Top Stories category, Page 425
Advocates laud ‘long overdue’ effort to boost Frick Park access for disabled people
Meredith Peterson looks at parks differently from most. As executive director of the Down Syndrome Association of Pittsburgh and the mother of a 16-year-old daughter with Down Syndrome, she knows that many people outside the disability community don’t realize how inaccessible parks can be to some. Something as simple as...
Border bill fails Senate test vote as Democrats seek to underscore Republican resistance
WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans again blocked a bill meant to clamp down on the number of migrants allowed to claim asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer sought Thursday to underscore GOP resistance to the proposal. The legislation, negotiated by a bipartisan group of senators, was...
How does turbulence affect Western Pa. flights?
As Lu Ann Walter waited in baggage claim at Pittsburgh International Airport for her daughter and grandchildren to arrive from Alaska, she wasn’t concerned about the dangers of turbulence on their more than six-hour flight. “I think she’s smart enough to wear a seatbelt,” said Walter, of Leeper. The potential...
New veterans clinic planned for Westmoreland County
Veterans in Westmoreland County will have a new, larger outpatient medical clinic to serve them by 2026. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs confirmed Thursday a new 33,000-square-foot facility will replace what officials said is an outdated, smaller clinic that opened in 2007 behind Westmoreland Mall in Hempfield. A location...
On the bike trail, Gov. Shapiro talks Nippon Steel, Steelers, tourism and Biden
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said Thursday that Nippon Steel pledged to move its U.S. headquarters to Pittsburgh from Houston if its bid to buy U.S. Steel is successful. In an exclusive interview with TribLive, Shapiro said he personally spoke with the Japanese steelmaker and secured the commitment. When asked if...
Pirates’ bullpen blows another big lead, as Giants rally with 5-run 8th to win series
The San Francisco Giants survived six innings against Paul Skenes and three home runs, including a grand slam by their former first-round pick Joey Bart, before getting to the Pittsburgh Pirates’ weakness. A beleaguered bullpen blew a big lead for the second consecutive game, surrendering five runs in the eighth...
Remember last year’s Memorial Day travel jams? Chances are they will be much worse this year
You didn’t think summer travel would be easy, did you? Highways and airports are likely to be jammed the next few days as Americans head out for Memorial Day weekend getaways and then return home. AAA predicts this will be the busiest start-of-summer weekend in nearly 20 years, with 43.8...
Steelers, politicians expect NFL draft to be monumental event for Pittsburgh
Scoring the 2026 NFL draft is a major win for Pittsburgh and will likely be the biggest event the city has ever hosted, enthusiastic local leaders said at a formal announcement Thursday at Acrisure Stadium. Officials touted the three-day celebration as an opportunity to attract visitors, bolster the local economy...
Man pleads guilty to fatally stabbing stepfather on Mt. Washington
A schizophrenic man who was off his medication when he killed his stepfather and stabbed his brother in 2022 inside their Mt. Washington home pleaded guilty on Thursday to third-degree murder. Javon Taylor, 32, will be sentenced by Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Jill E. Rangos in several weeks. Taylor,...
Louisiana Legislature approves bill classifying abortion pills as controlled dangerous substances
BATON ROUGE — Two abortion-inducing drugs could soon be reclassified as controlled and dangerous substances in Louisiana under a first-of-its-kind bill that received final legislative passage Thursday and is expected to be signed into law by the governor. Supporters of the reclassification of mifepristone and misoprostol, commonly known as “abortion...
Norfolk Southern will pay $15 million fine as part of federal settlement over Ohio derailment
The federal government agreed to a modest $15 million fine for Norfolk Southern over last year’s disastrous derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, and the railroad promised to pay more than $300 million to complete the efforts to improve safety that it announced after the crash and address community health concerns....
Government sues Ticketmaster owner and asks court to break up company’s monopoly on live events
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department sued Ticketmaster and its parent company Thursday, accusing them of running an illegal monopoly over live events in America and asking a court to break up the system that squelches competition and drives up prices for fans. Filed in federal court in Manhattan, the sweeping...
Cemetery operator laments lack of volunteers to place flags at Mon Valley Memorial Park
Operators of the Mon Valley Memorial Park Cemetery were unable to find enough volunteers to place flags Thursday at the gravesites of 2,000 veterans. The cemetery in Donora, Washington County, is one of 26 cemeteries in five states owned by Life Remembered. The director of administrative support at Life Remembered,...
