Top Stories category, Page 328
Trump courts farmers’ support in visit near Smithton
Rachelle Davanzo’s life growing up on her family’s South Huntingdon farm wasn’t a typical childhood. “When normal kids went home to watch TV, I went home to milk cows,” she said. Now a beef farm still run by her family, the bucolic rural site was the backdrop for a visit...
Nebraska senator blocks GOP effort to deliver all electoral votes to Trump
A Republican effort to lock down all of Nebraska’s electoral votes for former President Donald Trump appeared doomed Monday when a state lawmaker denied backers his crucial support for the move. GOP Sen. Mike McDonnell of Omaha said in a statement that he opposes awarding Nebraska’s five electoral votes on...
UPMC Western Psych nurses warn staffing shortages degrading patient care
Nurses and local officials warned Monday of the dangers of low staffing, high turnover and closed beds at UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital in Pittsburgh amid what they described as a dire mental health crisis afflicting the nation. Several dozen Western Psych workers represented by the SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania union raised...
Kmart’s blue light fades to black with the shuttering of its last full-scale U.S. store
NEW YORK — Attention, Kmart shoppers, the end is near! The erstwhile retail giant renowned for its Blue Light Specials — featuring a flashing blue orb affixed to a pole enticing shoppers to a flash sale — is shuttering its last full-scale store in mainland United States. The store, located...
FBI finds violent crime declined in 2023. Here’s what to know about the reportVideo
WASHINGTON — Violent crime in the U.S. dropped in 2023, according to FBI statistics that show a continued trend downward after a coronavirus pandemic-era crime spike. Overall violent crime declined an estimated 3% in 2023 from the year before, according to the FBI report Monday. Murders and non-negligent manslaughter dropped...
Texas jury clears most ‘Trump Train’ drivers in civil trial over 2020 Biden-Harris bus encounter
AUSTIN, Texas — A federal jury in Texas on Monday rejected voter intimidation allegations against all but one of a group of former President Donald Trump’s supporters who surrounded a Biden-Harris campaign bus on an interstate days before the 2020 election. Only one of the six Trump supporters who were...
Hempfield man denied bond reduction in alleged murder-for-hire case
A Hempfield man accused of trying to hire a hit man to kill his sister in April in a dispute over money and property he expected to inherit will not see his $250,000 bail reduced. Westmoreland County Judge Scott Mears said during a hearing Monday that the charge against Peter...
Stock market today: Wall Street adds slightly to record highs
NEW YORK — U.S. stock indexes reached new heights Monday after drifting higher in a quiet day of trading. The S&P 500 rose 16.02 points, or 0.3%, to 5,718.57 and edged past its record set Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 61.29 points, or 0.1%, to its own all-time...
Schizophrenic man who killed 10 at a Colo. supermarket found guilty of murder
BOULDER, Colo. — A mentally ill man who killed 10 people at a Colorado supermarket in 2021 has been found guilty of murder and faces life in prison. Jurors reached their verdict Monday in the trial of Ahmad Alissa. His attorneys did not dispute that Alissa, who has schizophrenia, fatally...
Trio pleads guilty to attempted metal theft from Hamill Manufacturing
Two men were sentenced to almost a year in prison Monday after pleading guilty to the attempted theft of U.S. submarine metal from a Penn Township manufacturer. Bobby Lucci, 27, and Marcello Miguel, 22, both of Mt. Ephraim, N.J., will serve from 364 days to two years, less one day,...
Burrell and Fox Chapel Area schools implement 2-hour delay, virtual learning after social media threats
Safety concerns have prompted a “flexible instruction day” Tuesday for students in the Fox Chapel Area and Burrell school districts. A delayed start for students will be in effect at both districts. A “concerning social media post” reported Monday by students prompted the virtual instruction and a 2-hour delay at...
Pittsburgh councilmen accuse Gainey of dodging questions on $1M NFL Draft pledge
Two Pittsburgh councilmen are demanding answers from Mayor Ed Gainey’s office about his pledge to spend $1 million of city money on supporting the NFL Draft when the high-profile event comes to the city in 2026. “Nobody is filling us in on the situation,” Councilman Anthony Coghill, D-Beechview, told TribLive...
