Top Stories category, Page 168
Mark Madden: The Pirates can change the manager, but the direction stays the same
The Pittsburgh Pirates fired Derek Shelton. It changes nothing. Relieving Shelton of his managerial duties is just appeasing the mob. A head on a pike. A perceived fresh start. All PR, nothing practical. Not that Shelton didn’t deserve the ax. His .410 winning percentage is third worst among managers with at...
Team Rubicon volunteers lend helping hand in Allegheny County after storm damage
When severe storms rolled through the region last week, Bill Robinson watched the downpours and battering winds wreak havoc on his yard in Pittsburgh’s Brookline neighborhood The winds were so strong that he struggled to open his door to let his dog, Lola, in the house. By the time the...
Tarentum staple, Asay’s News Stand, closes just shy of 100 years in borough
A small Tarentum mini-mart which drew generations of residents for cigarettes, milk and lottery tickets, has closed its doors. Asay’s News Stand, at 328 E. Sixth Ave., was sold May 1 — just four years shy of marking 100 years in the borough. “I will miss a lot of the...
Former Supreme Court Justice David Souter, a Republican who became a liberal darling, dies at 85
WASHINGTON — Retired Supreme Court Justice David H. Souter, the ascetic bachelor and New Hampshire Republican who became a darling of liberals during his nearly 20 years on the bench, has died. He was 85. Souter died Thursday at his home in New Hampshire, the court said in a statement...
U.S. Steel seeks presidential pass to disregard Biden-era emissions standards
U.S. Steel is among the industrial polluters seeking exemptions to Biden-era requirements to reduce emissions of toxic chemicals. The Pittsburgh-based company, with its Mon Valley Works, is taking up the Trump administration on its offer to request a two-year presidential pass on recently updated provisions of the Clean Air Act....
Pope Leo XIV celebrates first Mass as pope, says his election is a cross and a blessing
VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV, history’s first North American pope, said Friday that his election was both a cross and a blessing as he celebrated his first Mass in Sistine Chapel. Leo spoke off-the-cuff in English to the cardinals who elected him to lead the Catholic Church and follow...
Morning Roundup: Police investigate after woman shows up to hospital with gunshot wound
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Friday, May 9: Police investigate after woman shows up to hospital with gunshot wound Pittsburgh police are investigating a shooting after a woman showed up at a local hospital with a gunshot wound. Police said a 34-year-old woman was...
Last plea? PSNK professors ask for moratorium, task force on campus closures
In what might be its final plea, some Penn State New Kensington professors are asking the university’s board of trustees to temporarily pause any decisions to shutter branch campuses and to establish a task force to try to resolve any demographic and financial issues at the satellite colleges. “We urge...
AC/DC thunders through classics in Power Up tour stop in PittsburghVideo
If Thursday night proved to be AC/DC’s last concert in Pittsburgh, the hard rock legends went out with a bang … or make that a whole lotta bangs. The Australian rockers, making their first Pittsburgh appearance in more than 16 years, played a career-spanning show on their Power Up tour...
Trafford man gets at least 16 years for fatal Homewood shooting
A Trafford man will serve at least 16 years in state prison after he was sentenced Thursday for killing a man he said was his friend. Christopher Papalia, 33, was found guilty by a jury of third-degree murder on Feb. 7. According to the criminal complaint, Pittsburgh police were called...
Trump says he’s naming Fox News host and former judge Jeanine Pirro as top federal prosecutor in D.C.
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Thursday that he is naming Fox News host Jeanine Pirro, a former county prosecutor and elected judge, to be the top federal prosecutor for the nation’s capital after abandoning his first pick for the job. Pirro, who joined Fox News in 2006, cohosts the...
Area Catholics laud Pope Leo XIV, confident he’ll be a ‘bridge builder,’ serve the poor, marginalized
Area Catholics lauded the selection of Pope Leo XIV, not just because he’s American born, but because they’re confident he’ll be a “bridge builder,” dedicated to serving the poor and marginalized. Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, originally from the Chicago area but serving the church for decades in South America, was...
