Top Stories category, Page 30
Body of missing Avonmore man found after multiday search, EMS official explains the difficult recovery process
Authorities confirmed Tuesday that the body of 31-year-old Cory Dominic Cook has been recovered, ending a multiday search along the Allegheny River near Manor Township in Armstrong County. Cook’s body was pulled from the Allegheny River around 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, according to a press release by Armstrong County Coroner Brian...
Gainey to let 2026 Pittsburgh budget become law without his signature
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey plans to let next year’s $693 million, City Council-backed budget — and the 20% property tax hike set to come with it — become law without his signature. Gainey, in a letter Tuesday to council President R. Daniel Lavelle, called the 2026 budget he initially pitched...
Medicaid paid more than $207 million for dead people. A new law could help fix that
WASHINGTON — Medicaid programs made more than $200 million in improper payments to health care providers between 2021 and 2022 for people who had already died, according to a new report from the independent watchdog for the Department of Health and Human Services. But the department’s Office of Inspector General...
Dreaming of a white Christmas? Dream on
If you’re dreaming of a white Christmas in Western Pennsylvania this year … keep dreaming. No snow is in the forecast for Thursday, according to Andrew Kienzle, meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Moon. Highs in Western Pennsylvania are expected to be in the upper 40s — which will...
Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen and wife welcome new baby boy
Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen and his wife, Maria, have something extra to celebrate this holiday season. On Tuesday, Allegheny Health Network announced that the couple’s third son, Suede, was born at AHN Wexford Hospital on Sunday afternoon. The McCutchens announced the impending arrival of their fifth child several months ago....
Recycle your Christmas trees here in Allegheny County
The Allegheny County Parks Department will again offer its Christmas Tree Recycling Program this holiday season. Residents can drop off natural Christmas trees from Friday through Jan. 18, at any of the county’s nine parks. Drop-off is available daily from 8 a.m. until dusk. All lights, decorations, tinsel and stands...
Heinz History Center to rename Sports Museum after Franco Harris
On Dec. 23, 1972 — 53 years ago — Pittsburgh Steelers running back Franco Harris made National Football League history with the Immaculate Reception. The Senator John Heinz History Center is celebrating the football legend by changing the name of the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum to the Franco Harris Sports...
Cranberry approves next step for Meijer superstore development
Cranberry supervisors have moved forward with plans for Henderson Crossing, a mixed-use development anchored by a Meijer grocery store and a Meijer Express gas station. A proposed development would give Meijer a 159,000-square-foot supercenter in the township, officials previously told TribLive. After a public hearing, supervisors on Dec. 11 granted...
Hempfield Township doubles property taxes; supervisors approve pay increase
Hempfield supervisors on Monday gave final approval to double property taxes in 2026. The property tax millage rate will go from 3 to 6 mills to create a 3-mill fire tax to fund the fire department. It’s the first time property taxes have increased in Hempfield in more than three...
Powerball jackpot soars to $1.7 billion after another night with no big winner
The Powerball jackpot has jumped to an eye-popping $1.7 billion, after the 46th drawing passed without a big winner. The numbers drawn Monday night were 3, 18, 36, 41, 54 and the Powerball 7. Since Sept. 6, there have been 46 straight drawings without a big winner. The next drawing...
TV Talk: ‘Yellowstone’ spin-off, ‘Scrubs’ revival on tap for midseason
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers viewing tips for broadcast network shows at midseason. The broadcast networks didn’t debut many new scripted series in the fall, saving these expensive-to-produce programs for a slightly more robust midseason rollout. Here’s what to expect for the second half of the 2025-26...
Hempfield Area joins Chartiers Valley in piloting AI weapon detector created with Carnegie Mellon research
Hempfield Area will join a group of 15 school districts nationwide expected to pilot an AI-driven weapon detection system designed with the help of a Carnegie Mellon University scientist. CurvePoint, based in Pittsburgh’s North Shore, was launched about a year ago by CEO Skip Smith and Chief Scientist Dong Huang,...
