Top Stories category, Page 239
Walmart is new owner of Monroeville Mall; interested in presence at redeveloped site
Walmart’s purchase and intent to redevelop Monroeville Mall echoes similar projects completed in Westmoreland County in the early 2000s and in Wisconsin just a few years ago. No specific plans for the 186-acre Monroeville site have been released, said Mark Rickel, director of corporate communications for Walmart. “Walmart did purchase...
Trump won’t rule out deploying troops to support rebuilding Gaza, sees ‘long-term’ U.S. ownership
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Tuesday suggested that displaced Palestinians in Gaza be permanently resettled outside the war-torn territory and proposed the U.S. take “ownership” in redeveloping the area. Trump’s audacious proposal appears certain to roil the next stage of talks meant to extend the tenuous ceasefire between Israel...
Shapiro seeks more money for schools and transit, but relies heavily on surplus cash
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is seeking more money for underfunded public schools and public transit in his budget proposal unveiled Tuesday, while he hopes to win support for legalizing marijuana and introducing taxes on skill games viewed as competitors to casinos and lottery contests. The Democrat — a...
China hits back with tariffs on U.S. products; launches investigation into Google
BEIJING — China announced retaliatory tariffs on select American imports and an antitrust investigation into Google on Tuesday, just minutes after a sweeping levy on Chinese products imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump took effect. American tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico were also set to go into effect...
Elon Musk tightens his grip on federal government as Democrats raise alarms
WASHINGTON — Elon Musk is rapidly consolidating control over large swaths of the federal government with President Donald Trump ‘s blessing, sidelining career officials, gaining access to sensitive databases and dismantling a leading source of humanitarian assistance. The speed and scope of his work has been nothing short of stunning....
Lawsuit blames deaths on Ohio train derailment as JD Vance says U.S. needs ‘to do better on rail safety’
EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — A lawsuit alleging for the first time that people died because of the disastrous 2023 East Palestine train derailment was announced on Monday’s second anniversary of the toxic crash near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border amid a flurry of new litigation. On Monday, Vice President JD Vance visited...
Hydraulic fluid leak at Lower Burrell steel plant sends slick down Allegheny River
Hydraulic fluid was released into the Allegheny River from Braeburn Alloy Steel in Lower Burrell on Monday afternoon, prompting warnings to downriver water suppliers, according to emergency officials. Two passersby reported seeing the sheen along the Westmoreland shore of the river, and Lower Burrell firefighters responded around 3 p.m., fire...
U.S. Steel, Nippon argue in court for new federal merger review
U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel laid out their case Monday that then-President Joe Biden hamstrung a national security review to justify blocking the companies’ merger. An opening brief filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia claimed the companies had their due process rights violated when...
Dozens of Education Department workers are put on leave over Trump’s anti-DEI order
WASHINGTON — Dozens of employees at the U.S. Education Department were put on paid administrative leave in response to President Donald Trump’s order banning diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the federal government, according to a labor union that represents hundreds of workers in the agency. It’s unclear how many...
Super Bowl ticket prices drop for Eagles-Chiefs matchup
With less than a week until the Super Bowl, fans might be looking to score last-minute tickets. You might be in luck — ticket prices are dropping, according to reports. To watch the Philadelphia Eagles face off against the Kansas City Chiefs during Super Bowl 59, the cheapest ticket has...
Trial opens in slaying of Uber driver, mom of 4, in Monroeville
Brandon Marto thought he and the woman he considered to be his wife had taken every safety measure. When Christi Spicuzza went out to drive for Uber, she would call or text him at least once an hour, he told a jury Monday. He installed a dashboard camera — with...
Trump agrees to pause tariffs on Canada, Mexico after they pledge to boost border enforcement
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Monday agreed to a 30-day pause on his tariff threats against Mexico and Canada as America’s two largest trading partners took steps to appease his concerns about border security and drug trafficking. The pauses provide a cool-down period after a tumultuous few days...
