Top Stories category, Page 287
Former Westmoreland County director of purchasing charged with theft of nearly $10K
Westmoreland County’s former director of purchasing was arrested Tuesday on felony charges accusing him of stealing $9,800 by allowing department employees to work an extra 30 minutes daily. County detectives said Kristopher R. Cardiff, 47, of Trafford, was not authorized by the county’s salary board to extend the workday for...
Ex-federal prosecutors in Pittsburgh weigh in on attorney general nominee Matt Gaetz
Robert Cindrich served as the federal government’s top prosecutor in Pittsburgh during the Jimmy Carter administration. He took over the U.S. Attorney’s Office a few years after Dick Thornburgh, who later went on to be a Republican governor of Pennsylvania and attorney general of the United States. To Cindrich, who...
Recount begins in McCormick-Casey Senate race
Election workers in Allegheny County on Wednesday joined their counterparts across the state as they launched a legally mandated recount in Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate race. About 100 workers began processing hundreds of thousands of ballots on scanning machines at a warehouse on Pittsburgh’s North Side. Abigail Gardner, spokeswoman for Allegheny...
Innamorato touts public safety spending in proposed 2025 budget
Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato Wednesday said the $57 million she’s proposing in public safety spending in her 2025 budget would help fund the ongoing modernization of an outdated public safety radio system, ensure there are enough county police to handle emergencies, and roll out a pilot program for civilian...
TV Talk: KDKA-TV’s Jon Delano retires
After 30 years as KDKA-TV’s political analyst and 23 years as the station’s full-time money and politics editor, Jon Delano will retire from the station Dec. 1, with his last day on-air next Monday. “I have always said that you should retire when you’re at the top of your game,...
Susan Smith is denied parole 30 years after drowning 2 sons by rolling car into South Carolina lake
COLUMBIA, S.C. — A parole board decided unanimously Wednesday that Susan Smith should remain in prison 30 years after she killed her sons by rolling her car into a South Carolina lake while they were strapped in their car seats. It was the first parole hearing for Smith, 53, who...
Free Thanksgiving food available at Pittsburgh convention center
Are you in need of Thanksgiving dinner this holiday season? Free Thanksgiving food items are available Saturday at Pittsburgh’s David L. Lawrence Convention Center. As part of the Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh’s annual Thanksgiving Distribution and Health and Human Service Fair, people can receive meal items on Saturday. The...
Trump chooses former acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker as NATO ambassador
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump says he has chosen former acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker to serve as U.S. ambassador to NATO, the bedrock Western alliance that the president-elect has expressed skepticism about for years. Trump, in a statement, said Whitaker was “a strong warrior and loyal Patriot” who “will ensure...
Jay Leno injured after fall down hillside in Westmoreland County
Celebrity talk show host Jay Leno reportedly fell while trying to walk to a Hempfield restaurant last week, badly bruising his face and eye. The former “Tonight Show” host told “Inside Edition” he was staying at a Hampton Inn about 30 miles outside of Pittsburgh and he fell while walking...
Trump’s casting call as he builds out his administration: TV experience preferred
WASHINGTON — There’s a common trait that President-elect Donald Trump is clearly prizing as he selects those to serve in his new administration: experience on television. Trump loves that “central casting” look, as he likes to call it. Some, like his choices for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, and transportation secretary,...
SUV driver crashes into building in Bloomfield
A person driving an SUV crashed into an apartment building in Pittsburgh’s Bloomfield neighborhood Tuesday evening, also striking a tree, utility pole and a pedestrian. WTAE reported that Pittsburgh Police were called to the intersection of Baum Boulevard and Liberty Avenue outside the Albion at Morrow Park apartments around 5:30...
Nearly 200 speak at Allegheny County council in support of proposed tax increase to fund programs
A large group of residents, community group leaders, and service providers filled Allegheny County Council chambers Tuesday night to speak in support of a proposed tax increase to fund county government. TribLive newspartner WTAE reports that about 200 people spoke Tuesday night during the council meeting, nearly all in support...
