TribLive stories, Page 1772
Woman falls to death in Grand Canyon while hiking, park says
An Arizona woman hiking in the Grand Canyon fell to her death Friday afternoon, park officials said. Maria Salgado Lopez, 59, was hiking off-trail and taking photographs along the canyon’s south rim when she accidentally stepped off the edge, according to a news release from the park. Lopez fell about...
Atlanta Braves give no indication of considering name change
ATLANTA — With teams in two sports taking a second look at names deemed offensive to Native Americans, the Atlanta Braves on Saturday gave no indication they are willing to consider a similar change. The Cleveland Indians said Friday they’re reconsidering their nickname following the furor over the NFL Washington...
Another fired Minneapolis officer charged in Floyd death out of jail
MINNEAPOLIS — A third fired Minneapolis police officer charged in George Floyd’s Memorial Day death has been released from jail, according to Hennepin County jail records Tao Thao, 34, posted $750,000 bail and was released from the downtown Minneapolis jail Saturday morning. He had been held on $1 million bail...
Editorial: The importance of local news
The news is everywhere. It’s filling up your cellphone and your inbox and your Facebook feed. It’s on for 24 hours on stations devoted to updating you on what they just updated you about. It crawls across the bottom of the screen while you are trying to watch something else...
Robert Speel: County of residence often all that counts in Pa. primaries
Pennsylvanians just voted in primary elections to nominate Democratic and Republican candidates for the office of state auditor general. Those candidates will face off against each other in November. I teach courses about American politics and elections at Penn State. Every time I ask students if they know what the...
Annie Grice, David Ehrenwerth and Thomas Reiter: With religions working together, we shall overcome
Another cellphone video captures the sin of racism, the nation’s slumbering conscience awakens, and political solutions are forcefully advanced. Yet at the most fundamental level, do we not face a moral reckoning demanding a moral diagnosis and a moral cure? At such moments in our past, the Hebrew Bible, traditionally...
Kansas newspaper’s post equates mask mandate with Holocaust
TOPEKA, Kan. — A weekly Kansas newspaper whose publisher is a county Republican Party chairman posted a cartoon on its Facebook page likening the Democratic governor’s order requiring people to wear masks in public to the roundup and murder of millions of Jews during the Holocaust. The cartoon on the...
Christopher Columbus statue in Waterbury, Conn., beheaded
HARTFORD, Conn. — Someone smashed the head off of the Christopher Columbus statue that has stood in front of Waterbury’s city hall for many years. The decapitated statue was discovered Saturday morning. The Waterbury chapter of UNICO, an Italian American service organization, said on its Facebook page Saturday it would...
Scientists say WHO ignores risk that coronavirus floats in air as aerosol
SEATTLE — Six months into a pandemic that has killed more than half a million people, more than 200 scientists from around the world are challenging the official view of how the coronavirus spreads. The World Health Organization and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention maintain you have...
2 killed, 16 wounded in overnight shootings as Fourth of July weekend gets underway in Chicago
CHICAGO — A 34-year-old woman was shot and killed and two others were injured Saturday morning on the 31st Street bridge over Lake Shore Drive, according to Chicago police. The killing was the second to occur on July 4, a notoriously violent holiday in Chicago. From 3 p.m. Friday to...
American Diary: July 4 hurts, until I remember my WWII uncle
RIO RANCHO, N.M. — The July Fourth holiday hurts me every year. Waving flags seems out of place, and wearing anything stars and stripes makes me feel like Apollo Creed in “Rocky.” Lee Greenwood’s song “God Bless The U.S.A.” doesn’t invoke patriotism inside of me, and I never take advantage...
U.S. population growth has been driven exclusively by minorities
U.S. racial and ethnic minorities accounted for all of the nation’s population growth during the last decade, according to new Census Bureau estimates. The data underscore the nation’s growing diversity and suggest that the trend will continue as the white population ages and low birth rates translate to a declining...