Up to 1,000 transgender troops being moved out of the military in new Pentagon order
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon will immediately begin moving as many as 1,000 openly identifying transgender service members out of the military and give others 30 days to self-identify, under a new directive issued Thursday. Buoyed by Tuesday’s Supreme Court decision allowing the Trump administration to enforce a ban on transgender...
U.S. to stop tracking costs of extreme weather fueled by climate change
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will no longer track the cost of climate change-fueled weather disasters, including floods, heat waves, wildfires and more. It is the latest example of changes to the agency and the Trump administration limiting federal government resources on climate change. NOAA falls under the U.S....
‘About time’: Pirates fans react to Derek Shelton firing
When Jim Emmerling found out the Pittsburgh Pirates fired manager Derek Shelton on Thursday, he was elated. “I’ve been asking for this,” he said. “The last six years have been the worst baseball I can remember.” Shelton was replaced by bench coach Don Kelly as the team languishes in last...
Tim Benz: Pirates made a needed change in firing Shelton, but they didn’t go far enough
Trading Josh Bell on Christmas Eve 2020 was one heckuva news dump by the Pittsburgh Pirates. That was an all-time favorite of mine. But releasing news of a managerial change about 25 minutes after white smoke emerged from the Vatican to announce the election of a new pope is next-level...
WQED lays off staff, suspends Creator Academy
This week, WQED Multimedia laid off four full-time staff and one part-time employee and announced the suspension of its Creator Academy, formerly known as WQED Film Academy and before that, Steeltown Entertainment Project. In an online post at wqed.org/thecreatoracademy, WQED cited the “unprecedented threats to federal funding for the arts,...
Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, overcame a taboo against a U.S. pontiff
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis brought Robert Prevost to the Vatican in 2023 as the powerful head of the office that vets bishop nominations, one of the most important jobs in the Catholic Church. On Thursday, he ascended to become Pope Leo XIV — the first American pontiff. Prevost, 69,...
Robert Prevost, first American pope in history of the Catholic Church, will take the name Leo XIV
VATICAN CITY — Robert Prevost, the Chicago-born missionary who spent his career ministering in Peru and took over the Vatican’s powerful office of bishops, was elected the first pope from the United States in the history of the Catholic Church on Thursday. Prevost, a 69-year-old member of the Augustinian religious...
Pirates fire Derek Shelton, promote bench coach Don Kelly to manager for rest of 2025
Sitting in last place in the NL Central and with their season spiraling, the Pittsburgh Pirates fired manager Derek Shelton on Thursday and named bench coach Don Kelly his successor for the remainder of the 2025 season. Shelton was relieved of his duties following a 5-0 loss to the St....
White smoke pours out of the Sistine Chapel chimney, signaling the election of a new popeVideo
VATICAN CITY — White smoke poured from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel and the great bells of St. Peter’s Basilica tolled Thursday after cardinals elected the 267th pope to lead the Catholic Church on the second day of their conclave. The crowd in St. Peter’s Square erupted in cheers,...
Trump keeps 10% tariffs on UK but cuts taxes on British autos, steel and aluminum with trade deal
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump agreed Thursday to cut tariffs on U.K. autos, steel and aluminum in a planned trade deal but played down the possibility of other nations getting similarly favorable terms on his import taxes, which are roiling the global economy. Under the framework agreement, the United Kingdom...
Cancer before age 50 is increasing. A new study looks at which types
Cancer before age 50 is rare, but increasing, in the United States and researchers want to know why. A new government study provides the most complete picture yet of early-onset cancers, finding that the largest increases are in breast, colorectal, kidney and uterine cancers. Scientists from the National Cancer Institute...
Gainey orders hazard mitigation plan in response to damaging storms
Last week’s damaging storm has prompted Pittsburgh’s mayor to order officials to draft a plan so the city can better prepare for natural disasters. In ordering the creation of a hazard mitigation plan, Mayor Ed Gainey on Thursday noted that climate change brings additional risks of increasingly severe storms and...
‘My bad’: Pittsburgh top emergency official did not alert city leaders to absence during storms
Pittsburgh’s top emergency management official, who was away during last week’s severe storms, violated protocol by failing to notify city leaders of his absence and who would take over for him. Darryl Jones, the city’s emergency management coordinator and fire chief, acknowledged Thursday he did not alert Controller Rachael Heisler...
