Top Stories category, Page 514
New Kensington Giant Eagle red tagged after failing price accuracy test
Shoppers at Giant Eagle in New Kensington might want to double check their receipts. The store’s price scanning system failed an annual inspection Monday, resulting in red “rejected” tags being placed at all of the Tarentum Bridge Road store’s registers to alert consumers. The inspection by the Westmoreland County Bureau...
U.S. Army undergoing major overhaul to prepare for future wars
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army is slashing the size of its force by about 24,000, or almost 5%, and restructuring to be better able to fight the next major war, as the service struggles with recruiting shortfalls that made it impossible to bring in enough soldiers to fill all the...
Rapidly expanding wildfires in the Texas Panhandle prompt evacuationsVideo
CANADIAN, Texas — A rapidly widening Texas wildfire more than doubled in size Tuesday and prompted evacuation orders in small towns as strong winds, dry grass and unseasonably warm temperatures fueled the blaze in the state’s rural Panhandle. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration for 60 counties as...
Ross police, state investigate how woman, 82, ended up dead outside personal care home
Ross police and the state Department of Human Services are investigating how an 82-year-old personal care home resident ended up dead outside the facility. Nancy Lee Tyler’s body was found around 11 a.m. Sunday in the 900 block of Forest Avenue near Mt. Assisi Place, a personal care facility on...
Federal grand jury indicts 2 men authorities say had 22 pounds of cocaine in New Kensington house
A federal grand jury has indicted two men authorities say had 22 pounds of cocaine in a New Kensington house. Marcos Francisco-Tomas, 33, and Andres Flores-Cedeno, 27, were indicted on charges of violating federal narcotics laws, U.S. Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced Tuesday. Each is being held in the Allegheny...
DoubleTree by Hilton hotel next to Monroeville Convention Center to close
The DoubleTree by Hilton hotel next to the Monroeville Convention Center will close Wednesday, a staff member and an agent for the hotel’s owner confirmed. The hotel regularly hosted guests attending events at the Monroeville Convention Center, which is set to be shuttered June 1 to make way for a...
Police arrest 2nd suspect in 2023 Stowe shootout with undercover police
Police have arrested a Pittsburgh man in connection with a 2023 shootout in Stowe involving undercover police. He is the second suspect charged in the violent encounter in which dozens of shots were fired but no one was hit. Bruce Harvard, 24, of South Side Slopes, was one of the...
Biden, party leaders implore Speaker Johnson to help Ukraine in ‘intense’ Oval Office meeting
WASHINGTON — Congressional leaders emerged from an “intense” Oval Office meeting with President Joe Biden on Tuesday speaking optimistically about the prospects for avoiding a partial government shutdown, but with new uncertainty about aid for Ukraine and Israel as the president and others urgently warned Speaker Mike Johnson of the...
Gov. Shapiro releases specifics of higher education restructuring plan in Pittsburgh visit
A combined system of 15 community colleges and 10 state universities would treat both tiers as equals, and they would equitably split a 15% funding increase in his proposed state budget, Gov. Josh Shapiro said Tuesday. In an appearance at the Community College of Allegheny County in Pittsburgh, the governor...
Man to plead guilty to helping kill 3,600 birds, including eagles, and selling feathers prized by tribes
A Washington state man accused of helping kill more than 3,000 birds — including eagles on a Montana Indian reservation — then illegally selling their feathers intends to plead guilty to illegal wildlife trafficking and other criminal charges, court documents show. Prosecutors have alleged Travis John Branson and others killed...
Pittsburgh City Council OKs giant video screen on North Shore
Pittsburgh City Council on Tuesday approved plans by a private venture to erect a giant video screen near PNC Park for people to watch Pirates games. Some members of the Planning Commission had previously voiced concerns that the screen would be visible from Interstate 279. But their fears seemed to...
Neo, the rescued Kiski River alligator, among more than 70 animals to die in South Park fire
Neo didn’t make it. The wayward alligator, only recently recovered in Kiski Township after escaping and apparently living along the Kiski River since last summer, was one of the more than 70 animals confirmed to have died in a fire that swept through Nate’s Reptile Rescue in South Park on...
