Top Stories category, Page 261
NLRB seeks injunction for striking Post-Gazette newsroom workers
The National Labor Relations Board on Friday requested an injunction in federal court on behalf of striking newsroom workers at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. If the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals fully grants the request, the Post-Gazette would be required to restore the terms of the expired contract with the...
Facing Trump threats, Al Schmidt defended Pa.’s 2020 election as free, fair and secure and believes same about 2024
This article is made possible through Spotlight PA’s collaboration with Votebeat, a nonpartisan news organization covering local election administration and voting. Sign up for Votebeat’s free newsletters here. After Donald Trump lost Pennsylvania in 2020, he used Twitter to direct his fury straight at Al Schmidt, then a Philadelphia city...
Shooting in Duquesne leaves 1 dead
A Duquesne man died after being shot early Saturday morning, according to police. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the man as James Earl Robinson II, 34. Allegheny County police were dispatched to the intersection of South 5th Street and Viola Way in Duquesne for a shooting around 5:10...
Steepest slope in Pa. draws skiers, snowboarders to Laurel Mountain Ski Resort for opening day
For Marnie Golden, having the steepest ski slope in the state just 20 minutes away from her house is a point of hometown pride. Golden, 17, of Ligonier Township was 9 when she started skiing at Laurel Mountain. Lower Wildcat, the steepest slope in Pennsylvania, is her favorite there. “I...
‘My goodness, where’s the justice?’: Latrobe fire chief asks of Biden’s move to commute Podlucky’s sentence
North Huntingdon carpentry company owner Dave Jackel can’t understand how President Joe Biden would commute the 20-year prison sentence of former Le-Nature’s Inc. CEO Gregory J. Podlucky. Prosecutors said Podlucky, a certified public accountant, masterminded a fraud and money laundering scheme which bankrupted the Latrobe soft drink bottler and left...
Senate passes Social Security benefits boost for many public service retirees
WASHINGTON — The Senate passed legislation early Saturday to boost Social Security payments for millions of people, pushing a longtime priority for former public employees through Congress in one of its last acts for the year. The bipartisan bill, which next heads to President Joe Biden, will eliminate longtime reductions...
Western Pa. casinos see revenue spike as state Gaming Control Board reports record monthly profit
As the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board reports an all-time high monthly revenue driven by increases in sports betting, profits also are on the rise at Western Pennsylvania casinos. The state Gaming Control Board reported November revenue of more than $562 million — a 26% increase from November 2023. Rivers Casino...
Inoperable elevators lead to Oakland apartment building condemnation
Residents in living in the upper floors of an apartment building in Oakland were ordered by the city to move out as 7 p.m. Friday because all four elevators in the 13-story building were inoperable, Pittsburgh officials said. All residents living on the fifth floor and above in the Skyvue...
At least 2 dead and 60 hurt after a car drives into a German Christmas market in a suspected attack
MAGDEBURG, Germany — A car plowed into a busy outdoor Christmas market in the eastern German city of Magdeburg on Friday, killing at least two people and injuring at least 60 others in what authorities believe was an attack. The driver was arrested shortly after the car barreled into the...
Greensburg man sentenced to 16 to 32 years in prison for attack on former girlfriend
A Westmoreland County prosecutor said prison was the only way to ensure public safety from a Greensburg man convicted of a violent attack of a former girlfriend. Brian Curry, 36, was found guilty at trial in October for the strangulation, burglary, trespassing and other offenses in what prosecutors said was...
White House starts scrapping pending regulations on transgender athletes and student debt
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is abandoning his efforts to provide some protections for transgender student athletes and cancel student loans for more than 38 million Americans, the first steps in an administration-wide plan to jettison pending regulations to prevent President-elect Donald Trump from retooling them to achieve his own...
Government funding bill clears Congress and heads to President Biden, averting a shutdown
WASHINGTON — Facing a government shutdown deadline, the Senate rushed through final passage early Saturday of a bipartisan plan that would temporarily fund federal operations and disaster aid, dropping President-elect Donald Trump’s demands for a debt limit increase into the new year. House Speaker Mike Johnson had insisted Congress would...
