Top Stories category, Page 988
Will Smith dances with family after Oscar win, shocking slap
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — Will Smith gleefully danced with his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, and their family at the Vanity Fair Oscar party, waving his best actor trophy in the air like he just didn’t care as he rapped along to a mash-up of his own songs, from “Gettin’ Jiggy...
Liz Weston: 3 tasks for new retirees that will pay off later
After a working lifetime of alarm clocks and meetings, you might be looking forward to a lot more unstructured time once you retire. But taking care of one more to-do list early on can set you up for a better retirement. The following assumes you’ve already done some basic financial...
TV Talk: Oscars rebound from 2021 disaster, then derailed by a slapVideo
Back in its traditional home with legitimately funny monologues from the hosts, ABC’s telecast of the 2022 Academy Awards proved a vast improvement in entertainment value from the pared-down-for-covid 2021 show. “CODA,” directed by 1999 Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama grad Sian Heder, was the big winner, taking home...
Jan. 6 panel files contempt cases against 2 former Trump allies
Two ex-advisers to former President Donald Trump should be held in contempt of Congress because they are withholding information that a House committee considers “central” to its investigation of events surrounding the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, the committee asserts. Former White House Deputy Chief of Staff for...
‘Yes, I can vote’: Pitt-Greensburg student becomes U.S. citizen
As a political science major, Juliet Montes Duran dedicates her time to learning about local, national and international governments. Until last week, however, she couldn’t participate in the government of the country she grew up in. The sophomore at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg became a naturalized U.S. citizen...
Ukraine pleads for help, says Russia wants to split nation
LVIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused the West of cowardice Sunday while another top official said Russia was trying to split the nation in two, like North and South Korea. Zelenskyy made an exasperated plea for fighter jets and tanks to help defend his country from Russia’s invading...
The Oscars are tonight. Here’s how to watch or stream live
The 94th Academy Awards are right around the corner with just enough time to squeeze in watches of some of the 10 best picture nominees before the lights go down in the Dolby Theatre. After last year’s scaled back ceremony at Los Angeles’ Union Station, this year the Oscars are...
Will Smith, Chris Rock confrontation shocks Oscar audience
LOS ANGELES — A 94th Academy Awards that steadily maintained a buoyant spirit was rocked by an unbelievable exchange after Will Smith took offense to a joke made by Chris Rock about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. After Rock joked to Smith that he was looking forward to a sequel...
Home testing, new variant add uncertainty to latest round of covid infections
As dramatic as the covid-19 omicron variant spike was in early 2022, health experts around the world were encouraged to see it drop just as quickly. In Pennsylvania, the total number of reported statewide positive cases this past Friday was around 600, nowhere near the 33,398 cases reported at the...
More than a game: Booming sports gambling industry brings increased calls for help across Pennsylvania
Brandon knew he “pretty much hit rock bottom” last year when he picked up the phone to find help in fighting his decade-long gambling addiction. The 32-year-old Irwin man has spent years trying to break free from the addiction he said largely started when he first visited Rivers Casino Pittsburgh...
Indianapolis collector traces 1850s Bible to prominent Westmoreland family
Before the internet opened up new avenues for genealogical research, Bibles once were a prime repository for families intent on preserving their history. One such tome, dating from the 1850s, has provided an Indianapolis-area man an intriguing link to the Southwestern Pennsylvania region where he was raised. Pittsburgh native Chris...
Freeport EMS fires whistleblower
Freeport EMS fired the executive director who found financial irregularities revealing an almost $100,000 misappropriation tied to a former EMS treasurer. The EMS board fired Chris O’Leath earlier this month, Mayor Jim Swartz confirmed. O’Leath, who also serves as a firefighter in Arnold, was given access to the EMS’s finances...
Fewer applications for college financial aid could signal continued dip in higher ed enrollments
The number of high school students applying for state and federal college aid has continued to decline across Pennsylvania, state leaders said, nixing hopes that figures would begin to rebound. Applications for the FAFSA — short for Free Application for Federal Student Aid — were down by about 30,000 by...
