Top Stories category, Page 233
Scirotto fallout spurs Pittsburgh council to grill nominees under oath for top city posts
Candidates tapped to lead Pittsburgh’s departments and bureaus will now have to answer City Council’s questions under oath. Council on Tuesday unanimously approved the legislation, which Councilman Anthony Coghill, D-Beechview, introduced. The bill was prompted by concerns that former police Chief Larry Scirotto might have dodged questions and provided untruthful...
Girlfriend of man on trial in Uber driver’s slaying testifies
The woman whose request for an Uber preceded the events that left a rideshare driver dead testified Tuesday she had no reason to think anything was amiss when her boyfriend asked her to get him a lift. Tanaya Mullen, 25, told jurors that she and Calvin Crew, 24, of Pitcairn,...
Pittsburgh voters to decide referendums on Israel ties and water privatization
Pittsburghers will see at least three referendum questions on their ballots this spring, with two aimed at ensuring the city isn’t forced to divest from companies with ties to Israel and a third asking voters to bar the city from privatizing its water and sewer infrastructure. City Council on Tuesday...
DEP, environmental contractors continue cleanup after Braeburn hydraulic spill
Cleanup continued Tuesday at the site of a hydraulic fluid spill into the Allegheny River in Lower Burrell. The state Department of Environmental Protection is overseeing work at the Braeburn Alloy Steel facility, where the fluid leaked from a containment area at the plant and into the river Monday afternoon....
Remains of all 67 victims from deadly plane and chopper collision near Washington have been recovered
ARLINGTON, Va. — The remains of all 67 victims of last week’s midair collision of an American Airlines flight and an Army helicopter near Washington, D.C., have been recovered, authorities said Tuesday. The chief medical examiner is still trying to positively identify one set of remains, officials said in a...
Senate committee advances Robert F. Kennedy Jr. nomination to be health secretary
WASHINGTON — A Senate panel divided starkly along partisan lines voted on Tuesday to advance the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the controversial environmental lawyer turned public health critic, sending his bid to oversee the $1.7 trillion U.S. Health and Human Services agency to the Senate floor. Fourteen Republicans...
Walmart is new owner of Monroeville Mall; interested in presence at redeveloped site
Walmart’s purchase and intent to redevelop Monroeville Mall echoes similar projects completed in Westmoreland County in the early 2000s and in Wisconsin just a few years ago. No specific plans for the 186-acre Monroeville site have been released, said Mark Rickel, director of corporate communications for Walmart. “Walmart did purchase...
Trump won’t rule out deploying troops to support rebuilding Gaza, sees ‘long-term’ U.S. ownership
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Tuesday suggested that displaced Palestinians in Gaza be permanently resettled outside the war-torn territory and proposed the U.S. take “ownership” in redeveloping the area. Trump’s audacious proposal appears certain to roil the next stage of talks meant to extend the tenuous ceasefire between Israel...
Shapiro seeks more money for schools and transit, but relies heavily on surplus cash
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is seeking more money for underfunded public schools and public transit in his budget proposal unveiled Tuesday, while he hopes to win support for legalizing marijuana and introducing taxes on skill games viewed as competitors to casinos and lottery contests. The Democrat — a...
China hits back with tariffs on U.S. products; launches investigation into Google
BEIJING — China announced retaliatory tariffs on select American imports and an antitrust investigation into Google on Tuesday, just minutes after a sweeping levy on Chinese products imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump took effect. American tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico were also set to go into effect...
Elon Musk tightens his grip on federal government as Democrats raise alarms
WASHINGTON — Elon Musk is rapidly consolidating control over large swaths of the federal government with President Donald Trump ‘s blessing, sidelining career officials, gaining access to sensitive databases and dismantling a leading source of humanitarian assistance. The speed and scope of his work has been nothing short of stunning....
Lawsuit blames deaths on Ohio train derailment as JD Vance says U.S. needs ‘to do better on rail safety’
EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — A lawsuit alleging for the first time that people died because of the disastrous 2023 East Palestine train derailment was announced on Monday’s second anniversary of the toxic crash near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border amid a flurry of new litigation. On Monday, Vice President JD Vance visited...
