Top Stories category, Page 63
Beaver County DA: ATF agent justified in fatal shooting of Aliquippa teen
A teen killed in Aliquippa by a federal agent last month was the first to pull the trigger, shooting twice with a semiautomatic handgun before the officer returned fire, Beaver County District Attorney Nathan Bible announced Wednesday. Kendrick Curtis Jr., 18, was shot around 6:20 p.m. Sept. 18 on steps...
Veteran charged with ramming Pittsburgh FBI gate has troubled past
A man accused of ramming his car into a security gate at the FBI’s Pittsburgh headquarters had a long history of mental illness, according to testimony Wednesday at a detention hearing in federal court. Donald Henson had previously been involuntarily committed, spent six months in an intensive-inpatient treatment program through...
White House freezes funds for Democratic states in shutdown slap
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s administration on Wednesday froze $26 billion for Democratic-leaning states, following through on a threat to use the government shutdown to target Democratic priorities. The targeted programs included $18 billion for transit projects in New York, home to Congress’s top two Democrats, and $8 billion for...
Experts see huge appetite for new supermarket chains in Western Pa. as Meijer, Wegmans move in
Western Pennsylvania shoppers will have their appetites for new grocery stores put to the test once supermarket chains Wegmans and Meijer arrive in the region. Experts believe customers have room to spare. “You still have one of the most acute shortages of supermarket chains anywhere in the continental United States...
Swastikas found on signs in Mt. Pleasant borough, surrounding communities
Mt. Pleasant Borough Police are investigating numerous swastikas spray painted on signs around town over the last few days, said Mayor Diane Bailey. Authorities are asking that residents and business owners leave the symbols associated with antisemitism or of Nazism alone while they try to figure out who is behind...
Fetterman breaks with Democrats to support stopgap spending bill
For the second time in less than 24 hours, the U.S. Senate blocked a stopgap spending bill that would fund the government through late November. The proposal needed support from 60 senators to end a filibuster and advance to a final vote, but it fell short Wednesday with just 55...
This Mt. Lebanon street has a Steelers logo painted on it
Jonquil Place in Mt. Lebanon has been adorned with a large Pittsburgh Steelers logo for nearly three decades. An annual tradition is to refresh the paint every year during the neighborhood block party, where neighbors gather on the street for food, fun and fandom. “We are all sports fans,” said...
What federal services are affected by the government shutdown?
With Congress and the White House remaining deadlocked over the 2026 federal budget, the U.S. government shut down much of its operations as of midnight Wednesday. The partial shutdown could be a long standoff, Reuters reported, which could lead to the loss of thousands of federal jobs. Agencies are warning...
‘Not an honest document’: Critics slam Gainey’s 2026 budget plan
Pittsburgh’s controller and several City Council members on Wednesday skewered parts of Mayor Ed Gainey’s budget proposal for next year, with one councilman calling it “unprofessional” and “sloppy.” The $680 million operating budget — released Tuesday evening after a last-minute rush to make final adjustments — avoids tax hikes and...
Shoppers return to Ross Park Mall as police continue to investigate shootout in parking lot
People were shopping, eating and walking at Ross Park Mall on Wednesday, a sunny morning after a shootout Tuesday night in the mall’s parking lot left at least one person hurt. Gene Pancheri and his wife, Antoinette, of Pittsburgh were among the mall walkers getting in their steps, as they...
What happens to student loans when the government shuts down?
The Department of Education, alongside other agencies, is preparing for a possible government shutdown as Democrats and Republicans remain deadlocked over the 2026 federal budget. Democrats want to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies, while Republicans aim to block undocumented immigrants from receiving federal health benefits and require 80 hours of...
Will Social Security payments still go out, get delayed during the government shutdown?
With the government shutdown in effect, many federal agencies and services are shut down or are greatly restricted. Americans who rely on federal programs like Social Security could be impacted. National parks or the military are not funded the same way as Social Security. Trump’s administration warned of mass firings...
