Top Stories category, Page 1110
University of Pittsburgh announces indoor mask mandate, other protocols for fall
The University of Pittsburgh announced covid-19 protocols for the fall semester on Thursday. The protocols mandate masks in all indoor settings, regardless of vaccination status, with the exception of enclosed private offices or dwellings. Pitt also said individuals who are not fully vaccinated, as well as those who are or...
Homicide charges added against suspected U-Haul carjacker
Charges against a man accused of shooting a U-Haul employee in Pittsburgh last week during a botched carjacking have been upgraded to include homicide, days after the victim in the shooting died from his wounds. Braijon Burton, 21, is charged with homicide, aggravated assault, reckless endangerment, fleeing police, firearms violations...
Biden, reversing Trump order, announces tougher car pollution standardsVideo
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden introduced plans Thursday to strengthen car pollution standards through 2026, putting the United States on a path to reduce greenhouse gas emissions — though not as quickly as many environmentalists say is needed. The proposed standards, written by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Transportation...
Sewickley mother pleads guilty in child’s cocaine consumption
A Sewickley woman was sentenced Thursday to serve three years on probation for allowing her two-year-old son to ingest cocaine. Arrica Ann Holwell, 23, pleaded guilty to one felony charge of child endangerment. According to court records, police responded to her home in July 2020 after a Westmoreland County Children’s...
Latrobe man sent to prison for New Year’s party sexual assault
A Latrobe man will serve up to four years in prison for the sexual assault of an unconscious woman at a New Year’s party last year in Hempfield. Hunter Hoyle, 22, told a Westmoreland County judge on Thursday he was sorry for his actions in the early morning hours of...
Allegheny County to require covid-19 vaccination for all new hires
Allegheny County will make covid-19 vaccination a requirement for new hires going forward, county Executive Rich Fitzgerald said Thursday. “We are not going to hire anybody going forward that does not have a vaccine card,” he said, noting the county hires anywhere from 500 to 1,000 people each year. Current...
Police: South Side man charged with killing his mother told dispatchers ‘this is what she gets’
A South Side man told Pittsburgh police he had no interest in saving his mother’s life when he called 911 to report she was unresponsive Monday in what would ultimately become the 85th time police were called to the Sarah Street home. “This is what she gets for being so...
Laurel Highlands baseball coach DeBerry dies following stomach cancer diagnosis
A few years ago, Scott DeBerry of Uniontown needed a French drain around his home, but there really wasn’t room to bring a backhoe in to do the digging. “He hand-dug the whole perimeter. That was an incredible amount of work for one person,” said Shawn Bernarding of Dormont. “He’s...
Former Fox Chapel cardiologist gets 6½ years in prison for health care fraud
A former Fox Chapel cardiologist convicted of health care fraud for falsely billing more than $13 million in specialized treatment his patients didn’t need asked for mercy at his sentencing Thursday. Dr. Samirkumar J. Shah, who failed to show at his original sentencing hearing last month, and for whom the...
Longtime AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, a Nemacolin native, has died
WASHINGTON — Richard Trumka, the powerful president of the AFL-CIO who rose from the coal mines of Pennsylvania to preside over one of the largest labor organizations in the world, died Thursday. He was 72. The federation confirmed Trumka’s death in a statement. He had been AFL-CIO president since 2009,...
Ross Township police welcome new K9 ‘Tyr’ to their ranks, will be deployed by mid-October
The Ross Township police have a new officer in their ranks — a 15-month-old Belgian malinois shepherd from Holland named Tyr, who is completing training to serve in the department’s K9 unit. Tyr was born at the De Stroete Kennels in Holland and sent to trainer Bertil Leezer when he...
Pittsburgh police seek missing woman, 11-year-old boy; both called ‘endangered’
Pittsburgh police are asking for the public’s help in their search for a woman and an 11-year-old boy reported missing separately on Wednesday. Both are considered to be endangered, police said. The boy, Ronnell Miller, was last seen at about 4 p.m. in the Brighton Heights area, according to police....