Experts worry federal nursing designation could stifle professional pipeline
A move by the Trump administration to exclude nursing from a list of professional degrees for student loan purposes could have far-reaching impacts on the future of the profession, medical experts say. “Nursing is a serious profession that is about lifelong learning,” UPMC Chief Nurse Executive Maribeth McLaughlin said. “The...
Expanding broadband in rural Pa. was complicated by rule changes and uncertainty in 2025
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. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — It’s been a year of sweeping and controversial changes for a huge federal broadband initiative. The $42.45...
Judge rules Trump administration must allow court challenges for Venezuelan migrants sent to prison
WASHINGTON — A federal judge ruled Monday that the Trump administration must give legal due process to Venezuelan migrants flown to a notorious prison in El Salvador, either by providing court hearings or returning them to the U.S. U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ordered the government to come up with...
After another death, advocates say ‘dangerous’ ICE facility in central Pa. must close
Advocates renewed calls to close the Moshannon Valley Processing Center during a press conference Monday after a man died at the privately-owned immigration detention facility near Philipsburg last week. Fouad Saeed Abdulkadir, 46, from the African country of Eritrea, died Dec. 14 in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody. His...
U.S. regulators approve Wegovy pill for weight loss
U.S. regulators on Monday gave the green light to a pill version of the blockbuster weight-loss drug Wegovy, the first daily oral medication to treat obesity. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval handed drugmaker Novo Nordisk an edge over rival Eli Lilly in the race to market an obesity...
Search continues for missing Avonmore man
On the fourth day of searching, emergency officials continue to search for the body of Cory Dominic Cook. Darrick Gerano, executive director of Murrysville Medic One, said Tuesday morning that the search is ongoing. Manor Township police had reported Monday evening that Cook had been found. Crews are searching for...
Kiski School sued for racial discrimination alleged by Black ex-employees
A Black couple who spent more than two decades working at The Kiski School have sued the 137-year-old private school and its headmaster, claiming racial discrimination. The civil rights lawsuit, filed Monday in federal court in Pittsburgh, alleges “racial discrimination and retaliation for opposing racial discrimination,” as well as violations...
Study of water contamination from road salt flags problems in Washington County
Rock salt, or sodium chloride, is widely used to prevent ice and reduce winter driving accidents, but scientists warn that its excessive application is causing environmental damage and contaminating drinking water in parts of Southwestern Pennsylvania. A study conducted by the Stroud Water Research Center, a Chester County nonprofit, revealed...
Trump announces plans for new Navy ‘battleship’ as part of a ‘Golden Fleet’Video
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has announced a bold plan for the Navy to build a new, large warship that he is calling a “battleship” as part of a larger vision to create a “Golden Fleet.” “They’ll be the fastest, the biggest, and by far 100 times more powerful than...
Judge orders New Kensington Elks Lodge to remain closed after fatal shooting
The New Kensington Elks Lodge will remain closed until at least February, a Westmoreland County judge ruled Monday. The club was temporarily shuttered last week in accordance with a preliminary injunction issued by Common Pleas Judge Chris Scherer. The injunction stems from nuisance-bar claims raised in a court filing by...
Police: Mt. Pleasant man jailed after assaulting staff, vandalizing Harmon House
A Mt. Pleasant Borough man was behind bars after police said he broke into a nursing facility Sunday evening and assaulted a staff member, according to court papers. Borough police said Daniel S. Sebulsky, 41, urinated and defecated in Harmon House Health & Rehab Center before fleeing to Independence Health...
New leadership to take over at B-PEP in the new year
At the beginning of 2026, there will be a changing of the guard at the Black Political Empowerment Project (B-PEP). Founder Tim Stevens, who has served as chairman of the board for the organization for nearly four decades, will be stepping down from that position, with Lorraine Cross taking over....
Controversial, confusing conclusion to Steelers-Lions game left fans, players, coaches bewildered
Cameron Heyward can sympathize with the millions of fans watching on television trying to decipher what transpired in the final seconds of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 29-24 victory at Ford Field on Sunday. If the Kentucky Derby is the fastest two minutes in sports, that precise amount of time officials huddled...
