Pittsburg, PA

Trump, Harris both in Pittsburgh day before Election Day

Published

1 year ago

November 4, 2024

Trump, Harris both in Pittsburgh day before Election Day

Pittsburgh and Allegheny County prepared Monday for the election-eve convergence of presidential candidates in the most unusual election in more than half a century.

Republican nominee Donald Trump is expected to speak at PPG Paints Arena, in Uptown, at around 6 p.m.

Democratic nominee Kamala Harris is expected to be at the Carrie Blast Furnace National Historic Landmark, in Swissvale, at some point in the evening.

Christopher Ragland, acting chief of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, prepares to brief the media on election-related plans, on Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, at Pittsburgh Police Headquarters. (Photo by Rich Lord/PublicSource)

“At this time, there are no election-related threats registered by our intel unit, which continues to monitor the situation,” said Chris Ragland, acting chief of police for Pittsburgh. He said he was unaware of any recent election-related threats, and that the bureau is prepared to respond to “First Amendment activity,” but doesn’t have reason to believe it needs to deploy extra officers to any specific parts of the city.

Pittsburgh police will be in charge of escorting Harris to Swissvale, but will not have meaningful involvement in security at that event. Harris was initially expected to speak at Point State Park, but plans shifted over the weekend. Ragland denied any involvement in the change of venue, or knowledge of the reasons behind it, but said it would “probably” make things easier for his bureau.

Pittsburgh police will respond to any reports of crimes at polling places within the city, Ragland said, but incidents that are election-related but are not crimes will be handled by the Allegheny County sheriffs.

Police will work their usual 10-hour shifts, but all days off in the coming days have been canceled. Campaigns won’t be billed for overtime paid to officers related to today’s events, but the Trump campaign will be billed for extra medic staffing this evening.

If any post-election protest emerges, the bureau is ready to coordinate with county, state and campus police forces, Ragland said. “We will not tolerate violence, and we will intervene when we see such.”

Spending the last evening here

Coming so late in an election in which more than 200,000 Allegheny County residents have already voted by mail and most minds appear to have been made up, the dueling rallies reflect desperation on both sides to get as many people to turn out tomorrow as possible.

“If you can get 100, 200, 500 people to turn out who would not have voted in a state like Pennsylvania, that’s a good use of your time,” said Christopher Beem, managing director of Penn State’s McCourtney Institute for Democracy. “Given that Pittsburgh and its surrounding areas have this tradition of going both ways, Democratic and Republican, it wouldn’t surprise me a bit if both campaigns have a similar read on that situation.”

Though Allegheny County’s 526,000 registered Democrats nearly double the Republican ranks, the GOP last year came within 10,000 votes of winning the election for county executive.

In 2020, Democrat Joe Biden won Pennsylvania, besting Trump by around 80,000 votes. This year, the seven swing states are polling as neck-and-neck contests, and Pennsylvania is the largest.

“It’s conceivable for both of them to come up with a winning ticket that excludes Pennsylvania, but it’s much, much harder,” said Beem. “You basically have to get all the other big states. You have to get Michigan and Georgia and North Carolina.”

The polls in Pennsylvania, Beem said, are “so close that this kind of event, they’re not expecting to make a huge impact, but it’s worth it.”

Anticipating “large crowds and road closures,” the Pittsburgh Public Schools announced Friday that students would have a half day.

The county and city announced they’d dismiss non-essential employees at noon. (The County Office Building was to remain open until 4:30 p.m. for ballot returns.)

Check back with PublicSource this evening for coverage of the candidates’ events.

Charlie Wolfson is PublicSource’s local government reporter and a Report for America corps member. He can be reached at charlie@publicsource.org or at @chwolfson on Twitter.

Rich Lord is PublicSource’s managing editor. He can be reached at rich@publicsource.org.

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Pittsburg, PA

Pittsburgh and Vegas take the ice for non-conference matchup

Published

6 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Pittsburgh and Vegas take the ice for non-conference matchup

Vegas Golden Knights (28-17-14, in the Pacific Division) vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (30-15-13, in the Metropolitan Division)

Pittsburgh; Sunday, 1 p.m. EST

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Golden Knights -149, Penguins +125; over/under is 6.5

BOTTOM LINE: The Pittsburgh Penguins and the Vegas Golden Knights square off in a non-conference matchup.

Pittsburgh has a 14-8-7 record at home and a 30-15-13 record overall. The Penguins have scored 197 total goals (3.4 per game) to rank 10th in NHL play.

