Top Stories category, Page 772
Autonomous Zamboni developed by Carnegie Mellon students
Rathin Shah, who grew up in India, had never been to a professional hockey game until the Pittsburgh Penguins invited him and four other graduate student researchers to PPG Paints Arena for an unlikely reason. There was plenty of fast-paced action in the game between the Penguins and Florida Panthers...
First National Bank wants to take a spot on Pittsburgh’s skyline
First National Bank plans to join the likes of UPMC, Highmark, BNY Mellon and other businesses with brand recognition dotting the Pittsburgh skyline. FNB wants to put its initials and logo on the 26-story skyscraper under construction at the former Civic Arena site in the Lower Hill District, according to...
House GOP votes to oust Democrat Omar from major committee
WASHINGTON — The Republican-led House voted after raucous debate Thursday to oust Democrat Ilhan Omar from the chamber’s Foreign Affairs Committee, citing her anti-Israel comments, in a dramatic escalation after Democrats last session booted far-right GOP lawmakers over incendiary remarks. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was able to solidify Republican support...
Pittsburgh advances plans for crisis training catered to retail, restaurant workers
Working at the Starbucks in Pittsburgh’s Market Square, Tori Tambellini has faced violent threats, watched angered customers throw things at her manager and twice administered Narcan to people who were overdosing. Tambellini said she and other baristas “signed up to make lattes,” but often encounter people struggling with crises they’re...
Bell Township bar sued by woman who claimed injuries caused by drunken fall from stool
A Bell Township bar was sued this week by a woman who claimed she was left a quadriplegic when she was served too much alcohol and fell off a stool. According to the lawsuit, Mary Jo Jordan, 55, of Avonmore contends her injuries two years ago were caused by negligence...
Groundhog Day: Punxsutawney Phil makes his annual prediction
Punxsutawney Phil has spoken — there will be six more weeks of winter. Pennsylvania’s most famous groundhog saw his shadow — for the third year in a row — on Thursday morning in the small Jefferson County town in front of thousands of excited onlookers. Phil emerges every Feb. 2...
Pharmacies cutting hours amid staff shortages
Starting this spring, routine visits to pick up medicine at the pharmacy after work might require more advance planning than usual. Officials from major pharmacy chains say staffing problems at pharmacies are the culprit. They are facing a shortage of pharmacists and pharmacy assistants, and some are making changes to...
Walker, McAndrew face challenges as they vie to succeed state Rep. Tony DeLuca in special election
Little time and little name recognition are two challenges the Republican candidate for the state House 32nd District sees himself and his Democratic opponent sharing. Clayton Walker figures that helps level the playing field between himself and Joe McAndrew as they vie to succeed a titan of Pennsylvania politics in...
Police: Teen shot in Pittsburgh’s Brookline neighborhood, 2 people in custody
A teenager was hospitalized in critical condition and two people were apprehended in connection with a shooting Tuesday evening in Pittsburgh’s Brookline neighborhood. Public Safety spokeswoman Amanda Mueller said officers responded to reports of a person shot around 7:45 p.m. along the 2500 block of Woodward Avenue. They found a...
Biden, Kevin McCarthy meet at White House on debt crisis worriesVideo
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy met face-to-face Wednesday for more than an hour of highly anticipated spending talks — “a good first meeting,” the new Republican leader said — but expectations were low for significant progress as GOP lawmakers push for steep budget cuts in...
Sheetz halts controversial ‘smile policy’
Sheetz said it has ended its controversial policy that people with visible dental problems should not be hired. Dubbed the “smile policy,” the convenience store chain’s employee handbook previously stated that “applicants with obvious missing, broken, or badly discolored teeth (unrelated to a disability) are not qualified for employment with...
Fed lifts rate by quarter-point and signals more hikes aheadVideo
WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve extended its fight against high inflation Wednesday by raising its key interest rate by a quarter-point, its eighth hike since March. And the Fed signaled that even though inflation is easing, it remains high enough to require further rate hikes. At the same time, Chair...
