Top Stories category, Page 542
Shapiro administration cancels $10.7M contract for Pa. voter roll system upgrade
This article is made possible through Spotlight PA’s collaboration with Votebeat, a nonpartisan news organization covering local election administration and voting. HARRISBURG — The state has canceled a planned upgrade to Pennsylvania’s system for managing voter rolls, leaving officials stuck for the foreseeable future with a process and technology they...
Westmoreland municipal authority issues mandatory water conservation order
The Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County on Monday ordered more than 56,000 customers served through Beaver Run Reservoir to reduce water use by 10%. The mandatory conservation order impacts about half of the authority’s water customers, including most who live north of Route 30. Those locations, along with some in...
7 scammers who victimized Western Pennsylvanians indicted by federal authorities
Seven people have been indicted in a $3 million sweepstakes scam federal authorities said targeted people older than 75 in the western half of Pennsylvania and elsewhere across the country. The money ultimately made it to Jamaica, where it was withdrawn by people who are accused of being part of...
Comprehensive Healthcare nursing homes found guilty of fraud, but executives acquitted
A federal jury on Monday found two nursing homes guilty of health care fraud but exonerated all five of their executives charged in the scheme. The mixed verdict was returned at 11:15 a.m. in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh following a five-week trial that featured 29 government witnesses. The two...
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin says Mason Rudolph to start vs. Bengals
With the Pittsburgh Steelers trying to snap a three-game losing streak that has dropped them out of playoff positioning and into last place in the AFC North, coach Mike Tomlin is switching quarterbacks. Barring an early return by Kenny Pickett from ankle surgery, Mason Rudolph is in line to start...
Top 24 concerts (so far) coming to Pittsburgh area in 2024
It’s looking like 2024 will be another year of big concerts for the Pittsburgh region. Topping the list is the almost annual appearance by Kenny Chesney at Acrisure Stadium. The chart-topping country singer, who’s already headlined the stadium 11 times since 2005, will bring his Sun Goes Down tour to...
Pope approves blessings for same-sex couples that must not resemble marriage
ROME — Pope Francis formally approved letting Catholic priests bless same-sex couples, the Vatican announced Monday, a radical shift in policy that aimed at making the church more inclusive while maintaining its strict ban on gay marriage. But while the Vatican statement was heralded by some as a step toward...
Separate vehicle crashes over the weekend in Penn Hills — 1 of them sends 9 to hospitals
There were two significant vehicle crashes in Penn Hills over the weekend. On Saturday evening, a crash sent nine people to area hospitals, according to Penn Hills EMS. The crash occurred at the intersection of Allegheny River Boulevard and Sandy Creek Road. TribLive news partner WTAE reported that Allegheny County...
Love it or hate it, self-checkout is here to stay. But it’s going through a reckoning
NEW YORK — The promise of self-checkout was alluring: Customers could avoid long lines by scanning and bagging their own items, workers could be freed of doing those monotonous tasks themselves and retailers could save on labor costs. All that has happened since the rollout of self-checkout but so has...
U.S. Steel to be bought by Japanese company for $14.9B, but will keep name, Pittsburgh HQVideo
U.S. Steel would retain its name and headquarters in Western Pennsylvania under a $14.9 billion deal announced Monday with Japan’s largest steelmaker, but ownership of the venerable Pittsburgh company would be shipped overseas. The deal comes after months of speculation and U.S. Steel weighing multiple offers from suitors. In the...
Snow showers expected across Pittsburgh region
Forecasters say winter travel conditions are expected Monday afternoon across Southwestern Pennsylvania. Winter weather alerts will start around 1 or 2 p.m., according to TribLive news partner WTAE, with the heaviest snowfall expected along the Interstate 80 corridor and the Laurel Highlands in the eastern sections of Fayette, Indiana and...
Tradition of Christmas caroling alive and well in Western Pennsylvania communities
When Jena Arcuri, Michael Sawhook and Kris Choltco were brainstorming fun family ideas for the holidays in their New Kensington neighborhood last year, they realized some of the neighborhood children likely have never participated in one specific time-honored holiday tradition. “We thought it would be cool to get them to...
