Top Stories category, Page 22
Mark Madden: The chase replaces the catch for the Pirates
ESPN’s Jeff Passan is one of MLB’s most respected journalists. But most of what he reported about the Pittsburgh Pirates this week is totally full of excrement. Passan knows better. But there’s so little content about a franchise as moribund as the Pirates, so he’ll take what’s leaked. Even if it’s...
Pittsburgh police sergeant charged with 2nd DUI offense
A Pittsburgh police sergeant has been charged with DUI for the second time in less than five years. Both incidents occurred in Plum, the hometown of Sgt. Tariq Jamal-Francis, 44. The latest incident happened Nov. 10, just before midnight, when Plum police said they found Jamal-Francis asleep at the wheel...
Education leaders applaud state budget that adds $900M in new funding for school districts
Education is the centerpiece of Pennsylvania’s 2025-26 budget. At least that’s what Laura Boyce took away from the funding plan for the state’s 500 K-12 public schools, approved last week after a 4½-month impasse. “There were a lot of hard decisions that had to be made as the governor’s original...
Norwin students: giving so others can share a similar holiday experience
A group of Norwin High School students gave of money that students raised and gave of their time Thursday to shop for and shelve groceries at an Irwin food pantry to help less fortunate families. “The food bank is really important,” said Lizzy Martina, a junior who is her class’...
Inadequate payment for services nudges small health systems like Independence toward merger, officials say
The merger of smaller regional hospital systems such as Independence Health with a larger health system — this one from West Virginia — is likely being driven, in part, by hospitals hurting from insufficient reimbursement for the cost of treating patients, a Pittsburgh-based health care consultant said. West Virginia University...
Chris Deluzio’s Western Pa. offices targeted with bomb threats
U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio’s district offices in Carnegie and Beaver County’s Center Township were targeted with bomb threats Friday afternoon, a spokesperson reported. The threats came a day after President Donald Trump accused Deluzio and five other Democratic lawmakers of engaging in “seditious behavior” by releasing a video telling servicemembers...
9 injured after 5-vehicle crash in Wilkinsburg
A 37-year-old man is facing multiple felony charges after allegedly causing a five-vehicle accident in Wilkinsburg that injured nine people Thursday night, authorities say. Pittsburgh police said several police cars and ambulances responded to the area near Penn Avenue and East Swissvale Avenue around 10 p.m. One vehicle could be...
Trump plan to end Ukraine war would cede territory to Russia
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s plan for ending the war in Ukraine would cede land to Russia and limit the size of Kyiv’s military, according to a draft obtained Thursday by the Associated Press. The proposal, originated from negotiations between Washington and Moscow, appeared decidedly favorable to Russia, which started...
Monessen couple charged in 2-year-old’s overdose
A couple is facing felony charges after a 2-year-old overdosed from cocaine and fentanyl in Monessen. According to the Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office, Monessen police reported to a home on Oct. 4 after receiving reports of a child overdosing. Police said they interviewed Sable Ford, 36, and Travis Holmes,...
FAA bonuses to air traffic controllers with perfect attendance during shutdown leave thousands out
Only 776 of the more than 10,000 air traffic controllers who had to work without pay during the shutdown will receive the $10,000 bonuses that President Donald Trump suggested because the Federal Aviation Administration said Thursday that only controllers with perfect attendance will get the checks. A number of controllers...
Coast Guard set to change policy to call swastikas, nooses ‘potentially divisive’
WASHINGTON — The Coast Guard is poised to change some of its language and policies surrounding the display of hate symbols like swastikas and nooses as well as how personnel report hate incidents. The service stressed, however, that the symbols will remain prohibited. The updated policy is seen by the...
Mistrial declared in Pittsburgh shooting death of girl, 4, and her mom
After deliberating for less than five hours, a jury on Thursday said it was hopelessly deadlocked in deciding whether a Wilmerding man was responsible for the shooting deaths of a woman and her 4-year-old daughter. The judge on the case declared a mistrial, sending the jurors home while at the...
