Top Stories category, Page 780
White House to McCarthy: No negotiations on debt limit
WASHINGTON — The White House says President Joe Biden “looks forward” to sitting down with new House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to discuss a range of topics, including perhaps the thorniest challenge confronting Washington this year: raising the nation’s debt limit. One hitch: That statement Friday came with no actual invitation...
Construction to cause disruptions to ‘T’ service this weekend
Riders on Pittsburgh Regional Transit’s light-rail “T” routes Downtown, on the North Shore and in parts of the South Hills should expect significant disruptions this weekend, PRT officials announced. Contractors are working on two separate projects from Friday night up to the start of Monday’s service. Riders should allow for...
Moonwalker Buzz Aldrin weds at age 93
Former astronaut Buzz Aldrin, who was the second man to walk on the moon, proved that one is never too old to be married when, on his 93rd birthday, he wed his longtime girlfriend, a University of Pittsburgh graduate. Aldrin, who made his fourth trip into matrimony, married Anca Faur,...
2 killed in St. Clair Township crash
Two men were killed in a head-on collision on Route 56 in St. Clair Township on Friday afternoon, according to the Westmoreland County Coroner’s Office. The victims were identified as Robert A. Deemer, 36, of Johnstown, and Gerald E. McGeary, 84, of Seward. The coroner said both men died of...
Greensburg Restaurant Week returns with special dishes, deals
General manager Lynn Hepple likes to give diners at Bar Nine “something completely new” when Greensburg Restaurant Week rolls around. This time, special dishes at the Greensburg gastropub will include short rib pierogies, served with garlic gravy, sour cream and scallions. The pierogies are one of two appetizer options for...
How Maggie Hardy caught Immaculate Reception ball for Dad
It was another fairy tale ending for the Immaculate Reception ball. The same ball that Franco Harris miraculously caught 50 years ago to give the Steelers their first playoff victory in franchise history inspired another happy, though bittersweet, outcome. For the past half-century, the ball had been in the possession...
Demolition of former Springdale power station expected to be completed in 2024
Demolition of the former Cheswick Generating Station in Springdale likely won’t be completed until March of next year. Although what will become of the property after the power plant demolition is still unknown, workers this week were using blowtorches to remove exterior panels. Removal of the metal cladding is part...
Homicide charges withdrawn for 2 men accused in North Side shootout
Homicide charges against two men who were accused in a North Side shootout that killed three people were withdrawn by prosecutors on Friday after they said that the trajectory from which the shots were fired did not match evidence against them. Charron Troutman, 19, and Samuel Pegues, 30, will both...
Illegal border crossings surge to highest of Biden’s term
WASHINGTON — A surge in Cuban and Nicaraguan arrivals at the U.S. border with Mexico in December led to the highest number of illegal border crossings recorded during any month of Joe Biden’s presidency, authorities said Friday. The extraordinary influx came shortly before Biden introduced measures on Jan. 5 to...
Elon Musk takes witness stand to defend Tesla buyout tweets
SAN FRANCISCO— Elon Musk took the witness stand Friday to defend a 2018 tweet claiming he had lined up the financing to take Tesla private in a deal that never came close to happening. The tweet resulted in a $40 million settlement with securities regulators. It also led to a...
3 Pittsburghers charged with domestic terrorism following Georgia incident
Seven people, including three from Pittsburgh, are facing charges of domestic terrorism after a shoot-out Wednesday at the future site of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center in Georgia. Spencer Bernard Liberto, 29, Matthew Ernest Macar, 30, and Sarah Wasilewski, 35, were taken to DeKalb County Jail earlier this week...
Point Park University president steps down
Point Park University President Donald Green is stepping down after 18 months on the job. The 58-year-old notified the university’s board of trustees that his decision “is for private, personal and family reasons,” officials said in a statement Friday. Green’s resignation was effective immediately. Green follows at least three other...
Unemployment rate in Pennsylvania hits record low of 3.9%, but Duquesne prof says that comes with a caveat
Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate fell to a record low in December, dropping below 4% for the first time since record-keeping began, according to figures released Friday. Payrolls and the workforce grew but remain below pre-pandemic record levels. The rate fell one-tenth of a percentage point to 3.9% from November’s rate, the state...