Steelers cut practice squad player after domestic violence arrest
The Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday released a player from their practice squad several hours after police charged him with assaulting his girlfriend. Pittsburgh police said Tariq M. Carpenter, 24, threw his live-in girlfriend to the ground and held her down against her will during an argument around 8 a.m. in...
Police probe death of man who collapsed after being pepper sprayed
Police in Washington County are investigating the death Saturday of a 69-year-old man who authorities said collapsed shortly after being hit with pepper spray during a dispute. Harry Doleno of Canonsburg was sprayed around 12:40 p.m. on Seward Drive in Union Township, according to the county coroner. The assailant was...
Mark Madden: Steelers’ loss to Colts another embarrassment for Mike Tomlin
The Pittsburgh Steelers are so disheveled, it’s difficult to know where to start. Refreshing Steelers notes seems the correct path. But they’re not so refreshing. More like a kick to the groin. • It’s time to stop making excuses on this sorry team’s behalf. The Steelers stink. Say so. •...
Man dies in Parkway East crash that closed outbound Squirrel Hill Tunnel for hoursVideo
A Plum man died Sunday afternoon when his SUV drove off the Parkway East on the Swissvale side of the Squirrel Hill Tunnels and traveled down a steep, wooded embankment, coming to rest in a ravine about 200 feet below the road surface. The accident snarled traffic for hours and...
Steelers vs. Colts: What they’re saying in Indianapolis after 30-13 win
Was that Tom Brady or Indianapolis Colts quarterback Gardner Minshew picking apart Pittsburgh Steelers’ defenders Saturday en route to a fairly easy 30-13 home win at Lucas Oil Stadium? Minshew looked pretty smooth completing 18 of 28 passes for 215 yards and tossing three touchdowns. Colts running back Zack Moss...
As 2023 holidays dawn, face masks have settled in as an occasional feature of the American landscape
NEW YORK — The scene: A crowded shopping center in the weeks before Christmas. Or a warehouse store. Or maybe a packed airport terminal or a commuter train station or another place where large groups gather. There are people — lots of people. But look around, and it’s clear one...
Man hurt in dirt bike crash on South Side
A man was reported hospitalized in critical condition Saturday night as a result of injuries he suffered in a dirt bike collision on Pittsburgh’s South Side, Pittsburgh police said. The driver, who was not identified, was found lying on East Carson Street between South 11th Street and South 12th Street...
5 things we learned: Message not getting through to Steelers WR George Pickens
Five things we learned from Colts 30, Steelers 13: 1. Slim Pickens Coach Mike Tomlin acknowledged that second-year receiver George Pickens’ demonstrative frustrations with his role in the offense were becoming an issue because they were not “solution-oriented.” Tomlin told the team website in a story published Saturday morning that...
Daughter, 2 men arrested in connection with St. Clair woman’s death
The daughter of a St. Clair Township woman whose body was found last week underneath her home with two gunshots in her head has been arrested along with two men in connection with her death, Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office said Sunday. The daughter, Melissa A. Beacom, 49, of New...
Wreaths Across America chapters decorate Westmoreland veterans’ graves
Barbara Keough and her daughter, Denise Keough-Samuels, placed a wreath Saturday at the grave of Barbara’s son, Frank Keough, where he’s buried in a section of Penn Lincoln Memorial Park in North Huntingdon that is dedicated to veterans. “Frankie’s never forgotten. He was just the heart of the family, upbeat...
‘You get to see the best in people’: TribLive reporter volunteers at Salvation Army kettle
I should have switched my bell-ringing hand at least once. If there is one lesson I learned from taking a shift ringing the Salvation Army’s Red Kettle bell on a crisp, clear Thursday morning, that was it: Don’t just ring the bell for 90 minutes with the same arm. It...
Airing of Grievances: Turnovers, flags, bad defense, worse offense … Aside from that, Steelers were great in Indy
With a 30-13 loss to the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday, the Pittsburgh Steelers have now lost three in a row and have fallen to 7-7. That’s good for just 11th in the conference. They now are last in the AFC North. The Steelers blew an early 13-0 lead. From that...
As substance abuse rises, need for additional programs comes into focus, experts say
Jillian Hauser spent more than a decade addicted to drugs, went through six rounds of rehab, did time in jail and lost custody of her two daughters. She hit bottom when Westmoreland County Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio offered her one last chance to regain control of her life through the county’s...
