Top Stories category, Page 8
Highmark, spurred on by state law, offers no-cost breast imaging
Highmark has introduced no-cost breast imaging as part of an above-and-beyond push to comply with a new Pennsylvania law. The Pittsburgh-based insurer, which boasts more than 7 million members, began fully covering advanced mammograms, ultrasounds and MRIs in the new year. Doctors use these tests to investigate possible signs of...
House takes step toward extending Affordable Care Act subsidies, overpowering GOP leadership
WASHINGTON — Overpowering Speaker Mike Johnson, a bipartisan coalition in the House voted Wednesday to push forward a measure that would revive an enhanced pandemic-era subsidy that lowered health insurance costs for roughly 22 million people, but that had expired last month. The tally of 221-205 was a key test...
U.S. will exit dozens of international organizations as it further retreats from global cooperation
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration will withdraw from dozens of international organizations, including the U.N.’s population agency and the U.N. treaty that establishes international climate negotiations, as the U.S. further retreats from global cooperation. President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order suspending U.S. support for 66 organizations, agencies...
A look back at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s 240-year history
The Pittsburgh Post- Gazette traces its roots to 1786 — before the U.S. Constitution was created. John Scull and Joseph Hall published the first edition of the Pittsburgh Gazette on July 29, 1786. Originally a weekly publication, the Gazette would be the first newspaper printed west of the Allegheny Mountains,...
Westmoreland jury convicts defendant of drug offenses who refused to attend his trial
A Westmoreland County jury took just nine minutes to convict a Philadelphia man of three drug offenses after he refused to appear in court for his trial. Rysheid Malik Baldwin, 44, was to serve as his own lawyer in what was expected to be a three-day trial on charges that...
Pittsburgh investment manager pleads guilty to $3.7M wire fraud
A Pittsburgh investment manager pleaded guilty Wednesday to a single count of wire fraud to resolve accusations he diverted more than $3.7 million from a family’s investment fund. Thomas Pipich Jr., 74, will be sentenced May 12 in federal court. The maximum sentence can include up to 20 years in...
McCandless couple charged in ‘elaborate’ food-stamp fraud
Pennsylvania’s attorney general has charged a McCandless couple with running an “elaborate scheme” to illegally buy food stamps at a cut rate, use them to purchase nearly $180,000 in food from area stores, then resell the items at their Pittsburgh deli and restaurant. Rachna Anwar, 46, and her husband, Munir...
Fetterman breaks with many Democrats in supporting Venezuela raid
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman has again distanced himself from fellow Democrats, this time in support of last weekend’s military invasion that led to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. “Removing Maduro was positive for Venezuela. As a Democrat, I don’t understand why we can’t acknowledge a good development for...
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette announces closure
Owners of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette announced Wednesday they will cease operations May 3, shuttering one of the oldest metropolitan newspapers in the country. Jodi Miehls, president of Block Communications, informed staff of the decision during a pre-recorded, 2½-minute Zoom call Wednesday afternoon. Block Communications, which has owned the Post-Gazette since...
New dietary guidelines urge Americans to avoid processed foods, added sugar
Americans should eat more whole foods and protein, fewer highly processed foods and less added sugar, according to the latest edition of federal nutrition advice released Wednesday by the Trump administration. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins issued the 2025-2030 U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans,...
Woman accused of abandoning 12 cats in Allegheny Township faces cruelty charges
Allegheny Township police have accused a woman of abandoning a dozen cats in her apartment without food after she was evicted in October, leaving some severely emaciated. Laura Zboravan, 56, who now lives in Gilpin, is charged with two felony counts of aggravated cruelty to animals and several misdemeanor animal...
Nominations open again for Pittsburgh Walk of Fame
Nominations are once again open for the next induction class of the Pittsburgh Walk of Fame. In October, the first 10 bronze stars were unveiled in the Hollywood-style installation embedded in the sidewalk in front of The Terminal in the Strip District, which runs along Smallman Street. The first induction...
ICE officer kills a Minneapolis driver in a deadly start to Trump’s latest immigration operationVideo
MINNEAPOLIS — An Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and killed a Minneapolis driver on Wednesday during the Trump administration’s latest immigration crackdown on a major American city — a shooting that federal officials said was an act of self-defense but that the mayor described as reckless and unnecessary. The...