Confidential document reveals key human role in ShotSpotter gunshot technology
CHICAGO — In more than 140 cities across the United States, including Pittsburgh, ShotSpotter’s artificial intelligence algorithm and intricate network of microphones evaluate hundreds of thousands of sounds a year to determine if they are gunfire, generating data now being used in criminal cases nationwide. But a confidential ShotSpotter document...
Pittsburgh’s URA provides $1.2M loan to support Uptown development project
Pittsburgh’s Urban Redevelopment Authority is providing a $1.2 million loan to support an Uptown development project that will include affordable housing and commercial space. The City’s Edge project will include 110 apartments on Colwell Street on a site that is now a parking lot, said Ben Peyton, senior lending analyst...
Google parent company to lay off 12K workers, unclear how that will affect Pittsburgh office
Google’s parent company announced Friday that the tech giant plans to lay off about 12,000 employees across its workforce. Alphabet Inc., Google’s parent company, reported in October that it employed nearly 187,000 people globally. Pittsburgh is home to a Google office in Pittsburgh’s Larimer neighborhood. It’s unclear how the broad-based...
DA’s office says Pittsburgh activist should be jailed over social media posts after police chief’s killing
The Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office said a Pittsburgh activist should be jailed and resentenced after she posted messages on Facebook about the shooting death of Brackenridge police Chief Justin McIntire. Prosecutors filed a motion to detain Nicky Jo Dawson on Jan. 6 and supplemented that with an additional 20-page...
4 face felony drug charges after agents find fentanyl during raid at New Kensington house
Four people arrested by a team of agents who raided a home in New Kensington in late December have been ordered to stand trial on drug charges. Tammy Alane Hess, 53; Paul Scott Scratchard, 55; and Didiel Tirado, 57, all of the 2500 block of Seventh Street in New Kensington;...
Mt. Pleasant resale store to close as Westmoreland Community Action looks to sell property
A Mt. Pleasant Borough nonprofit resale store specializing in building and home improvement materials is closing after about 13 years of helping keep those types of items out of landfills. The last official day for American Architectural Salvage is Jan. 31, said Mandy Welty Zalich, chief executive officer of Westmoreland...
5 things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend: Jan. 20-22
It’s getting to be about that point of the winter when folks are looking for things to take their minds off the gray, dreary landscape. From travel ideas to films, those things can be found this weekend. Pittsburgh Travel Showcase “You don’t need a passport to see the world. The...
Dry January continues to rise in popularity
Six years ago, Jacob Zadnik spent most of the week traveling for work as a consultant. That included eating out most days — and, with that, drinking lots of alcohol. He and his coworkers challenged each other to try Dry January — 31 days of no alcohol. This month is...
Morning Roundup: School’s Disney band trip saved by rival school
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Friday, Jan. 20, 2023: Neighboring school district helps save Disney trip for high school band United School District in Indiana County will still be taking a trip to Disney World later this year, thanks to a rival school district...
Tree of Life attack survivor Dr. E. Joseph Charny dies at 95
Dr. E. Joseph Charny, a longtime Pittsburgh resident who survived the Tree of Life attack, has died at age 95. He died in Washington, D.C., due to complications of a stroke, compounded by Alzheimer’s disease, according to his obituary in the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle. He stood next to Rabbi Jeffrey...
2nd T-shirt sale set for fallen Brackenridge chief; organizers say support has ‘surpassed expectation’
Anyone who missed the chance to buy a memorial T-shirt for fallen Brackenridge police Chief Justin McIntire will have another chance next week. Considering the merchandise at the first sale Jan. 14 sold out in 25 minutes, lines are expected to be long, organizer Shasta Biricocchi said. More than 4,000...
Those huge, stone Wabash piers on the Mon are up for sale
Someone out there can own an unusual piece of Pittsburgh history — not to mention an unusual piece of real estate. The Wabash piers, those hulking stone towers standing about 45 feet above the Monongahela River, Downtown, are up for sale. “The fascinating thing about these piers — they were...
