Top Stories category, Page 23
Sharpsburg’s 1st elected Black mayor talks about her deep roots and future plans
A fourth-generation Sharpsburg resident has made political history. Kayla Portis, 40, is the first elected Black mayor to serve the borough nestled along the Allegheny River in Allegheny County. “I feel like it’s long overdue,” she said. “Representation matters.” Portis’s ancestors, former slaves, fled rural South Carolina after the Civil...
Woman being evicted from Garfield residence accused of setting it on fire
Pittsburgh police have accused a woman being evicted from a residence in Pittsburgh’s Garfield neighborhood with setting it on fire Wednesday. According to a criminal complaint filed by police, a state constable arrived Wednesday morning in the 5300 block of Mossfield Street to serve Keila Fiqueroa, 48, with an eviction...
Shaler Area School Board approves plan to move grades, starting process to close elementary school
The Shaler Area School Board voted Wednesday, Nov. 19, to begin a process that will lead to the closing of the district’s elementary school. The board voted 8-0 to submit a reconfiguration plan to the state Department of Education to create four elementary schools to house kindergarten through fifth grade,...
Trump signs bill to release Jeffrey Epstein case files after fighting it for months
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump signed legislation Wednesday that compels his administration to release files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, bowing to political pressure from his own party after initially resisting those efforts. Trump could have chosen to release many of the files on his own months ago. “Democrats...
Monessen American Legion burns more than 1,000 flags in retirement ceremonyVideo
Old Glory went up in flames hundreds of times over Wednesday during a flag retirement ceremony in Monessen. It’s an annual tradition for members of the American Legion post there, an autumn rite during which the group honors flags that are worn or in poor condition before tossing them in...
Trump administration to take stake in battery maker Eos Energy
Industrial battery maker Eos Energy Enterprises announced Tuesday the federal government will buy 570,000 cut-rate shares in the company, which is relocating its headquarters to Pittsburgh. The Department of Energy has the right to buy the shares at a penny apiece within the next five years, according to financial disclosures...
Highlands comes to tentative ‘early bird’ contract with its teachers
The Highlands School Board is moving to ensure labor peace with the district’s teachers union for the rest of the decade. The board has unanimously approved a tentative “early bird” contract with the Highlands Education Association, the district’s teachers union. “We are thrilled that this early bird has an agreement,”...
Judge to proceed with contempt probe after U.S. flew migrants to El Salvador prison
A federal judge said Wednesday he plans to move ahead quickly on a contempt investigation of the Trump administration for failing to turn around planes carrying Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador in March. U.S. District Judge James Boasberg in Washington said a ruling Friday by the U.S. Court of Appeals...
Community leaders anticipate economic boost from Independence-WVU Health merger
The proposed acquisition of Independence Health System by the West Virginia University Health System (WVU Medicine) could be a major benefit for the community, local leaders said Wednesday. Officials announced that Independence’s five hospitals — including facilities in Greensburg, Latrobe, Mt. Pleasant, Butler, and Clarion counties — will join the...
Man accused of setting woman on fire on a Chicago train charged with terrorism
Federal prosecutors on Wednesday charged a man with committing a terrorist attack for allegedly setting a woman on fire on a Chicago train. Lawrence Reed was sitting at the back of a car on a Blue Line L train on Monday night when he approached a woman as she sat...
Authorities: $100K in illegal drugs seized from Youngwood vape shop
More than $100,000 worth of illegal drug products were seized Wednesday from a Youngwood vape shop when several police agencies served a search warrant there, according to authorities. A man working in the Youngwood Tobacco & Vape store was taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, according to...
Light Up Night in Pittsburgh: What to know
The official start to the Pittsburgh holiday season is Saturday with the 64th annual Light Up Night. The festive series of events throughout Downtown Pittsburgh will be full of brightness, sparkle, fun and holiday cheer — but the schedule and logistics can also seem daunting. Never fear; we’ve got all...
Police charge Aliquippa couple with kidnapping woman who jumped from car in Pittsburgh
A Beaver County woman escaped a kidnapping earlier this week by jumping out of a car stopped at a red light in Pittsburgh, police said. The couple accused of abducting her has been arrested and jailed. Tyrone Turner, 41, and his girlfriend, Ariel Harper, 34, both of Aliquippa, drove a...
