Top Stories category, Page 243
Drowning, abduction being considered as search continues for Pitt student missing in Dominican Republic
Some officials believe a University of Pittsburgh student missing since Thursday in the Dominican Republic died of drowning, but authorities in her Virginia home community say there is no evidence yet to support that. A search is continuing for Sudiksha Konanki, 20, who was last seen just before 5 a.m....
Steelers make splashy move, acquire Seahawks WR DK Metcalf for 2nd-round draft pick
Adding the big-play veteran receiver they lacked last season, the Pittsburgh Steelers are acquiring DK Metcalf from the Seattle Seahawks, a league source confirmed to TribLive on Sunday. ESPN initially reported the trade, adding that the Steelers will be giving Metcalf a five-year, $150 million contract. Metcalf is scheduled to...
Ex-central banker to replace Trudeau as Canada’s prime minister after winning Liberal Party vote
TORONTO — Former central banker Mark Carney will become Canada’s next prime minister after the governing Liberal Party elected him its leader Sunday as the country deals with U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war and annexation threat, and a federal election looms. Carney, 59, replaces Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who...
Springdale residents clean up, take in changed landscape following completion of power plant demolition
Springdale is different. The power plant that dominated its sky, serving as a landmark and part of its identity, is gone — mostly. A mass of mangled metal an estimated 35 feet high remains, the rubble left after Saturday’s final demolition of the 13-story boiler house at the Cheswick Generating...
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick says Trump sticking to U.S. aluminum-steel tariff timelineVideo
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick signaled he doesn’t expect a reprieve on 25% tariffs for steel and aluminum imports scheduled to take effect on Wednesday. The levies, ordered by President Donald Trump in February, include imports from Canada and Mexico — which are among the top foreign suppliers — and apply...
A single-engine plane crashes near a Pennsylvania airport and all 5 aboard are taken to hospitalsVideo
A single-engine airplane carrying five people crashed and burst into flames Sunday in the parking lot of a retirement community near a small airport in suburban Pennsylvania, and everyone on board survived, officials and witnesses said. The fiery crash happened around 3 p.m. just south of Lancaster Airport in Manheim...
Facing competition from Big Tech, states dangle incentives and loosen laws to attract power plants
HARRISBURG — Facing projections of spiking energy demand, U.S. states are pressing for ways to build new power plants faster as policymakers increasingly worry about protecting their residents and economies from rising electric bills, power outages and other consequences of falling behind Big Tech in a race for electricity. Some...
Kristi Noem taps new ICE leaders, moves to identify leakersVideo
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Sunday announced new leadership at the agency tasked with immigration enforcement as she also pledged to step up lie detector tests on employees to identify those who may be leaking information about operations to the media. “The authorities that I have under the Department...
Search continues for missing Pitt student on spring break in Dominican Republic
Officials believe a University of Pittsburgh student missing since Thursday in the Dominican Republic died of drowning, according to a report by ABC News. A search is continuing for Sudiksha Konanki, 20, who was last seen just before 5 a.m. Thursday, March 6, at the Hotel Riu Republica in Punta...
1 identified after fatal Homewood North shooting
The Allegheny County Medical Examiner has named Therreus Lindsey, 27, as the man found dead after a shooting in Pittsburgh’s Homewood North neighborhood Friday night. Officials were called to the 7200 block of Mount Vernon Street around 11:30 p.m. Friday night following reports of the incident. When police arrived on...
‘We had so many plans’: Hempfield man mourns wife, a school van driver, after fatal crash
Harry Davis wasn’t surprised to hear others speak about his wife’s kindness after she was killed Friday morning. “It doesn’t surprise me,” Davis said. “From being around her, I know how she is with other people and (how she) wanted to help people.” Rene Davis, 60, of Hempfield was killed...
Westmoreland commissioners approve new labor deal, suspend work rules for nonunion staff
Westmoreland commissioners last week ratified a new labor deal for the county’s largest municipal police force and issued the temporary halt of a hiring policy that officials claim has skewed hiring and pay scales throughout the government. The commissioners approved a five-year contract with the Park Police Association of Westmoreland...
