Top Stories category, Page 189
Columbia Gas seeks 11.3% hike; consumer advocate claims rate is higher
Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania wants to boost the monthly gas bill of a typical residential customer 11.3%, but a state consumer advocate says the change could be illegal. The gas distribution rate hike from Columbia Gas would raise the average residential monthly gas bill from $138.50 to $154.30, while small...
Heritage Valley CEO: Sewickley hospital here to stay, even as system consolidates
The head of Heritage Valley Health System says the network’s Sewickley hospital isn’t going anywhere, despite the upcoming closure of its Kennedy counterpart. “Clearly, there is a need for a hospital in that Sewickley community,” Heritage Valley President and CEO Norm Mitry told TribLive. “We don’t foresee any negative impact...
Trump suggests he can remove Fed Chair Powell, saying he’s ‘not happy’ with him over interest rates
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump attacked Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Thursday for not cutting interest rates and said he could fire him if he wanted to, renewing a threat from his first term that could cause a major legal showdown over the issue of the central bank’s longstanding...
Massive steel transport expected to slow traffic on Western Pa. roads
A truck carrying a massive load of 153 tons of steel will wind its way through Western Pennsylvania on Thursday, slowing traffic on major arteries from Allegheny County to Columbiana County, Ohio. The superload will cause rolling traffic stoppages as it needs two lanes to move through, PennDOT officials said....
Officials look at possible connection between 2 found dead in Butler and Beaver counties
Two people were found dead in separate incidents Wednesday — one in Butler County, the other in Beaver County, the Pennsylvania State Police report. First, a 47-year-old woman was found shot inside an apartment complex at about 1 p.m. in Jackson Township, Butler County. She was discovered at her Creekside...
Improvements on track for Latrobe’s Amtrak station
A long-awaited update of Latrobe’s Amtrak station is expected to get underway in the weeks ahead. City officials reported project representatives have been checking with the Pennsylvania One Call System to determine the location of underground utilities in preparation for beginning construction. “I’m thrilled it’s finally going to happen,” Jarod...
6 buildings to be razed, others renovated at New Kensington Advanced Manufacturing Park
A familiar, if not attractive, sight to motorists on the New Kensington Bridge soon will be gone. Red brick buildings, known for decades for being empty and having smashed windows, are among six at the New Kensington Advanced Manufacturing Park to be demolished over the summer as remediation efforts at...
Conor Lamb and Lindsay Powell ‘stand in’ for Fetterman and McCormick at Swissvale town hall
More than 200 people filled a Swissvale church basement Wednesday night for a town hall featuring what organizers called two stand-ins for Pennsylvania’s U.S. Sens. John Fetterman and Dave McCormick. One of the stand-ins, former U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb, told TribLive prior to taking the stage that he felt the...
Head Start funding lags by nearly $1 billion this year, causing some preschool closures
Head Start centers across the U.S. have received nearly $1 billion less in federal money compared with this time last year — and a lag in funding this week has caused some preschool classrooms for low-income children to close. The federal government has distributed $1.6 billion for Head Start from...
Family reports 18-year-old hiker in stable condition after fall from cliff in Harrison Hills Park
First responders spent around two hours helping to rescue an 18-year-old woman on Wednesday who reportedly fell off a cliff in Harrison Hills Park, according to TribLive news partner WTAE. Emergency crews arrived around 2:50 p.m. and could be seen pulling the woman from a hillside. She seemed to fall...
Cranberry man pleads guilty to assaulting girlfriend on cruise ship
A Cranberry man will serve one year in federal prison after pleading guilty on Wednesday to attacking his girlfriend while aboard a Norwegian cruise ship in international waters in 2022. Quintin Owens, 28, of Cranberry, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court on Wednesday to one count of assault, a misdemeanor....
Scott lawyer who broke bad gets prison for dealing meth
James France has an Ivy League education and practiced corporate law at two of the biggest firms in Pittsburgh. But by 2015, federal investigators said, he was also a large-scale methamphetamine dealer who would obtain vast quantities of the drug in California and then ship it back to Pittsburgh inside...
