Top Stories category, Page 8
Springdale’s agreement with ICE brings fear closer to home for some local immigrants
When Judah Marroquin learned police in Springdale Borough signed an agreement to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in November, she was sick to her stomach. “It’s finally at our doorsteps,” she thought. Born and raised in Shaler, she has lived in neighboring Springdale Township with her husband, Carlos,...
Ben Franklin-signed land grant in Upper Burrell ‘quite the conversation piece’
Alle-Kiski Valley historian Ray Rieser knew time was ticking. With Penn State New Kensington closing next spring, Rieser had something on his mind not too many others knew about — a 1787, Benjamin Franklin-signed land grant Rieser believed was being stored at the Upper Burrell campus. Over the years, Rieser...
Flashback foods: The hunger for favorite foods from the past
You don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone (as Joni Mitchell sang). Many beloved foods once enjoyed throughout the Pittsburgh region are no longer available. They’re missed and still talked about. But some live on in new iterations — or DIY versions. We spoke to some Southwestern Pennsylvanians about...
Snowstorm highlights staffing struggles of Southwestern Pa. home care agencies
Perhaps no part of the health care system in Southwestern Pennsylvania faced greater challenges during Sunday’s snowstorm than already understaffed home care agencies. Their task was monumental: Keep hundreds of group homes and thousands more personal residences in the region staffed with caregivers, even as much of their workforce got...
Code Orange air quality warning issued for Mon Valley
An air quality action day has been issued for five communities in the Monongahela Valley because of an increase in particulate matter pollution, according to the state’s Department of Environmental Protection. The DEP issued a Code Orange Air Quality Day on Saturday for Clairton, and Glassport, Liberty, Lincoln and Port...
ICE operation in Oakmont leads to local father’s arrestVideo
Hariett Flores thought Thursday was going to be like any other day. She and her husband, Jose, were getting ready for work as their 8-year-old daughter, Lily, prepared for school in their Oakmont home. Then, when Jose and Lily left the house on their way to Lily’s school, everything changed....
New Pitt institute looks to space for insight on earthly illnesses
A trip to outer space can wreak havoc on the human body. Muscles atrophy, bones become porous and immune systems degrade in low gravity. These effects, as frightening as they may sound, tend to be temporary. Astronauts returning from extended stays at the International Space Station mostly recover within a...
Patrick Graham named Steelers defensive coordinator by new coach Mike McCarthy
With Mike McCarthy having taken ownership of the offense and calling the plays for it, his most impactful hire for the Pittsburgh Steelers coaching staff was going to come on defense. McCarthy and the organization found their man to run that side of the ball. Former Las Vegas Raiders defensive...
Pittsburgh businesses support National Shutdown protest but remain open
Activists across the nation have called for a general strike Friday as part of a show of solidarity for those in Minneapolis and in protest of ICE’s actions there. The National Shutdown protest calls for an economic blackout, and celebrities such as Natalie Portman, Pedro Pascal, Billie Eilish and Hannah...
Former youth football director charged with taking more than $227K in league funds
The former director for the Western Pennsylvania Youth Football League who resigned suddenly a little more than a year ago is charged with taking more than $227,000 in league funds. Bill E. Spencer, 57, of Washington is accused of using the money to pay bills, make payments on a Honda...
Catherine O’Hara, Emmy-winning comedian of ‘Schitt’s Creek’ and ‘SCTV’ fame, dies at 71
LOS ANGELES — Catherine O’Hara, a gifted Canadian-born comic actor and “SCTV” alum who starred as Macaulay Culkin’s harried mother in two “Home Alone” movies and won an Emmy as the dramatically ditzy wealthy matriarch Moira Rose in “Schitt’s Creek,” died Friday. She was 71. O’Hara died at her home...
Deadline for 2026 health insurance through Pennie is almost here
Pennsylvanians still searching for a 2026 health insurance plan are running out of time to secure it through the Affordable Care Act. Open enrollment on Pennie, the state’s Obamacare marketplace, ends just before midnight Jan. 31. Pennie officials had extended the deadline from an original cutoff of Jan. 15. The...