Shaler Area School District handles backlash after gender support plan raises social media ire
Shaler Area School District has become the target of online outrage after the district’s “Gender Support Plan” was spotlighted in a post by a right wing social media influencer. Wednesday night, Chaya Raichik, the owner and operator of the Libs of TikTok social media accounts, posted a screenshot of a...
US proposes voluntary guidelines for self-driving vehicles in waning days of Biden administration
DETROIT — In the waning days of President Joe Biden’s administration, the government’s highway safety agency is proposing voluntary safety guidelines for self-driving vehicles. But a rule from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration putting the plan in place won’t be approved before the end of Biden’s term in January...
State opts not to remove barrier for problem bettors entering casinos
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board will not go forward with a proposed change that would have made it easier for problem bettors to return to casinos. People who ban themselves from casinos, a step known as self-excluding, must manually remove themselves from the ban list after their self-exclusion period expires....
Growing pains: Boom towns battle strain on services, streets and schools
What’s happened in other fast-growing towns across Western Pennsylvania is now playing out in Buffalo Township: Farms are becoming homes, homes are attracting businesses and residents are worried their town is becoming “the next Cranberry.” “I always ask people who say that, ‘What do you mean by that?’” said Dan...
Ex Peking Garden employee admits to using hidden iPhone to record women in Hempfield restroom
A former employee was ordered to serve at least 18 months in prison after he pleaded guilty to using a hidden cellphone to record videos in the women’s restroom of Peking Garden in Hempfield. Victor Perez, 39, admitted to recording the videos for his personal pleasure, according to court papers....
International students urged to return to U.S. campuses before Trump inauguration
CONCORD, N.H. — A growing number of U.S. colleges and universities are advising international students to return to campus before President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated, over concerns that he might impose travel bans like he did during his first administration. More than a dozen schools have issued advisories, even though...
Closures, Social Security checks, furloughs: What a government shutdown might mean
Congress has until midnight Friday to come up with a way to fund the government or federal agencies will shut down, meaning hundreds of thousands of federal employees could be sent home — or stay on the job without pay — just ahead of the holidays. Republicans abandoned a bipartisan...
Starbucks workers plan strikes that could spread to hundreds of U.S. stores by Christmas Eve
Workers at Starbucks stores plan to go on a five-day strike starting Friday to protest lack of progress in contract negotiations with the company. The strikes by baristas and other workers were scheduled to take place in Los Angeles, Chicago and Seattle and could spread to hundreds of stores across...
Proposed Unity Township solar farm nixed by 3-2 zoning board vote
The developers of a proposed solar farm haven’t decided whether to appeal rejection of the plans by the Unity Township zoning hearing board. The board nixed the plans for the site along Charles Houck Road in Unity Township after the developer and township officials clashed on determining if the facility...
Still shopping? Here are some last-minute local gift ideas
If you haven’t wrapped up gift buying for the holidays yet, you aren’t alone. Forbes reports that 31% of Gen Z, 36% of millennials, 42% of Gen X and 42% of baby boomers who answered a survey about their holiday shopping habits said they still planned to buy gifts in...
Wingstop headed to New Kensington
New Kensington soon will have a new place for wings. Mayor Tom Guzzo confirmed that a Wingstop will be coming to the city’s Riverview Plaza, 100 Tarentum Bridge Road. Signs for the business went up Wednesday. Wingstop officials did not respond to TribLive requests for comment. “We’re excited that Wingstop...
It’s beginning to look like another record for holiday travel
Drivers and airline passengers without reindeer and sleighs better make a dash for it: it’s beginning to look like another record for holiday travel in the U.S. The auto club AAA predicts that more than 119 million people will travel at least 50 miles from home between Saturday and New...
Bargain shoppers in Harrison, Unity and beyond lament Big Lots closure, anticipate steeper discounts
Bargain shoppers across the region said they were disappointed that Big Lots is going out of business. Some were on the lookout for better bargains as the Columbus, Ohio-based chains liquidates its inventory. “We’ll be looking for the 90% sales,” Betty Ferringer said. She’s in the process of moving to...