Why a Pa. school district decided to arm its officers with semiautomatic rifles
This story first appeared in Talk of the Town, a weekly newsletter by Spotlight PA’s State College regional bureau featuring the most important news and happenings in north-central Pennsylvania. Sign up for free here. ALTOONA — At least two school districts in Pennsylvania now allow their police officers to store...
Pa. takes over troubled mortgage relief program from contractor after complaints, backlogs
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — In an abrupt change, Pennsylvania’s struggling mortgage relief program will no longer work with the private company originally hired...
Shapiro to become just 3rd sitting governor to attend Pa.’s Groundhog Day celebration
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro will attend the annual Groundhog Day ceremony in Punxsutawney on Thursday, becoming just the third sitting governor to ever attend the Feb. 2 event. Shapiro, a Democrat from Montgomery County, is looking forward to joining the “storied Pennsylvania tradition” and the famed Punxsutawney Phil groundhog, according...
Pittsburgh officials closing Charles Anderson Memorial Bridge because of safety concerns
Pittsburgh officials closed the city’s Charles Anderson Memorial Bridge to vehicular traffic Wednesday afternoon because of safety concerns. “I made a pledge to the residents of Pittsburgh that I will not hesitate to close a bridge for the safety of our citizens,” Mayor Ed Gainey said. “Inspection results have come...
Green comet makes closest approach to Earth in 50K years
The so-called green comet will make its closest approach to Earth in about 50,000 years late Wednesday/early Thursday, but whether you’ll see it in the skies above Western Pennsylvania is debatable. “Unfortunately, we’re going to have increasing cloudiness overnight,” said Lee Hendricks, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in...
Allegheny County opens special appeal period for 2022 property assessments
After a year of legal wrangling and court challenges, some Allegheny County property owners have been given a second chance to appeal their 2022 property assessments, and an expert says that could provide tax refunds to some of the property owners. School districts and municipalities filed several thousand property assessment...
$5M renovation planned at Pittsburgh’s Sheraden Park
A proposed $5 million project could bring a new playground, community garden and other improvements to Pittsburgh’s Sheraden Park. City officials are seeking input from residents about what exactly they would like to see in the renovations. The park in Pittsburgh’s West End serves residents from neighborhoods including Sheraden, Esplen,...
FBI searches Biden’s vacation home; no classified documents
WASHINGTON — The FBI searched President Joe Biden’s vacation home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, on Wednesday without turning up any classified documents, the latest turn in an extraordinary series of searches of his and his predecessor’s properties. Agents did take some handwritten notes and other materials relating to Biden’s time...
Point Park University names interim president
Chris Brussalis, chairman of The Hill Group Inc., has been named interim president of Point Park University. School trustees named him to succeed Donald Green, 58, who resigned two weeks ago. Green, who had been in the job for 18 months, cited “private, personal and family reasons” for his departure....
Morning Roundup: Bed Bath & Beyond closing 3 Pittsburgh locations
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023: 3 Pittsburgh-area Bed Bath & Beyond stores closing Three Pittsburgh-area Bed Bath & Beyond stores are set to close, further reducing the home goods retailer’s footprint in the area, the retail chain announced this week....
Before Groundhog Day, Punxsutawney locals get hyped for the hoopla
The thousands of people expected at Gobbler’s Knob on Thursday for Groundhog Day will have a tough time matching the bedlam to be found Tuesday at the Punxsutawney Area High School gymnasium. More than 800 students in grades 7 through 12 interspersed with the Groundhog Club’s Inner Circle as Phil...
Pittsburgh EMS, firefighters lift pickup truck off pinned woman
Emergency responders in Pittsburgh lifted a pickup truck off of a woman who been pinned underneath the vehicle Tuesday night on the city’s North Side, Pittsburgh police said. Firefighters from Pittsburgh Fire 32 Engine and members of EMS Rescue 2 lifted the vehicle off the woman, who was hit at...
1 guilty, 1 acquitted in roadside shooting of Butler County native
NASHVILLE — The man who shot and killed a Tennessee nurse as she was driving to work two years ago was found guilty of second-degree murder on Tuesday, while a co-defendant was acquitted. Devaunte Hill and James Cowan were both charged with first-degree murder in the death of 26-year-old Caitlyn...
