Top Stories category, Page 269
Lefty’s could be leaving Strip District
A popular bar in Pittsburgh’s Strip District could be gone in a matter of weeks. Lefty’s lease along Penn Avenue will come to an end in late January, owner Rick Krist told TribLive news partner WTAE. The landlord has declined to renew the lease, he said, and other landlords in...
Upper Burrell data center to be company’s ‘U.S. flagship,’ founder says
A new data center in Upper Burrell could hold 3 gigawatts of power — about three times more than the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant can generate — and employ hundreds if plans come to fruition at the vacant portion of the Alcoa Technical Center. TECfusions, a Florida-based data...
Pittsburgh interior designer to face judge in business fraud case out of Fox Chapel
An interior designer accused of swindling a Fox Chapel woman out of $170,000 is headed to court, the latest in a flurry of legal cases surrounding the embattled Pittsburgh business owner. Lauren Michelle Piasecki, 44, of Pittsburgh’s Stanton Heights neighborhood waived her preliminary hearing Wednesday in a Sharpsburg district court....
Berk’s Menswear store sees changing of the guard after 4 generations
After 30 years operating a family-owned fine men’s clothing store in North Huntingdon and several years working for others in the retail industry, Bruce Berk knew it was time to take a break this year — a decision that ended four generations of family ownership. Berk of Penn Township sold...
‘Nothing more than a traffic jam’: Penn Township residents dread interchange, loss of quiet community
Anita Lipinski has lived in her Four Seasons Lane home in Penn Township all 55 years of her life. Growing up, Lipinski remembers there was only one other home on the street — now a quiet sanctuary for a handful of homeowners. Woods that separate her narrow, gravel road from...
California man who messaged Wisconsin shooter and planned own attack ordered to surrender guns
MADISON, Wis. — The shooter who killed a student and teacher at a religious school in Wisconsin brought two guns to the school and was in contact with a man in California who authorities say was planning to attack a government building, according to authorities and court documents that became...
Residents of Mt. Pleasant personal care homes to start returning hours after gas leak
Residents of two personal care homes in Mt. Pleasant were evacuated because of a gas leak Wednesday evening and were starting to return to the facility shortly before 10 p.m. Westmoreland County Public Safety reported people in the Harmon House and Amber House along South Church Street had to leave...
How New York prosecutors used a terrorism law in the charges against Luigi MangioneVideo
NEW YORK — New York prosecutors are using a 9/11-era anti-terrorism law in their case against the man charged with gunning down UnitedHealthcare’s CEO outside a midtown Manhattan hotel. Luigi Mangione was indicted on charges of murder as an act of terrorism, under a state law that allows for stiffer...
Former Pitt trustee sues board, alleges retaliation
A longtime member of the University of Pittsburgh Board of Trustees is suing his former board and its chair, claiming that he has been shut out because of concerns he raised about budget and other management issues, including the fall termination of former athletic director Heather Lyke. John H. Pelusi...
Community rallies to save toy drive in Pittsburgh’s Hill District
The multi-purpose room at the Thelma Lovette YMCA in Pittsburgh’s Hill District neighborhood resembled Santa’s workshop on Wednesday. Elves — volunteers, actually — helped adults choose toys for their little ones. There were piles of games and books, Barbies and baby dolls and trucks, ready to be wrapped for Christmas...
House passes bill backed by Paris Hilton to reform youth treatment facilities
WASHINGTON — The House passed legislation Wednesday requiring more oversight of youth residential treatment facilities, a feat for hotel heiress Paris Hilton who has spent years lobbying lawmakers to regulate an industry marred by child abuse allegations. The Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act gained overwhelming bipartisan support in the House...
Gov. Gavin Newsom declares emergency in California after CDC confirms severe case of bird flu in Louisiana
LOS ANGELES — Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency as the H5N1 bird flu virus moves from the Central valley to Southern California herds and federal officials confirmed flu in a Louisiana patient hospitalized with severe illness. This is the first case of severe illness caused by bird...
The Federal Reserve expects to cut rates more slowly in 2025, here’s what that could mean for you
NEW YORK — The Federal Reserve’s third interest rate cut of the year will likely have consequences for debt, savings, auto loans, mortgages and other forms of borrowing by consumers and businesses. But with inflation pressures still elevated and with concern that President-elect Donald Trump’s policies could fuel inflation, the...
