Top Stories category, Page 293
Holiday Krampus event booted from Market Square, new venue announced
The 2024 Krampus celebration in Pittsburgh has been booted from Market Square and will relocate this year, according to the event organizer. Pittsburgh’s 10th annual Krampusnacht celebration is moving to Penn Brewery in response to an email sent to organizer Mark Menold last December by the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership’s Special...
Schumer invites McCormick to Senate orientation
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has reversed course and invited Pennsylvania Republican Dave McCormick to the chamber’s orientation for new senators following an initial snub because of uncounted ballots in McCormick’s race. McCormick was declared the winner Friday by The Associated Press in an upset victory, but Democratic incumbent...
Biden funded new factories and infrastructure projects, but Trump might get to cut the ribbons
WASHINGTON — All that’s left is for President-elect Donald Trump to put his name on it — if he wants. Trump won the White House in large part because of voters’ frustration with high prices and a sense that the United States needs major changes. But when he enters office...
Hoarding disorder can drive families and communities apart. An Irwin nonprofit can help
This story first appeared in How We Care, a weekly newsletter by Spotlight PA featuring original reporting and perspectives on how we care for one another at all stages of life. Sign up for free here. Cindy’s home has so much stuff that she can’t use certain areas. Boxes form...
Democrat Ruben Gallego wins Arizona U.S. Senate race against Republican Kari Lake
PHOENIX — Democrat Ruben Gallego has been elected Arizona’s first Latino U.S. senator, defeating Republican Kari Lake and preventing Republicans from further padding their Senate majority. Gallego’s victory continues a string of Democratic successes in a state that was reliably Republican until Donald Trump was elected president in 2016. Arizona...
Trump planning to choose Marco Rubio to lead State Department in historic first
President-elect Donald Trump plans to tap U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio as his secretary of state, making him the first Latino to helm the State Department, according to a source familiar with the plans. Trump’s selection of Rubio, born in Miami to Cuban parents, is expected to assuage fears among GOP...
Norwin football stadium project could cost more than $25M
It could cost more than $25 million to demolish Norwin stadium and design and build its replacement, an architect told school officials Monday. The stadium’s concrete grandstand would be replaced with aluminum bleachers, a new press box, expanded restrooms and new turf. It will cost about $21.8 million for the...
‘You have to catch it while you can’: People flock to Great Crossings Bridge despite safety risks
People aren’t heeding a warning that it isn’t safe to walk atop the Great Crossings Bridge at Youghiogheny River Lake. The 206-year-old bridge is exposed because of the dry spell, and there’s been a steady stream of sightseers who flocked to — and past — the bridge’s Somerset County entrance...
Chartiers Valley teen accused of threat in custody
The student who authorities believe was behind a threat against Chartiers Valley schools is in custody, police and school district officials said. The threat closed schools in the district Monday, along with classes at the Parkway West Career and Technology Center. The district will be operating on a normal schedule...
McCormick to go to Washington for Senate orientation over Schumer objections
Republican Dave McCormick said Monday he is off to Washington, D.C. for freshman orientation at the U.S. Senate, even as the chamber’s Democratic leaders are withholding an invitation while waiting for the remaining votes to be counted in Pennsylvania. The Associated Press Friday declared McCormick the winner in an upset...
How did Pa. Dems keep the state House during a red wave? Meet Frank Burns
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania House Democrats have clung to their one-vote majority despite a statewide wave of GOP wins that...
Allegheny County manager warns council that rejecting proposed tax hike would be ‘catastrophic’
Allegheny County’s manager is warning County Council that failure to approve a property tax hike near the level proposed for next year could be disastrous. Council members, led by President Pat Catena, began pushing back immediately after County Executive Sara Innamorato in October proposed a 46.5% tax hike to help...
Trump names Lee Zeldin to lead EPA, Stephen Miller to be deputy chief of policy
NEW YORK — President-elect Donald Trump on Monday named former Rep. Lee Zeldin to lead the Environmental Protection Agency as he continues to build out his future administration with loyal supporters. Trump, in a statement, said Zeldin, who mounted a failed bid for governor of New York in 2022, would...