Venezuelan community in Western Pa. conflicted over Maduro’s detentionVideo
Beechview resident Orlando Aguilar remembers waking about 2 a.m. to frantic text messages from his friends in Venezuela. The messages described the sound of explosions, during what Aguilar would later realize was the beginning of Operation Absolute Resolve, a United States operation to attack Venezuela and capture President Nicolás Maduro...
Allegheny County health officials blast new federal childhood vaccine guidelines
Allegheny County health authorities on Wednesday rejected the federal government’s new childhood vaccine guidelines, promising to stick with the science on immunization practices. “Departing from long-standing, evidence-based recommendations deters public trust and weakens the very foundation of public health that communities rely on in moments of uncertainty,” Allegheny County Public...
Nick Reiner’s arraignment in parents’ killing is delayed after his attorney asks to be replaced
LOS ANGELES — A judge on Wednesday delayed Nick Reiner’s arraignment in the killing of his parents, Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner, after his high-profile defense attorney asked to be replaced by a public defender. Judge Theresa McGonigle agreed to attorney Alan Jackson’s request during a Los Angeles Superior...
U.S. seeks to assert its control over Venezuelan oil with tanker seizures and sales worldwide
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s administration on Wednesday sought to assert its control over Venezuelan oil, seizing a pair of sanctioned tankers transporting petroleum and announcing plans to relax some sanctions so the U.S. can oversee the sale of Venezuela’s petroleum worldwide. Trump’s administration intends to control the distribution of...
First Call: Details about John Harbaugh’s firing and future; updated Steelers ‘Here We Go’ song
We have an update to the Pittsburgh Steelers’ “Here We Go” song. There is a lot of news surrounding the departure of John Harbaugh from the Baltimore Ravens. Ben Roethlisberger has some advice for the Steelers’ defense. And Duquesne looks to rebound from a home conference loss on the basketball...
Rising utility costs cause record demand for assistance
A record number of requests has been made this winter to a Pittsburgh nonprofit that doles out funds to help people pay their rising utility bills. As of late December, Dollar Energy Fund had processed $2.5 million to 6,100 Pennsylvania households since October — a 131% increase over the same...
Here’s how to shop for lower utility costs
For Western Pennsylvania consumers worried about the costs of heating their homes this winter, there are options. Customers could find some relief on the marketplace, but it’s not entirely without risk. Pennsylvania Consumer Advocate Darryl Lawrence said shopping for better rates on the Pennsylvania Utility Commission’s PaGasSwitch and PaPowerSwitch web...
Building the Valley: Secondhand shop for kids ‘fills need’ in Vandergrift
Dylann Sowers says she opened her new storefront in Vandergrift with the community in mind. Kiski Kids Closet, located downtown on Grant Avenue, is a secondhand shop focused on affordable children’s clothing. It opened in mid-December. Sowers, 28, of Parks Township has three young boys of her own, which offered...
Trump says Venezuela will ‘turn over’ up to 50 million barrels of oil to U.S.
President Donald Trump said Tuesday evening that Venezuela’s interim authorities have agreed to turn over between 30 million and 50 million barrels of oil to the United States, an unexpected sign of the rapidly evolving relationship between Washington and the Caracas socialist leadership. It was not immediately clear which Venezuelan...
North Versailles police officer, 2 others, hurt in crash
A North Versailles police officer was involved in an accident with another vehicle Tuesday afternoon, resulting in the officer and the other driver and a child being hospitalized in stable condition, according to Allegheny County Police. The vehicle was struck when it pulled out in front of the police vehicle...
Teen accused in East McKeesport killing charged as an adult
A Pittsburgh teen is being charged as an adult for allegedly killing a man in East McKeesport. Allegheny County Police on Tuesday announced they arrested Zylon Patterson, 17, in connection with a June 12 homicide. Police allege Patterson is responsible for the fatal shooting of 20-year-old Keith Pelmon of Penn...
Critic slams Jason Lando’s fitness for police chief in email to Pittsburgh council members
A Maryland man who claims he was harassed by Pittsburgh Mayor Corey O’Connor’s pick for police chief sent a lengthy email last week to City Council members that cast aspersions on Jason Lando in an effort to derail his nomination. The Dec. 30 email from Daniel Sullivan, a retired police...
