Top Stories category, Page 389
Wildfires in Southern California torch dozens of homes, force thousands to evacuateVideo
WRIGHTWOOD, Calif. — Three major wildfires in Southern California’s mountains east of Los Angeles torched dozens of homes and forced thousands of people to evacuate, officials said Wednesday. At least a dozen people, mainly firefighters, were treated for injuries that were mostly heat-related, authorities said. One person from Orange County...
Speaker Johnson postpones vote on bill to avoid a partial government shutdown
WASHINGTON — Speaker Mike Johnson postponed a vote Wednesday on a temporary spending bill that would keep federal agencies and programs funded for six months as opposition from both parties thwarted his first attempt at avoiding a partial government shutdown in three weeks. The legislation to continue government funding when...
18-year-old dies after car collides with box truck in North Versailles
An 18-year-old man died after his car collided with a box truck in North Versailles early Wednesday evening, according to Allegheny County Police. Emergency officials were dispatched to the intersection of Lincoln Highway and Isaac Street just after 5:30 p.m. for a two-vehicle collision, police said. According to county detectives,...
Trump falsely accuses immigrants in Ohio of abducting and eating petsVideo
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday amplified false rumors that Haitian immigrants in Ohio were abducting and eating pets, repeating during a televised debate the type of inflammatory and anti-immigrant rhetoric he has promoted throughout his campaigns. There is no evidence that Haitian immigrants in an Ohio...
WCCC, Penn State expand transfer options for students
Westmoreland County Community College students pursuing two-year degrees in 11 high-demand fields could have an easier path to a bachelor’s degree under an agreement inked with Penn State University. Specifically, the pact outlined this week by Penn State and WCCC covers 14 of the university’s 19 Commonwealth campuses statewide, a...
Jury acquits woman in alleged Scottdale vehicular assault
Nicole Louise Moore doubled over and let out a cry of joy as a Westmoreland County jury acquitted her Wednesday of allegations that she drove over and severely injured a woman two years ago in a Scottdale parking lot. Following two days of testimony and more than two hours of...
Neighbors, hotel owners spar over planned event venue in Ligonier
A fight is brewing in Ligonier between the future and the past. Owners of the historic Thistledown at Seger House, just two blocks from the Diamond, received a building permit to erect a 2,000-square-foot pavilion that its owner says will host large events and bring new visitors to the borough....
Allegheny County Council, executive settle lawsuit over Shuman Center contract
Allegheny County Council on Tuesday voted overwhelmingly to settle its lawsuit against the county and the nonprofit running the newly reopened Shuman Juvenile Detention Center. The 13-1 vote, with one abstention, brings to an end a power struggle between council and the county executive over who gets to call the...
Pittsburgh drew highest TV rating in Trump-Harris debate
An estimated 65 million viewers tuned in to watch the debate between former President Trump and Vice President Harris, preliminary overnight television ratings revealed Wednesday. The estimate, based on results in the nation’s major TV markets, is 28% bigger than the number of viewers who saw Trump face off against...
Bad blood between USW, Nippon Steel may have doomed U.S. Steel deal from the start, emails show
On July 12, Takahiro Mori of Nippon Steel, the Japanese firm knee-deep in what increasingly appears to be a doomed acquisition of U.S. Steel, met with United Steelworkers President David McCall for the second time this year. A few days later, the Nippon executive vice president emailed McCall to thank...
Francine weakens moving inland from Gulf Coast after hurricane winds cause power outagesVideo
MORGAN CITY, La. — Francine weakened Thursday after striking Louisiana as a Category 2 hurricane that knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses, sent storm surge rushing into coastal communities and raised flood fears in New Orleans and beyond as drenching rains spread over the northern...
Local musicians react to closing of South Side venue Club Cafe
Opus One Productions, owners of longtime South Side concert venue Club Cafe, have announced that the venue will close its doors at the end of the year. “It’s been an incredible run, and it felt like the perfect time to move on to other endeavors,” said Michael Sanders, founder of...