Flight 93 memorial supporters step up fundraising as potential for job cuts looms
The Friends of Flight 93 National Memorial is ramping up fundraising efforts and volunteer recruitment in light of job cuts in the National Park Service around the country. While it’s unclear if any of the national parks in Western Pennsylvania have been affected by the cuts, Donna Gibson, executive director...
5 years after covid struck, Pennsylvanians assess the pandemic’s impact
Five years ago this month, Pennsylvania’s chief executive scrambled to manage a global health crisis for which no one in the world was prepared. As leader of the nation’s fifth most-populous state, then-Gov. Tom Wolf found himself winging it like everyone else. He had no playbook for covid-19. “It looked...
Forum covers the ‘roses and thorns’ of Hempfield firefighting
Creating an “inviting environment” was the theme at Hempfield Township’s second annual fire forum Saturday morning. The first forum took place last year to smooth over concerns, answer uncertainties about the state of the fire department and clarify the “nonchartered” process, where a fire station goes under the direct management...
Brackenridge councilman steps down after 8 years
John Stanzione is leaving Brackenridge Council but he really doesn’t want to. Stanzione announced he is resigning at Thursday’s council meeting. He said the reason is his family has outgrown his two-bedroom home on Pacific Avenue and he hasn’t been able to find one in the borough that would suit...
State lawmakers hope pressure, even legislation, can keep Penn State New Kensington off the chopping block
Alle-Kiski Valley lawmakers are hoping the combination of political pressure — and even legislation — can help keep Penn State New Kensington off the chopping block when the university considers the closure of branch campuses. “I am in the process of putting out a letter to the university president in...
Last of Springdale boiler finally falls; owner says property under sales agreement after cleanup
The final remains of the massive boiler house at the former Cheswick Generating Station was pulled down shortly after 1 p.m. Saturday. Thick dust, including pieces of fiberglass insulation, enveloped the lower Springdale neighborhood adjacent to the property after the building fell. It was the conclusion of a demolition attempt...
University of Pittsburgh housekeepers union reaches 1-year contract, says university fears federal funding cuts
The union representing University of Pittsburgh cleaners, housekeepers, grounds crew, and movers and receivers says it has agreed to a one-year contract as the result of uncertainty in education funding from the federal government. The union, 32BJ SEIU, is a branch of the Service Employees International Union. In a press...
DA withdraws all charges against bookkeeper in $580K Mon View Heights theft case
The Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office on Friday withdrew charges against one of three men accused of stealing nearly $600,000 earmarked for a West Mifflin subsidized housing complex, with the prosecutor apologizing to the man as he left a preliminary hearing for the defendants. Jonathan Liani, 39, of New York...
Penguins acquire Connor Dewar, Conor Timmins from Maple Leafs
The Pittsburgh Penguins acquired forward Connor Dewar and defenseman Conor Timmins from the Toronto Maple Leafs for a fifth-round draft pick in 2025. Dewar, 25, has appeared in 31 NHL games this season and has recorded three assists while averaging 9:58 of ice time per contest. Short-handed goal for Toronto!Scored...
Gainey announces plan to shield long-time Pittsburgh homeowners from property tax hikes
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey on Friday announced an initiative to protect longtime homeowners in the city from property tax hikes. The goal, the mayor said, is to ensure that people who own homes in neighborhoods where property values are skyrocketing don’t find themselves struggling to pay their taxes if their...
More elder abuse transparency, accountability is coming as Shapiro administration denies ‘crisis’
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 — The public will soon have easy access to critical information about whether county protective services agencies are keeping at-risk older adults safe from...
Deluzio urges fellow Democrats to rethink stance on tariffs
A Democratic congressman from Western Pennsylvania has found some common ground — albeit, a small patch of it — with Republican President Donald Trump on the issue of tariffs. In an op-ed published Friday in The New York Times, U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio, D-Fox Chapel, said members of his party...
Jeannette man’s murder convictions, life sentences vacated over debunked fire science
A former Jeannette man serving three life prison sentences for the first-degree murders of his wife and two young children in 1993 is entitled to a new trial, a Westmoreland County judge ruled Friday. Common Pleas Court Judge Christopher Feliciani vacated the convictions and sentences of James Young, 57, who...