$1.2M project will replace asbestos-infused cement water pipe in North Huntingdon
A $1.2 million project was approved Wednesday to replace a nearly mile-long stretch of waterline in North Huntingdon, including a 75-year-old section of cement pipe that is infused with asbestos. Officials called the project a standard replacement for the existing line that runs along McKee Road, from Clay Pike to...
Gainey, Lee call for ‘unprecedented unity’ in battling Trump administration
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey and U.S. Rep. Summer Lee vowed Wednesday to do what they can to protect constituents hurt by President Donald Trump’s administration — but warned they can’t go it alone. Standing up to the White House will take advocacy from labor unions, activists and civil liberties organizations,...
Pittsburgh International Airport to adjust security checkpoints
Pittsburgh International Airport is making changes to its security checkpoints. Travelers who are enrolled in TSA PreCheck and are ticketed to fly out of Pittsburgh should proceed directly to the main security checkpoint starting May 5. There, they will receive expedited screening benefits as PreCheck members. The alternate security checkpoint...
Search warrant reveals Rostraver woman’s fiance reported her death to police
When Bryan Murray hadn’t heard from his fiancee last Friday morning, he went to the Rostraver home where they lived to check on her, according to a search warrant filed Tuesday by police. Murray reported to township police that he found Jennah M. Seibert, 24, dead in a bed about...
Maryland Sen. Van Hollen meets with El Salvador’s VP in push for Abrego Garcia’s release
SAN SALVADOR — Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen traveled to El Salvador on Wednesday and met with the country’s vice president to push for the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a man who was sent there by the Trump administration in March despite an immigration court order preventing his deportation....
Security review planned for Gov. Shapiro’s official residence after arson attack
HARRISBURG — An independent expert will review security at Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s official residence after investigators accused a man of scaling a wall and setting fire to the mansion, state police said Wednesday. State police said the review will be a risk and vulnerability assessment of the governor’s official...
Pirates president offers replica brick as reparation for beleaguered Bucco Brick buyers
Pittsburgh Pirates President Travis Williams continued the beleaguered organization’s attempt to repair the damage done when it removed memorial bricks from PNC Park before opening day. Fans who bought the bricks noticed and decried the move. “There are no excuses. I am sorry,” Williams wrote in a letter to donors....
Penguins’ Kris Letang undergoes successful heart procedure
Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman and alternate captain Kris Letang underwent successful heart surgery, the club announced Wednesday. The surgery on Letang, who turns 38 on April 24, was to close a patent foramen ovale (small hole in the heart). The procedure was performed at UPMC Presbyterian Hospital by interventional cardiologist Dr....
Trump administration sues Maine over participation of transgender athletes in girls sports
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration said Wednesday it is suing Maine’s education department for not complying with the government’s push to ban transgender athletes in girls and women’s sports, escalating a dispute over whether the state is abiding by a federal law that bars discrimination in education based on sex....
Pa. Gov. Shapiro was targeted for ‘what he wants to do to Palestinian people,’ warrant shows
The suspect in the arson attack at the Governor’s Residence targeted Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro because of his perceived stance on Palestine, according to a search warrant obtained by PennLive. The suspect, Cody Balmer, called 911 following the attack early Sunday, identified himself by name and told operators Shapiro needs...
Pittsburgh man dies after crashing into Florida lake
A 71-year-old Pittsburgh man died Tuesday after he crashed into a lake near Orlando, Florida. Police have not yet released the man’s identity, according to the Osceola News Gazette. The Florida Highway Patrol said emergency crews were called just about 3:40 p.m. to the community of Celebration. They say the...
Morning roundup: Carjacking in Point Breeze; 2 robberies — 15 minutes apart — near Pitt’s Oakland campus
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Wednesday, April 16: Carjacking in Point Breeze Pittsburgh police are investigating a carjacking that happened Tuesday in Point Breeze. Officers were called at about 9:50 a.m. to South Braddock Avenue and Waverly Street for a report of an armed...
U.K.’s top court says definition of a woman is based on biological sex and excludes transgender people
LONDON — The U.K. Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that a woman is someone born biologically female, excluding transgender people from the legal definition in a long-running dispute between a feminist group and the Scottish government. Several women’s groups that supported the appeal celebrated outside court and hailed it as a...
