Top Stories category, Page 74
WPIAL football playoffs compel communities to adjust Halloween parade, trick-or-treat plans
Costumes and candy are about to collide with high school football playoffs Friday, and some communities either playing host or traveling to games have tweaked traditional holiday schedules in response. Halloween last fell on a Friday in 2014, and it won’t do so again until 2031. In Harrison, township officials...
Solar farm eyed in Ligonier Township passes initial hurdle; emergency plans, buffer required
Ligonier Township Supervisors unanimously approved a permit for a proposed solar farm on Springer Road on the condition that developer SunVest Solar agrees to plant a buffer and coordinates with first responders on handling any emergencies that may occur at the site. “This is the first step of many, but...
Hurricane Melissa hits Cuba hours after devastating Jamaica
HAVANA/KINGSTON — Hurricane Melissa slammed into Cuba early on Wednesday, hours after causing devastation in neighboring Jamaica as the strongest-ever storm on record to hit that Caribbean island nation. Melissa hit the southern coast of eastern Cuba with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC)...
Giant Eagle needs pennies, offers double their value in gift cards
Giant Eagle says it needs customers’ pennies, and it’s prepared to make a deal. The Cranberry-based retailer said it will exchange pennies for double their value in Giant Eagle gift cards between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. Saturday. Customers must provide a minimum of 50 cents in pennies, which would...
Allegheny County Common Pleas Court election has 13 candidates vying for 8 seats
Eight seats are open for Allegheny County’s Court of Common Pleas in next Tuesday’s election. Although 13 candidates are listed on the ballot, three of them are not actively campaigning. The eight vacancies on the bench come from seven retirements and the death late last year of Judge Alexander P....
3 contested Pittsburgh City Council races on the ballot
Some Pittsburgh voters next Tuesday will cast ballots not only for mayor but also for candidates in contested City Council elections. Councilwoman Theresa Kail-Smith, D-West End, is retiring after 15 years on council. Hers is the only district guaranteed to see a new representative this year, as Democrat Kim Salinetro...
IU to borrow $2 million; layoffs coming if there’s no state budget by the new year
Westmoreland Intermediate Unit employees and the special needs students they serve got a bit of good news Tuesday, along with potentially bad news. The good news for them is that the Westmoreland Intermediate Unit 7 board approved a $2 million revenue anticipation note that will hold off any layoffs or...
Man taken into custody as part of FBI investigation in Harrison
A Harrison man was taken away in handcuffs by township police during an FBI operation Tuesday. Authorities reached that evening did not release the name of the suspect or possible charges. Bradford Arick, spokesman for the FBI Pittsburgh office, would only confirm agents were “conducting authorized law enforcement activity” along...
Westinghouse strikes $80B deal with U.S. for nuclear reactors
Westinghouse Electric Co. announced Tuesday an $80 billion deal with the U.S. government to build nuclear reactors. It’s the latest push from the Trump administration to boost power production as artificial intelligence supercharges electricity demand, and yet another entry into the government’s growing portfolio of private-public partnerships. “This historic partnership...
Talking trash: Pittsburgh official seeks $9M to buy city residents new garbage cans
A $9 million investment in new trash cans for every household in Pittsburgh could curb litter and improve garbage collection, Public Works Director Chris Hornstein told City Council members Tuesday. Hornstein’s pitch came after the city spent about $5 million buying blue recycling bins for residents. The last batch of...
Officials release few details on man’s ‘life-threatening’ fall at PPG Paints Arena
Officials remained largely tight-lipped Tuesday after a spectator at a Pittsburgh Penguins game suffered life-threatening injuries after falling an estimated 35 feet from the upper concourse inside PPG Paints Arena a day earlier. Around 7:15 p.m. Monday, a man fell from the 200 level of the stands during a Penguins...
Commissioners vow to keep Westmoreland government running as state funds dry up
Westmoreland County government will continue to function as state funding dries up amid the ongoing budget impasse in Harrisburg, commissioners said Tuesday. Despite the uncertainty, county officials plan to keep operating essential human service programs as they await word on a pending application to the state Treasury for a $14...