Stocks fall sharply, Dow tumbles 1,100 points after Fed hints at just 2 rate cuts for 2025
NEW YORK — Stocks tumbled to one of their worst days of the year after the Federal Reserve hinted Wednesday it may deliver fewer shots of adrenaline for the U.S. economy in 2025 than earlier thought. The S&P 500 fell 2.9%, just shy of its biggest loss for the year,...
Government funding plan collapses as Trump makes new demands days before shutdownVideo
WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump abruptly rejected a bipartisan plan Wednesday to prevent a Christmastime government shutdown, instead telling House Speaker Mike Johnson and Republicans to essentially renegotiate — days before a deadline when federal funding runs out. Trump’s sudden entrance into the debate and new demands sent Congress spiraling...
Florida pursues charge against suspect in Trump assassination attempt for a crash after his arrest
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida authorities announced Wednesday that they’re pursuing a criminal case against a man accused of trying to assassinate President-elect Donald Trump for a car crash that occurred after law enforcement stopped traffic to catch him. Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody said she obtained an arrest warrant for...
Lawsuit accuses Washington County officials of holding infant’s decomposing body for months in death penalty case
A death penalty case against a Washington County man charged with killing his baby took a grisly turn last week when the father sued top county officials for not releasing his son’s body for seven months, delaying funeral arrangements even as the infant’s body decomposed. Jordan Clarke, the father, accused...
House Ethics Committee secretly voted to release Matt Gaetz ethics report, source says
WASHINGTON — The House Ethics Committee voted in secret to release the long-awaited ethics report into ex-Rep. Matt Gaetz, raising the possibility that the allegations against the Florida Republican who was President-elect Donald Trump’s first choice for attorney general could be made public in the coming days. The decision by...
Plum School Board approves tax increase limit; advances building project, electric bus purchase
Plum School Board members say they will limit any potential tax increase next year while moving forward with a building project and the purchase of electric buses. The board this week voted unanimously to keep a property tax increase for the 2025-26 school year to within its state-imposed inflation limit...
Federal Reserve cuts key rate by a quarter-point but envisions fewer reductions next yearVideo
WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate Wednesday by a quarter-point — its third cut this year — but also signaled that it expects to reduce rates more slowly next year than it previously envisioned, mostly because of still-elevated inflation. The Fed’s 19 policymakers projected that they...
Anchor Hocking workers could get $7 hourly raise, $500 bonus to move from Charleroi to Ohio
Anchor Hocking workers who agree to move from Charleroi to Ohio could get a $7 hourly pay raise and a $500 bonus as the company shifts its Corelle Brands operations away from the Mon Valley. The company is delaying closing its Charleroi plant from mid-February until April, said James Watt,...
Westmoreland County to offer $1.5K to $2.5K incentives for each new broadband installation
Westmoreland County is offering cash to broadband providers to connect homes and businesses to high-speed internet. County leaders announced an incentive program in which broadband companies could receive between $1,500 to $2,500 for each new customer they connect as part of the federally funded Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment Program,...
Police chief says motive for Wisconsin school shooting was a ‘combination of factors’
MADISON, Wis. — The motive for a shooting that killed a teacher and a student and wounded others at a Wisconsin school appears to be a “combination of factors,” a police chief said Tuesday as he appealed to the public to share what they might know about the 15-year-old girl...
Strip District restaurants to close: Cioppino and Osteria 2350
New Year’s Eve will be the last night for upscale Cioppino Restaurant & Cigar Bar as well as its less formal sister restaurant, Osteria 2350, in the Strip District. “Unfortunately, the pressures of running a fine-dining business have become increasingly untenable,” the owners said in a social media post. Cioppino...
17-year-old charged in shooting at Perry Traditional Academy
Pittsburgh police have identified the suspect in a shooting Tuesday at Perry Traditional Academy in the North Side. Micaiah Wheeler, 17, of Forest Hills was arraigned Wednesday morning on eight counts each of attempted homicide and aggravated assault as well as various firearm and endangerment charges. No one was hurt...
