Top Stories category, Page 1195
Officials: Covid surge at Pitt ‘endangering our campus and surrounding communities’
The University of Pittsburgh is “sounding the alarm” and adjusting its testing strategy amid a surge in covid-19 cases. The university reported 48 new infections on the Pittsburgh campus Tuesday, including 46 students and two employees. Twenty-eight of the student cases were recorded Friday alone — the highest single-day case...
Man found shot to death in backyard of home in Marshall-Shadeland neighborhood
Pittsburgh police are investigating a fatal shooting overnight in the city’s Marshall-Shadeland neighborhood. Officers from the Zone 2 station in the North Side responded to a 911 call for an unresponsive man in the 2800 block of McDowell Street at about 12:30 a.m., according to a city public safety spokeswoman....
Cassandra Gross case: Mother laments unsolved homicide of missing daughter
Prosecutors plan a full review of the homicide case as a third year passes without an arrest in the disappearance of Cassandra Gross. District Attorney John Peck said the original prosecutor involved with the case has left his office, and Peck plans to examine the evidence state police have gathered...
Police: Man shot in shin in Pittsburgh’s Manchester neighborhood, residence hit, too
A man was hospitalized after being shot in the shin Tuesday in Pittsburgh’s Manchester neighborhood, police said. Public Safety spokeswoman Cara Cruz said police responded to a ShotSpotter alert and 911 calls for shots fired around 7:15 p.m. along the 1900 block of Manhattan Street. Officers located the victim along...
Vote signals support for child sex abuse window in bill form
HARRISBURG — The state House of Representatives showed solid support Tuesday for enacting a two-year lawsuit window for child victims of sexual abuse as a regular bill, two weeks after the Legislature gave its first round of approval to a similar constitutional amendment. The 148 to 53 vote set the...
Nearly half of new U.S. virus infections are in just 5 statesVideo
Nearly half of new coronavirus infections nationwide are in just five states — a situation that is putting pressure on the federal government to consider changing how it distributes vaccines by sending more doses to hot spots. New York, Michigan, Florida, Pennsylvania and New Jersey together reported 44% of the...
Man who fell to death at West Mifflin plant identified, OSHA investigating
Authorities have identified the man who fell to death at a plant in West Mifflin on Tuesday. Melvin Long, 65, of Clairton fell 41 feet from a catwalk at LafargeHolcim’s Duquesne Aggregates plant in the 4800 block of Buttermilk Hollow Road. The incident occurred at about 2:45 p.m., county police...
Pennsylvania’s push for vaccine equity has been a challenge
Getting shots into the arms of the state’s most vulnerable elderly and minority residents remains a challenge, even as vaccine begins a steady flow into Pennsylvania, state officials said Tuesday. It took the combined efforts of three managed care giants tasked with reaching out to the marginalized and those most...
Student loans canceled for students who attended schools operated by Education Corp. of America
Students who attended schools operated by the defunct Education Corporation of America will have their private student loans canceled. Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced an agreement on Tuesday that will result in the cancellation of about $2.6 million in private Pennsylvania student loans for 1,300 students who attended schools...
Police seek suspect in Stowe shooting; victim upgraded to fair condition
A 29-year-old Stowe man is wanted by police in connection with an early-morning shooting April 4 outside a township nightclub. Stowe Township police responded to a call for shots fired at 3:15 a.m. Sunday outside of the True Diamonds nightclub on Island Avenue. The 31-year-old victim was shot multiple times...
Planning commission recommends Lawrenceville zoning program to slow gentrification
No one spoke out against a proposal to make permanent a temporary zoning law that requires developers of any project with 20 or more units in Lawrenceville to set aside 10% of their units for people who earn lower incomes. Instead, Pittsburgh Planning Commission members Tuesday heard from residents in...
Bill moves forward to rename section of Route 981 in honor of late Rep. Reese of Mt. Pleasant Township
The state House transportation committee approved a bill to name a 3½-mile section of Route 981 from the intersection of Route 819 to Route 2021 south of Norvelt after the late state Rep. Mike Reese of Mt. Pleasant Township. Rep. Ryan Warner, R-Connellsville, the prime sponsor of the bill, said...
