500 feet of residential areas, elementary or secondary schools, parks...
Seven Springs set to open its slopes
As the first significant snowfall of the season rolled through Western Pennsylvania on Tuesday, Seven Springs Mountain Resort announced its official season opening. The Somerset County resort, which received its first snow of the season Nov. 10, will open for skiing Saturday. A celebration will include a live DJ, cookies,...
East Huntingdon man sentenced for shootout with state police
An East Huntingdon man, convicted last fall of firing shots at two state police troopers, was sentenced Tuesday to serve up to 44 years in prison. James R. Miller Jr., 63, declined to speak and presented no witnesses on his behalf during the court hearing in which prosecutors said his...
Federal authorities plan operation in Minnesota focusing on Somali immigrantsVideo
MINNEAPOLIS — Federal authorities are preparing a targeted immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota that would primarily focus on Somali immigrants living unlawfully in the U.S., according to a person familiar with the planning. The move comes as President Donald Trump again on Tuesday escalated rhetoric about Minnesota’s sizable Somali community,...
Man charged in National Guard shooting pleads not guilty during court appearance from hospital bed
WASHINGTON — A man accused of shooting two National Guard troops near the White House pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to murder and assault charges during his first appearance before a judge via video from a hospital bed. Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national who was also shot, faces charges...
Hegseth cites ‘fog of war’ in defending follow-on strike on alleged drug boatVideo
WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday cited the “fog of war” in defending a follow-up strike on an alleged drug-carrying boat in the Caribbean Sea in early September. During a Cabinet meeting at the White House, Hegseth said he did not see any survivors in the water, saying...