Expected lapse in SNAP benefits puts food banks in crisis
The phones at Allegheny Valley Association of Churches in Harrison have been ringing off the hook for a week. Most of the callers are fearful about how they’ll feed their families if Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits are cut off Saturday as expected, said Executive Director Karen Snair....
On the rebound: Downtown Pittsburgh living surges after pandemic
Downtown Pittsburgh’s residential occupancy rate is nearing an all-time high as officials push for more housing in the Golden Triangle, according to the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership. The nonprofit community development organization in a quarterly report shared Tuesday said 93.8% of residential units are currently filled. The Golden Triangle saw a...
Boo! Rain could haunt trick-or-treaters this Halloween in Western Pa.
Rain showers could be the real scare for trick-or-treaters this Halloween in Western Pennsylvania. Shannon Hefferan, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Moon, said the region will see heavy rain leading into the holiday — perhaps more than an inch Thursday. It might not let up. In the...
Union: PennWest to furlough more than a dozen employees
Pennsylvania Western University plans to furlough employees at its campuses in California and Clarion because of financial and enrollment challenges. Earlier this month, PennWest notified AFSCME Council 13 that it intends to furlough more than a dozen employees at California and Clarion beginning Nov. 16, according to the union. Union...
Starved to death, Oakmont girl, 3, finally gets a funeral
The brief service had already ended when a small group of Allegheny County detectives and prosecutors gathered in a close circle on the grassy hillside. Standing near Bella Seachrist’s small grave, mounded with fresh dirt and a thick stack of pink and white roses placed by mourners, they listened closely...
Pittsburgh airport to add more than 6,000 parking spots with new terminal
Parking will be easier to find at Pittsburgh International Airport as renovations near completion and the new terminal prepares to open. The renovations include two new parking areas, both within walking distance from the new terminal. A new parking garage will provide 3,800 new public parking spaces. Those who use...
Trump’s popularity dips as Americans sweat cost of living, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s approval rating fell in recent days, tying the lowest level of his term, as more Americans frowned on his handling of the cost of living, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll. The three-day poll, which concluded Sunday, showed 40% of Americans approve of the Republican...
Murrsyville man held for trial after attack with baseball bat
At first, Elizabeth Hobbs thought the baseball bat a Murrysville man grabbed out of his backseat during a fight was plastic. She quickly realized it was metal as Reno James Roberts, 26, began attacking her and her boyfriend with it outside a Salem gas station Oct. 16, she said. Hobbs...
Netanyahu orders Israeli army to carry out ‘powerful’ strikes in Gaza
TEL AVIV, Israel — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday he has ordered the army to immediately carry out “powerful strikes” in Gaza, a new test for the tenuous U.S.-brokered ceasefire. The order from Netanyahu follows heightened tensions, as Israel reported Hamas firing on its forces in southern Gaza...
Republicans send Biden autopen report to Justice Department, urging further investigation
WASHINGTON — House Republicans on Tuesday unveiled their long-promised report on former President Joe Biden’s use of the autopen, delivering a blistering critique of his time in office and inner circle that largely rehashes public information while making sweeping accusations about the workings of his White House. The GOP report...
Charges held for court against Armstrong County woman accused of concealing 4 dead infants
Jessica Mauthe, the Armstrong County woman accused of concealing four dead infants in a Cadogan home she rented, is headed to court. District Judge J. Gary DeComo held her bevy of charges for trial after Mauthe appeared for her preliminary hearing in Ford City on Tuesday. Mauthe faces single counts...
Shutdown enters Day 28 as Trump warns SNAP benefits will end
WASHINGTON ‒ The federal government shutdown entered Day 28 on Tuesday as the Trump administration warned Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits will end on Nov. 1 if the government remains closed. The Agriculture Department in a recent memo said it can’t use contingency funds to pay for SNAP benefits, commonly...
Texas sues Tylenol makers J&J and Kenvue, claiming they hid drug’s autism risks
The makers of Tylenol, Johnson & Johnson and Kenvue, were sued Tuesday by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who accused them of knowingly hiding the drug’s supposed links to autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Paxton, a Republican, filed the suit five weeks after President Donald Trump said using Tylenol...
