Top Stories category, Page 495
Morning Roundup: Fire destroys Penn Township garage; McKnight Road restrictions begin
Here are a few morning news items for Monday, Feb. 19, 2024. Penn Township garage destroyed by fire An explosion and subsequent fire destroyed a garage in Penn Township late Saturday night. TribLive news partner WTAE reports that dozens of firefighters worked late into the night battling a fire which...
Gov. Shapiro’s budget calls for deep cuts to cyber charter school funding; public schools in for windfall
A proposal by Gov. Josh Shapiro to slash fees for cyber charter students could save public schools about $262 million a year. The move has public school officials singing Shapiro’s praises but leaves cyber school administrators anxious and frustrated. “This narrative that we are overfunded, we don’t agree with that,”...
Allegheny Township hit with $51,000 IRS penalty, trying to find out why
Editor’s note: This story was corrected on Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024, to correct the attribution of a quote. Allegheny Township officials, and at least one resident, want to know why the township apparently is being fined $51,000 by the IRS. The fines might be connected to the township not properly...
Penn State dance marathon raises $17 million, beats record by $2 million
Their voices are likely shot, their ankles probably sore and they definitely could use some sleep. But the 700-plus dancers — and thousands more who participated in this year’s Penn State University IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon — know they made history, raising almost $17 million in the fight against childhood cancer,...
Penguins retire Jaromir Jagr’s No. 68 on ‘a great day for me’
There probably isn’t vocabulary — in any language — to fully explain what took place Sunday at PPG Paints Arena. Honestly, a gently affectionate 78-year-old lady from Czechia who speaks limited English probably did the best to illustrate the emotions that flooded the venue. She cried. Bawled, really. And her...
Mark Smail, leader of Smail Auto Group in Hempfield, dies unexpectedly
Mark Smail, a prominent Westmoreland County automotive sales executive whose family has been associated for half a century with selling cars, died Saturday after falling ill during a ride home from Seven Springs Mountain Resort. He was 62. Smail of Greensburg was a passenger in the car. He was transported...
‘You say Jaromir Jagr, they’re going to say Pittsburgh Penguins’
He chose his words carefully. And he took time to answer questions, wanting to provide thoughtful responses. After all, it’s been nearly 23 years since he was in Pittsburgh as a member of the Penguins. Jaromir Jagr held court with reporters Sunday, a handful of hours before the team is...
Suspect dead amid shooting that claimed lives of 2 officers, 1 first responder in Minnesota
BURNSVILLE, Minn. — A desperate call for help from a home in suburban Minneapolis early Sunday turned deadly for two police officers and a first responder who were shot and killed at the scene, according to officials. The suburban neighborhood in Burnsville, Minnesota, was ringed with police cars that kept...
Mainline Pharmacy to close 9 stores, including Harrison City site
Mainline Pharmacy has announced nine of its 11 locations will close in March, including stores in Harrison City and Blairsville. Mainline is among area independent pharmacies that contend payments they receive for many prescription drugs, as determined by pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), are far less than the cost of the...
‘The cost of living in this country’: Experts, Pittsburghers reflect on Kansas City shooting
When news broke on Jeff “Mac” McCafferty’s TV about the Kansas City Super Bowl parade shooting, the retired Pittsburgh Public Schools history teacher instantly thought of two things. Pittsburgh. And St. Patrick’s Day. The longtime St. Patrick’s Day Parade chairman has for eight years helped organize the city’s largest annual...
‘There needs to be somebody that looks like me’: Pittsburgh nonprofit creates recreation opportunities for people of color
Jaiya Hughes loves everything about winter. When temperatures drop, Hughes, 10, cannot wait to don her snow coat and boots and hit the hills of her East Liberty neighborhood in Pittsburgh, sled in hand. Her mother, Tazi Hughes, always joins in on the action. But when Jaiya sees fellow sled...
Runners shrug off cold in Pittsburgh Undie Run to help fight neurofibromatosis
“Aren’t you freezing?” The question was painfully obvious. But it was hard to avoid repeating it Saturday to runners young and old who huffed and puffed their way across the Roberto Clemente Bridge from Downtown Pittsburgh to the North Shore, wearing enthusiastic smiles, colorful skivvies and not much more in...
