Top Stories category, Page 51
Sports betting is a booming business. The FBI’s NBA probe is putting it in the spotlight
NEW YORK — The stunning indictment that led to the arrest of more than 30 people, including Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and other NBA figures, on charges of illegal sports betting has drawn new scrutiny of the booming business of professional sports gambling across the U.S. Since widespread legalization,...
Family-owned Hillcrest Volkswagen to close at the end of the month
The only foreign car dealership in the Alle-Kiski Valley, Hillcrest Volkswagen in Lower Burrell will close at the end of the month. Owner Bob Bordonaro said Hillcrest made a mutual decision to sell back the franchise to Volkswagen. “After 40-plus years, we made a decision that it was time to...
Staring at life without a paycheck, federal workers rally in Pittsburgh against shutdown
Saturday should be payday for local Internal Revenue Service workers like Elizabeth McPeak. But because of a federal government shutdown, she’s one of about 250 local IRS workers and about 1.4 million federal workers nationwide who won’t receive a paycheck this weekend. “Tomorrow is payday but there won’t be a...
U.S. military to deploy aircraft carrier to South America amid soaring tensions with Venezuela
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump dramatically escalated a U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean on Friday by deploying the Gerald Ford aircraft carrier group to Latin America, a show of force that far exceeds any past counter-narcotics need and represents Washington’s most muscular move yet in the Latin America region....
NFL and Pittsburgh leaders discuss massive 2026 Draft preparations
Acrisure Stadium will be the focal point of the NFL Draft fan experience, officials announced Friday, as the region begins ramping up preparations for the April event. Robert Morris University hosted a panel to discuss logistics for the upcoming NFL Draft, featuring NFL Director of Event Operations Steve Farago and...
United Steelworkers elects its 1st woman president
The United Steelworkers union, a Pittsburgh-based giant of organized labor, has selected its next leader. International Vice President Roxanne Brown secured the presidency in a unionwide election, the United Steelworkers announced Friday. Brown, a Black woman, is the 10th person to hold the top job — and the first who’s...
Uniontown man convicted of 1st-degree murder in wife’s 2023 death
A Fayette County man was convicted of first-degree murder Thursday for killing his wife, according to Fayette County District Attorney Mike Aubele. Arthur E. Guty, 57, of Uniontown was immediately sentenced to a term of life imprisonment in connection with the December 2023 death of Nicole Zambrano, 26, Aubele said....
Social media’s impact on children topic of panel discussion on ‘Anxious Generation’
University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg communications professor Jessica Ghilani likens the design of social media platforms to casinos without windows. The introduction of algorithmic sorting to Facebook in 2009 paved the way for social media platforms to generate endless streams of content for users — a system Ghilani describes as...
USGA requests state funds to build a new bridge at Oakmont Country Club
The U.S. Golf Association is requesting state funds to construct a new bridge over the Pennsylvania Turnpike at Oakmont Country Club, where it hosts major events like the U.S. Open. The association is requesting a $5 million Pennsylvania Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program grant, which would cover nearly half of the...
Pittsburgh man fatally struck in hit and run on Pa. Turnpike
A fatal crash early Friday morning shut down a section of the eastbound lanes of the Pennsylvania Turnpike for a time between New Castle and Cranberry. According to Pennsylvania State Police, Khalil K. Mutadabur, 21, of Pittsburgh was killed while walking in the eastbound travel lanes near milepost 13.9, just...
Change of fortune: Charleroi sees drop in Haitians; deportation fears, job loss
As Jim Alexandre looks out the window of his Haitian Resource Center office in downtown Charleroi, he wonders how his community will handle its latest challenge — the closure of a food processing plant that will eliminate 250 jobs by the end of October. “In general, it’s the newest problem,”...
Pitt to deploy new AI tool to assist students, faculty
Studying and coursework might look a little more high-tech at the University of Pittsburgh. Pitt has signed a universitywide agreement with Anthropic and Amazon Web Services for an AI model — Claude for Education — that can pose open-ended questions and offer support for students, preparing them for professional AI...