Hydraulic fluid leak at Lower Burrell steel plant sends slick down Allegheny River
Hydraulic fluid was released into the Allegheny River from Braeburn Alloy Steel in Lower Burrell on Monday afternoon, prompting warnings to downriver water suppliers, according to emergency officials. Two passersby reported seeing the sheen along the Westmoreland shore of the river, and Lower Burrell firefighters responded around 3 p.m., fire...
U.S. Steel, Nippon argue in court for new federal merger review
U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel laid out their case Monday that then-President Joe Biden hamstrung a national security review to justify blocking the companies’ merger. An opening brief filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia claimed the companies had their due process rights violated when...
Dozens of Education Department workers are put on leave over Trump’s anti-DEI order
WASHINGTON — Dozens of employees at the U.S. Education Department were put on paid administrative leave in response to President Donald Trump’s order banning diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the federal government, according to a labor union that represents hundreds of workers in the agency. It’s unclear how many...
Super Bowl ticket prices drop for Eagles-Chiefs matchup
With less than a week until the Super Bowl, fans might be looking to score last-minute tickets. You might be in luck — ticket prices are dropping, according to reports. To watch the Philadelphia Eagles face off against the Kansas City Chiefs during Super Bowl 59, the cheapest ticket has...
Trial opens in slaying of Uber driver, mom of 4, in Monroeville
Brandon Marto thought he and the woman he considered to be his wife had taken every safety measure. When Christi Spicuzza went out to drive for Uber, she would call or text him at least once an hour, he told a jury Monday. He installed a dashboard camera — with...
Trump agrees to pause tariffs on Canada, Mexico after they pledge to boost border enforcement
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Monday agreed to a 30-day pause on his tariff threats against Mexico and Canada as America’s two largest trading partners took steps to appease his concerns about border security and drug trafficking. The pauses provide a cool-down period after a tumultuous few days...
Trump agrees to pause tariffs on Mexico, but import taxes still in place for Canada and China
WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum put their planned tariffs on hold Monday for a month to give time for further negotiations, and Mexico said it planned to deploy 10,000 members of its national guard to address drug trafficking. Trump’s tariffs against Canada and China...
American bald eagles are having a moment, ecologically and culturally
WEST ORANGE, N.J. — Along the long road from American icon to endangered species and back again, the bald eagle — the national bird of the United States, often seen against a clear blue sky — is having a moment. The eagles find themselves in an environmental updraft of sorts...
What to know about Trump’s tariffs targeting Canada, Mexico and China
ATLANTA — President Donald Trump has taken executive action to impose new tariffs on imports from Canada, China and Mexico. The move fulfills campaign promises but also sparked retaliatory moves that could signal an extended trade war with key trading partners and, in the case of Mexico and Canada, the...
Democrats push back after Musk says Trump agrees to close USAID and workers are kept out
WASHINGTON — Democrats have delivered a strong rebuke against the Trump administration’s attempts to gut an agency they say provides crucial aid overseas to fund education and fight starvation and disease, calling it illegal, vowing a court fight and lambasting billionaire Elon Musk for wielding so much power in Washington....
Restaurant owners pay twice the cost for eggs as bird flu spreads
Dick’s Diner in Murrysville purchases more than 2,800 eggs every week. That’s 16 cases, each holding 15 dozen eggs. But what used to cost the diner $800 a week has skyrocketed to more than double the price — nearly $1,730 every seven days. That’s nearly 62 cents per egg. General...
Newly approved painkiller Journavx is ‘potentially groundbreaking’
A new painkiller that is said to be free of addiction risks may be transformative for treatment of acute pain, according to local medical professionals. “I think it could be a potentially groundbreaking medication,” said Dr. Richard Gao, anesthesiologist and chronic pain physician with Allegheny Health Network. “I definitely think...
FBI employees questioned about involvement in Jan. 6 cases as Justice Department weighs firings
WASHINGTON — Thousands of FBI employees who participated in investigations related to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol are being asked to complete in-depth questionnaires about their involvement in the inquiries as the Trump administration Justice Department weighs disciplinary actions that could result in firings. The questions,...
