Top Stories category, Page 485
LeBron James congratulates Duquesne, Dambrot on historic victory
The king paid respect to the Dukes on Sunday. NBA All Star LeBron James congratulated the Duquesne University men’s basketball team Sunday on their entrance into the NCAA tournament, the first time the Dukes have made the dance in 47 years. James, a four-time NBA MVP and Akron, Ohio native,...
Pennsylvania is flush with surplus cash, but it still faces a looming budget problem
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. HARRISBURG — Gov. Josh Shapiro wants to spend $3.5 billion of Pennsylvania’s surplus to stabilize transit systems, fund a court-mandated K-12 education overhaul, and expand...
After 47 years, Duquesne is headed back to the NCAA Tournament
Mossie Murphy, this one’s for you. After a 47-year wait, the Dukes can go dancing again. “I’m sure he would be up in the aisle dancing,” former Duquesne great Baron “B.B.” Flenory said of Murphy, the late political consultant from Pittsburgh and Duquesne’s most visible basketball booster back when the...
Remember When: St. Patrick’s Day Flood wreaked havoc on the A-K Valley in 1936
In the winter of 1936, the Alle-Kiski Valley saw 63 inches of snowfall through February. Then March came in like a lion. During the first weeks of March, warm weather coupled with melting snow and two days of torrential rain resulted in one of the region’s worst natural disasters: the...
Building the Valley: Arnold woman fulfills dream by opening Lower Burrell bridal shop
Through all the ups and downs, fashion has always been a big part in Precious “GiGi” Jones’ life. And now, the time is right for her to open a bridal boutique in Lower Burrell. “This is my dream — to not only make people feel beautiful but to make them...
Justin Fields: What they’re saying in Chicago about trade to Steelers
Quarterback Justin Fields is a Pittsburgh Steeler. After three tumultuous seasons in Chicago, the former Ohio State star is moving on from the Bears. The Steelers traded a sixth-round draft pick in 2025 in exchange for Fields. Here’s what they’re saying about the trade in Chicago. “The trade market on...
Former CMU president recalled as visionary leader who impacted the university and region
Former Carnegie Mellon University President Jared L. “Jerry” Cohon, who led the university for 16 years, was remembered Sunday as a visionary for the university who had a great impact on the region’s economy. Cohon, 76, who died Saturday in Ligonier, “was widely respected and immensely beloved, and his leadership...
‘We received thank-you’s’: Greensburg diocese has armed police officer in every school
Police officers who work at schools in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Greensburg are serving as mentors to students just as much as protectors. Members of the diocese force, in its first school year of existence as a private police department, make daily rounds at the 12 schools in four...
‘Sad, dreadful feelings’: Couple’s death in house explosion rekindles memories, unanswered questions
When Rick Napoleon heard about a fatal home explosion in Crescent last week, he was overcome by sadness and empathy. The thoughts of destruction and death that he and his neighbors endured seven months ago in Plum’s Rustic Ridge community came flooding back. His home was destroyed when his neighbor’s...
Pittsburgh preps for March Madness maniacs as city again hosts the Big Dance
Sure, the Robert Morris Colonials have hung up their tricornered hats. But the Duquesne Dukes are still dribbling, and the Pitt Panthers might slip in by a whisker despite long odds. No matter how the local teams fare after the brackets are built today for March Madness, college basketball’s premier...
‘Luck of the Iris’: Donnie Iris and the Cruisers still know how to rockVideo
Attending a Rolling Stones concert is somewhat akin to looking through an ultra-powerful telescope and seeing light that has been traveling this direction practically since time began. In the context of rock ’n’ roll, Mick, Keith and company started wowing audiences just a few years after the genre’s advent. For...
Pa. local governments want long-term state money for cybersecurity as federal grant fills the gap
This story was produced by the State College regional bureau of Spotlight PA, an independent, nonpartisan newsroom dedicated to investigative and public-service journalism for Pennsylvania. Sign up for our north-central Pa. newsletter, Talk of the Town, at spotlightpa.org/newsletters/talkofthetown. STATE COLLEGE — Local governments in Pennsylvania could soon have access to...
Harrison church keeping Ukrainian Easter egg tradition alive
Creating traditional Ukrainian Easter eggs is not for the faint of heart. The process can take two to four hours, even for the simplest eggs, instructor Bernadette Thorwart said Saturday morning in the basement of Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church in Harrison. Sometimes egg makers will take part in 36-hour marathon...