Blake Hinson’s historic night propels Pitt over Louisville
Dominant performances from Blake Hinson have not been rare since he joined Pitt as a transfer from Iowa State ahead of last season. In less than two full seasons, the 6-foot-8 senior firmly has established a reputation for big-time offensive contributions, solid rebounding and being a player who doesn’t often...
Delmont claims local American Legion improperly sold former post
Delmont Borough officials say their local American Legion improperly sold its former post to the next-door neighbor, and suggested the man should retain an attorney. Matthew Cunningham, 33, received a letter from borough Solicitor Dan Hewitt after agreeing to purchase the post’s property at 64 Freeport St. in November 2023....
Murrysville-based car club charged up about switch to electric cars
Jonathan Belak estimates it costs him about $3 per week to get around in his Tesla Model S. That’s based on the small fraction of his utility bill that results when the retiree plugs in the 2013 model electric vehicle to recharge at his Murrysville home. Belak is president of...
Trump pushes $399 branded shoes a day after $355 million ruling against him
PHILADELPHIA — As he closes in on the Republican presidential nomination, former President Donald Trump made a highly unusual stop Saturday, hawking new Trump-branded sneakers at “Sneaker Con,” a gathering that bills itself as the “The Greatest Sneaker Show On Earth!” Trump was met with loud boos as well as...
Presidents Day: From George Washington’s modest birthdays to big sales and 3-day weekends
NORFOLK, Va. — Like the other Founding Fathers, George Washington was uneasy about the idea of publicly celebrating his life. He was the first leader of a new republic — not a tyrant. And yet the nation will once again commemorate the first U.S. president Monday, 292 years after he...
Jaromir Jagr dazzles the current Penguins in practiceVideo
Alex Nedeljkovic knows shots. After all, in his vocation as the Pittsburgh Penguins’ backup goaltender, he is something of an expert on the subject. So, when a figure in black surged down the slot and fired a Trident missile of a wrister by his glove which rang off the post...
Penn State president could get $1.5 million bonus if she stays through June 2032
Penn State University trustees on Friday showed they want to retain President Neeli Bendapudi long term by approving incentives including a $1.5 million bonus if she stays in office through June 30, 2032. The vote to amend her compensation package came as the state’s flagship public university confronts what some...
Saving democracy is central to Biden’s campaign messaging. Will it resonate with swing state voters?
BETHLEHEM — Just blocks from the shuttered Bethlehem Steel plant, the Hispanic Center Lehigh Valley was bustling on a recent day with scores of older people eating lunch. Downstairs, out of sight, a constant stream of visitors was shopping in its massive food pantry. Over the past seven months, the...
Jaromir Jagr practices with Penguins in CranberryVideo
Former Pittsburgh Penguins forward Jaromir Jagr practiced with current members of the team in Cranberry on Saturday morning. His participation was part of a celebration of his career with the franchise leading up to his iconic No. 68 being retired by the team on Sunday. Jagr took to the ice...
Christian-nation idea fuels U.S. conservative causes, but historians say it misreads founders’ intent
The U.S. Constitution doesn’t mention Christianity or any specific religion. The Declaration of Independence famously proclaims that people’s rights come from a “Creator” and “Nature’s God” — but doesn’t specify who that is. Yet large numbers of Americans believe the founders intended the U.S. to be a Christian nation, and...
Winter storm dumps 6 or more inches of snow in parts of Southwestern Pennsylvania
Some areas of Southwestern Pennsylvania saw 6 or more inches of snow from Friday evening through Saturday morning, exceeding by a few inches what forecasters had predicted for the winter storm. The heaviest band of snow pushed through southern Allegheny County, after dumping up to 11 inches in areas of...
Drake and J. Cole wow old and new fans at PPG Paints Arena
Two legends can co-exist, and they did it Friday night as the Drake with J. Cole: It’s All A Blur Tour-Big As The What? hit the PPG Paints Arena stage for the first of two nights. It might have been snowy and cold outside, but Drake and J. Cole brought...
Shock value: Pirates’ rapid response saved Ernie Withers, inspired him to pay it forward
BRADENTON, Fla. — Ernie Withers stood in left-center field at Pirate City, where he almost died during a spring training workout a year ago, and reflected on how the Pittsburgh Pirates saved his life. And, by doing so, saved his wife. When Withers went into sudden cardiac arrest at the...