Vegas is 28-17-14 overall and 14-9-7 in road games. The Golden Knights are 27-6-8 in games they score at least three goals.

Sunday’s game is the first meeting between these teams this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Anthony Mantha has 21 goals and 23 assists for the Penguins. Benjamin Kindel has six goals and one assist over the last 10 games.

Mark Stone has 21 goals and 38 assists for the Golden Knights. Pavel Dorofeyev has seven goals and three assists over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Penguins: 7-1-2, averaging 4.2 goals, 7.1 assists, 3.3 penalties and 6.9 penalty minutes while giving up 2.5 goals per game.

Golden Knights: 4-4-2, averaging 3.5 goals, 5.8 assists, 2.6 penalties and 5.8 penalty minutes while giving up 3.3 goals per game.

INJURIES: Penguins: None listed.

Golden Knights: None listed.

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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Pittsburg, PA

Oneil Cruz Powers Pirates Past Astros

Published

18 hours ago

February 28, 2026

Press Room

PITTSBURGH — Oneil Cruz needs to have a great season for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2026 and his strong Spring Training continued in their most recent victory.

Cruz hit a three-run home run off of Houston Astros right-handed pitcher Jayden Murray in the top of the fifth inning, playing a big role in the 5-2 victory at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches in West Palm Beach, Fla.

He waited on a changeup on the second pitch, 85.1 mph over the middle of the plate and sent it 106.4 mph off the bat and 368 feet, scoring both left fielder Billy Cook and third baseman Alika Williams with two outs.

That marks the first home run for Cruz in the Grapefruit League, who has had a great Spring Training so far, slashing .538/.600/.846 for an OPS of 1.446 in five games, with seven hits in 13 at-bats.

Pittsburgh got the win after the top of the sixth inning, after a rain delay ended the game.

Pirates Rookie Pitchers Have Up-And-Down Showing vs. Astros

Right-handed pitcher Braxton Ashcraft made his second start for the Pirates in the Grapefruit League and dominated vs. the Astros.

Sep 15, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Braxton Ashcraft (67) delivers a pitch against the Chicago Cubs during the first inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Ashcraft threw three scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and a walk, while posting two strikeouts for Pittsburgh.

Former Pirates pitcher, right-handed starter Mike Burrows, countered Ashcraft for the Astros. He threw three scoreless innings himself, allowed one hit and a walk and posted four strikeouts.

The Pirates traded Burrows to the Houston Astros in the three-team trade with the Tampa Bay Rays on Dec. 19, that landed them second baseman Brandon Lowe, outfielder Jake Mangum and left-handed relief pitcher Mason Montgomery.

Right-handed pitcher Bubba Chandler made his second appearance for the Pirates in the Grapefruit League and threw two innings.

Chandler immediately loaded the bases, walking both third baseman Carlos Correa and first baseman Christian Walker, then giving up a single to center fielder Cam Smith.

He came back and struckout right fielder Taylor Trammell and got left fielder Zach Dezenzo to pop out, but gave up a single to second baseman Brice Matthews and a run to the Astros, before ending the inning with a strikeout.

Chandler also gave up a solo home run to Astros third baseman Isaac Paredes, on a slider down in the zone.

He finished his outing with three hits, three walks and two earned runs allowed over 1.1 innings pitched, before left-handed pitcher Derek Diamond got the last two outs of the inning.

Chandler struggled in his first Spring Training start vs. the New York Yankees at LECOM Park in Bradenton on Feb. 23, where he allowed four earned runs over 1.2 innings of work.

Feb 23, 2026; Bradenton, Florida, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Bubba Chandler (36) throws a pitch during the second inning against the New York Yankees at LECOM Park. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

The Pirates will need better showings from Chandler, who should serve as a key piece of their starting rotation in 2026.

Other Important Notes from Pirates Victory

The Pirates added two runs in the top of the sixth inning, as Cook hit a single that scored second baseman Nick Yorke and then Williams singled, scoring Cook to make it a 5-2 ball game.

Cook had just one hit in eight at-bats coming into this game and scored twice in the victory, as he walked before the Cruz home run.

Designated hitter Marcell Ozuna led the Pirates with two hits, a good sign for them, as they’ll rely on him greatly for his power and hitting in 2026.

The Pirates are now 7-2 in the Grapefruit League and tied with the Yankees for the top of the standings.

Make sure to visit Pirates OnSI for the latest news, updates, interviews and insight on the Pittsburgh Pirates!

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