TribLive stories, Page 561

A group of Pittsburgh Regional Transit employees and former employees filed a discrimination lawsuit in federal court Tuesday challenging the authority’s covid-19 vaccine mandate. The lawsuit, filed as a class action, seeks to represent not only employees who were terminated by PRT for failing to get vaccinated but also employees...

Penn State has reason for optimism next year. Left tackle Olu Fashanu, a possible top-10 pick in the NFL draft, is coming back. True freshmen Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen totaled 1,771 yards and 19 touchdowns on the ground in their debut season. And five-star phenom Drew Allar is set...

Students from the third and fourth grade classes of Christ the Divine Teacher Catholic Academy helped decorate the courtyard of UPMC St. Margaret hospital with their handmade ornaments on Dec. 6. “Many of our patients aren’t sure if they will be home for the holidays,” said St. Margaret Foundation President...

WASHINGTON — Top social media companies and free speech advocates, groups that usually take opposing views over tech policy, are coming together to oppose a measure that would allow journalism organizations to jointly negotiate with tech companies. The groups are opposing any inclusion in the fiscal 2023 Pentagon policy bill...

Members of the Oakmont-Verona Rotary Club joined together recently to continue a treasured tradition of donating new dictionaries to third-graders at Tenth Street and Redeemer Lutheran elementary schools in Oakmont and Verner Elementary in Verona. A special thank you to Richard Barnes, Karyn Brooks, Bill Kern, Arlene Loeffler, Chris Martin,...

With people sharing AI-generated portraits on social media, attention is being drawn to the Lensa AI photo app. The app, from Prisma AI, has been around since 2018, but the new “magic avatar” feature debuted last month. The feature creates highly-stylized portraits that users share on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok....

As Gov. Tom Wolf prepares to leave office, there is one thing that drove him into the governorship that awaits him when he gets home: his beloved 2006 Jeep Wrangler. The Jeep, a stick shift, of course, that Wolf’s daughters joke he bought during his midlife crisis, starred in his...

LOS ANGELES — Days after an internal investigation was launched into whether a former Los Angeles police captain led a cover-up of sexual assault allegations against former CBS chief Leslie Moonves, the detective who handled the case years ago took an unusual step. Last month, LAPD Robbery-Homicide Division Det. Oscar...

After decades of failure in Alzheimer’s disease research, scientists are buoyed by new findings that could mark a turning point in the field, offering hope that treatment may someday slow the grim deterioration of the brain. The data, published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine and presented to...

Gov.-elect Josh Shapiro, it’s safe to say, did not conduct an exhaustive search for his top legal adviser as governor. She’s already working for him. Shapiro announced Tuesday he will appoint Executive Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Selber to serve as his General Counsel, essentially the governor’s top legal advisor on...

At first glance, a “buy now, pay later” plan’s promise of no interest or upfront fees can seem more appealing than a credit card’s terms. Dividing a transaction into, say, a pay-in-four installment plan sounds straightforward and manageable. Unlike credit cards, though, these plans lack certain consumer protections and are...

Regarding the article “Pittsburgh needs to step up police recruitment efforts, officials say” (Dec. 1, TribLIVE): I have a few suggestions for the city. First and foremost, stop mandating what I believe is an unsafe and ineffective vaccine for your police officers. Untie the hands of those out there risking...

On National Signing Day, Nov. 9, 15 Pine-Richland High School student athletes signed their letters of intent. Ava Boyd will play soccer at Michigan State University. Stephanie Cornelius will play soccer at St. John’s University. Kaili Doctor will play volleyball at North Carolina A&T State University. Mary Dziubek will play...

To get away from the incessant political and insurance ads, I decided to go back to a simpler time and began binge watching the antics going on in Mayberry. While watching “The Andy Griffith Show,” I came to the conclusion that a certain fruit-named company ripped off what was to...

Sometimes being right is a terrible thing. In June, the Tribune-Review presented an editorial headlined “De’Avry Thomas won’t be the last victim.” That came after the death of an 18-month-old boy who was killed in a drive-by shooting in Downtown Pittsburgh while in a car with his mother. Indeed, that...

Publicize your non-profit’s community events, fundraisers and club meetings for free in The Stroller. Send information at least two weeks in advance to vndnews@triblive.com or The Stroller, 210 Wood St., Tarentum PA 15084. Please include a daytime telephone number. Live Nativity to be presented at Concordia Lutheran Ministries Concordia Lutheran...

As I surveyed the midterm election results county by county, one glaring truth jumped out at me. As long as the Democrats control the vote in the eastern end of Pennsylvania via Philadelphia, along with Harrisburg and Allegheny County, they will always win in Pennsylvania. There is not enough population...

High Schools WPIAL Basketball Boys Monday’s results Laurel Tournament Ellwood City 61, Laurel 46 Nonsection Aquinas Academy 64, Propel Andrew Street 45 Armstrong 64, Leechburg 50 Greensburg Central Catholic 87, Ligonier Valley 39 Hopewell at Freedom, ppd. Neighborhood Academy 70, Carrick 42 Southmoreland 75, Frazier 38 Springdale 66, Valley 63...

Freshman Erica Gribble scored 23 points to lead Greensburg Central Catholic to a 61-56 victory over Neshannock in an early-season girls basketball matchup of ranked teams Monday. Mya Morgan added 14 points, and Avery Davis had 11 for the Centurions (3-0). Megan Pallerino scored 15 points, and Mairan Haggerty had...

Company executives usually talk an optimistic game. When they put their money where their mouth is, that’s when I pay attention. Align Technology Joseph Hogan, president and chief executive officer of Align Technology Inc. (ALGN), spent about $2 million to buy his own company’s stock in November. Hogan had sold...

Two 16-year-old boys were arrested overnight after a girl was hospitalized in critical condition following a shooting Monday afternoon in Pittsburgh’s Homewood neighborhood. Raymur Sicklesmith of Homewood and James Acklin of Duquesne are charged as adults with attempted homicide, reckless endangerment and related offenses. Police said they were dispatched around...

In the beginning, God created the heavens, the Earth and American higher education. We lived in a bucolic state of nature until an evil serpent, U.S. News & World Report, tempted us to partake of the Tree of Knowledge — namely, college rankings. A fall from grace ensued. That’s what...

When the founder of the Proud Boys was scheduled to appear in October at Penn State, senior Bram Woolley of Allentown joined hundreds of fellow students in a tumultuous protest that led to the event’s cancellation. But in the course of the protest, Woolley — who allegedly refused to move...

LOS ANGELES — Michael Avenatti, the once-swaggering celebrity lawyer who was undone by his proclivity for embezzlement and fraud, was sentenced Monday to 14 years in prison for dodging taxes and stealing millions of dollars from clients. His sentencing by U.S. District Judge James V. Selna in Santa Ana concludes...