First snow of season likely in Southwest Pa. this week
Pittsburgh’s winter weather is making a preview this week, as the Southwestern Pennsylvania region is likely to see some snow within the next 48 hours. Meteorologists at TribLive newspartner WTAE report that rain showers will hit Wednesday afternoon and will be scattered throughout the area. Wednesday will be warm during...
‘A lot for our small town’ or ‘all for it’: Penn Township residents weigh in on proposed turnpike interchange plan
As the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission continues with its design of an interchange for Penn Township, Randee Barrett isn’t sure what will happen with her family’s farm on Pleasant Valley Road. The farm falls near the proposed interchange site — the intersection of Route 130 with Nike Site, Sandy Hill and...
Need for English as Second Language education growing in Westmoreland schools
Westmoreland County’s ever-diversifying population is having an impact in public schools, where a growing number of students do not speak English as a native language and educators are facing increased demands as they to try to help bridge the language gap. “The number of English Learners (students whose native language...
Trump to nominate professional wrestling mogul Linda McMahon to be education secretary
WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump is nominating the billionaire professional wrestling mogul Linda McMahon to be secretary of the Education Department, tasked with overseeing an agency Trump has promised to dismantle. McMahon led the Small Business Administration during Trump’s initial term from 2017 to 2019 and twice ran unsuccessfully as...
Putin lowers threshold for using his nuclear arsenal after Biden’s arms decision for UkraineVideo
President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday formally lowered the threshold for Russia’s use of its nuclear weapons, a move that follows U.S. President Joe Biden’s decision to let Ukraine strike targets inside Russian territory with American-supplied longer-range missiles. The new doctrine allows for a potential nuclear response by Moscow even to...
Superior Court: Boiler house at former Springdale power plant can be imploded
The boiler house at the former power plant in Springdale can be imploded via explosives, the state’s Superior Court ruled Tuesday, reversing a decision from an Allegheny County judge pausing the demolition. In a 24-page ruling, the Superior Court determined that Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge John T. McVay Jr....
AI photos showing girl students with nude bodies roil private school in Pennsylvania
Images that depict the faces of girls with nude bodies have led to the departure of leaders from a private school in Pennsylvania, prompted a student protest and triggered a criminal investigation. A juvenile suspect was “removed from” Lancaster Country Day School and his cellphone was seized by investigators in...
Beverly Hills homes, fancy cars, now 34 years in prison for Pittsburgh fentanyl dealer
A man who imported fentanyl from China into Pittsburgh and then used the proceeds to fund a lavish lifestyle in Beverly Hills will serve 34 years in federal prison. Paris Carter, 35, had already been incarcerated since 2018. In March, a jury found him guilty of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl...
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro defends Sen. Bob Casey’s recount choice and points to Dave McCormick’s own failed recount
PHILADELPHIA — Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro on Tuesday defended U.S. Sen. Bob Casey’s decision to move forward with a recount, pointing to Republican Dave McCormick ‘s own unsuccessful recount in 2022 in a much closer election. Shapiro has been under pressure from state and national Republicans to intervene in the...
Westmoreland County officials defend voting machine accuracy as most results approved
Westmoreland County’s Election Board on Tuesday issued a precertification of results for most races that appeared on this month’s presidential election ballots. The board approved final tallies for all but the race for U.S. Senate, in which a statewide recount was ordered as Republican Dave McCormick continues to hold a...
Trump chooses TV doctor Mehmet Oz to lead Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday tapped Dr. Mehmet Oz, a former television talk show host and heart surgeon, to head the agency that oversees health insurance programs for millions of older, poor and disabled Americans and selected Wall Street executive Howard Lutnick to lead the Commerce Department. “Dr....
$30M North Huntingdon sports complex that would host Riverhounds revived by commissioners
North Huntingdon may end up leasing township property to developers who want to build a $30 million sports complex, but the township’s solicitor will craft the agreement. The commissioners last week voted to have township solicitor Bruce Dice draft a proposed lease that will be reviewed by commissioners before being...
Pittsburgh goes Hollywood with Walk of Fame in Strip District
A star-studded Pittsburgh Walk of Fame is headed to The Terminal in the Strip District. Starting in January, people can nominate local legends with Southwestern Pennsylvania roots who’ve left their mark on American culture to be honored with bronze stars, Hollywood-style. Each star will have the name of an honoree...