TV Talk: David Johnson retires from WPXI after 40 years
WPXI announced that veteran news anchor David Johnson, 67, will retire from Channel 11 effective Dec. 13. Johnson, who joined the station in January 1985, currently anchors the 5, 6 and 11 p.m. newscasts on WPXI and the 6:30 and 10 p.m. news on WPGH-TV, Pittsburgh’s Fox affiliate. “As I...
Bethel Park U.S. Marine Corps Captain shares his story at Veterans Breakfast Club
Eric McElvenny was 132 miles into the 140.6 miles of the Ironman World Championships in beautiful Kona, Hawaii. Every bone, muscle and piece of skin on his body hurt. He couldn’t take one more step. “I am in physical pain,” McElvenny said as he described that moment to the room...
As Gainey prepares 2025 Pittsburgh budget address, some wonder how realistic his plan is
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey on Tuesday will formally present a budget proposal that curbs spending without reducing services or hiking taxes, even as the city’s revenues dip. While Gainey will likely use his annual budget address as an opportunity to paint a rosy picture of a spending plan that funds...
Mark Madden: Beating Ravens would legitimize Steelers’ hopes of AFC North title … and more
Refreshing sports notes, top of the league! Sports notes, top of the league! • Beating Washington on the road legitimizes the Steelers’ 7-2 record. Beating Baltimore at Acrisure Stadium this coming Sunday would legitimize their pursuit of the AFC North championship and their possibility of winning a playoff game. (Or...
Steelers vs. Commanders: What they’re saying in Washington after loss
The last-minute loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers stung badly for the Washington Commanders, said head coach Dan Quinn. But the Steelers’ 28-27 comeback victory provided a lot of lessons for his team. “Heading into this game, I thought it was going to be a hard fought game,” he said in...
Trump on Day 1: Begin deportation push, pardon Jan. 6 rioters and make his criminal cases vanish
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump has said he wouldn’t be a dictator — “except for Day 1.” According to his own statements, he’s got a lot to do on that first day in the White House. His list includes starting up the mass deportation of migrants, rolling back Biden administration policies...
5 things we learned in Steelers’ win over Commanders: Jayden Daniels isn’t Lamar Jackson
LANDOVER, Md. Five things we learned from Steelers 28, Commanders 27. 1. Daniels isn’t Jackson The Steelers improved to 26-6 against rookie quarterbacks under coach Mike Tomlin, who showed respect for Commanders dual-threat phenom Jayden Daniels with an aggressive game plan. Daniels completed a season-worst 50% of his passes (17...
Environmental groups appeal Slickville pipeline project permit
Two environmental groups are appealing the state’s approval for a nearly 14-mile natural gas pipeline through Bell, Loyalhanna and Salem townships, claiming the project would contaminate the environment and pose a hazard to wetlands. Protect PT of Penn Township and Three Rivers Waterkeeper of Pittsburgh filed a joint appeal last...
Receding from view: Aging veterans organizations struggle to draw fresh recruits
U.S. Army Reserve veteran Jim Reesman practically grew up around the American Legion post in Brackenridge. His grandfather was a sailor, his father a Marine. His grandmother and aunt were bartenders. Reesman, who lives in Tarentum, enlisted in 2012, did a tour in Iraq in 2017-18, and got out in...
1st female military pilots remembered
Growing up, John Marsh did not fully grasp the significance of his mother’s role as a pilot serving in the military during World War II. His mother, Marie Barrett Marsh, was one of about 1,800 women accepted into the Women Airforce Service Pilots program — created in 1942 to bolster...
Chartiers Valley schools to be remote Monday after threat made
All Chartiers Valley School District schools will be on a remote learning schedule Monday after a “credible threat” was made against one of its schools, district officials said. District officials and local law enforcement discovered the threat and, “out of an abundance of caution,” made the decision to close all...
Residents able to escape house fire in Shaler
Firefighers responded to a house fire in the 100 block of Wise Lane in Shaler on Sunday night. Emergency dispatch indicated at least two people in the home were able to escape. The call came in about 7:20 p.m. Firefighters from more than 12 companies in the North Hills responded....
