Top Stories category, Page 248
Trump administration directs all federal DEI staff be put on paid leave
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump ‘s administration is directing that all federal diversity, equity and inclusion staff be put on paid leave, and that agencies develop plans to lay them off, according to a memo Tuesday from the Office of Personnel Management. The memo follows an executive order Trump signed...
Hempfield high school boys basketball coach resigns amid investigation
Less than a week after Hempfield Area announced an investigation into boys high school basketball coach Bill Swan, he has resigned from his coaching duties. Swan was placed on paid administrative leave from his coaching and guidance counselor positions Jan. 14 as the district investigated an allegation that school officials...
Warnings for dangerous wind extended in Southern California as new wildfires break outVideo
LOS ANGELES — Forecasters warned that dangerous winds will buffet Southern California for at least two more days as new wildfires broke out on Tuesday, a pair of major Los Angeles-area blazes burned for a third week, and officials made preparations to protect scorched neighborhoods from toxic ash runoff ahead...
Trump’s Jan. 6 pardons spark legal scramble for Western Pa. lawyers
For defense attorneys representing people in Western Pennsylvania charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, the last two days have been frenzied. President Donald Trump on Monday pardoned everyone charged in the Capitol riot four years ago, clearing the way for the release of hundreds of...
Pete Hegseth’s former sister-in-law alleges abuse against 2nd wife in affidavit to Senate
WASHINGTON — Senators vetting the nomination of Pete Hegseth for defense secretary received an affidavit Tuesday from a former sister-in-law alleging that the onetime Fox News host was abusive to his second wife, to the point where she feared for her safety. Hegseth denies the allegations. The sister-in-law, Danielle Hegseth,...
Trump highlights partnership investing $500 billion in AIVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Tuesday talked up a joint venture investing up to $500 billion for infrastructure tied to artificial intelligence by a new partnership formed by OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank. The new entity, Stargate, will start building out data centers and the electricity generation needed for the...
Gainey claims progress with Highmark on payments to Pittsburgh, but skeptics abound
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey on Tuesday announced that Highmark, one of the largest nonprofits operating in the city, is willing to make financial contributions to the city — but only if other major nonprofits pay up, too. In a statement, Gainey portrayed Highmark as taking a significant step forward to...
Trudeau says Canada will respond to U.S. tariffs as Ontario’s premier says Trump ‘declared war’
TORONTO — Canada’s outgoing prime minister and the leader of the country’s oil rich province of Alberta are both confident Canada can avoid the 25% tariffs President Donald Trump says he will impose on Feb. 1. Justin Trudeau and Danielle Smith will argue that Canada is the energy super power...
Greensburg mother pleads guilty but mentally ill to young child’s attempted murder
A Greensburg woman could face up to 20 years in prison when she is sentenced this year for the attempted first-degree murder of her 8-year-old child. Skye C. Naggy, 32, pleaded guilty but mentally ill Tuesday to six criminal offenses in connection with an incident in which prosecutors claimed that,...
Lack of road salt deliveries prompts Jeannette mayor to declare emergency
Time is ticking for Jeannette officials to secure road salt, and Mayor Curtis Antoniak declared a public health emergency as the city’s supply dwindles. City manager Ethan Keedy said Tuesday he was checking with other suppliers after five salt orders this month totaling 500 tons have gone unfilled by Compass...
Fetterman says he’s not planning on switching parties
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., shot down rumors he plans to jump to the Republican Party after meeting with President Donald Trump. “It’s not going to happen,” Fetterman told Semafor on Monday night. “And even if I wanted to do that, that is a rocket sled to Palookaville to try to...
Trump pardons upend massive Jan. 6 prosecution by freeing rioters and dismissing cases
WASHINGTON — Rioters locked up for their roles in the Jan. 6 Capitol attack were released while judges began dismissing dozens of pending cases Tuesday after President Donald Trump’s sweeping grant of clemency to all 1,500-plus people charged in the insurrection that shook the foundation of American democracy. With the...
Tim Benz: Even if Steelers fans are ‘so spoiled,’ it doesn’t make them wrong
I recently saw that Cleveland area sports commentator Bruce Drennan called Pittsburgh Steelers fans “so spoiled.” Well, compared to the Browns up in Cleveland, obviously. Who isn’t “spoiled” compared to them? Compared to the likes of most franchises when it comes to Super Bowl wins? Again, sure. The Steelers have...