Summer Lee pulls out of Muslim group fundraiser amid pressure from rivals, Jewish advocates
U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, D-Swissvale, has canceled a speech at an upcoming fundraiser hosted by a national Muslim advocacy group amid mounting criticism over her participation. Lee, a freshman House member and progressive, was scheduled to speak this weekend at the annual state banquet for the Council on American-Islamic Relations’...
Macy’s to close 150 stores as sales slip as it pivots to luxury at Bloomingdale’s, Blue Mercury
NEW YORK — Macy’s will close 150 stores over the next three years and 50 by the end of 2024, the department store said Tuesday after posting a fourth quarter loss and declining sales. At the same time the company signaled a pivot to luxury. It said it would open...
Israel, Hamas indicate no deal is imminent after Biden signals Gaza cease-fire could be close
JERUSALEM — Israel and Hamas on Tuesday played down chances of an imminent breakthrough in talks for a cease-fire in Gaza, after U.S. President Joe Biden said Israel has agreed to pause its offensive during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan if a deal is reached to release some hostages....
Trump, Biden win Michigan primary. But voters uncommitted to either candidate demand attention
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump won the Michigan primaries on Tuesday, further solidifying the all-but-certain rematch between the two men — yet early results from the state were highlighting some of their biggest political vulnerabilities ahead of the November general election. A vigorous “uncommitted” campaign...
Morning Roundup: Officer hit by vehicle; police seek missing Jefferson Hills teen
Here are a few morning news items for Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024: Beaver County officer struck by driver A Beaver County police officer conducting a traffic stop was struck and injured by a vehicle Monday. TribLive news partner WTAE reported a New Sewickley Township officer was conducting a traffic stop...
Pittsburgh man killed in Charleroi shooting
A Pittsburgh man was killed late Monday night in a shooting in Charleroi, according to Pennsylvania State Police. State police said Tev Jerod Mungo, of Pittsburgh, was shot just before 11 p.m. Monday outside of a residence in the 800 block of Lookout Avenue in the Mon Valley borough in...
BridgeUP program gives districts a chance to ‘grow your own’ teacher
LeAnn Dupree “always wanted to be a teacher,” but paying for a four-year college degree wasn’t in the cards for her. So she settled for an associate degree and entered the workforce, working three jobs including as a paraprofessional educator to make ends meet. She switched from special to early...
Employers at job fair face hurdles to fill slots — fewer workers and low unemployment rate
About four dozen businesses and organizations seeking workers at a job fair this week in Hempfield are facing a double whammy as they attempt to woo prospective employees: The jobless rate is at a record low, and there are fewer people in the workforce since the covid pandemic upended the...
Former Franklin Regional superintendent tapped as consultant to find new leader at Hempfield Area
Hempfield Area School District’s superintendent search is officially on. The district board tapped education consultant Peter Emery D’Arcangelo to begin its search for a new district leader to replace Tammy Wolicki. Wolicki announced her retirement Jan. 22, following an extended leave of absence. Assistant Superintendent for Elementary Education Kimberlie Rieffannacht...
Manhattan DA wants gag order for Trump, seeks to play ‘Access Hollywood’ tape at hush-money trial
NEW YORK — Prosecutors in Donald Trump’s New York hush-money criminal case asked a judge Monday to impose a gag order on the former president ahead of next month’s trial, citing what they called his “long history of making public and inflammatory remarks” about people involved in his legal cases....
Biden hopes cease-fire, hostage deal to pause Israel-Hamas war can take effect by next MondayVideo
President Joe Biden said Monday that he hopes a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas that would pause hostilities and allow for remaining hostages to be released can take effect by early next week. Asked when he thought a cease-fire could begin, Biden said: “Well I hope by the beginning of...
Pharmacy information company hack has impact on Western Pa. pharmacies, chains
A cyberattack disrupted operations at a pharmacy information company beginning about two weeks ago, impacting a number of pharmacies around the country. UnitedHealth subsidiary Change Healthcare first reported on its website Feb. 21 that it is “experiencing a cyber security issue.” In updates Friday, the company said it was still...
Federal probe targets organ collection groups for potential fraud
The nonprofit organizations that collect and distribute organs for transplantation in the United States are under federal investigation to determine if they’ve defrauded the government, the Washington Post reported Monday. The probe seeks to determine whether organ procurement organizations, or OPOs, which work alongside hospitals to procure everything from kidneys...
