Top Stories category, Page 59
Charleroi food processing plant to close; 252 jobs lost
A financially troubled Charleroi-area food processing company plans to close at the end of the month, eliminating 252 jobs in that mid-Mon Valley area where the economy is reeling from the recent losses of a glass-producing plant and a pasta-making plant. Fourth Street Barbecue Inc. started laying off workers at...
Defendant in Monroeville police shooting testifies that he was wrongly accused
A man accused of shooting a Monroeville police sergeant as he responded to an armed robbery last year took the witness stand on Tuesday and told the jury he didn’t do it. Jamal Brooks said he didn’t rob Crumbl Cookie the night of Jan. 3, 2024, and he didn’t fire...
Friends, family reflect on Gateway’s Terry Smith coaching Penn State: ‘He just cared so much’
A Zoom conference call Tuesday morning brought together many of Terry Smith’s family and friends from his time growing up on Firethorn Drive in Monroeville’s Garden City neighborhood. Harvey Smith, Terry’s older brother by a few years and a coaching colleague at Gateway for nearly a decade, helped lead the...
Sen. McCormick voices support for tax credit program that would further school choice movement
Supporters of a new federal program that would grant tax credits to donors funding private school scholarships say it would expand Pennsylvania’s school choice options and give parents greater control over their children’s education. Detractors say it would favor high-income families, lacks oversight and could hurt people who live in...
Westmoreland furloughs begin as commissioners prep plan to borrow money
Westmoreland County won’t have enough cash on hand to meet payroll and other operating expenses in about a month, officials said Tuesday. Commissioners said plans are being finalized for the county to borrow funds to keep essential public services in operation amid the ongoing state budget impasse that required Westmoreland...
Marjorie Taylor Greene said she hasn’t changed, despite recent breaks from the GOP
U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., has been making life uncomfortable for some members of her own party in Congress. Greene, a conservative firebrand who has been a staunch supporter of President Trump, has been critical of how Republicans have dealt with several key issues in recent weeks and months....
Community Supermarket in Harrison likely to close Wednesday
Community Supermarket in Harrison will likely close its doors Wednesday, about two weeks ahead of schedule. “I was in there today, and we don’t have much left,” General Manager George Sears said. “We’re not 100% sure it will be Wednesday, but it looks like it.” Shoppers who want to peruse...
Penn State approves new deal to keep WPSU public media open
A month after voting down an earlier proposal, Penn State University’s board of trustees approved a plan to transfer WPSU-TV and public radio to WHYY in Philadelphia. The deal means Penn State won’t have to pay an additional $17 million subsidy over the next five years to keep WPSU operating,...
Pittsburgh Action Against Rape ‘in crisis’ amid state budget impasse
Pittsburgh Action Against Rape, Allegheny County’s only rape crisis center, is facing severe financial strain as Pennsylvania’s months-long budget impasse cuts off a key source of funding. Sadie Restivo, PAAR’s executive director, said the nonprofit relies on the commonwealth for about 20% of its budget. As the stalemate drags on...
Man accused of breaking into North Huntingdon Aldi, smashing police cruiser
A man is behind bars after North Huntingdon officers said he used a hammer to break into an Aldi grocery store and shatter the windshield of a police cruiser, according to court papers. Township police said they were called to the market on Norwin Avenue around 2 a.m. Tuesday for...
Heights Plaza in Harrison on the market for $16M
The Heights Plaza shopping center in Harrison is for sale. The 30-acre property, owned by New York-based Benbrooke Realty Investment Co., is on the market for $16 million, according to a listing on LoopNet.com. Rich Lubkin of Benbrooke did not return TribLive calls or email requests for comment. The sale...
Pittsburgh councilwoman mulls spending freeze amid financial concerns
A Pittsburgh councilwoman on Tuesday said she intends to introduce a bill that would freeze city spending. Councilwoman Theresa Kail-Smith, D-West End, said she believes the city needs to curb spending as the city is facing financial challenges. Pausing spending could help the city stave off a tax hike, which...
Supreme Court rejects Alex Jones’ challenge to $1.4 billion defamation judgment
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Tuesday to hear a challenge by conspiracy theorist Alex Jones to a $1.4 billion judgment awarded to families of the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting in Connecticut over the Infowars website founder’s false statements that the 2012 incident...
