Top Stories category, Page 1116
New CDC guidelines set off rush to reimpose mask mandates
States and businesses scrambled Wednesday to change course after the federal government issued new guidance calling for the return of mask wearing in virus hot spots amid a dramatic spike in covid-19 cases and hospitalizations nationwide. Nevada and Kansas City were among the locations that moved swiftly to re-impose indoor...
Covid cases, hospitalizations rise in Pennsylvania and Allegheny County
After starting July with low numbers, covid cases and hospitalizations have crept up this past week in Pennsylvania and Allegheny County. In Westmoreland County, there’s a different story as those numbers have not changed much at all. Cases As of Wednesday’s covid report, the Pennsylvania Department of Health has seen...
Pittsburgh council sets community meetings on federal covid relief cash
A series of community meetings will be held in August to get more input about how Pittsburgh should spend the $335 million allotted to the city in the federal American Rescue Plan. Last week, city council approved a four-year plan to allocate the money, amid criticism by some residents and...
Police arrest New Jersey man after 90 mph chase through Greensburg
A New Jersey man is behind bars after Greensburg police said he fled a traffic stop at 90 mph before crashing and being apprehended, according to court papers. Nicholas Michael Tedesco, 27, of Newton, N.J., is charged with flight to avoid apprehension, resisting arrest, escape and related offenses. City police...
UPMC President Jeffrey Romoff to retire
Jeffrey Romoff, the architect of UPMC’s vast empire of hospitals in Western Pennsylvania and beyond, is set to retire Aug. 1, officials announced Wednesday. Romoff will be succeeded by Leslie C. Davis, who most recently served as executive vice president of UPMC and president of the health services division, where...
West Mifflin home catches fire for second time in as many days
Firefighters battled a fire on West Mifflin’s Outlook Drive on Wednesday morning, according to an Allegheny 911 shift supervisor. Crews responded to the fire in the 4400 block of Outlook around 6 a.m. Wednesday. It was the second time in two days that the house caught fire, according to Tribune-Review...
Allegheny County officials won’t rule out local mask mandate
Covid-19 cases in Allegheny County remain below the threshold that would trigger the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s updated mask guidance, but county leaders did not rule out the need for a countywide mask mandate. “We’re not there yet but, again, stay tuned,” said County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, noting...
Route 136 bridge reopens in West Newton following 2-car crash
The Route 136 bridge over the Youghiogheny River was closed for a little over an hour Tuesday night, following a head-on collision between two vehicles in West Newton, according to emergency officials. A Westmoreland County 911 supervisor said occupants of both vehicles were trapped following the crash, which was reported...
White House considering vaccine mandate for federal workersVideo
WASHINGTON — The White House is strongly considering requiring federal employees to show proof they’ve been vaccinated against the coronavirus or otherwise submit to regular testing and wear a mask — a potentially major shift in policy that reflects growing concerns about the spread of the more infectious delta variant....
East Pittsburgh fentanyl dealer, 7-time felon gets 15 years in federal prison
An East Pittsburgh man with seven prior felony convictions will spend 15 years behind bars for using a gun while dealing large amounts of synthetic fentanyl he ordered by mail from South Korea. James Folks, 47, who also has ties to Homestead, was sentenced in federal court in Pittsburgh for...
What the CDC mask recommendations mean for Western Pennsylvanians
As expected, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is now recommending that even vaccinated people wear masks indoors in parts of the U.S. where coronavirus cases are surging. The CDC made the announcement Tuesday, adding vaccinated people with vulnerable household members, including young children and those who are immunocompromised,...
Fox Chapel police charge man living in vacant home that’s on the market for $700K
A man who belongs to a group that describes itself as a private tribal association for indigenous peoples is accused of squatting in a large Fox Chapel home listed for sale for nearly $700,000. Noble Prince Kamoory El, 28, faces two counts of criminal trespassing in the case that police...