Police say SUV in fatal Monongahela River wreck plunged 120 feet into water
A woman who died Thursday after her SUV plunged into the icy Monongahela River from the Parkway East lost control of the vehicle, struck a snowbank and plummeted 120 feet into the water, police said. Jacinta Stevens, 31, veered across three lanes of traffic as she was driving outbound on...
How cold is it? Pittsburgh is breaking records
It was as cold as it’s ever been on this date in Pittsburgh Friday morning. Temperatures sank to minus 6 degrees around 7:50 a.m. at the National Weather Service’s offices in Moon, according to meteorologist Jason Frazier. That slightly edges out today’s previous record low of minus 5, set in...
Faces of the Valley: PR director leaves Allegheny Valley School District after 3 decades
To Jan Zastawniak, it’s a great thing to be a Dynamo. The Springdale alumna and longtime borough resident retired in December from Allegheny Valley School District, where she worked as public relations director for more than 30 years. But Zastawniak was never lacking for other responsibilities at Allegheny Valley. She...
Retired Fox Chapel attorney ranks 3rd in nation for niche sport of stair climbing
Retired Fox Chapel attorney Harrison Lauer is at the top of his game — literally. A long-time runner, Lauer hung up his shoes after a knee injury in 2020 but decided it was a detour, not a full stop. The 68-year-old turned to stair climbing, or tower running, which while...
What is the fate of some 2 dozen ICE bills before Pa. state lawmakers?
About two dozen proposals related to immigration enforcement are percolating in the state legislature in response to the Trump administration’s crackdown and tactics – including increased reliance on county jails and local police departments. Lawmakers acknowledge it’s a long shot to enact reforms in a federally-governed arena and with a...
PNC Foundation to give Pittsburgh $2M for snow removal equipment
As Pittsburgh crews struggle to plow and salt roads after a massive snowstorm, officials Thursday announced the PNC Foundation will give the city $2 million to buy new snow removal equipment. The foundation’s contribution will fund 15 new vehicles this year for the city’s Department of Public Works. “Last weekend’s...
Senate leaders scramble to save bipartisan deal and avert partial government shutdown at midnight
WASHINGTON — Senate leaders were scrambling to save a bipartisan spending deal and avert a partial government shutdown at midnight Friday as Democrats have demanded new restrictions on federal immigration raids across the country. Democrats struck a rare deal with President Donald Trump Thursday to separate funding for the Homeland...
Trump’s choice of Warsh to lead Fed could reshape the world’s most influential central bank
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s nomination of Kevin Warsh to chair the Federal Reserve could bring about sweeping changes at a central bank that dominates the global economy and markets like no other. Warsh, if approved by the Senate, will be under close scrutiny from financial markets and Congress given...
What to know about police cooperation with ICE in Pennsylvania
Jaime Martinez has mourned with Pittsburgh’s immigrant community since he saw 14 people arrested at a Mexican restaurant in Marshall. Since those June arrests, he has witnessed four additional detainments by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. As executive director of the immigrant advocacy group Frontline Dignity, he’s seen tensions escalate...
New cold snap adds urgency to winter storm recovery across the SouthVideo
BELZONI, Miss. — Hundreds of National Guard troops in ice-stricken Mississippi and Tennessee mobilized Thursday to clear debris and assist people stranded in cars or stuck at homes still without electricity as Southern states raced to recover from a crippling winter storm before another blast of dangerous cold hits. The...
4 people injured in explosion at metal fabricating plant
Four people were taken to the hospital in Washington County following a reported explosion Thursday afternoon at a metal fabricating plant. A hazardous materials team was called to the Langeloth Metallurgical Co. facility in Smith Township, according to TribLive news partner WTAE. The incident was reported at about 6:15 p.m....
Larry Cervi, beloved arts director and founder of East End Kids, dies
Larry Cervi, who spent decades shaping students and stages as an educator and performing arts director across the Pittsburgh region, was a people person at heart. Cervi, of Churchill, died Thursday, after a yearlong battle with bladder cancer, only two days after his 90th birthday. He founded the Larry Cervi...
Pittsburgh woman dies after car careens off Parkway East into Monongahela River
A Pittsburgh woman is dead after her vehicle went off the Parkway East and into the Monongahela River on Thursday afternoon. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner identified her as Jacinta Stevens, 31, of Pittsburgh’s West End. Stevens’ car landed in the river in the 900 block of Second Avenue, between...