How the government shutdown could impact flights, trains and cruises
A partial government shutdown is underway after Congress failed to pass legislation extending funding for operations past Sept. 30. That means hundreds of thousands of federal workers will be furloughed and non-essential duties will be suspended until a deal is reached. Federal workers who are deemed essential must continue working...
Mark Madden: Begging for mercy isn’t solution for Baldwin, Fox Chapel
High school football used to be a big deal in Western Pennsylvania. Not just in selected communities, but everywhere. Now it’s come down to negotiated surrender. Baldwin and Fox Chapel high schools have teams so bad that they’ve contacted opponents about playing shorter games: eight-minute quarters instead of 12 minutes,...
Inventory to dictate closing date of Community Supermarket in Harrison
Inventory is starting to dwindle at Community Supermarket in Harrison. The store, which has operated in the Heights Plaza shopping center since 2002, is expected to close by Oct. 31. Joe Glaister of Brackenridge believes it might be sooner. “I’m probably there three or four times a week,” he said....
UnitedHealth to exit Medicare Advantage plans in 16 U.S. counties
NEW YORK — UnitedHealth said it will stop offering Medicare Advantage plans in 16 U.S. counties in 2026, impacting 180,000 members, as the company balances higher costs with reimbursement pressure in the insurance program. “The combination of (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) funding cuts, rising healthcare costs and increased utilization...
Bill to help pay for police bulletproof vests a ‘game-changer’
Allegheny County Housing Authority police Chief Mike Vogel recently paid $1,800 for his bulletproof vest. Through a federally funded grant program enacted by Congress in 1998, he should get a 50% reimbursement. But instead of $900, he received $450. “The bill hasn’t been written for 20-some years. We’re still using...
Flying out of Latrobe? Spirit Airlines swaps Fort Lauderdale for Orlando flights
Passengers flying on bankrupt Spirit Airlines out of Arnold Palmer Regional Airport near Latrobe will lose the twice-weekly service to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in November but will gain two flights a week to Orlando, the airport’s chief officer said. The cutting and adding of service from Arnold Palmer Regional by...
Police investigating gunfight at Ross Park Mall parking lot, minivan sought
Ross police are investigating a gunfight that took place in a parking lot at the Ross Park Mall on Tuesday evening. Emergency calls for the incident came in shortly before 8 p.m. The incident occurred near the Dick’s Sporting Goods and Nordstrom store, according to news partners WTAE. Ross Township...
Gainey pitches budget plan with no tax hike
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey’s administration on Tuesday proposed a penny-pinching budget that avoids a tax increase for 2026. Gainey’s $680 million operating budget — which funds basic city functions, like employee salaries, programming and utility bills — would increase spending from the roughly $666 million budgeted this year. That’s an...
Government shutdown begins with no end in sight, Trump and Democrats at stalemate
WASHINGTON — The U.S. government shut down much of its operations on Wednesday as deep partisan divisions prevented Congress and the White House from reaching a funding deal, setting off what could be a long, grueling standoff that could lead to the loss of thousands of federal jobs. There was...
Rescuers hunt for survivors after Philippines’ deadliest quake in over a decade kills at least 69Video
BOGO, Philippines — Rescue teams in the Philippines searched for survivors in mud and rubble on Wednesday and authorities urged help for hospitals inundated with the injured after the deadliest earthquake in more than a decade killed at least 69 people. Authorities said they feared the eventual toll would be...
Who gets blamed for a shutdown? Polls show nation is divided
With a government shutdown on the horizon, a series of polls released a day before the lights are set to go dark offer a divided picture of how Americans are viewing the crisis — and who they think is most to blame. In two national surveys released Tuesday, Americans were...
When was the last U.S. government shutdown? Here is a list
The federal government has entered a shutdown. TribLive has put together a collection of some of the federal government’s most recent shutdowns over the past 35 years. 2018-2019 The last shutdown happened during President Donald Trump’s first term when he insisted he would not sign any spending bill that did...
Trump executive order aims to use AI to boost childhood cancer research
CHICAGO — U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday to bolster the use of artificial intelligence and provide an additional $50 million in research grants aimed at finding cures for childhood cancers, according to a White House official. The order builds on the National Cancer Institute’s Childhood...