Independence, WVU health systems partner for newborn ICU at Westmoreland hospital
Westmoreland Hospital’s unit for newborn babies in need of intensive care now is under the management of West Virginia University Medicine’s Children’s Hospital. It’s a switch from the Greensburg hospital’s previous relationship with UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. Announced Tuesday, the partnership began Jan. 1 and has overseen at least...
Pennsylvania row officers sworn in, marking 1st time Republicans hold all 3 offices
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s three statewide row officers were sworn in to new four-year terms on Tuesday, joining Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro in Harrisburg and marking the first time that all three offices were filled at the same time by elected Republicans. Treasurer Stacy Garrity and Auditor General Tim DeFoor embarked...
Frigid storm drops rare snow on Houston and New Orleans as Florida readies plows in the PanhandleVideo
NEW ORLEANS — A rare frigid storm charged through Texas and the northern Gulf Coast on Tuesday, blanketing New Orleans and Houston with snow, closing highways, grounding nearly all flights and canceling school for millions of students more used to hurricane dismissals than snow days. The storm prompted the first...
Elon Musk salute at inauguration interpreted by some as Nazi gesture
Elon Musk’s salute at a Monday inauguration party for President Donald Trump was interpreted by many observers online as a “Heil Hitler” gesture. Musk, 53, spoke to a crowd of Trump supporters at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., after Trump was sworn in at the U.S. Capitol. While thanking...
Snow means flurry of work for road crews across Western Pennsylvania
Many, if not all, municipal road crews around the area might agree with Plum public works director Bill Binnie: “It’s like Groundhog Day.” And it’s true — snowflakes flew on a daily basis for the first 16 days of January, said Timothy Cermak, meteorologist at the National Weather Service in...
Vice President Vance swears in Marco Rubio as secretary of state, Trump’s 1st Cabinet member
WASHINGTON — Marco Rubio was sworn in as secretary of state Tuesday, by newly inaugurated Vice President JD Vance. Vance, who served as a senator alongside Rubio, called him a “bipartisan solutions seeker.” Rubio said Trump’s primary priority will be furthering the United States’ interests and that anything the government...
Frigid now, but forecasters say coldest temps still to come
More than 300 schools and community centers closed down Tuesday as the region battled subzero wind chills and blustery conditions. But we haven’t even felt the worst of it yet, forecasters said. “The coldest night will be tonight, and we should be looking at -8 or -9 tomorrow morning,” said...
At least 66 dead, 51 injured in hotel fire at a ski resort in northwestern Turkey
ANKARA, Turkey — A fire raged through a 12-story hotel at a popular ski resort in northwestern Turkey early Tuesday during a school holiday, killing at least 66 people — at least two of them when they jumped from the building to escape the flames, officials said. At least 51...
Morning Roundup: Firefighters battle blazes in Leetsdale and South Greensburg
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Tuesday, Jan. 21: Fire in Leetsdale Crews battled a fire in Leetsdale early Tuesday morning. The Leetsdale Volunteer Fire Department responded after 3 a.m. to a home along First Street. Fire officials posted to Facebook that crews were getting...
Rundown of President Trump’s executive orders on Day 1 — from pardons to TikTok
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has begun his promised flurry of executive action on Day 1. With his opening rounds of memoranda and executive orders, Trump repealed dozens of former President Joe Biden’s actions, began his immigration crackdown, withdrew the U.S. from the Paris climate accords and sought to keep...
Trump issues pardons for participants in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump issued pardons for participants in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, including those convicted of assaulting police, in his first official action after returning to the White House as the country’s 47th president on Monday. The pardons of about 1,500 people fulfilled Trump’s promise...
Many Western Pennsylvanians put politics aside for moment as Trump sworn in a 2nd time
As temperatures in Washington, D.C., lingered around 27 degrees Monday morning, state Rep. Jill Cooper sported an electric-heated jacket as she bounced between events celebrating the inauguration of President Donald Trump. Frigid temperatures, making the inauguration the fourth-coldest one on record, forced festivities indoors — the first time since Ronald...
