Top Stories category, Page 1224
Troopers charge Unity man after confrontation over wearing mask in Giant Eagle
A Unity man accused of refusing to wear a mask while shopping at a grocery store and threatening to fight the manager before fleeing was charged with disorderly conduct and harassment, state police said. William A. Muir, 41, also received four traffic citations from troopers as he fled the Giant...
Minimum wage hike all but dead in big covid relief bill
WASHINGTON — Democrats’ hopes of including a minimum wage increase in their $1.9 trillion covid-19 relief bill seemed all but dead Monday as the Senate prepared to debate its own version of the House-passed aid package. Four days after the chamber’s parliamentarian said Senate rules forbid inclusion of a straight-out...
Pa. teachers could move to vaccine’s phase 1A distribution, task force says
Discussions are in progress in Pennsylvania’s General Assembly to possibly move teachers to phase 1A of the state’s vaccine rollout. State Rep. Tim O’Neal, R-Washington, sent an email Sunday alerting House GOP members of the possibility, according to WPXI. He explained that the National Guard would be involved in the...
Pennsylvania saw record declines in covid numbers in February
In February, Pennsylvania saw the steepest decline in new cases of the entire pandemic. The state went from 202,899 new cases in January to 88,418 new cases in February — a 56% drop. Even though February has three fewer days than January, if you were to add three days of...
Westmoreland County’s covid number dropped dramatically in February
When compared with recent prior months, February was much better with regard to the coronavirus in Westmoreland County. New cases of covid-19 dropped by 61.5% from January (5,370) to February (2,064). Even within the month, new cases dropped from the first half to the second. In the first 14 days...
Gov. Wolf raises capacity limits on event spaces, rescinds travel restrictions
Pennsylvania officials eased some covid-19 restrictions effective immediately, specifically those orders pertaining to occupancy limits on indoor and outdoor events, paving the way for the Penguins and Pirates to allow fans at PPG Paints Arena and PNC Park. The new orders, announced by Gov. Tom Wolf, raised the occupancy limits...
Allegheny County’s covid numbers saw dramatic decline in February
Allegheny County saw its covid numbers drop dramatically in the month of February, recording 53% fewer new cases than in January. February’s total new cases in the county added up to 7,301. In January, that number was 15,559. It was the second largest month-to-month decline during the entire pandemic. The...
Pittsburgh zoo reopens with enhanced safety measures
The Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium reopened Monday with modified hours and safety precautions meant to limit the risk of covid-19. Through April, the zoo will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., with entry gates closing at 3 p.m. Beginning Memorial Day weekend, gates will close at 4...
Police: 2 gas stations in Pittsburgh’s East End robbed at gunpoint overnight
Pittsburgh police are investigating a pair of armed robberies that occurred early Monday morning in the city’s East End. The first incident occurred at the 1:25 a.m. at the Marathon gas station in the 4000 block of Penn Avenue, which is in the city’s Lower Lawrenceville section, according to police....
Pa. prison legal mail policy updated after 2 guards sickened by K2
Mail safety protocols in the state’s prisons are being updated after two guards at a Northeastern Pennsylvania facility were hospitalized. Officials said the pair were exposed to K2, or synthetic marijuana, that was sent in correspondence supposedly from the courts. Department of Corrections Secretary John Wetzel said the new protocols...
2 escape from burning home in Monessen
Two people were rescued from a home in Monessen after a fire started late Sunday in the basement, according to authorities. The fire was reported shortly before midnight at a home in the 1000 block of State Street, according to Westmoreland County emergency dispatchers. A man jumped out of a...
‘Nomadland,’ ‘Borat’ win at a socially distant Golden GlobesVideo
NEW YORK (AP) — With homebound nominees appearing by remote video and hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler on different sides of the country, a very socially distanced 78th Golden Globe Awards trudged on in the midst of the pandemic and amid a storm of criticism for the Hollywood Foreign...
Stephen Segal: Take it from a millionaire, a $15 minimum wage is good for Pa. businesses
Lawmakers in the House of Representatives voted to approve the American Rescue Plan, a major step toward providing Americans the relief they desperately need and deserve. As President Biden’s relief package moves to the Senate floor, tense negotiations still are taking place on key provisions included in the plan. Despite...
