Top Stories category, Page 1019
Allegheny County covid cases skyrocket as omicron spreads
The number of new covid-19 cases in Allegheny County has grown exponentially this week, with nearly 2,000 new cases reported Thursday — a sign health director Dr. Debra Bogen said is a likely due to the quick-spreading omicron variant. From Monday to Tuesday, the county recorded 654 new cases, followed...
Pittsburgh Cultural Trust unveils 50-foot rabbit installation for First Night
Easter is months away. But that didn’t prevent this bunny family from hopping into town on Thursday. The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust inflated a large 50-foot animal with floppy ears and three smaller similar creatures as part of its Highmark First Night Pittsburgh event, which is happening from 6 p.m. to...
Pittsburgh public safety leader will not be part of new mayor’s administration
Pittsburgh Public Safety Director Wendell Hissrich said he’s been informed that he will not be retained under Mayor-elect Ed Gainey’s incoming administration. “We’ve seen lots of change, and even trying times together, and hopefully we were able to make a positive difference over these past six years,” Hissrich said Thursday...
Longtime Shanksville fire chief, who responded on 9/11, in need of heart transplant
The Somerset County area is digging deep to help longtime area firefighter Terry Shaffer, who was Shanksville Volunteer Fire Department’s chief when United Airlines Flight 93 crashed on 9/11. Shaffer, 66, was admitted last week to UPMC Presbyterian hospital in Pittsburgh for treatment of congestive heart failure, according to his...
Pittsburgh and Allegheny County stories of the year in 2021
The covid-19 pandemic continued to dominate daily news cycles this year in Western Pennsylvania and beyond. But many other news events occurred in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County in 2021 — including the election of Pittsburgh’s first Black mayor and the arrests of dozens of Western Pennsylvanians after the riot at...
U.S. unemployment claims drop to 198,000
WASHINGTON — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell below 200,000, more evidence that the job market remains strong in the aftermath of last year’s coronavirus recession. Jobless claims dropped by 8,000 to 198,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The four-week average, which smooths out week-to-week volatility, fell...
Powerball jackpot will climb to $483 million on New Year’s Day
Looks like 2022 is going to be a great year for someone. The Powerball lottery jackpot will climb to $483 million on New Year’s Day after no one matched the five numbers and Powerball in Wednesday’s drawing, according to state lottery officials. The numbers drawn were 2-6-9-33-39 and the Powerball...
When there’s no room at nursing facilities, convicted sex offenders often land in unregulated boarding homes
Christopher Farkas said he’s not one to judge the 23 convicted sex offenders living at his boarding house in a rundown, troubled section of McKeesport. Without Farkas’ Hospitality House, he said those offenders, most needing help with basic daily tasks such as cooking, laundry and complying with the rules for...
State lawmakers vow to better protect care home residents from convicted sex offenders
Pennsylvania lawmakers have vowed action to protect some of the state’s most vulnerable residents by changing the system that has sent convicted sex offenders to nursing, personal care and assisted-living homes where some have found their next victims. Their promises come after learning the results of a Tribune-Review investigation showing...
Hidden danger: Registered sex offenders often go undetected in care homes, sometimes at an unspeakable cost
It was just a few days past Christmas 2020 when a 57-year-old woman with advanced dementia and a penchant for wandering the hallways stumbled into Richard Marlin Walter’s room at Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center. Frail, confused and robbed of her ability to speak, she couldn’t scream for help when...
Yak Diner’s move to briefly close River Road in North Apollo on Monday
River Road closure for moving the Yak Diner delayed Closure of a section of River Road in North Apollo that was set of happen Monday will be delayed for at least a day. Arlene “Dolly” McCoy said Saturday that moving the diner must be delayed until PennDOT releases a permit....
Wilkinsburg man charged after police said they found missing children in his apartment
A Wilkinsburg man faces charges after police said multiple missing juveniles were found in his apartment. Tyron Scott, 21, is charged with four counts of child endangerment and one count each of corruption of minors and reckless endangerment. Police from Pittsburgh and Wilkinsburg responded early Monday to a report of...
