Top Stories category, Page 295
Allegheny County must pay ex-jail guard $1.5M over former boss’ racist comments
Allegheny County will pay a former jail guard $1.5 million to settle a lawsuit alleging he was fired for reporting racist comments by a supervisor. Jeffrey Kengerski was fired in November 2015 after reporting that a superior officer called Kengerski’s biracial relative “a monkey.” He sued the county in federal...
Pittsburgh Public Schools board raids reserve fund to close 2025 budget deficit
The Pittsburgh Public Schools board on Wednesday approved a 2025 spending plan that includes no tax increase but relies on the district’s financial reserves to balance the budget. The nearly $775 million budget will draw about $28 million from the district’s reserve fund to fill in the gap between projected...
Lender demands $143M from Station Square owners in mortgage foreclosure suit
The owners of Station Square must pony up nearly $143 million in overdue loan payments or face foreclosure amid a challenging year for the popular tourist spot on Pittsburgh’s South Side. In a lawsuit filed Nov. 4 in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court, Delaware-based lender Wilmington Trust demanded the remainder...
Man accused in UnitedHealthcare CEO killing faces federal charge that’s eligible for death penalty
HOLLIDAYSBURG — The man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare’s CEO was whisked back to New York by plane and helicopter Thursday to face new federal charges of stalking and murder, which could bring the death penalty if he’s convicted. Luigi Mangione was held without bail following a Manhattan federal court appearance,...
Amazon workers strike at multiple facilities as Teamsters seek labor contract
Workers at seven Amazon facilities went on strike Thursday, an effort by the Teamsters to pressure the e-commerce company for a labor agreement during a key shopping period. The Teamsters say the workers, who authorized strikes in the past few days, are joining the picket line after Amazon ignored a...
House rejects Trump-backed plan on government shutdown, leaving next steps uncertainVideo
WASHINGTON — The House rejected President-elect Donald Trump’s new plan Thursday to fund federal operations and suspend the debt ceiling a day before a government shutdown, as Democrats refused to accommodate his sudden demands and the quick fix cobbled together by Republican leaders. In a hastily convened evening vote punctuated...
Lefty’s could be leaving Strip District
A popular bar in Pittsburgh’s Strip District could be gone in a matter of weeks. Lefty’s lease along Penn Avenue will come to an end in late January, owner Rick Krist told TribLive news partner WTAE. The landlord has declined to renew the lease, he said, and other landlords in...
Upper Burrell data center to be company’s ‘U.S. flagship,’ founder says
A new data center in Upper Burrell could hold 3 gigawatts of power — about three times more than the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant can generate — and employ hundreds if plans come to fruition at the vacant portion of the Alcoa Technical Center. TECfusions, a Florida-based data...
Pittsburgh interior designer to face judge in business fraud case out of Fox Chapel
An interior designer accused of swindling a Fox Chapel woman out of $170,000 is headed to court, the latest in a flurry of legal cases surrounding the embattled Pittsburgh business owner. Lauren Michelle Piasecki, 44, of Pittsburgh’s Stanton Heights neighborhood waived her preliminary hearing Wednesday in a Sharpsburg district court....
Berk’s Menswear store sees changing of the guard after 4 generations
After 30 years operating a family-owned fine men’s clothing store in North Huntingdon and several years working for others in the retail industry, Bruce Berk knew it was time to take a break this year — a decision that ended four generations of family ownership. Berk of Penn Township sold...
‘Nothing more than a traffic jam’: Penn Township residents dread interchange, loss of quiet community
Anita Lipinski has lived in her Four Seasons Lane home in Penn Township all 55 years of her life. Growing up, Lipinski remembers there was only one other home on the street — now a quiet sanctuary for a handful of homeowners. Woods that separate her narrow, gravel road from...
California man who messaged Wisconsin shooter and planned own attack ordered to surrender guns
MADISON, Wis. — The shooter who killed a student and teacher at a religious school in Wisconsin brought two guns to the school and was in contact with a man in California who authorities say was planning to attack a government building, according to authorities and court documents that became...
Residents of Mt. Pleasant personal care homes to start returning hours after gas leak
Residents of two personal care homes in Mt. Pleasant were evacuated because of a gas leak Wednesday evening and were starting to return to the facility shortly before 10 p.m. Westmoreland County Public Safety reported people in the Harmon House and Amber House along South Church Street had to leave...
