TribLive stories, Page 2288
Homeland Security asks Pentagon to provide more help on border security
WASHINGTON — The Department of Homeland Security has asked the military to provide more help securing the U.S.-Mexico border, a defense official said Friday amid a political standoff over President Donald Trump’s demand for more money to build a border wall. The acting secretary of defense, Pat Shanahan, has not...
House Democrats pass government funding bills Trump won’t sign
WASHINGTON — The new House Democratic majority passed two government funding bills late Thursday to open shuttered federal agencies that President Trump has said he will not sign, as Republicans predicted the partial government shutdown will be a long one. Before the votes Speaker Nancy Pelosi reiterated that Democrats will...
Sheriff: Michigan college student who called seeking help found dead in water
SEBEWAING TOWNSHIP, Mich. — A Michigan sheriff says a man found dead in waist-deep water had fallen through ice on a Thumb region river. Huron County Sheriff Kelly Hanson says 21-year-old Parker J. Haire of Cass City was found dead Wednesday morning in the Sebewaing River, more than 2 miles...
Ex-Steelers lineman Alan Faneca a finalist for Pro Football Hall of Fame
For the fourth consecutive year, former Pittsburgh Steelers offensive lineman Alan Faneca is a finalist for induction to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The six-time All-Pro guard was announced Thursday as one of the 15 finalists for the Hall’s Class of 2019. First-time eligibles Tony Gonzalez, Ed Reed and...
14-year-old boy arrested on murder charge after fatal crash from egg prank
HOUSTON — A 14-year-old boy who authorities say was driving an SUV that caused a fatal car accident has been arrested on a murder charge. The Harris County Sheriff’s Office says the SUV was filled with teens who were throwing eggs at other cars Tuesday afternoon when another driver began...
Suspended Clemson DT Dexter Lawrence, 2 others to miss national championship game
Clemson will be without star defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence in the national championship game, the school announced in a statement Thursday afternoon. Lawrence is one of three Tigers suspended ahead of the Cotton Bowl last week for testing positive for the banned substance ostarine along with tight end Braden Galloway...
‘Trump Show,’ Act III: What to watch as House Democrats take control
WASHINGTON — Act III of the Trump presidency, which can often feel like an off-Broadway production, officially began at noon Thursday when Democrats took control of the House and everything changed for Donald Trump. Republicans controlled the House for the first two years, or acts, of the “Trump Show,” but...
Laurels & lances: A baby, a DUI, deaths and support
Laurel: To Miles Everett Bartko. It isn’t every kid who gets this much attention, especially at just a couple of days old. But kudos to young Miles for his keen sense of timing. He wasn’t just the first baby born in Westmoreland County this year. He was the first birth...
Bad stuff the stock market worried about is starting to happen
All of a sudden, the fundamentals aren’t looking as strong. First it was Apple’s $5 billion revenue miss, hints of which lopped 30 percent from its stock over three months. Now it’s a closely watched gauge of U.S. factory activity, which dropped to a two-year low and missed every estimate...
Baldwin-Whitehall Girls on the Run group supports classmate with fundraiser
Makaylah Perri used to be known for the elaborate braids she wore in her hair. The fifth-grader at Whitehall Elementary in Baldwin-Whitehall School District also loves to dance and would pull her hair up in ponytails to perform. Two weeks before the start of this school year, Makaylah shaved her...
Bird counters flock to North Park for annual event
Bird watchers descended on North Park Dec. 29 for the 119th Annual Christmas Bird Count. Meg Scanlon, an interpretive naturalist for the Allegheny County Parks Department at its Latodami Environmental Education Center in North Park, coordinated the North Park count. The annual bird counts are important sources of information gathered...
Women navigate toxicity, other barriers in esports
NEW YORK — Susie Kim thinks the women gamers are out there. As general manager for a championship esports team, she would know. She’s not surprised none of them are on her roster. The Entertainment Software Association reported this year that 45 percent of U.S. gamers are female, yet women...
Letter to the editor: Headline inaccurate, offensive
I am writing about the above-the-fold “Mattis waves white flag” headline on Page One Dec. 21. It is both inaccurate as to the Secretary of Defense’s actions, and offensive to anyone who served in the armed forces. Remind your copy desk that it’s better to be accurate than clever. Sally...