Steelers, UPMC Magee hold SteelHERS Social at Acrisure Stadium
Mary Beth Shaw ran a route, caught a pass from Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Rodney Williams and gave wide receiver Calvin Austin III a little shove to reach the end zone for the touchdown. Shaw was one of 1,000 women on the Acrisure Stadium field Wednesday evening. It was the...
After Times Square controversy, breastfeeding billboards arrive in Philly
Drivers near Callowhill Street in Philadelphia and on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Plymouth Meeting and Lower Southampton can now see a billboard that was, for a time, deemed too controversial for Times Square. With pregnant belly out and breasts covered by her cookies, said to stimulate milk production, cookbook author...
U.S. intelligence agencies’ embrace of generative AI is at once wary and urgent
ARLINGTON, Virginia — Long before generative AI’s boom, a Silicon Valley firm contracted to collect and analyze non-classified data on illicit Chinese fentanyl trafficking made a compelling case for its embrace by U.S. intelligence agencies. The operation’s results far exceeded human-only analysis, finding twice as many companies and 400% more...
Paul Skenes on an encore for his Chicago masterpiece: ‘I’m going to do something cooler than that in my career’
Pittsburgh Pirates rookie pitcher Paul Skenes mesmerized the baseball world with his outing Friday at Wrigley Field. He was spinning a no-hitter with 11 strikeouts before getting pulled after six innings. Pitch No. 100: ????6 innings0 hits11 K's Paul Skenes. Wow. pic.twitter.com/3nDXqJfJ8w— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) May 17, 2024 Now, Skenes...
Morning Roundup: Firefighter among 3 injured in Washington County house fire
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Thursday, May 23: 3 injured in Washington County house fire Three people, including a firefighter, were injured in a fire that destroyed a Washington County house early Thursday morning. The fire broke out around 12:20 a.m. at a house...
Natural gas well fracking plans on hold in Indiana Township
A decision regarding a rezoning request in Indiana Township that could pave the way for new gas well construction won’t come for two months. The township’s planning commission voted 4-0 Wednesday night, May 22 before an overflow crowd to postpone its decision on a proposal by Cranberry-based MPF Management for...
Florida Sen. Rick Scott, a close Trump ally, joins race to succeed Mitch McConnell as GOP leader
WASHINGTON — Florida Sen. Rick Scott said Wednesday that he will run for Senate Republican leader when Mitch McConnell steps down from the post, becoming the third Republican in the race. South Dakota Sen. John Thune, the current No. 2 Republican in the Senate, and Texas Sen. John Cornyn have...
Experts encourage property reassessment at Allegheny County public hearing
Allegheny County could be on a collision course with a countywide property reassessment, and experts at a Wednesday public hearing encouraged the county to take that step. Several public school districts across Allegheny County have voiced support of a countywide reassessment, and Pittsburgh Public School district has actually sued to...
‘I was afraid of dying’: Trooper defends killing knife-wielding Washington County man
Pennsylvania State Trooper Chad Weaver said that in the moment before he shot Anthony Gallo 10 times with his AR-15 rifle in a Washington County trailer, the suspect, just 2 feet away, took a step toward him and tried to stab him. “Anthony Gallo didn’t comply with my commands, and...
Dueling Pittsburgh Juneteenth celebrations spark controversy, criticism of Gainey
The longtime organizer of Pittsburgh’s most well-known Juneteenth festival harshly condemned Mayor Ed Gainey on Wednesday after learning that the city will not fund his event but will instead pay for a separate celebration of the federal holiday by a different promoter. The move marks a shift by Pittsburgh, which...
Alleged victim takes stand in Homewood school sex assault case
A jury trial opened Wednesday for a former Pittsburgh Faison School fourth-grade teacher who authorities allege sexually assaulted a student multiple times when the pair were alone. Police arrested James Zeigler, 42, of Pittsburgh, last year on six criminal charges — including involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child, and...
Second flag carried by Jan. 6 rioters displayed outside house owned by Justice Alito, report says
WASHINGTON — A second flag of a type carried by rioters during the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was displayed outside a house owned by Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, The New York Times reported Wednesday. An “Appeal to Heaven” flag was flown outside Alito’s beach...