East Liberty shooting leaves man dead
A man was found dead from multiple gunshot wounds in Pittsburgh’s East Liberty neighborhood on Saturday afternoon, according to Pittsburgh police. Police said they were alerted to a shooting at 4:22 p.m. at the corner of Penn and North Highland avenues, a busy intersection in the heart of the neighborhood’s...
Steelers swing another QB trade, acquire Justin Fields from Bears for 2025 draft pick
Russell Wilson no longer is the only quarterback on the Pittsburgh Steelers roster. One day after the Steelers traded two-year starter Kenny Pickett to the Philadelphia Eagles, the Steelers found a replacement in Justin Fields. The Steelers traded a sixth-round draft pick in 2025 in exchange for the multi-dimensional Fields....
Duquesne tops St. Bonaventure in Atlantic 10 semifinals, 1 win from 1st NCAA berth in 47 years
It was Dae Dae’s day. Riding the hot shooting of Dae Dae Grant, Duquesne surged Saturday into its first Atlantic 10 Tournament championship game appearance in 15 years. The Dukes are one win away from reaching the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 47 years. “We told y’all, ‘Hop...
Pittsburgh Brewing hosts St. Patrick’s Day celebration
More than 2,000 people attended the St. Patrick’s Day festivities at the Iron City brewery in East Deer on Saturday, adding to a growing number of events and crowds taking advantage of the massive 150,000-square-foot Pittsburgh Brewing Co. complex. Saturday’s event, dubbed the Irish City Celebration, ran from morning through...
Sea of green: Thousands line the streets of Downtown Pittsburgh for the annual St. Patrick’s Day parade
Pittsburgh painted the town green on Saturday. From leprechauns and bagpipers, to jig dancers and flags waving of orange, green and white, the city celebrated its annual St. Patrick’s Day parade. Spectators started arriving by 6 a.m. with parade participants lining up by 6:30 a.m. It’s a special day, Dee...
Russell Wilson entrusted to improve Steelers QB play, return franchise to postseason success
Two statements made by Art Rooney II stood out among the others when the Pittsburgh Steelers president met with reporters in January two weeks after the franchise endured a fifth consecutive playoff loss dating to the 2016 postseason. The first had to do with that losing skid, the organization’s longest...
Pittsburgh police: 3-year-old girl hit by police motorcycle after St. Patrick’s Day parade
A 3-year-old girl was reported in stable condition at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh after being hit by a police officer’s motorcycle during the St. Patrick’s Day parade in Downtown Pittsburgh on Saturday afternoon, according to Pittsburgh Public Safety report. The girl suffered bruises, but was “alert and oriented” when...
Police: Suspect is barricaded in New Jersey home after killing 3 people in Philadelphia suburb
LEVITTOWN, Pa. — A suspect has barricaded himself in a home in New Jersey after allegedly killing three people in a shooting in suburban Philadelphia on Saturday, authorities said. The morning shooting in Falls Township in eastern Pennsylvania forced the cancellation of a St. Patrick’s Day parade and shut down...
Washington County woman killed in I-70 crash in Rostraver
A 25-year-old Washington County woman was killed Saturday morning in a two-vehicle crash along Interstate-70 in Rostraver, the Westmoreland County coroner said. The victim, Tori L. Demo of Allenport, was fatally injured about a mile west of the Route 51 exit when her eastbound car was truck from behind by...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Kenny Pickett failed and got what he deserved
Kenny Pickett failed. That’s his story. He got lied to by Mike Tomlin, but that’s not an exclusive club. Pickett was well-served by a previous Tomlin fib, one that fleeced Mitch Trubisky. In 2022, Tomlin told Trubisky he’d be the starting quarterback at least through Week 9, the Pittsburgh Steelers’...
From clovers to some unexpected history, all you need to know about St. Patrick’s Day
NEW YORK (AP) — If it’s March, and it’s green, it must be St. Patrick’s Day. The day honoring the patron saint of Ireland is a global celebration of Irish heritage. And nowhere is that more so than in the United States, where parades take place in cities around the...
Bryan Adams gives a performance ‘straight from the heart’ at PPG Paints Arena
Canadian rock singer Bryan Adams remembers the first time he ever played in Pittsburgh. “The first time I ever played in America properly, I opened for The Kinks here,” he recounted to the audience during his show Friday night at PPG Paints Arena. “I started when I was 15 but...