Podcast: U.S. Steel navigates political storm
In recent months, Pittsburgh has been the center of a national conversation on an international sale. The proposed purchase of U.S. Steel by Nippon Steel in a $14.9 billion deal still faces opposition from politicians on both sides as well as the U.S. Department of Justice. As the 2024 election...
Big Lots enters court-supervised sale process, plans more closures
Big Lots shoppers are hoping their local stores will be spared from closure as the closeout retailer navigates its way through bankruptcy. “I was just looking for a chair,” said Hempfield resident Bev Lauffer while she perused the Big Lots there this week, adding she shops at Big Lots on...
Threats to local schools jump after Georgia school shooting, attract FBI interest
A recent spate of unfounded threats against schools in the region is becoming typical in the wake of major school shootings such as the one in Georgia last week. Since Friday, there have been at least nine districts affected by threats of violence in Southwestern Pennsylvania. All of the threats...
Key takeaways from a debate that featured tense clashes and closed with a Taylor Swift endorsement
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump and Kamala Harris faced each other on the debate stage Tuesday night for the first — and possibly the last — time. The Democratic vice president opened the faceoff with a power move, marching across the stage to Trump’s lectern to shake his hand. “Kamala Harris,”...
U.S. commemorates 9/11 attacks with victims in focus and politics in viewVideo
NEW YORK — With presidential candidates looking on, some 9/11 victims’ relatives appealed to them Wednesday for accountability as the U.S. marked an anniversary laced with election-season politics. In a remarkable tableau, President Joe Biden, former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris stood together at ground zero just...
Live from Shanksville: Biden, Harris, Trump pay their respectsVideo
President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump visited the Flight 93 National Memorial Wednesday as part of the observance of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Trump was the last to arrive at the site in Stonycreek Township, Somerset County, that marks where United Airlines Flight...
Editorial: The indelible mark of Sept. 11, 2001
On Sept. 11, 2001, everyone woke up the same splintered, tribal people they were the night before. Americans were Democrats and Republicans. They were liberals and conservatives. They were Catholics and Jews, Methodists and Muslims, Californians and New Yorkers, Pittsburghers and Philadelphians. They aligned by job, by home, by alma...
For volunteers, Flight 93 Memorial ‘like a phoenix rising’
Retired elementary school teacher Kathy Lioi is among dozens of volunteers who walk the grounds and tell the story of United Airlines Flight 93 and its ending on Sept. 11, 2001. “I want to tell people about its history. It’s hard not to feel a part of this place,” said...
‘Hallowed ground’: A look back at 9/11 attacks and the impact on Shanksville
Here’s a look back at the TribLive’s coverage of the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in 2021. • Families of those on Flight 93, the Shanksville community and others forged resolve to see national memorial come to life Fate threw them together. Two decades later, the unlikely...
Pittsburghers react to high-profile presidential debate between Harris, Trump
One point stood out to Emily Vaughan after she watched a tense debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump: Harris goaded Trump into rambling, and it worked very well. “Trump fell for every single offensive statement that Harris threw his way, spiraling into yelling about completely...
TV Talk: ABC moderators push back during presidential debate
June’s presidential debate was the most consequential in modern political history — it led President Joe Biden to drop out of the race. So the debate on Tuesday between newly minted Democratic nominee Kamala Harris and Republican nominee Donald Trump seemed unlikely to have such dramatic consequences. But ABC hyped...
Harris, Trump detail their starkly different visions in a tense, high-stakes debateVideo
PHILADELPHIA — Sparring on politics and personality, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump showcased their starkly different visions for the country on abortion, immigration and American democracy as they met for the first time Tuesday for perhaps their only debate before November’s presidential election. The Democratic vice president moved repeatedly to...
Police: 3 taken to hospital after pedestrians struck by vehicle Downtown
Two pedestrians are in stable condition after being struck by a truck Tuesday evening Downtown, and the vehicle’s driver is in critical condition, police said. Pittsburgh Police, along with fire and EMS, were dispatched to Sixth Avenue at Centre Avenue around 7:15 p.m. for a report of two people, an...
