Top Stories category, Page 5
Latrobe teacher, 18-time marathoner launches coaching business
Rachel Bankaci never considered herself an athlete in her youth. But with 18 marathons under her belt — and a 19th in the works — Bankaci has come a long way from her childhood days of watching track athletes compete in the Olympics. Now, Bankaci is a personal trainer and...
Grateful Dead founding member Bob Weir dies at 78
LOS ANGELES — Bob Weir, guitarist, singer and founding member of the Grateful Dead, has died at 78. Weir’s death was announced Saturday in a statement on his Instagram page. “It is with profound sadness that we share the passing of Bobby Weir,” the statement said. “He transitioned peacefully, surrounded...
‘ICE Out’ protests scheduled for Pittsburgh, Greensburg, elsewhere
Protests against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement are planned in Pittsburgh, Greensburg and elsewhere Sunday. Two of the “ICE Out for Good” gatherings are scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. at Three Rivers Heritage Park by the Hot Metal Bridge on Pittsburgh’s South Side and 3:30 p.m. near the Westmoreland...
6 people killed in Mississippi rampage, including 7-year-old girl
WEST POINT, Miss. — A 24-year-old Mississippi man killed six people — his father, brother, uncle, 7-year-old cousin, a church pastor and the pastor’s brother — at three locations during a Friday night rampage in a rural area, authorities said. Daricka M. Moore was arrested at a police roadblock in...
Anti-ICE protesters assemble across U.S. after shootings in Minneapolis and Portland, Oregon
MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota leaders urged protesters to remain peaceful Saturday as people gathered nationwide to decry the fatal shooting of a woman by a federal immigration officer in Minneapolis and the shooting of two protesters in Portland, Oregon. On Friday night, a protest outside a Minneapolis hotel that attracted about...
Trump pushes a 1-year, 10% cap on credit card interest rates and banks balk
NEW YORK — Reviving a campaign pledge, President Donald Trump wants a one-year, 10% cap on credit card interest rates, a move that could save Americans tens of billions of dollars but drew immediate opposition from an industry that has been in his corner. Trump was not clear in his...
Police: 7-year-old boy dies days after being shot in Pittsburgh
The Allegheny County Medical Examiner revealed that the 7-year-old boy who was shot over the past weekend in Pittsburgh’s California-Kirkbride neighborhood, has died of his injuries. The Medical Examiner said Kruz Bailey-Baker of Pittsburgh died Wednesday night in the hospital. Public Safety spokesperson Eliza Durham told TribLive officers were dispatched...
Fayette County man accused of beating, threatening to kill woman during 4 days of captivity
State police have accused a Fayette County man of holding a woman captive for four days, during which they say he punched, strangled and threatened to kill her. In a release issued Friday, state police said Kevin Patrick Fields, 33, of Redstone Township was arrested Dec. 16. In court records,...
Think fast: Steelers try to avoid another slow start, end playoff skid vs. Texans
Seventy-six different players have started a playoff game for the Pittsburgh Steelers during their six-game postseason losing streak. The skid has endured through four players who started at quarterback, 12 at linebacker and 15 on the offensive line. Arthur Smith became the fifth man to call plays for the Steelers...
Hotel Saxonburg sheriff’s sale postponed until May 15
The sheriff’s sale of a historic restaurant, bar and hotel in Saxonburg has been postponed. Hotel Saxonburg at 220 W. Main St. was expected to go up for public auction Jan. 16. The sale has been bumped to 11 a.m. May 15, according to the Butler County Sheriff’s Office. It...
Fight for the Right: Is the MAGA movement the future of the GOP?
Editor’s note: This is the first of a two-part series examining the changing face of the country’s two major political parties. As former U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney prepared to step away from office in December 2024, he told reporters, “I’m a narrow slice, if you will, of what we used...
A look at the classic diners still holding on in Western PennsylvaniaVideo
The sizzle of frying potatoes and the scent of fresh coffee and grease. Gleaming chrome fixtures and brightly colored booths. Oldies playing softly in the background. Servers dropping off heaping plates of steaming comfort food. Welcome to the Western Pennsylvania diner. Diners peaked in popularity in the mid-20th century, when...
Hemingway’s Cafe closure prompted by family matters, changing drinking habits, owner says
When John Elavsky took over Hemingway’s Cafe in the early 1990s, one of the building’s owners — a mentor of his — imparted wisdom that stuck with him. “John, you better be here,” Elavsky, 68, remembers Leo Xyftis telling him. In other words, absentee ownership wasn’t going to cut it....