Trump calls for GOP unity, repeats lies about election lossVideo
ORLANDO, Fla. — Taking the stage for the first time since leaving office, former President Donald Trump on Sunday called for GOP unity, even as he exacerbated intraparty divisions by attacking fellow Republicans and promoting lies about the election in a speech that made clear he intends to remain a...
Police: Man attacked by another wielding ‘large ax’
A Perry South man faces charges after Pittsburgh police say he attacked another man with a large ax. Jacob Thrower, 36, was charged with aggravated assault, making terroristic threats and criminal mischief on Sunday after a fight involving another man shortly after 1 a.m. In a criminal complaint filed against...
U.S. panel endorses 3rd vaccine option from Johnson & JohnsonVideo
WASHINGTON — A U.S. advisory panel has endorsed the new one-dose covid-19 vaccine from Johnson & Johnson as a third option to bolster the national effort against the coronavirus pandemic. Advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention voted overwhelmingly to recommend the vaccine for adults 18 years old...
West Mifflin nonprofit travels to Texas to help animals in need
When Walter Schwarz and Dave Stash received a call from the Pittsburgh Aviation Animal Rescue Team for a mission to Houston, Texas, they didn’t think twice about going. By Friday, the duo had packed a suitcase within 24 hours of learning of the mission that would send them driving to...
Dr. Fauci worried that U.S. virus cases will stick at 70,000 a dayVideo
The baseline level of coronavirus cases needs to fall further before the U.S. can confidently resume normal activities, even as the vaccine rollout accelerates, Anthony Fauci said. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, made the rounds of Sunday talk shows at a moment when news...
Rain tapering off, could turn to snow flurries; flooding still poses threat in Pittsburgh region
The heavy rain showers that saturated much of the region on Sunday have tapered off and could turn into snow flurries as the temperature drops, according to the National Weather Service in Moon. Steady rain through much of Sunday dumped 1 inch of rain in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties, according...
Biden team readies wider economic package after virus relief
WASHINGTON — Looking beyond the $1.9 trillion covid relief bill, President Joe Biden and lawmakers are laying the groundwork for another top legislative priority — a long-sought boost to the nation’s roads, bridges and other infrastructure that could run into Republican resistance to a hefty price tag. Biden and his...
Fraud overwhelms pandemic-related unemployment programs
COLUMBUS, Ohio — With the floodgates set to open on another round of unemployment aid, states are being hammered with a new wave of fraud as they scramble to update security systems and block scammers who already have siphoned billions of dollars from pandemic-related jobless programs. The fraud is fleecing...
Flu season virtually ‘nonexistent’ as coronavirus mitigation efforts help curtail illnesses, doctors say
Despite fears that influenza would combine with covid-19 to create a so-called “twindemic,” this flu season has been a mild one. Allegheny County so far has reported zero flu-related deaths, three hospitalizations and 180 cases. That’s a notable drop from last year’s 12 deaths, 115 hospitalizations and over 10,000 cases....
Police: Hempfield man riding ATV killed in Mt. Pleasant Township crash
A 39-year-old man was killed Saturday night after a crash on Route 819 in Mt. Pleasant Township, according to state police. Timothy A. Strobel of Hempfield was pronounced dead at the scene, officials said. According to police, Strobel was riding a Yamaha Terrapro all-terrain vehicle at about 8:45 p.m. between...
Man arrested after Pittsburgh police say he got in dispute with neighbor, shot him
One person is facing charges after police say he got into a confrontation with his neighbor and shot him. Joseph Baker was arrested by Pittsburgh police following the incident Saturday night and is charged with aggravated assault, according to Pittsburgh Public Safety Spokesman Chris Togneri. Officers and EMS were called...
Pie for The Palace a sweet ending for Westmoreland Cultural Trust gala
When the Westmoreland Cultural Trust throws its annual Party at The Palace, they go all out. So when organizers added a pie-in-the-face finale to this year’s event, they went all out for that, too. No chintzy shaving cream in a pie tin for this group. These pies had graham cracker...