Pittsburgh council strikes down plan to ask Munhall for snowplow help
Pittsburgh City Council on Tuesday rejected a proposal to ask neighboring Munhall for help with snow plowing after members pushed back last week against the idea of outsourcing the work in exchange for street cleaning services. Councilwoman Barb Warwick, D-Greenfield, pitched the idea of an agreement with Munhall that would...
Steelers’ minority owner killed in ATV accident in North Carolina
The CEO of a North Carolina corporation, who bought a minority stake in the Pittsburgh Steelers from a Steel City-bred billionaire, died in an all-terrain vehicle crash over the weekend, the business he founded said Monday. Doug Lebda was 55. In a company announcement, LendingTree confirmed that Lebda died Sunday...
Water service restored after main break affected service in New Kensington, Lower Burrell areas
A water main break along Freeport Road in New Kensington left many in the area with low water pressure for part of Tuesday. The main break occurred directly adjacent to the New Kensington Municipal Authority’s reservoirs. General Manager Ed Saliba said Tuesday afternoon that workers were still investigating the cause...
Government shutdown is impacting Social Security. Details on payments, offices, more
As the government shutdown nears the two-week mark, several federal agencies, including the Social Security Administration (SSA), remain impacted by furloughs and cannot operate as usual. Thousands of SSA employees have been furloughed, in turn limiting the agency’s available services during the shutdown. However, Social Security and Supplemental Security Income...
Pennsylvania man pleads guilty in arson attack at governor’s mansion while Shapiro’s family slept
HARRISBURG — A man who scaled an iron security fence in the middle of the night, eluded police and used beer bottles filled with gasoline to ignite the occupied Pennsylvania governor’s mansion pleaded guilty Tuesday to attempted murder and other charges. Cody Balmer, 38, also entered pleas to terrorism, 22...
Pittsburgh solicitor Krysia Kubiak to leave post, return to Duquesne Light
Pittsburgh solicitor Krysia Kubiak is leaving her post at the city later this month, officials announced Tuesday. When Mayor Ed Gainey took office in 2022, he appointed Kubiak to lead the city’s law department, which oversees attorneys specializing in corporate counsel, civil litigation, labor, real estate, tax, contracts, and workers’...
Downtown Pittsburgh revitalization pushes holiday market to new location
The annual holiday market that usually fills Market Square will move to Pittsburgh’s Cultural District this holiday season. It’s the latest annual event to be relocated as part of a Downtown revitalization effort that has limited use of public spaces like Market Square, which is undergoing a facelift ahead of...
Truck driver killed, traffic diverted after crash on Pennsylvania Turnpike
A 47-year-old man died early Tuesday after his truck struck a concrete barrier and bridge pier, then burst into flames on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, shutting down the highway for hours between Bedford County and New Stanton, according to Pennsylvania State Police. The man, who authorities have not named, was driving...
New covid guidelines add confusion, complications for Americans seeking shots
NEW YORK — Americans headed to pharmacies for covid-19 vaccines are running into roadblocks and confusion due to new U.S. guidance that abandoned broad support for the shots, contributing to the lowest vaccination rates since they were introduced. For the four-week period ended Oct. 3, covid immunizations were down about...
Gaza ceasefire outlook darkens as Israel delays aid and Hamas tightens grip
CAIRO/JERUSALEM — Israel delayed aid into Gaza and kept the enclave’s border shut on Tuesday, while re-emergent Hamas fighters demonstrated their grip by executing men in the street, darkening the outlook for President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war. Three Israeli officials said Israel had decided to restrict aid...
Police charge North Side man with animal cruelty after finding malnourished dogs
A Pittsburgh man was arrested Sunday on animal cruelty charges after one of the dogs in his care died and police found three others “severely malnourished” inside the man’s North Side home. Xavier Williams, 37, of Pittsburgh’s Marshall-Shadeland neighborhood was arraigned early Monday on a total of 29 charges, including...
Why your Halloween candy is costing more this year
Bonnie Ostrowski rolled out of Sam’s Club at Pittsburgh Mills pushing a cart full of Halloween goodies. “I got three grandkids who live with me … that’s why the cart looks the way it does,” Ostrowski said about the bulk-sized packages of candy she purchased recently. Ostrowski, a retiree from...