Roberto Clemente Jr. shares stories of profound loss on Children’s Grief Awareness Day
Robert Clemente Jr. remembers entering Three Rivers Stadium when he was 7, and spotting posters with a picture of his father. He walked directly toward one of the images behind the backstop of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ former home field on Pittsburgh’s North Shore. “I missed him so much that when...
What’s next now that Trump has signed bill releasing the Epstein files
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has signed a bill to compel the Justice Department to make public its case files on the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a potentially far-reaching development in a yearslong push by survivors of Epstein’s abuse for a public reckoning. Both the House and Senate passed...
Multiple communities mourn the death of 14-year-old Imani Christian Academy student
Multiple Pittsburgh communities are mourning the sudden loss of a ninth grade student at Imani Christian Academy. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office said Jaiquawn Jay, 14, of Penn Hills died Tuesday night. According to the examiner’s report, Jaiquawn collapsed during basketball practice. He was transported to UPMC Children’s Hospital...
New hurdle in Comey case as Trump’s Justice Department faces questions about the grand jury process
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The prosecution of former FBI Director James Comey hit another hurdle Wednesday as the Justice Department acknowledged a possible lapse in how the case was presented to a federal grand jury for indictment. The concession risked further imperiling a politically charged prosecution already subject to multiple challenges...
Strip District housing, grocery store project wins planning approval
A proposal to bring hundreds of housing units and a grocery store to Pittsburgh’s Strip District earned approval Tuesday from the city’s Planning Commission. Six commissioners voted in favor of New York City-based Midwood Investment and Development replacing a produce warehouse at the corner of 21st and Railroad streets with...
Lawyer for Cheswick man stabbed 37 times in jail says settlement reached with Allegheny County
A man stabbed 37 times last year while incarcerated at the Allegheny County Jail has settled a civil rights lawsuit against the county and two corrections officers who he said let his attackers into his cell, the man’s attorney told TribLive Wednesday. Shawn Daniels, 43, of Cheswick sued the county...
Norwin director sues district again over 2nd censure
A Norwin School Board member has filed a second federal lawsuit against the district and fellow directors. Alex Detschelt, an attorney representing himself, claims he was retaliated against for exercising his First Amendment rights after the board censured him for sexually descriptive blog posts. Detschelt filed the three-count lawsuit Monday...
David Dausey, provost, named Duquesne University’s next president
The next president of Duquesne University credits the grit of his upbringing, the privilege of his education and the global perspective of his professional life for his readiness to fill the position come July 1. Provost David Dausey was named the school’s 14th president, succeeding Ken Gormley, school officials announced...
Independence Health announces merger with WVU Health System
Independence Health System — with hospitals in Greensburg, Latrobe and Mt. Pleasant — announced Wednesday that it will join West Virginia University Health System beginning in fall 2026. The agreement includes an $800 million commitment from the WVU system over the next five years to strengthen Independence Health System’s five...
Police: Man used ‘special key’ to gain access to skill games, cash fraudulent $5K voucher
Allegheny Valley Police charged a North Carolina man with felony fraud and criminal conspiracy after, they say, he used a generic key to gain access to cash vouchers in a skill game machine at a Cheswick Sunoco in July. Jhueate Andrews, 25, then cashed a $5,000 voucher he obtained from...
Mark Madden: Injured Aaron Rodgers will likely start vs. Bears, but should he?
The Steelers never look past the next game. Sunday’s visit to Chicago won’t be an exception. Which is why Aaron Rodgers will play quarterback even though he probably shouldn’t. Rodgers has a broken bone in his left (non-throwing) wrist. Shotgun snaps might be difficult to handle. Snaps under center will...
Man charged with attempted homicide in East McKeesport shooting
An East McKeesport man is charged with attempted homicide in a Tuesday afternoon shooting in that borough that left another man in critical condition. Police took Timere Johnson, 21, into custody at a relative’s home after he told a Monroeville police dispatcher he wanted to turn himself in and claimed...
