Top Stories category, Page 1040
Police, EMS respond to head-on collision near Plum High School
Police and medics responded to a head-on collision between two vehicles near Plum High School on Wednesday morning. The crash was reported shortly after 7 a.m. near the intersection of Leechburg and Elicker roads, according to an Allegheny County 911 supervisor. Medics evaluated the occupants of the vehicles for injuries...
Medicare limits coverage of $28,000-a-year Alzheimer’s drug
WASHINGTON — Medicare said Tuesday it will limit coverage of a $28,000-a-year Alzheimer’s drug whose benefits have been widely questioned, a major development in the nation’s tug-of-war over the fair value of new medicines that offer tantalizing possibilities but come with prohibitive prices. The initial determination from the Centers for...
Allegheny County Jail now says 87 inmates segregated last month, not 294
Allegheny County officials said that they are refining the way the jail tracks people in segregated housing after they were criticized last week for not following last year’s referendum banning solitary confinement. On Jan. 5, Warden Orlando Harper submitted a report in which he listed 294 people in segregation. On...
Former Greensburg-based dentist accused of killing wife to collect millions in life insuranceVideo
A former Greensburg dentist and big-game hunter is facing federal charges after authorities said he killed his wife during a safari in Zambia five years ago and collected more than $4 million in life insurance. An arrest warrant was issued Dec. 22 for Lawrence Rudolph, 67, who was living in...
Man from Pittsburgh’s Greenfield charged in infant’s 2020 death said he was sleepwalking
A man from Pittsburgh’s Greenfield neighborhood who police said told investigators that he dropped his infant son down the stairs while sleepwalking is facing homicide charges two years after the child’s death, according to police. Cory Neidert, 31, also is charged with reckless endangerment and child endangerment in connection with...
Omicron may be headed for a rapid drop in U.S. and BritainVideo
Scientists are seeing signals that covid-19′s alarming omicron wave may have peaked in Britain and is about to do the same in the United States, at which point cases may start dropping off dramatically. The reason: The variant has proved so wildly contagious that it may already be running out...
Freeport Area High School goes remote after surging covid counts
Freeport Area High School students will switch to remote learning through Friday because of elevated covid cases and ongoing in-school transmission, district officials announced. The shutdown impacts the high school only. A covid dashboard on the district website confirms 31 active cases at the high school, 29 of them in...
Student in custody after gun found at Pittsburgh’s Carrick High School
A student was taken into custody Tuesday at Carrick High School after a gun was found in the school, according to Pittsburgh Public Schools spokeswoman Ebony Pugh. The Parkfield Street school went into lockdown after a social media post circulated indicating there was a gun in the school. City and...
Baldwin man gets 22 to 54 years in prison for stalking ex, arranging killing of her boyfriend
Matthew Lambert spent months stalking the mother of his child, using a GPS tracker to follow her movements and sending vile text messages that instilled her with fear. Then he paid three people $5,000 and 25 bricks of heroin to kill the man she was dating as they left Rumerz...
University of Pittsburgh ‘disenrolls’ unvaccinated students
No vaccine, no classes. That’s the policy the University of Pittsburgh is now enforcing, saying it has “disenrolled” students who have not complied with the school’s covid-19 vaccine mandate. Pitt announced Dec. 6 it was putting a requirement in place for all students, faculty and staff to be fully vaccinated...
North Allegheny parents file federal lawsuit to block district’s new mask-optional policy
The parents of four North Allegheny students with physical challenges have filed a federal lawsuit accusing the district of endangering their children by making it optional for staff and students to wear face masks in school. The class-action lawsuit does not identify the four students, but notes that there are...
Belle Vernon woman charged after police say she removed Rostraver fatal shooting weapon from home
The girlfriend of a Belle Vernon man accused in a fatal New Year’s Day road rage shooting turned herself in Monday after police said they spotted her removing a pistol from their home, according to court papers. Shaquala L. Poole, 29, is charged with hindering apprehension or prosecution, tampering with...
Pittsburgh RV Show sees high attendance, continued interest in recreational vehiclesVideo
Ken and Katie Wakal recalled their early days of camping. “We put up a tent, which was fine 30 years ago. But now we have a recreational vehicle — which we love,” said Katie Wakal. “We don’t have to sleep on the ground anymore or worry about bears in the...