Toll 66 on-ramp in Hempfield reopened following afternoon crash
The Route 136 on-ramp to the Route 66 Turnpike Extension in Hempfield has reopened following a two-vehicle crash on Tuesday afternoon, county emergency officials said. The crash was reported around 4:45 p.m., for a report of a two-vehicle crash with possible entrapment. One person involved in the crash was flown...
New Kensington-Arnold’s new superintendent eager to get started
After a second interview, Chris Sefcheck said he wanted the job of superintendent of the New Kensington-Arnold School District so much he didn’t care if it meant a longer commute. He’ll start making that drive on July 1, after the school board hired him on Tuesday. “I really already feel...
Pittsburgh supports Philadelphia in lawsuit against state Firearm Preemption Laws
Pittsburgh city officials this week threw support behind a lawsuit filed last year in Philadelphia challenging Pennsylvania’s Firearm Preemption Laws, alleging they keep the city from combating gun violence and “have forged a state-created danger.” The brief, filed Monday in support of the lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the state...
Is there a crisis of ‘forced mass displacement’ of Black Pittsburghers? Residents, council divided on answer
Why did 7,000 Black Pittsburgh residents leave the city between 2014 and 2018? The answer depends on who’s talking. Community activist Randall Taylor, a former Pittsburgh Public Schools board member and city council candidate, calls it a “crisis of forced mass displacement” of Black residents. City councilmen Ricky Burgess and...
Pastor saves Peyton Manning the pooch from black bear attack in Mt. Pleasant Township
It was a frightening night for a Mt. Pleasant Township pastor who fended off a black bear that had the family dog clutched in its teeth. The Rev. Tim Stradling said Tuesday that Peyton Manning, a 9-year-old Maltese/silky terrier mix, is recovering at a Monroeville animal hospital. The dog has...
Ohio trucker charged in I-70 crash that killed West Penn Power lineman
An Ohio truck driver was driving 62 mph Oct. 21 when he slammed into stopped traffic along Interstate 70 in South Huntingdon, killing a popular West Penn Power worker from New Stanton and seriously injuring two people, state police reported in court documents. Charles C. Walker, 58, of Columbus, Ohio,...
Pa., Allegheny County covid hospitalizations up more than 20% week to week
Recent covid hospitalizations continue to be a story in the commonwealth. Pennsylvania and Allegheny County hospitalization levels have consistently gone up since late March, and hospitalization totals now rival counts seen in February. Hospitalizations For the 17th consecutive day, the number of people hospitalized for covid-19 in Pennsylvania has increased,...
Petty officer shoots 2 sailors; is stopped, killed on Maryland baseVideo
FREDERICK, Md. — A Navy medic shot and critically wounded two U.S. sailors at a military facility Tuesday, then fled to a nearby Army base where he was shot and killed, police and Navy officials said. Fantahun Girma Woldesenbet, a petty officer third class assigned to Fort Detrick, began shooting...
Former Allegheny County councilman begins prison term for stealing from elderly woman
Former Allegheny County Councilman Charles McCullough is in the custody of the sheriff’s office this morning — more than five years after he was sentenced to prison for stealing from an elderly widow. The 66-year-old from Upper St. Clair reported to the courtroom of Common Pleas Judge David R. Cashman...
Pitt, tech-company partners explore use of copper as filter material for PPEVideo
A group of scientists and technology companies from the Pittsburgh area want to torture the covid-19 virus literally to death, and now they have a state grant to help them do so. That’s a bit of an oversimplification, but a big part of the state’s $68,000 Manufacturing PA grant awarded...
Pa. House passes bill seeking to keep state on daylight saving time
The Pennsylvania House of Representatives on Monday passed legislation urging Congress to do away with the semi-annual clock changing ritual and authorize states to make daylight saving time permanent. By a vote of 103-98, the House chose to join 15 other states that have passed legislation asking for this change...
Biden says states should open shots to all adults by April 19
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden said Tuesday that he wants all American adults to be eligible for a coronavirus vaccine by April 19, citing a target date all but two states are already set to meet. “By no later than April 19 in every part of this country, every adult...
Pittsburgh firefighter hurt while assisting at blaze in Mt. Oliver
A Pittsburgh firefighter assisting at a blaze in Mt. Oliver borough was taken to the hospital for treatment after suffering an injury, according to authorities. The fire in the 100 block of Penn Avenue was reported shortly after 12:30 a.m. on Tuesday. Responding units found an abandoned homes engulfed in...