Pittsburgh police use pepper spray to break up melee after basketball game at Obama Academy
Pittsburgh police used pepper spray to break up a melee outside of Obama Academy in East Liberty involving about 40 to 50 juveniles. Police responded to the scene at 8:40 p.m. Friday after a basketball game. Pittsburgh Public School police requested the assistance of city police after a crowd of...
New video of fatal Minnesota ICE shooting, from officer’s perspective, brings fresh scrutiny
MINNEAPOLIS — A Minnesota prosecutor on Friday called on the public to share with investigators any recordings and evidence connected to the fatal shooting of Renee Good as a new video emerged showing the final moments of her encounter with an immigration officer. The Minneapolis killing and a separate shooting...
Bikers berserk: 10 to stand trial in Washington County bar brawl said to involve War Dogs, Pagans
A district judge Friday tossed out dozens of charges stemming from a violent biker brawl last year at a Washington County bar that prosecutors called part of a yearslong turf battle between “outlaw motorcycle gangs.” Authorities accused the defendants of savagely beating a bar patron from a rival gang with...
‘It looks like he’s everywhere’: O’Connor’s busy 1st week as Pittsburgh mayor
Moments after delivering an election night victory speech, Corey O’Connor told reporters that, as Pittsburgh’s new mayor, “We have to start on day one.” He’s done just that. O’Connor, 41, spent the day before his inauguration setting up his new workspace, bringing paintings by his young kids and family photos...
O’Connor vows Pittsburgh won’t cooperate with ICE
Days after a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Officer fatally shot a woman in Minneapolis, Pittsburgh Mayor Corey O’Connor reaffirmed that he will not cooperate with ICE. Former Mayor Ed Gainey had taken the same position. “My stance never changed,” O’Connor told TribLive on Friday. “We’re not going to cooperate.”...
Mechanical malfunction leads to Penn Hills school bus fire
Penn Hills School District is a bus short after a morning bus fire. Penn Hills police and fire companies reported to the intersection of Frey and Universal roads just before 9 a.m. Friday. According to a post from Penn Hills Volunteer Fire Company No. 7, the fire was “well involved”...
Shoppers lament Macy’s closing at Pittsburgh Mills, others hopeful for recreation or entertainment venue
Julie Ravotti grew up in Beaver County and remembers trekking to Pittsburgh Mills for family shopping adventures after the Frazer mall opened in 2005. “We traveled to see all the new stores and it was bustling, so promising,” said Ravotti, who moved to Leechburg nine years ago. “Fast forward to...
Pittsburgh zoning board denies Strip District condos, but developer undeterred
Pittsburgh’s Zoning Board of Adjustment denied a proposed 14-story condo complex in the Strip District last week, in part over concerns its height would be inconsistent with that of surrounding buildings. Jonathan Moritz, head of Moritz Development, brought the project before the board in October, seeking permission to bend the...
Planned Parenthood announces temporary closures in Pittsburgh, region
Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania announced Friday that it is temporarily closing two regional health centers for the next three to six months, following a similar closure last month. In a news release on the Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania website, the network of nonprofits said staffing issues were responsible...
The Clarks release new EP to ride the wave of ‘The Pitt’ song inclusionVideo
When viewers turned on the season two premiere of HBO Max hit series “The Pitt” on Thursday, the first thing they heard was the dramatic percussion intro of The Clarks’ “Better Off Without You.” The inclusion of the Pittsburgh music-scene titans was an effort by producers to add local flavor...
Hennepin County prosecutor calls on the public to share Renee Good shooting evidence with her office
MINNEAPOLIS — Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty on Friday called on members of the public to send any video or other evidence in the fatal shooting of Renee Good directly to her office, challenging the Trump administration’s decision to leave the investigation solely to the FBI. Moriarty said that although...
‘There’s more we want to do’: Pirates GM Ben Cherington ‘not satisfied,’ expects more moves
After the Pittsburgh Pirates signed Ryan O’Hearn to their first multi-year free agent contract in almost a decade, Ben Cherington said it was a “different feeling” to be a spender this offseason. The Pirates general manager has signed left-handed reliever Gregory Soto to a one-year, $7.75 million deal, acquired a...
