Top Stories category, Page 263
Pennsylvania towns put unique spin on New Year’s Eve ball drops
While lots of folks will watch the traditional ball drop in New York’s Times Square tonight to ring in the new year, Pennsylvanians will have the chance to watch some unique twists on the tradition. Here are a few examples: Pittsburgh The city will host its annual Highmark First Night...
New York Police identify woman burned to death inside subway train
NEW YORK — The woman who died after being set on fire in a New York subway train this month was a 57-year-old from New Jersey, police announced Tuesday. The woman, Debrina Kawam, had worked at the pharmaceutical giant Merck in from 2000 until 2002, but her life at some...
Greensburg, Hempfield areas see changes in fast food, retail business scene
As fast food chains and other popular retail locations close in the Greensburg-Hempfield area, the region’s business scene will see some changes in the new year. Dick’s Sporting Goods While Westmoreland Mall prepares to welcome a Dick’s Sporting Goods House of Sport, one of the chain’s stores along Route 30...
Solar power battle brewing in North Huntingdon
North Huntingdon could be the site of the next battle over whether a utility-scale solar power farm can be built to comply with municipal zoning ordinances. Bear Park North Huntingdon LLC of Denver is appealing a decision by Thomas McGuire, township zoning officer, denying the solar power company’s request to...
The world begins welcoming 2025 with light shows, embraces and ice plunges
WELLINGTON, New Zealand — From Sydney to Vladivostok, communities around the world have begun welcoming 2025 with spectacular light shows, embraces and ice plunges. Auckland became the first major city to celebrate, as thousands thronged downtown or climbed the city’s ring of volcanic peaks for a fireworks vantage point. A...
Pennsylvania’s political pendulum swung to Republicans this year. Will it stay there?
PHILADELPHIA — Republicans had a major political comeback in Pennsylvania in 2024 after a series of disappointments in recent elections. President-elect Donald Trump won the state by a margin of 1.7 percentage points. Republicans swept the row offices, and ousted two incumbent Democrats in the U.S. House along with longtime...
New Kensington SWAT incident nets man wanted for assault in Pittsburgh
A man charged with assaulting a woman in October in Pittsburgh was arrested Monday night in New Kensington after being accused of assaulting a child outside a bar. New Kensington police Chief Bob Deringer confirmed that Burnell Johnson, 26, was the person arrested after a SWAT unit was called to...
Rise of the iPhone, social media ‘opened up a new world’ in 21st century
Editor’s note: One-fourth of the way through this century, TribLive is looking ahead to the next 25 years, using the events of the past 25 as a road map of what possibly is to come. This installment of the occasional series looks at technology and social media. Jessica Ghilani vividly...
Trump’s nomination returns Mehmet Oz to the spotlight, puts him on track to oversee health care for 160M Americans
Mehmet Oz stood in front of a camera in July and filmed a TikTok about “how to conquer your constipation.” “Here’s the scoop on the poop brain loop,” Oz said confidently, delving into an enthusiastic pitch for probiotic supplements to keep you regular. In the two years since losing his...
Jimmy Carter being mourned in his tiny hometown and around the world
PLAINS, Ga. — Johnny Jones found out about Jimmy Carter’s death within a matter of minutes. That’s how it works in a small town, even for a former U.S. president and Nobel Peace Prize winner known throughout the world. “Somebody texted my wife and told her about it — that’s...
Southerners cleaning up from tornadoes that swept the regionVideo
NEW CANEY, Texas — Cleanup was underway Monday after a strong storm system spawned hail, rain, damaging wind and tornadoes across the southern U.S. over the weekend, killing at least four people. As of Monday afternoon, over 30 tornadoes had been confirmed as crews worked through about 50 reports of...
Woman taken to hospital after being hit by car on Harrison’s Freeport Road
A 64-year-old woman was conscious and talking with paramedics Monday afternoon after being hit by a car on Freeport Road in Harrison, according to township police. The woman, who was not identified, was hit at the intersection with California Avenue, near Sheetz and CVS, around 4:35 p.m., police said. She...