Penn State University requires masking at all campuses
STATE COLLEGE — Penn State University will require students, staff and visitors at all its campuses to wear masks while indoors, the school announced Wednesday, responding to a statewide surge in coronavirus cases. The masking rule will apply to everyone, regardless of vaccination status, Penn State officials said. “As we...
Greensburg Salem eyes covid mask recommendation, not mandate
The Greensburg Salem School Board is considering a health plan that would recommend, but not mandate, masks for all who enter district school buildings. At this week’s board discussion meeting, there was passionate debate about the proposed mask policy, including the choice of wording. The board is expected to take...
U.S. plans to require covid-19 shots for foreign travelers
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is taking the first steps toward requiring nearly all foreign visitors to the United States to be vaccinated for the coronavirus, a White House official said Wednesday. The requirement would come as part of the administration’s phased approach to easing travel restrictions for foreign citizens...
Officials release name of woman who was victim of homicide in South Side
Officials have identified a homicide victim found dead in her Pittsburgh home Monday morning. Annette Morros, 66, died of blunt force trauma to the head and trunk, according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office. The medical examiner ruled her death was a homicide. Pittsburgh police, who are investigating the...
Officials identify Mt. Lebanon man killed in suspected double murder-suicide
Officials on Wednesday released the name of a man killed along with his wife nearly a week earlier in a suspected double murder-suicide in Mt. Lebanon. John Tratras, 66, died in the shooting incident at about 2:40 a.m. Thursday in the Gilkeson Road home he shared with Ana Tratras, 59,...
Gold medalist Jade Carey has strong ties to Alle-Kiski Valley
Long before gymnast Jade Carey won gold with her nearly flawless floor routine Monday at the Tokyo Olympics, the 21-year-old from Arizona nailed a living-room floor routine in the Alle-Kiski Valley during a visit to see relatives. “We had a huge family room, and from the time she walked in...
Allegheny County covid hospitalizations tick upward behind rising case counts
The average weekly number of covid-19 hospitalizations in Allegheny County nearly doubled over the past month, according to state Department of Health data, as those numbers begin ticking upward to match the rising case counts. The seven-day average of hospitalizations on July 3 in Allegheny County was 30. On Wednesday,...
Nursing home to workers: Get vaccine or lose your job
NEW YORK — The U.S. nursing home industry’s resistance to forcing workers to get vaccinated against covid-19 for fear that too many of them might quit began to crack this week when its biggest player announced its employees must get the shot to keep their jobs. The new requirement at...
Sturgis bike rally revs back bigger, despite delta variant
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Crowds of bikers are rumbling their way toward South Dakota’s Black Hills this week, raising fears that covid-19 infections will be unleashed among the 700,000 people expected to show up at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. The rally, which starts Friday, has become a haven for those...
Majority of New York Assembly would oust Cuomo if he doesn’t quitVideo
ALBANY, N.Y. — A majority of state Assembly members support beginning impeachment proceedings against Gov. Andrew Cuomo if he doesn’t resign over investigative findings that he sexually harassed at least 11 women, according to an Associated Press count Wednesday. At least 83 of the body’s 150 members have said publicly...
UPMC Magee and Pitt to study covid-19 vaccines immune response in pregnancy and postpartum
A top medical facility and university are joining in a study looking at covid-19 vaccines, pregnancy and postpartum. UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine will participate in a National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases study of the immune response to covid-19 vaccines among pregnant...
Flight cancellations continue for Spirit Airlines
Spirit Airlines’ flight cancellations continued Wednesday and Thursday for passengers planning to fly out of or into Arnold Palmer Regional and Pittsburgh International airports. Four arrivals and three departures were canceled at the Unity airport Wednesday and an additional five flights were canceled Thursday. Eleven Spirit flights were canceled each...
The Stroll returning to Ligonier with more classic cars than ever
At least 130 vintage rides will be rolling into Ligonier on Friday, as The Stroll returns after a pandemic-year hiatus. This year’s event promises to be bigger than ever, with the reserved area for the antique and classic car show expanded to accommodate more vehicles. As usual, the vintage rides...