Trump says all trade talks with Canada are terminatedVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said late Thursday that all trade talks with Canada were terminated following what he called a fraudulent advertisement in which former President Ronald Reagan spoke negatively about tariffs. “Based on their egregious behavior, ALL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS WITH CANADA ARE HEREBY TERMINATED,” Trump wrote on Truth...
Trump said he’s good at building ‘on budget.’ Then the ballroom cost escalated by 50%
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has often touted his experience as a real estate builder who is good at building things “on budget and on time,” as he did when he hosted a dinner last week for donors to his long-championed White House ballroom. Then, exactly a week later, on...
New York Attorney General James to challenge U.S. Attorney Halligan’s appointment
WASHINGTON — New York Attorney General Letitia James on Thursday said her legal team plans to ask a federal judge to dismiss the criminal charges against her on the grounds that the U.S. Attorney in Eastern Virginia who obtained the indictment was unlawfully appointed, according to a court filing. James’...
Tropical Storm Melissa lumbers through the Caribbean, killing an elderly man in HaitiVideo
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Tropical Storm Melissa lumbered through the Caribbean Sea on Thursday, bringing a risk of dangerous landslides and life-threatening flooding to Jamaica and southern Hispaniola — an island shared by the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Officials urged residents in flood-prone areas to seek higher ground. The...
Hill District bar reopens with new style and same charm
Fifty years after first opening her Hill District bar, Roberta “Mrs. Bert” Brassell is once again behind the counter following nearly a year of renovations. At 83, she’s reopened the neighborhood staple as Black Beauty Bar & Grill, proving that while the name and the seating may be new, the...
U.S. reopens Alaska wildlife refuge to oil and gas development
The Trump administration on Thursday announced a series of steps to open up Alaskan wilderness to energy and infrastructure development, including by allowing oil and gas drilling in the remote Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The administration has announced a string of policy swings involving the sprawling refuge for polar bears,...
Judge upholds life sentences for Monessen man in 1973 rape, double murder case
A judge has rejected an appeal from a Monessen man who has spent 50 years in prison for the 1973 murders of two young children and the rape of their mother. Attorneys for John Veltre Jr., 69, claimed that Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Michael Stewart II abused his...
Pa. officials roll up sleeves for covid shots and encourage residents to follow
At a Harrisburg pharmacy Thursday, Pennsylvania Health Secretary Dr. Debra Bogen and Insurance Commissioner Michael Humphreys rolled up their sleeves for covid shots to underscore the vaccine’s continued availability. “Today I want to encourage everyone who is six months or older to talk to a health care provider or pharmacist...
Pa. union organizer deems strike timing ideal for unionized Starbucks baristas
Starbucks Workers United is launching a strike authorization vote Friday amid stalled talks for a first contract between union baristas and the coffeehouse chain. Baristas are also planning 70 “practice pickets” in 60 cities as the vote unfolds to draw attention to their demands for better staffing, pay and working...
Average age of first-time mothers rises over 31 at Allegheny Health Network hospitals
People are having children later in life — a trend that’s especially pronounced in Western Pennsylvania. The average age of first-time mothers who gave birth in 2024 at an Allegheny Health Network labor and delivery unit was 31.1 years old — three years higher than the national average, according to...
Trump calls off federal agent deployment to San Francisco
Donald Trump will not deploy federal agents to San Francisco, the U.S. president and the California city’s mayor said in separate social media posts on Thursday, a surprising stand-down as Trump pressures Democratic-led cities around the country to step up enforcement against crime and illegal immigration. San Francisco Mayor Daniel...
As vaccine policies shift under Trump admin, Pa. pediatricians focus on keeping patients informed
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. Sign up for our free newsletters. As federal vaccine policies and messaging shift under the Trump administration, pediatricians across Pennsylvania are working to maintain proven...
Springdale Zoning Hearing Board considers data center developer’s requests
The Springdale Zoning Hearing Board has been left to mull more than a half dozen requests from developers of the proposed data center in the borough after a lengthy meeting Wednesday night. Board Solicitor Charles Clark said he expects the board to render a decision within 30 to 45 days....