Treasury says Chinese hackers remotely accessed several workstations, unclassified documents
WASHINGTON — Chinese hackers remotely accessed several U.S. Treasury Department workstations and unclassified documents after compromising a third-party software service provider, the agency said Monday. The department did not provide details on how many workstations had been accessed or what sort of documents the hackers may have obtained, but it...
World population will be 8.09 billion on New Year’s Day after 71 million increase in 2024
The world population increased by more than 71 million people in 2024 and will be 8.09 billion people on New Year’s Day, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates released Monday. The 0.9% increase in 2024 was a slight slowdown from 2023, when the world population grew by 75 million people....
Freeport eyes food truck regulations
Looking forward to festival season, Freeport wants to update its rules for food trucks operating in the borough. Council will consider the proposed food truck regulations during a meeting Jan. 14. Borough Manager Zachary Filous said Freeport previously had a broad special events ordinance that oversaw many functions of community...
Plum homeowner accused of trying to blow up his house with natural gas is jailed
A Plum man accused of trying to blow up his own home in a natural gas explosion in November is being held in the Allegheny County Jail. Neil Andrew Yetsko, 39, was arraigned Friday night by Braddock District Judge Scott H. Schricker, according to court records. Plum police charged Yetsko...
Pittsburgh police confident First Night will be safe event
Pittsburgh Acting Police Chief Chris Ragland says the city’s annual New Year’s Eve celebration will be safe, with dozens of officers patrolling the Downtown event. The Highmark First Night Pittsburgh celebration — which includes a parade, music, fireworks and other entertainment — is hosted by the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust each...
Mark Madden: Drastic changes needed if Steelers’ collapse continues, but they won’t make them
What if the Steelers lose out? What if they go from 10-3 to 10-7, then drop their first playoff game? It’s not an unlikely scenario. The Steelers play worse every week. Against Kansas City, they played like it was the middle of next month. The Steelers are clearly a level...
Trump endorses Mike Johnson to stay on as House Speaker despite government funding turmoil
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President-elect Donald Trump on Monday endorsed House Speaker Mike Johnson, providing crucial backing for the Louisiana Republican as he prepares for what is expected to be another contentious speakership race this week. Trump said in a post on his social media platform that Johnson “is...
What we know about the deadly Jeju Air plane crash in South Korea
SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea has vowed thorough investigations to find what caused a plane crash that killed 179 people, saying Monday that it will also inspect all Boeing 737-800 aircraft operated by the country’s airlines. Sunday’s crash, the nation’s deadliest aviation disaster in decades, has sent a shock...
2050 look-ahead: Streaming changed how we view entertainment. The future may look a lot like the old model
Editor’s note: One-fourth of the way through this century, TribLive is looking ahead to the next 25 years, using the events of the past 25 as a road map of what possibly is to come. This installment of the occasional series looks at entertainment. Twenty-five years into the 21st century,...
Former Greensburg police chief set to be sentenced 1 year after pleading guilty to drug conspiracy
A former Greensburg police chief is set to be sentenced in April after a December hearing was rescheduled. The attorney for Shawn Denning, 43, of Delmont requested more time to prepare for the hearing while in the midst of handling other, unrelated cases, according to court filings this month. The...
Global company with Lower Burrell hub aims to give everyone the ability to communicate
A global company boasting its U.S. presence in Lower Burrell hopes to build a world where no one is left without a voice. The founders of Smartbox developed software that enables people who can’t speak to communicate with others, said Michele Rimmel, senior vice president of operations for the company....
Jimmy Carter, the 39th president, dies at 100
ATLANTA — Jimmy Carter, the peanut farmer who won the presidency in the wake of the Watergate scandal and Vietnam War, endured humbling defeat after one tumultuous term and then redefined life after the White House as a global humanitarian, has died. He was 100 years old. The longest-lived American...
4 killed as storm system that spawned tornadoes moved across southern U.S.Video
Officials were beginning to assess the damage on Sunday after a strong storm system moved across the southern U.S. over the weekend, spawning tornadoes across the region and killing at least four people. The line of severe weather led to about 40 tornado reports from southeastern Texas to Alabama, National...