Sounding off: Can’t be ‘pro-life’ and not oppose execution
As an ordained Roman Catholic deacon, serving as a chaplain to our incarcerated sisters and brothers in the Diocese of Pittsburgh, I most strongly urge Attorney General William Barr to immediately halt plans for the federal executions of Daniel Lee (July 13), Wesley Purkey (July 15), Dustin Honken (July 17)...
Employees at Harmar Target test positive for coronavirus
Several employees from the Target store in Harmar tested positive for covid-19 within the last week, a spokeswoman said Saturday. Spokeswoman Danielle Schumann did not disclose the exact number of employees who tested positive. “We’ve communicated directly with these team members, who went into quarantine and are following all health...
Letter to the editor: Councilman’s Levine remark front-page news?
In the midst of all the misery and divisiveness, you put the story about the Trafford councilman who wished Dr. Rachel Levine a happy Father’s Day on page 1 (“Trafford councilman criticized for transphobic joke about state health secretary,” June 24, TribLIVE). Really? You need to put that at the...
Letter to the editor: Why was ex-police chief armed for a stroll?
If there was ever a newspaper article that was the perfect example of why people don’t like or trust the police, it’s “Former Springdale police chief shoots dog belonging to Allegheny Valley Regional police chief” (June 27, TribLIVE). Every detail of this story is horrible. Why does ex-Chief Julio Medeiros...
Letter to the editor: Discussion, not protesting, can move America forward
The media often attributes the increases in coronavirus to “opening up” too early, President Trump’s rallies, people vacationing at beaches, etc. Hardly ever mentioned are the protests, which could cause spreading of the virus. Thousands of people protest from the early hours until the middle of the night, many without...
Letter to the editor: Good riddance, Roundup
Pesticides have been used for decades to manage invasive weeds and combat pests in homes, schools, early learning centers and public places. However, there is a growing body of evidence showing that exposure to toxic pesticides can cause both short- and long-term health risks, and children are especially vulnerable. In...
Letter to the editor: ‘King’ Wolf taking our freedoms
As another Independence Day is upon us, here’s a quick review of why we broke away from England. It seems that Thomas Jefferson had a poor opinion of King George III. The main problem — poor customer service. George never listened and he had no competition. Tom understood that competition...
The Stroller, July 4, 2020: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Happy Independence Day to all our loyal readers! Enjoy your weekend safely and stay cool. Salvation Army food bank distribution planned at new location The New Kensington Salvation Army food bank distribution for Wednesday will be from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. at the new location, 255 Third St. Drive-through distribution...
Truck driver posts regrets about party a day before dying of coronavirus
LAKE ELSINORE, Calif. — After months of diligently isolating, truck driver Tommy Macias, 51, made one error that cost him his life. He went to a barbecue party with some friends. He didn’t know that someone who had tested positive for COVID-19, but showed no symptoms, also was there. “It...
Jacob Plott: Trump’s global tariff war trickles down to Pa. businesses
While President Trump has touted his tariffs and ongoing trade war as a tool to force manufacturers to return jobs to American soil, the reality in states like Pennsylvania paints a very different picture. Instead of strengthening America’s economy, it has weakened domestic manufacturers by raising their costs, thus making...
Presley Gillespie: Neighbors work together to aid Black community during covid-19
As the covid-19 crisis continues to unfold, new concerns continue to surface in the community. Health inequities. Food insecurities. Job losses. Achievement gaps. Digital divides. Isolation and anxiety. To name a few. Although covid-19 doesn’t discriminate, it does hit Black communities harder with a disproportionate number of diagnoses and deaths....
Letter to the editor: Fly American flag proudly, properly
I encourage everyone to fly the American flag proudly and properly on Independence Day. At the same time, do not dishonor the flag by wearing it or using a disposable object with the flag printed on it. These are violations of the Flag Code, which by Act of Congress on...
Letter to the editor: Human rights not up for a vote
In the days since the killing of George Floyd, many organizations (nonprofit and for-profit) have used their numerous social media platforms to express their support for protesters and their message. Fortunately, the negative response has been in the minority. Businesses and organizations are being told to mind their own business....