Full FDA approval of covid-19 vaccines might lead more people to get them. What’s the holdup?Video
PHILADELPHIA — More than eight months ago, large studies found that both the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna covid-19 vaccines reduced the risk of illness by more than 90%. Yet the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not yet granted them full approval, to the dismay of public-health officials eager to boost...
Police arrest carjacking suspect on Route 28; U-Haul employee shot when truck stolen
A carjacking and shooting near a U-Haul facility in Pittsburgh spurred a police chase that culminated in an arrest made on Route 28 during rush-hour traffic Tuesday evening, initial reports indicate. A Pittsburgh officer was injured when the suspect’s stolen rental truck struck him in the leg during the pursuit,...
Demolition continues at Ida’s restaurant in Arnold; city looking for money to pay for work
As a contractor continues to remove debris from the remains of a fire-ravaged former restaurant on Fifth Avenue, Arnold officials are trying to finalize how to pay for the work. The building at 1605 Fifth Ave. that once housed Ida’s Place collapsed Sunday — a day before its demolition was...
Pennsylvania transportation funding report could propel years of debate
HARRISBURG — A transportation funding commission is preparing to recommend how to raise billions more dollars in Pennsylvania for a 21st-century highway system, a report that will land at a politically touchy time and is expected to kick off a debate that could last years. The report, expected this week...
‘Dormont called’: Pittsburgh residents may be able to use Dormont’s pool soon
The sunny skies and 88-degree weather Tuesday made for a perfect day for swimming. But in Pittsburgh, 10 of the city’s 18 pools are closed this year because of staffing and maintenance issues. It’s something that’s dogged council members through the Dog Days of summer. During the final city council...
Pittsburgh’s requirement for paid covid sick leave to last for a year
Pittsburgh businesses with more than 50 employees will be required to provide paid sick leave to workers who contract covid-19 or who are required to quarantine for at least the next year under legislation city council adopted Tuesday. The revised ordinance passed by a 7-1 vote, with Councilman Anthony Coghill...
Pennsylvania officials warn of uptick in hard-to-spot ticks as summer wears on
The state Department of Environmental Protection has collected twice as many small, immature ticks in Pennsylvania this year compared to last year, prompting warnings for residents to check themselves thoroughly after outdoor activities. Blacklegged tick nymphs, or ticks that are not fully grown, pose an even greater risk when it...
$15 wage becoming a norm as employers struggle to fill jobs
The signs and banners are dotted along suburban commercial strips and hanging in shop windows and restaurants, evidence of a new desperation among America’s service-industry employers: “Now Hiring, $15 an hour.” It is hardly the official federal minimum wage — at $7.25, that level hasn’t been raised since 2009 —...
Pittsburgh man serving life charged with smuggling synthetic drugs into prison as mail
A Lincoln-Lemington man serving life for first-degree murder was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges that he smuggled synthetic drugs into a state prison under the guise of legal mail addressed from the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas. Rodney Howard, 36, is currently incarcerated at the State...
Pittsburgh economy adds 9,300 jobs in June; jobless rate drops slightly
The Pittsburgh region’s economy continued to show signs of a slow recovery, adding 9,300 jobs in June, most of which were in the leisure and hospitality sector. “We are scuffling along, jobs wise. There’s still some of the labor force that’s deciding not to go back to work,” said Frank...
Latrobe wants to raze 3 dilapidated houses, eyes county funding program
Latrobe hopes to tap a Westmoreland County grant program to help demolish three vacant, dilapidated houses. The funding originates with the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development and is administered by the county redevelopment authority. If approved, it would require a $250 local match for demolishing a house the...
A police killing in Philadelphia could change Pa. use-of-force cases forever
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. HARRISBURG — Philadelphia’s district attorney is challenging Pennsylvania’s use-of-force law ahead of a former police officer’s landmark murder trial, and the...
Fine line divides local public and private universities on vaccine requirements
A fine line is dividing public and private universities in the region with regard to vaccine mandates. While private universities including Carnegie Mellon, Chatham, Seton Hill and Duquesne are requiring vaccinations for those on campus this fall, public universities here are stopping short of adopting mandates that state lawmakers —...