Letter to the editor: Let’s go back to paper over plastic
Everyone talks about how much plastic is in our oceans, landfills, etc., and now even the recyclers don’t want it. To help this situation, I propose that all stores and supermarkets revert back to using paper bags instead of putting one or two items in a little worthless plastic bag....
Letter to the editor: Pa. has sunshine, too!
A recent cartoon questioned whether Pennsylvania has enough sunshine for Gov. Tom Wolf’s 10 percent solar goal. Germany was the No. 1 solar nation for years, and we get more sun than they do. If you look at a graph of the price of solar in the last 15 years,...
Smithsonian and National Gallery held on as long as they could, but they’re closed
Funds that kept the Smithsonian Institution and the National Gallery of Art in Washington open since the beginning of the government shutdown have run out. That means that all 17 of the District’s Smithsonian museums and the National Zoo and the National Gallery and its popular skating rink in the...
Carrie Ann Inaba gets host gig on ‘The Talk’
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Carrie Ann Inaba is no longer a temp on “The Talk.” The CBS daytime show announced Wednesday that Inaba has joined the panel of hosts, moving up from recurring guest host. “The Dancing With the Stars” judge replaces Julie Chen, who left the talk show in...
Letter to the editor: Before casino opens, look to prevent theft
Well, this is certainly great news for the area. The new casino will be open this year. The politicians are anxious to spend that new revenue. But, there is only so much money available for recreation, and the gambling money will have to come from somewhere. You may have noticed...
Holiday Mural Lights Tours big hit at Millvale’s St. Nicholas Croatian Church
The Society to Preserve the Millvale Murals of Maxo Vanka presented its annual Holiday Mural Lights Tours from Dec. 26 to 28. More than 300 people attended and enjoyed a 60-minute docent-led tour featuring the traditional decorations in St. Nicholas Croatian Church in Millvale and the lighting of artist Maxo...
‘The Masked Singer’ premieres and it’s even weirder than you imagined
How weird is Fox’s new reality singing competition “The Masked Singer”? Even before the show debuted Wednesday night, the ads were seriously strange, as they featured celebrities cloaked in deranged-looking animal costumes while they belted out songs onstage. Here are some helpful descriptions: “The Masked Singers not only wear masks,...
Lindsey Graham: If Trump gives in on shutdown, it’s ‘probably the end of his presidency’
WASHINGTON — With the government shutdown, President Donald Trump has put himself in an impossible position. He’s tied his support for a solution entirely to securing billions of dollars to build a wall on the Mexican border. House Democrats say that’s a total non-starter. Meanwhile Trump has rejected compromise deals...
Steelers receiver Antonio Brown wins inaugural episode of ‘The Masked Singer’
The circus has no end. As the fevered pitch of Antonio Brown’s antics around the Steelers hit a high, we were all introduced to the receiver’s vocal pitch. Brown, who grabbed headlines with his actions before, during and after Pittsburgh’s last game with the Cincinnati Bengals, now has upped the...
Police charge 15-year-old Philadelphia mom after newborn found dumped in trash
PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia police on Wednesday charged a 15-year-old girl with murder because she allegedly placed her newborn son in the trash in a North Philadelphia street. The girl, Jani Morris, was arrested when the infant’s body was discovered Monday night, police said. She was charged with murder, endangering welfare...
NASA: Icy object past Pluto looks like reddish snowman
LAUREL, Md. — A NASA spacecraft 4 billion miles from Earth yielded its first close-up pictures Wednesday of the most distant celestial object ever explored, depicting what looks like a reddish snowman. Ultima Thule, as the small, icy object has been dubbed, was found to consist of two fused-together spheres,...
No deal to end shutdown; Trump says ‘could be a long time’
WASHINGTON — The shuttered parts of the federal government were no closer to being reopened Wednesday after President Trump and congressional leaders met for the first time since the shutdown began nearly two weeks ago. “I don’t think any particular progress was made today, but we talked,” Senate Majority Leader...