Good eats in downtown New Kensington showcased by Restaurant Ramble
Donna Hare of Upper Burrell hadn’t visited New Kensington in more than 20 years. But a new food and commerce-themed event held there Saturday changed that. Hare and five of her friends attended the 2022 Restaurant Ramble & Spring Fling. The group said they all were happy to support local...
Girl Scouts drive cookie sales with drive-thru option in Brackenridge
A drive-thru sale Saturday in Brackenridge offered motorists a convenient way to score their favorite Girl Scout cookie. Girl Scout Troop 28807 leader Jessica DePascale said the troop introduced the drive-thru option for purchasing cookies last year because of the pandemic. The 11-member troop braved snow showers and freezing temps...
Biden on Russia’s Putin: ‘This man cannot remain in power’
WARSAW, Poland — President Joe Biden said Saturday that Vladimir Putin “cannot remain in power,” dramatically escalating the rhetoric against the Russian leader after his brutal invasion of Ukraine. Even as Biden’s words rocketed around the world, the White House attempted to clarify soon after Biden finished speaking in Poland...
77 townhouses headed to Penn Township in final phases of Blackthorne Estates
More housing is headed to Penn Township. Township commissioners have approved Blackthorne Estates’ phases VI-B and VII, which will add 77 townhouses to the luxury golf course community more than 25 years in the making. The townhouses, to be built by Ryan Homes, will feature three bedrooms, 2½ bathrooms, two-car...
Somerset DA Thomas’ defense attorney calls sex assault case ‘political’
SOMERSET — Describing the sexual assault case against Somerset County’s suspended district attorney as “political,” Jeffrey Thomas’ defense attorney suggested on Friday that he might raise issues about whether the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General should be prosecuting the case. Following a pretrial hearing, defense attorney Ryan Tutera offered hints...
Third eaglet hatches in Hays nest, keeping mom and dad busy finding food
With the arrival of the third and final chick Friday, the Pittsburgh Hays bald eagles are busy feeding their brood. The harried couple feeds the hatchlings up to 17 times a day, according to statistics from last year’s breeding season from PixCams. The Murrysville company partners with the Audubon Society...
Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins dead at 50
LOS ANGELES — Taylor Hawkins, for 25 years the drummer for Foo Fighters and best friend of frontman Dave Grohl, has died during a South American tour with the rock band. He was 50. There were no immediate details on how Hawkins died, although the band said in a statement...
Former Carrick couple sentenced for violent physical, sexual abuse of children
It has been more than 10 years since Seth and Trista Price harmed their two children. Since they beat them. Since they sexually abused them. In the intervening years, the boy and girl were adopted by new, loving families. They assumed new last names. They endured intensive therapy and hospitalizations....
TV Talk: Pam Surano exits KDKA-TV for job with Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh
KDKA-TV freelance reporter Pam Surano has left the station and joined the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh where she’s now working as producer/assignment editor for another former KDKA mainstay: Jennifer Antkowiak, who is the diocese’s executive director of communications and community relations. Surano said Antkowiak, who Surano had met previously...
Disabled former state trooper gets nearly $2M in lawsuit against agency
A federal judge awarded a former Pennsylvania state trooper nearly $2 million on Thursday after a jury found he was forced to retire because of a disability. Robert Newton, of Butler County, worked as a procurement and supply officer on permanent limited duty status because of a disability in his...
Pitt professor in Ukraine tells U.S. ‘send money and weapons’Video
During a week when President Biden visited Europe and promised the U.S. would provide $1 billion to deal with the surge in Ukrainian refugees from the attack by Russia, a University of Pittsburgh economics professor living in Ukraine was asked what his country really needs from the United States. “Weapons,”...
Pittsburgh metro area loses population, leads nation in natural population decline
The Pittsburgh metropolitan area lost 13,755 residents between July 2020 and July 2021, according to U.S. Census estimates. The biggest factor of that loss was the region’s natural decline, which is when an area experiences more deaths than births. The Pittsburgh metro area’s natural decline of 10,383 was the largest...
