Top Stories category, Page 25
Judge sets state prison sentence for man who punched, kicked and choked dog in South Huntingdon
After Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Ranger played graphic videos depicting the abuse of a dog in court Tuesday, she read messages the defendant sent laughing about his actions. “The dog can’t walk lol,” Zachary Hixson, 31, said in one message. “It’s paralyzed lol,” he said in another, as read by...
Point Park University classes to go remote during NFL Draft in April
In anticipation of Pittsburgh hosting the 2026 NFL Draft, Point Park University has decided to move classes to a remote model from April 20 to 25. Some 500,000 to 700,000 people are expected to attend the football fan event, held April 23-25 around Acrisure Stadium and Point State Park. The...
Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership hopes to fill empty storefronts ahead of NFL Draft
As the NFL Draft is set to bring hundreds of thousands of visitors to the city, Downtown Pittsburgh’s Golden Triangle has nearly 50 empty storefronts. A local nonprofit is racing to fill dozens of those spaces before the April event. The Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership is always working to fill vacant...
Court date looms for former Harrison funeral director accused of pet cremation fraud
Tina Moore has been counting the days, for nearly a year, until former Harrison funeral director Patrick Vereb has his day in court. Vereb, 71, of Hazelwood was charged by the state Attorney General’s Office with taking money for pet cremations and disposing of the animals in landfills. He also...
‘Stunning victory’: Report trumpets record survival rates for cancer patients
A record 70% of cancer patients are living five years past their diagnosis, according to a report released Tuesday by the American Cancer Society. The annual analysis of cancer statistics says early detection and improved treatment have helped pull five-year survival rates up from just 49% in the mid-1970s. “This...
Joe Starkey returns to TribLive as sports columnist
Veteran sports columnist and broadcaster Joe Starkey is joining TribLive, the company announced Tuesday, adding one of the most respected voices in Western Pennsylvania to its sports coverage of Pittsburgh’s professional and college teams. Starkey, who worked at the Trib earlier in his career, is an award-winning sportscaster, radio host...
Judge considers release for Murrysville man accused in neighbor’s assault
A Westmoreland County judge will decide by Friday whether to grant bail to a Murrysville man accused of breaking into a neighbor’s home to make sexual overtures. During a court hearing Monday, defense attorney Pat Noonan said Gregory P. Schneider, 47, was experiencing the effects of a medication change at...
Trump cancels meetings with Iranian officials and tells protesters ‘help is on its way’
WASHINGTON — President Trump said Tuesday he’s canceled talks with Iranian officials amid a protest crackdown, telling Iranian citizens “help is on its way.” Trump did not offer any details about what the help would entail, but it comes after the Republican president earlier this week said Iran wants to...
Supreme Court seems likely to uphold state bans on transgender athletes in girls and women’s sports
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Tuesday appeared ready to deal another setback to transgender people and uphold state laws barring transgender girls and women from playing on school athletic teams. The court’s conservative majority, which has repeatedly ruled against transgender Americans in the past year, signaled during more than...
Steelers vs. Texans: What they’re saying in Houston after win
The Pittsburgh Steelers’ season ended abruptly Monday night with a 30-6 loss to the Houston Texans at Acrisure Stadium. As the Steel City processed the disappointment of an early exit, Houston media outlets and fans zeroed in on what they saw as a dominant performance by the Texans’ defense. A...
Morning Roundup: 1 person injured in Hazelwood shooting
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Tuesday, Jan. 13: ______________________________ 1 person injured in Hazelwood shooting Pittsburgh police were dispatched Monday evening to the 100 block of Tecumseh Street in Hazelwood in response to an eight-round ShotSpotter alert at approximately 10:15 p.m., according to the...
Mike Tomlin brushes aside talk about his Steelers future after another playoff flop
Aaron Rodgers lamented what the questions about Mike Tomlin’s future reflect about society at large. Cameron Heyward fell on the proverbial sword, blaming himself and his fellow Pittsburgh Steelers players for the questions about Tomlin. The man himself? He skillfully evaded addressing the question head on. “I’m not even in...
Texans defense dominates Steelers in wild-card rout
The wait continues for the Pittsburgh Steelers. So does the weight. The drought without a playoff victory is nine years and counting for the Steelers after they were beaten by the Houston Texans, 30-6, Monday night in an AFC wild-card round game at Acrisure Stadium. The Texans, winners of 10...