Layoffs possible as commissioners seek to reduce $30M deficit from 2026 budget
Westmoreland County commissioners said additional spending cuts and layoffs could be implemented to trim a nearly $30 million deficit from the proposed 2026 budget. Commissioners unveiled a preliminary spending plan Thursday that calls for more than $463 million in expenses, an $11 million increase over this year. About 30% of...
CDC website changed to contradict scientific conclusion that vaccines don’t cause autism
NEW YORK — A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website has been changed to contradict the longtime scientific conclusion that vaccines do not cause autism, spurring outrage among a number of public health and autism experts. The CDC “vaccine safety” webpage was updated Wednesday, saying “the statement ‘Vaccines do...
Trump administration announces plan for new oil drilling off the coasts of California, Florida
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration announced on Thursday new oil drilling off the California and Florida coasts for the first time in decades, advancing a project that critics say could harm coastal communities and ecosystems, as President Donald Trump seeks to expand U.S. oil production. The oil industry has been...
Federal prosecutors dismiss charges against woman shot several times by Border Patrol agent in Chicago
CHICAGO — Federal prosecutors moved Thursday to dismiss charges against a woman who was shot several times by a Border Patrol agent last month during the federal immigration crackdown in the Chicago area. Prosecutors had accused Marimar Martinez, 30, and Anthony Ruiz, 21, of using their vehicles to strike and...
Retired Pittsburgh Bishop David Zubik finds new calling in volunteer service
David Zubik may have retired as bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh, but he hasn’t stepped away from serving others. On Thursday morning, he slipped into a volunteer’s seat at a charity dental clinic in Pittsburgh, greeting each patient, guiding them through paperwork and pausing long enough to hear...
Federal judge orders Trump administration to end National Guard deployment in D.C.
WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Thursday ordered the Trump administration to end its monthslong deployment of National Guard troops to help police the nation’s capital. U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb concluded that President Donald Trump’s military takeover in Washington, D.C., illegally intrudes on local officials’ authority to direct law...
Pitt, Penn State get flat state funding but optimistic toward future
The state budget passed last week signals flat appropriations to the University of Pittsburgh and Penn State, but officials at those colleges are encouraged by an approved plan that establishes and outlines the state’s first performance-based funding formula. General support funding for Penn State holds at $242.1 million — the...
Targeted ultrasound gives Pittsburgh-area doctors new tool against prostate cancer
Men diagnosed with prostate cancer have traditionally faced two choices: Do nothing and hope the tumor doesn’t grow between scans or start aggressive treatment. Those with certain types of medium-risk cancers have lacked tailored care, caught between a surveillance strategy geared toward slow-growing tumors and drastic measures known for their...
Springdale police move to add police dog to force
Springdale police are eyeing a new member for the department — a police dog. Borough council voted recently to create the Springdale Borough Police Department K-9 Association, a nonprofit which will be used to fund the program. Several departments, including the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office, pay for police dog programs...
Deluzio, other Dems tell troops to refuse illegal orders, Trump labels them ‘traitors’
Six Democratic members of Congress who served in the military or intelligence community, including U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio of Fox Chapel, are telling current servicemembers and intelligence officials they have a right — and obligation — to refuse illegal orders. In response, President Donald Trump described the message from Democrats...
Respect and remembrance for Cheney from Bush, Biden and past vice presidents as Trump is excludedVideo
WASHINGTON — They gathered at the Washington National Cathedral on Thursday — former presidents, vice presidents, sworn political foes and newfound friends — in a show of respect and remembrance for Dick Cheney, the consequential and polarizing vice president who became an acidic scold of President Donald Trump. Trump, who...
Troopers justified in deadly force against armed man, Indiana DA says
Indiana County District Attorney Robert Manzi ruled that Pennsylvania State Police troopers were justified in using deadly force last month when they fatally shot a man who was firing a gun at them from a rooftop. “Not only is their use of force justified, but these state troopers are heroes...
Neighbors: Dogs in Tarentum mauling were a concern before the attack
Tyneisha Johnson heard piercing cries coming from somewhere near her Tarentum apartment. Johnson, 37, thought the sounds Tuesday morning might be coming from a television, but that wasn’t the case. The noise, including frantic screams and barking, was from a nearby apartment, where police said a man was severely attacked...