Ghislaine Maxwell convicted in Jeffrey Epstein sex abuse case
NEW YORK — The British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted Wednesday of luring teenage girls to be sexually abused by the American millionaire Jeffrey Epstein. The verdict capped a monthlong trial featuring sordid accounts of the sexual exploitation of girls as young as 14, told by four women who described...
New Westmoreland County row officers, district judges, sworn in
There’s a full slate of court proceedings waiting for Rebecca Calisti Tyburski in her first week as district judge in Harrison City. She’s excited to get started Monday after weeks of learning the ropes with help from District Judge Helen Kistler, who is retiring from the Penn Township seat. “She...
$4 per gallon gas possible in spring before relief arrives, outlook says
Gasoline could reach a national average of $4 per gallon early next year, price tracking service GasBuddy says in its 2022 fuel price outlook released Wednesday. For all of 2022, GasBuddy expects the national average price to increase by nearly 40 cents per gallon, from $3.02 in 2021 to $3.41....
Parents of Penn Hills teen who shot, killed 5-year-old brother surrender to police
The parents of a 13-year-old who allegedly shot and killed his little brother with his father’s unsecured handgun have turned themselves in to police Wednesday, authorities said. Thomas Wolfe, 35, and Sara Gerwig, 37, both face multiple counts of endangering the welfare of children in connection with the shooting last...
Vandergrift women accused of cruelty to animals, abandoning cats at shelter
A Vandergrift woman and her daughter each face 33 animal cruelty and neglect charges after a state humane officer accused them of improperly caring for 11 cats and then abandoning them at a shelter. Callie Jo McCluskey, 51, and Katherine McCluskey, 18, of 37th Street, each were charged with 11...
New covid-19 cases in U.S. soar to highest levels on recordVideo
More than a year after the vaccine was rolled out, new cases of covid-19 in the U.S. have soared to their highest level on record at over 265,000 per day on average, a surge driven largely by the highly contagious omicron variant. New cases per day have more than doubled...
Coroner identifies 3 people killed in New Castle house fire
Two family members and a guest were killed in a house fire early Wednesday in Lawrence County. The victims were identified as Courtney Payne, 41, and Terrianna Payne, 17, both of New Castle, and Xzavia Booker, 18, who was originally from New Castle, according to Lawrence County Coroner Richard Johnson....
15 Pa. laws from 2021 that could affect your life
In Pennsylvania, laws to expand the pool of eligible substitute teachers, make it a crime to steal from the elderly, and improve transparency in government agencies were among those that took effect in 2021. In all, the 100 laws enacted were a mere fraction of the more than 3,000 bills...
Revitalization tops municipal leaders’ 2022 wish lists
Wish lists abound this time of year, but not all gifts come in neatly wrapped packages. Local community leaders know what they’d most like to see under their municipal trees — if cost and tax dollars were no object. From trails to safe sidewalks to green space, officials appear to...
Pamela’s Diner is closing in Squirrel Hill, but its other locations will remain
After 42 years in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood, Pamela’s Diner is closing. Closure of the restaurant was announced in a news release Tuesday by co-owners Gail Klingensmith and Pam Cohen who have several Pamela’s locations throughout the Pittsburgh area. All other Pamela’s locations will remain open. The decision was largely...
Disciplinary action initiated against 9 Pittsburgh police officers in tasing, death of man in Bloomfield
The Pittsburgh police have begun the disciplinary process for nine people involved in the October tasing and subsequent death of a homeless man. Mayor Bill Peduto confirmed on Tuesday that disciplinary action reports have started to be served following a Critical Incident Review Board that concluded about two weeks ago....
Harry Reid, former Senate majority leader, dies at 82
LAS VEGAS — Harry Reid, the former Senate majority leader and Nevada’s longest-serving member of Congress, has died. He was 82. Reid died Tuesday, “peacefully” and surrounded by friends “following a courageous, four-year battle with pancreatic cancer,” Landra Reid said of her husband in a statement. “Harry was a devout...
John Madden, Hall of Fame coach and broadcaster, dies at 85Video
John Madden, the Hall of Fame coach turned broadcaster whose exuberant calls combined with simple explanations provided a weekly soundtrack to NFL games for three decades, died Tuesday morning, the league said. He was 85. The NFL said he died unexpectedly and did not detail a cause. Madden gained fame...