How New York prosecutors used a terrorism law in the charges against Luigi MangioneVideo
NEW YORK — New York prosecutors are using a 9/11-era anti-terrorism law in their case against the man charged with gunning down UnitedHealthcare’s CEO outside a midtown Manhattan hotel. Luigi Mangione was indicted on charges of murder as an act of terrorism, under a state law that allows for stiffer...
Former Pitt trustee sues board, alleges retaliation
A longtime member of the University of Pittsburgh Board of Trustees is suing his former board and its chair, claiming that he has been shut out because of concerns he raised about budget and other management issues, including the fall termination of former athletic director Heather Lyke. John H. Pelusi...
Community rallies to save toy drive in Pittsburgh’s Hill District
The multi-purpose room at the Thelma Lovette YMCA in Pittsburgh’s Hill District neighborhood resembled Santa’s workshop on Wednesday. Elves — volunteers, actually — helped adults choose toys for their little ones. There were piles of games and books, Barbies and baby dolls and trucks, ready to be wrapped for Christmas...
House passes bill backed by Paris Hilton to reform youth treatment facilities
WASHINGTON — The House passed legislation Wednesday requiring more oversight of youth residential treatment facilities, a feat for hotel heiress Paris Hilton who has spent years lobbying lawmakers to regulate an industry marred by child abuse allegations. The Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act gained overwhelming bipartisan support in the House...
Gov. Gavin Newsom declares emergency in California after CDC confirms severe case of bird flu in Louisiana
LOS ANGELES — Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency as the H5N1 bird flu virus moves from the Central valley to Southern California herds and federal officials confirmed flu in a Louisiana patient hospitalized with severe illness. This is the first case of severe illness caused by bird...
The Federal Reserve expects to cut rates more slowly in 2025, here’s what that could mean for you
NEW YORK — The Federal Reserve’s third interest rate cut of the year will likely have consequences for debt, savings, auto loans, mortgages and other forms of borrowing by consumers and businesses. But with inflation pressures still elevated and with concern that President-elect Donald Trump’s policies could fuel inflation, the...
Stocks fall sharply, Dow tumbles 1,100 points after Fed hints at just 2 rate cuts for 2025
NEW YORK — Stocks tumbled to one of their worst days of the year after the Federal Reserve hinted Wednesday it may deliver fewer shots of adrenaline for the U.S. economy in 2025 than earlier thought. The S&P 500 fell 2.9%, just shy of its biggest loss for the year,...
Government funding plan collapses as Trump makes new demands days before shutdownVideo
WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump abruptly rejected a bipartisan plan Wednesday to prevent a Christmastime government shutdown, instead telling House Speaker Mike Johnson and Republicans to essentially renegotiate — days before a deadline when federal funding runs out. Trump’s sudden entrance into the debate and new demands sent Congress spiraling...
Florida pursues charge against suspect in Trump assassination attempt for a crash after his arrest
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida authorities announced Wednesday that they’re pursuing a criminal case against a man accused of trying to assassinate President-elect Donald Trump for a car crash that occurred after law enforcement stopped traffic to catch him. Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody said she obtained an arrest warrant for...
Lawsuit accuses Washington County officials of holding infant’s decomposing body for months in death penalty case
A death penalty case against a Washington County man charged with killing his baby took a grisly turn last week when the father sued top county officials for not releasing his son’s body for seven months, delaying funeral arrangements even as the infant’s body decomposed. Jordan Clarke, the father, accused...
House Ethics Committee secretly voted to release Matt Gaetz ethics report, source says
WASHINGTON — The House Ethics Committee voted in secret to release the long-awaited ethics report into ex-Rep. Matt Gaetz, raising the possibility that the allegations against the Florida Republican who was President-elect Donald Trump’s first choice for attorney general could be made public in the coming days. The decision by...
Plum School Board approves tax increase limit; advances building project, electric bus purchase
Plum School Board members say they will limit any potential tax increase next year while moving forward with a building project and the purchase of electric buses. The board this week voted unanimously to keep a property tax increase for the 2025-26 school year to within its state-imposed inflation limit...
