Top Stories category, Page 1112
Giant Eagle asks all customers to wear masks starting Friday
Giant Eagle officials said they “strongly” suggest all customers wear masks in their stores, regardless of vaccination status, starting Friday. Workers will be required to wear masks or face shields starting Wednesday. Both announcements were made Monday evening. “Throughout the covid-19 pandemic, we have made keeping our team members safe...
Covid spread now ‘substantial’ in Allegheny, other Western Pa. counties
Nine Western Pennsylvania counties are experiencing “substantial” levels of covid-19 transmission that fall under federal recommendations calling for people to wear masks indoors regardless of vaccination status. Allegheny, Butler, Beaver, Lawrence, Washington, Armstrong, Indiana, Clarion and Somerset counties are all experiencing “substantial” covid-19 transmission, according to the Centers for Disease...
Tracking Pa.’s pandemic spending, by the numbers
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters. Spotlight PA’s tallying of Pennsylvania’s pandemic-related spending led us to the state’s emergency procurement program — a faster and, critics say,...
U.S. health official: Masks are frustrating, but country can get past them
ATLANTA — A top federal health official said Monday that he understood frustration with new mask requirements, but the country could overcome them if people accepted responsibility for combatting the coronavirus. U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra was in Georgia as covid-19 infections and hospitalizations in the state...
Majority of Spirit flights canceled Monday at Westmoreland, Pittsburgh airports
Numerous Spirit Airlines flights at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport and Pittsburgh International Airport were canceled Monday, mirroring problems at other airports the low-cost carrier serves. The Florida-based airline issued a statement indicating the problem was triggered by a series of “weather and operational challenges” over the weekend. It said rumors...
Lindsey Graham 1st vaccinated senator to test positive for covid-19
COLUMBIA, S.C. — U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham has tested positive for the coronavirus, the first senator to disclose a breakthrough infection after being vaccinated. In a statement issued Monday afternoon, the South Carolina Republican said that he “started having flu-like symptoms Saturday night” and went to the doctor Monday morning....
U.S. hits 70% vaccination rate — a month late, amid a surgeVideo
The United States on Monday finally reached President Joe Biden’s goal of getting at least one covid-19 shot in the arms of 70% of American adults — a month late and amid a fierce surge by the delta variant that is swamping hospitals and leading to new mask rules and...
Police accuse Arnold man of choking woman, burning officer, hurting child
An Arnold woman told police she thought a man was going to kill her when he grabbed her by the throat Friday night, according to a criminal complaint. Arnold police said Troyan Joseph Wilkins, 28, also burned an officer’s hand with a cigarette when the officer allowed him to have...
2nd Penn State student dies of covid-19 complications
Students and staff at Penn State are mourning the coronavirus-related death of a second student from the university. Neil Patel, 20, a sixth semester Penn State Honors College scholar from Upper Merion Township, died Sunday at a Philadelphia hospital, where he was taken in mid-April with severe effects of covid-19....
Pennsylvania reports 2,283 new covid cases since Friday
The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported 913 additional coronavirus cases on Monday, and 2,106 total cases for Saturday and Sunday, for a three-day total of 3,019. Northampton County’s 131 additional cases since Friday were enough to give it the highest population-adjusted seven-day case rate among the state’s 67 counties. Northampton...
Hempfield man accused of attempting to fake court-ordered drug test
A Hempfield man who police say rigged a smoothie drink pouch to a rubber hose was charged Monday with attempting to fake a drug test, according to court documents. Kevin J. Harrold, 56, was charged with a misdemeanor count of furnishing drug-free urine after allegedly attempting to falsify a drug...
Pennsylvania Lottery sets record for sales, profit
Pennsylvania Lottery officials on Monday announced that the Lottery generated a record profit of more than $1.3 billion during the 2020-21 fiscal year. Officials said this is the tenth consecutive year that it has generated more than $1 billion for senior programs, which include property tax and rent rebates, free...
‘It just went boom.’ ICUs are being overwhelmed with younger — and sicker — patients
MIAMI — Inside a covid-only intensive care unit at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, all eight beds are filled with patients. Six of the eight patients are younger than 50 years old. None of them has been vaccinated against covid-19. The youngest patient, a 27-year-old woman on a ventilator, had...