Natural gas sensor alert leads to brief evacuation at New Stanton vo-tech school
A natural gas sensor alert led to the evacuation of Central Westmoreland Career & Technology School in New Stanton on Monday morning, according to school officials. “Two of our teachers came in with their gas sensors to say the levels were a little higher than normal,” said CWCTC Director Jason...
5 things we learned: Steelers’ win ripped from Bill Cowher era
Five things we learned about Steelers 20, Chargers 10: 1. Throwback approach Cameron Heyward never played for Mike Tomlin’s predecessor, but he heard enough stories and saw enough film to realize the game plan used by the Steelers would be embraced by the franchise’s former head coach. “Those are the...
Mark Madden: Steelers might be good, but there’s still uncertainty
The Steelers are 3-0. But anybody who says they have a clear vision of what the Steelers are is fooling themself. Anybody who says they’re sure who the quarterback should be is also fooling themself. After three games, little is certain about the Steelers. Justin Fields played his first legit...
Steelers vs. Chargers: What they’re saying in L.A. after loss
In a battle of the unbeaten teams, one left Acrisure Stadium on Sunday with its quarterback in a walking boot. “Not every game’s gonna be a fairy tale ending,” Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh told reporters after his team suffered a 20-10 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Quarterback...
Lebanon sees deadliest day of conflict since 2006 as Israeli strikes kill nearly 500
MARJAYOUN, Lebanon — Israeli strikes Monday on Lebanon killed more than 490 people, including more than 90 women and children, Lebanese authorities said, in the deadliest barrage since the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war. The Israeli military warned residents in southern and eastern Lebanon to evacuate ahead of its widening air campaign...
Driver of car arrested in Dormont deadly crash into motorcycle
Police have arrested the driver of a car that crashed into a motorcycle late Saturday in Dormont, killing the man who was riding it. Allegheny County police identified the driver of the Ford Taurus as Saul Rivera-Ramirez, 25, of Etna. He is charged with homicide by vehicle and lack of...
Morning Roundup: I-70 crash in South Strabane sends 7 to hospitals
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Monday, Sept. 23 I-70 crash in South Strabane sends 7 to hospitals A Sunday afternoon crash involving four vehicles on Interstate 70 in South Strabane sent seven motorists to area hospitals. Four patients were flown by medical helicopter as...
Harris owns a gun? Trump wants to cap credit card rates? Party lines blur in campaign’s last stretch
NEW YORK — One presidential candidate is talking up gun ownership and promising tough border security measures. The other vows to cap credit card interest rates and force insurance companies to cover in vitro fertilization. Which one is the Democrat and the Republican? The lines that have long defined each...
Spending deal averts a possible federal shutdown and funds the government into December
WASHINGTON — Congressional leaders announced an agreement Sunday on a short-term spending bill that will fund federal agencies for about three months, averting a possible partial government shutdown when the new budget year begins Oct. 1 and pushing final decisions until after the November election. Temporary spending bills generally fund...
‘We have to make U.S. Steel great again,’ Trump says at IUP rallyVideo
Former President Donald Trump rallied supporters for about 90 minutes Monday evening in Indiana, Pa. He covered familiar topics, namely critiques of his opponent Vice President Kamala Harris, the border situation, migrants and his plan to enact tariffs on imported goods. A capacity crowd of 5,000 packed the Kovalchick Convention...
Madden Monday: If Justin Fields stays at QB, ‘Russ is going to want out… and I won’t blame him’
The Steelers have now won all three of their games so far this year, the most recent of which was a 20-10 win over the Los Angeles Chargers (2-1). All three wins have come with Justin Fields at quarterback. The presumptive 2024 starting QB, Russell Wilson, has yet to take...
Alcohol permit costs overshadow canned cocktail bonanza for small businesses
With two containers of sushi tucked under her arm, Mia DiCristofaro turned a corner at the Giant Eagle in Irwin and, to her surprise, found her favorite canned mixed drink on the shelf: vodka and cranberry juice. That meant the Madison resident could save herself a trip to the state...
Inflation explained: As material, labor costs rise, so do insurance premiums
Editor’s note: This is the fourth story in an occasional series on the causes and impact of inflation. There is a dominant driver when it comes to setting car and home insurance rates: the cost of the items insurance companies cover when they pay out claims. And the cost of...