Cuba’s president says no current talks with the U.S. following Trump’s threats
HAVANA — Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said Monday that his administration is not in talks with the U.S. government, a day after President Donald Trump threatened the Caribbean island in the wake of the U.S. attack on Venezuela. Díaz-Canel posted a flurry of brief statements on X after Trump suggested...
Minnesota and the Twin Cities sue the federal government to stop the immigration crackdown
MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota and its two largest cities sued the Trump administration Monday to try to stop an immigration enforcement surge that led to the fatal shooting of a Minneapolis woman by a federal officer and evoked outrage and protests across the country. The state, joined by Minneapolis and St....
FBI says arson suspect targeted Mississippi synagogue because it’s a Jewish house of worshipVideo
JACKSON, Miss. — A suspect in an arson fire at a synagogue that was bombed by the Ku Klux Klan decades ago admitted to targeting the historic institution because it’s a Jewish house of worship and confessed what he had done to his father, who turned him in to authorities...
Defense demands dismissal of murder, arson charges in 1993 Jeannette fire case
Lawyers for a former Jeannette man awaiting retrial for the 1993 death of his wife and two young children claim Westmoreland County prosecutors cannot prove the fire that killed them was intentionally set. In pretrial motions submitted Monday, defense attorneys for James Young, 58, argued that homicide and arson charges...
Judge sentences Latrobe man for rape, tells teen victim ‘this was not your fault’
A Westmoreland County judge on Monday sentenced a former Latrobe man to up to 20 years in prison for the 2024 rape of a child. Randy B. Shipley Jr., 40, appeared via video from a state prison in Forest County, where he is awaiting a hearing for an alleged parole...
Allegheny Health Network promotes West Penn Hospital head to run regional doctors group
Allegheny Health Network tapped West Penn Hospital’s top official Monday to lead a regional affiliation of doctors and their practices. Dr. Brian Johnson, who’s been president of West Penn Hospital since 2020, was named medical director and chief population health officer at Physician Partners of Western PA. He succeeds Dr....
Sen. Mark Kelly sues the Pentagon over attempts to punish him, declaring it unconstitutionalVideo
WASHINGTON — Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly sued the Pentagon on Monday over attempts to punish him for his warnings about illegal orders, claiming the Trump administration trampled on his constitutional rights to free speech. Kelly, a former U.S. Navy pilot who represents Arizona, is seeking to block his censure from...
Homicide charges filed in March crash that killed Greensburg Salem school van driver
A tractor-trailer driver was arrested Monday on homicide by vehicle charges in connection with a March crash that killed a Greensburg Salem school van driver. Isaac D. Stemple, 23, of Belington, W.Va., is free on $100,000 unsecured bail. Rene Davis, 60, of Hempfield was killed in the March 7 crash...
Pa. lawmakers among highest-paid in the country, thanks to automatic pay raises
Automatic pay increases that took effect last month again placed Pennsylvania’s Legislature among the highest paid in the country. The base annual salary for lawmakers in the state House and Senate is up to about $113,591, under terms set by a 1995 law mandating automatic cost-of-living adjustments for top state...
Mineo’s Pizza House opens at the Pittsburgh International Airport
Mineo’s Pizza House has been cleared for takeoff. More than a year in the making, the fourth location of the iconic pizza business opened Monday morning inside the new terminal at Pittsburgh International Airport. The first pies came out of the new ovens this morning. “It took a little longer...
Pittsburgh councilwoman seeks $20M annually to dedicated fund for city fleet
Pittsburgh City Councilwoman Barb Warwick on Tuesday plans to introduce legislation to create a $20 million trust fund dedicated to buying new vehicles. The effort aims to address the city’s longstanding problems with a fleet of aging vehicles that are prone to breakdowns and often in need of costly repairs....
Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers relies on experience, belief in game’s biggest moments
As a former Northern California kid, Aaron Rodgers knows the Super Bowl story of quarterback Joe Montana pointing out actor John Candy in the Joe Robbie Stadium crowd while leading the San Francisco 49ers on a winning drive in 1989. Rodgers, while preparing for Monday night’s playoff opener, mentioned that...