Erratic scooter driver arrested in Erie store robbery; pockets stuffed with cash
A pursuit by Erie police of an erratic scooter driver led to his arrest in the Sunday night robbery of a downtown convenience store, police said. Police said officers found cash stuffed in the scooter driver’s pockets. The 49-year-old man was in police custody Monday morning awaiting arraignment on robbery...
Greensburg man dies in Butler County motorcycle crash
A Greensburg man died in a motorcycle crash Friday in Butler County, state police said. State police identified the man as Brian D. Keller, 50. According to state police, the crash happened around 7 p.m. Friday on Kittanning Pike Road near Pine Road in Fairview Township. Police said Keller was...
U-Haul employee killed in carjacking ‘was a special young man with a bright future’
Two 21-year-old men crossed paths in Pittsburgh last week during an interaction that lasted no longer than it took for one to make a decision and pull a trigger. Now, one is dead and the other in jail, awaiting charges that likely will grow to include homicide. Pittsburgh police indicated...
State parks: More money needed for maintenance, improvements
A plan for improving and maintaining Pennsylvania’s 121 state parks contains 87 strategies, but none might be more difficult to attain than extracting more funding from the state to address what has been estimated to be $500 million worth of maintenance, safety and infrastructure needs in state parks and forests....
Norwin grads ‘reimagine Monroeville Mall’ as more environmentally friendly
Three 2021 Norwin High School graduates were recognized for their ideas to make the Monroeville Mall more economically, socially and environmentally sustainable. Their suggestions include adding a farmers market, planting more landscape to reduce stormwater runoff, creating a recreational park and adding solar panels at the 169-acre mall. Keara Finnigan,...
Penn State ranks as one of the nation’s best 50 employers for recent college grads, per Forbes list
Penn State is among the nation’s best employers for recent college graduates, according to Forbes’ annual rankings that include businesses and organizations with at least 1,000 employees. The annual rankings — based on criteria such as opportunities for advancement, work environment and competitiveness of compensation — ranked Penn State at...
‘Mass chaos’ after fight triggers mad rush for exits at Lancaster County sports complex
MANHEIM — Authorities say a number of people were injured at an indoor sports complex in Pennsylvania after some kind of incident triggered a crowd rush for the exits. Diane Garber, emergency services coordinator for East Hempfield Township, said the 2:20 p.m. Sunday incident at Spooky Nook Sports in Manheim...
Senators produce bipartisan $1 trillion infrastructure billVideo
WASHINGTON — After much delay, senators unveiled a nearly $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package Sunday night, wrapping up days of painstaking work on the inches-thick bill and launching what is certain to be a lengthy debate over President Joe Biden’s big priority. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act clocked in...
Florida breaks record for covid-19 hospitalizationsVideo
ORLANDO — A day after it recorded the most new daily cases since the start of the pandemic, Florida on Sunday broke a previous record for current hospitalizations, as the number of patients in hospitals because of covid-19 once again broke through the 10,000-person threshold. The Sunshine State had 10,207...
Missing Vandergrift ArtFest painting returned to artist
A painting that was feared stolen from Vandergrift’s ArtFest last weekend has been found. ArtFest chairperson Lisa Dormire posted the update to social media Sunday morning. An ocean-themed 16x20 oil painting by Alle-Kiski Valley artist JoAnn Wesolosky disappeared from a pop-up gallery last Sunday and organizers took to social media...
Kittanning man arrested after police say he set fire to home in domestic dispute
State police arrested a Kittanning man Sunday morning for allegedly setting fire to a Buffalo Township home during a domestic dispute. Joseph A. Hawk, 20, was wanted for the incident, which Trooper Timothy Reilly said happened at 12:55 p.m. Saturday in the 700 block of Bunker Hill Road in the...
Empty dorm rooms pose financial problems for Pennsylvania public universities
Editor’s note: The original version of this story understated the total cost of the combined projects. This update reflects the higher, actual figures. As the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education finalizes the details of a historic consolidation, officials on the campuses of eight of its 14 universities are struggling...