Trump agrees to pause tariffs on Mexico, but import taxes still in place for Canada and China
WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum put their planned tariffs on hold Monday for a month to give time for further negotiations, and Mexico said it planned to deploy 10,000 members of its national guard to address drug trafficking. Trump’s tariffs against Canada and China...
American bald eagles are having a moment, ecologically and culturally
WEST ORANGE, N.J. — Along the long road from American icon to endangered species and back again, the bald eagle — the national bird of the United States, often seen against a clear blue sky — is having a moment. The eagles find themselves in an environmental updraft of sorts...
What to know about Trump’s tariffs targeting Canada, Mexico and China
ATLANTA — President Donald Trump has taken executive action to impose new tariffs on imports from Canada, China and Mexico. The move fulfills campaign promises but also sparked retaliatory moves that could signal an extended trade war with key trading partners and, in the case of Mexico and Canada, the...
Democrats push back after Musk says Trump agrees to close USAID and workers are kept out
WASHINGTON — Democrats have delivered a strong rebuke against the Trump administration’s attempts to gut an agency they say provides crucial aid overseas to fund education and fight starvation and disease, calling it illegal, vowing a court fight and lambasting billionaire Elon Musk for wielding so much power in Washington....
Restaurant owners pay twice the cost for eggs as bird flu spreads
Dick’s Diner in Murrysville purchases more than 2,800 eggs every week. That’s 16 cases, each holding 15 dozen eggs. But what used to cost the diner $800 a week has skyrocketed to more than double the price — nearly $1,730 every seven days. That’s nearly 62 cents per egg. General...
Newly approved painkiller Journavx is ‘potentially groundbreaking’
A new painkiller that is said to be free of addiction risks may be transformative for treatment of acute pain, according to local medical professionals. “I think it could be a potentially groundbreaking medication,” said Dr. Richard Gao, anesthesiologist and chronic pain physician with Allegheny Health Network. “I definitely think...
FBI employees questioned about involvement in Jan. 6 cases as Justice Department weighs firings
WASHINGTON — Thousands of FBI employees who participated in investigations related to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol are being asked to complete in-depth questionnaires about their involvement in the inquiries as the Trump administration Justice Department weighs disciplinary actions that could result in firings. The questions,...
Trump administration ends deportation protections for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans
The Trump administration has eliminated deportation protections for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans in the United States, making them vulnerable to be sent back to the South American country in 60 days when the protection expires, according to an official from the Department of Homeland Security. The development comes days...
Officials say remains of 55 of 67 victims of midair collision have been recovered and identified
ARLINGTON, Va. — Authorities said Sunday they have recovered the remains of 55 of the 67 people killed in the deadliest U.S. air disaster since 2001. Washington, D.C. Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly said at a news conference that divers still need to find the bodies of 12 more...
Gainey, O’Connor talk budget, traffic in mayoral debate
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey and Allegheny County Controller Corey O’Connor laid out their plans on key issues such as traffic and city finances in a brief debate hosted Sunday by the 14th Ward Independent Democratic Club, with assistance from the 14th Ward Democratic Committee. The two will face off in...
Trump says Americans could feel ‘some pain’ from his new tariffsVideo
PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Donald Trump said Sunday that Americans could feel “some pain” from the emerging trade war triggered by his tariffs against Canada, Mexico and China, and claimed that Canada would “cease to exist” without its trade surplus with the United States. The trade penalties that Trump...
USAID security leaders on leave after trying to keep Elon Musk’s DOGE from classified info, officials say
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has placed two top security chiefs at the U.S. Agency for International Development on leave after they refused to turn over classified material in restricted areas to Elon Musk’s government-inspection teams, a current and a former U.S. official told The Associated Press on Sunday. Members...
Teen charged with bringing gun onto Shaler school bus; district reviewing safety protocols
Millvale Police have arrested a borough teenager suspect of bringing a semiautomatic gun aboard a Shaler Area School District bus last week, according to Shaler police. Millvale police Chief Tim Komoroski said his department worked closely with their counterparts in Shaler to arrest the 16-year-old, whom they did not identify,...