Woman struck by bus in Downtown Pittsburgh
A woman was struck by a Port Authority bus early Tuesday morning in Downtown Pittsburgh, according to the transportation agency. She was struck at about 6:15 a.m. along Liberty Avenue near the intersection of Sixth Street. Police cordoned off the scene, blocking a section of Liberty Avenue between Sixth and...
Biden on voting rights passage: ‘I’m tired of being quiet!’Video
WASHINGTON — Pounding his fist for emphasis, President Joe Biden challenged senators on Tuesday to “stand against voter suppression,” urging them to change Senate rules in order to pass voting rights legislation that Republicans are blocking from debate and votes. Biden told a crowd in Atlanta that he’d been having...
Red Cross: Blood donations needed to reverse worst shortage in a decade
The American Red Cross has issued an appeal for blood donations to help reverse what officials say is the worst shortage in more than a decade as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. As an incentive, people who arrange blood donations through the Red Cross website (redcrossblood.org) during January will...
Allegheny County denies permit for Tarentum’s Gatto Cycle Diner to reopen
The Allegheny County Health Department has denied a permit to reopen the Cycle Diner next to the Gatto Cycle Shop in Tarentum. The classic 1949 stainless steel, O’Mahony diner is attached to the Gatto Harley-Davidson showroom at the corner of Wood Street and East Sixth Avenue. During the pandemic, two...
Pittsburgh nonprofit to expand free internet in New Kensington, Wilkinsburg via foundation grants
A Pittsburgh nonprofit has received more than $1.4 million from foundations as it plans to expand its free internet access to communities in need across Southwestern Pennsylvania. Meta Mesh Wireless Communities announced it received $1.13 million from the Henry L. Hillman Foundation for its wireless internet service, Every1online. Meta Mesh...
Police: Greenfield father charged in newborn’s 2020 death
A 31-year-old man was arrested Monday in connection to the 2020 death of his 7-week-old son in Pittsburgh’s Greenfield neighborhood, officials said. Cory Neidert of Pittsburgh is charged with criminal homicide, endangering the welfare of children and recklessly endangering another person. On Feb. 1, 2020, police responded to a report...
Woman found dead in Monroeville hotel room identified
The Allegheny County Medical Examiner identified the 49-year-old woman who was found dead Saturday in Monroeville hotel room. Rochella Anderson was found under a hotel bed at the Rodeway Inn on Mosside Boulevard, officials said. A cause and manner of death was not released. Officials responded to the hotel Saturday...
Man charged in Swissvale shooting that left 6 people hurt on Christmas Eve
Allegheny County Police arrested a man they say is responsible for a Christmas Eve shooting in Swissvale that left six people injured, including the man who was arrested. Jacques Washington, 53, of Swissvale was taken into custody Monday afternoon. He is charged with two counts of attempted homicide and five...
Pittsburgh Public Schools resume in-person classes at 5 schools, 21 schools to be remote Tuesday
Pittsburgh Public Schools is reopening five schools to in-person learning while closing 21 other locations, officials announced Monday. Students can report back to class Tuesday at Pittsburgh Carrick High School, Pittsburgh Liberty PreK-5, Pittsburgh Lincoln PreK-5, Pittsburgh South Hills 6-8, and Pittsburgh Whittier PreK-5. Staff and students at the 21...
Some health officials letting covid-infected staff stay on the job
Health authorities around the United States are increasingly taking the extraordinary step of allowing nurses and other workers infected with coronavirus to stay on the job if they have mild symptoms or none at all. The move is a reaction to the severe hospital staffing shortages and crushing caseloads that...
Police: Pittsburgh man killed woman, hid remains in Knoxville shed
A man charged with homicide in the killing of a woman in Pittsburgh’s Knoxville neighborhood had been arrested for alleged assaults against the woman four times prior, according to charges filed in the case. Montel Reed, 26, is accused of killing Crystal Leschner, 28, in late December and hiding her...
Home covid tests to be covered by insurers starting SaturdayVideo
WASHINGTON — Starting Saturday, private health insurers will be required to cover up to eight home covid-19 tests per month for people on their plans. The Biden administration announced the change Monday as it looks to lower costs and make testing for the virus more convenient amid rising frustrations. Under...
