Top Stories category, Page 1231
CDC: In-person schooling can be done safely if guidelines are followed
The nation’s top public health agency on Friday provided a roadmap for reopening schools in the middle of a pandemic, emphasizing mask wearing and social distancing and saying vaccination of teachers is important but not a prerequisite for reopening. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced the long-awaited update,...
Westmoreland County reports 66 new covid cases, no deaths
Westmoreland County on Friday reported 66 additional cases of covid-19, below the seven-day average of 77 cases. Of the new cases, 32 are confirmed via 141 new PCR tests. The county has seen a total of 25,668 coronavirus cases since the pandemic began. Of those, 18,338 were confirmed via PCR...
Pennsylvania adds 3,987 covid cases, 99 deaths
Pennsylvania on Friday reported 3,987 additional cases of covid-19, keeping the seven-day average below 4,000 for the eighth consecutive day. The state’s seven-day case average has been trending mostly downward since peaking above 10,000 in mid-December. It currently sits at 3,797. Of the newly reported cases, 3,337 are confirmed via...
Pitt researchers find Black Americans nationwide must travel farther to get covid vaccine
A study from researchers at the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Pharmacy shows that Black residents in many regions of the U.S. will have farther to travel to receive a covid-19 vaccine — creating a potential accessibility issue. “Pharmacies should be easy to access, but in some places there’s low...
Allegheny County adds 252 new covid cases; 7-day average continues to drop
The seven-day average of covid-19 cases in Allegheny County on Friday continued to drop as 252 additional cases were reported, according to county and state health department data. The seven-day average of 270 is the lowest since early November. It peaked at more than 1,300 in December. Of the newly...
9-time Pro Bowl center Maurkice Pouncey retiring from Steelers
Citing the “sacrifice” playing pro football carries on his life, nine-time Pro Bowl center Maurkice Pouncey announced his retirement from the Pittsburgh Steelers on Friday. Pouncey and his twin brother, Mike, made their joint announcement via Maurkice Pouncey’s longtime teammate and friend, Ramon Foster, on Foster’s verified Twitter page. Foster,...
Freeport Area approves remote learning program to possibly nix snow days
Snow days may be a thing of the past for Freeport Area School District students. The district was approved by the state for the Flexible Instructional Day Program, which allows schools to engage in remote learning rather than canceling and rescheduling school days because of factors like hazardous weather, damage...
Trump impeachment trial: Defense wraps up case in 3 hoursVideo
WASHINGTON — The defense attorneys for Donald Trump have wrapped up their presentation in the former president’s impeachment trial. Lawyers argued for three hours Friday that former President Donald Trump didn’t incite the Jan. 6 rally crowd to riot at the U.S. Capitol and that his words were merely figures...
Police say driver crashed into gas station in effort to steal ATM
A man crashed a pickup into a Hill District gas station Friday morning trying to steal an ATM machine, Pittsburgh police said. Police and medics responded to the report of a vehicle into a building in the 2300 block of Centre Avenue shortly after 7 a.m. Officers found a large...
Board games provide low-tech alternative to online obsessionsVideo
A board game called Pandemic was a customer favorite early last year at Mr. Nice Guy Games in Monroeville. “It was our No. 1 seller in February and March,” said Christy Kotwica, who owns the store with her husband, Ron Kotwica. “We ordered four times what we’d normally order, and...
Ex-Tribune-Review Sunday editor remembered as a ‘giant of a man’
William T. “Bill” Dymond, the first editor of the Sunday Tribune-Review, was a man great in stature and personality, a man who cared deeply about his family and community, his friends said. “He was a giant in so many ways. Not only in personal stature, but a giant in the...
Police: Monroeville man facing multiple sexual assault charges involving child
A Monroeville man was arrested last week on multiple sexual assault charges stemming from the early 2000s, according to Pittsburgh police. Raymond Dixon Jr., 36, was arrested Feb. 4. He faces charges of unlawful contact with a minor, two counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, sexual assault, two counts of...
John Fetterman: ‘Race played no role’ in shotgun-wielding chase of Black jogger he mistook for criminalVideo
Lt. Gov. John Fetterman on Thursday rebuffed criticism stemming from a 2013 decision to grab his 20-gauge shotgun and chase after someone he thought might be a shooter on the run but turned out to be an unarmed jogger. The incident resurfaced this week with the ambitious, progressive Democrat’s newly...
Bishop Larry Kulick ordained to lead Diocese of Greensburg
The Diocese of Greensburg welcomed its new bishop Thursday with worship, prayer and pageantry — but without the crowds of parishioners usually present to celebrate such an event. “Like so many things we have done differently during the pandemic, this liturgy is no exception,” said Monsignor Raymond Riffle, rector of...
Biden says U.S. is securing 600 million vaccine doses by JulyVideo
BETHESDA, Md. — President Joe Biden visited some of the nation’s leading scientists on the frontlines of the fight against covid-19 on Thursday, as he announced the U.S. will have enough supply of the vaccine by the end of the summer to inoculate 300 million Americans. Biden toured the Viral...
Slow snow removal causes frustration in some Pittsburgh neighborhoods
In some Pittsburgh neighborhoods, snow doesn’t create a winter wonderland. It creates treacherous road conditions that too often go unplowed and untreated. Following Wednesday night’s snowfall, City Councilman Anthony Coghill received five or six calls from residents who were concerned about snow-covered roads. “That’s a walk in the park,” Coghill...
Despite vaccine, Redstone Highlands reports covid spike at Greensburg facility
About 1,000 employees and staff members at Redstone Highlands’ three skilled nursing facilities have their first and, in some cases, second doses of the coronavirus vaccine. With the facilities on their way to being protected, president and CEO John Dickson said it was a shock to learn the virus made...
White House says it will defer to CDC on reopening schoolsVideo
Facing criticism that President Joe Biden has not acted aggressively enough on reopening schools, the White House on Thursday said it’s aiming for a full reopening but will defer to science experts on how to achieve it in the middle of a pandemic. The White House drew criticism this week...
Shawn Kuhn leaves legacy of joy, service in Allegheny Township
Family members described Shawn Kuhn as “larger than life, a friend to all.” Kuhn was director of public works for Allegheny Township — but his involvement in the community reached far beyond his municipal duties. He was former president of the Allegheny Township Athletic Association and the Kiski Valley Baseball...
Family of South Park woman killed in Parkway West crash sues driver
The parents of a South Park college student killed two years ago in a crash are suing the driver of the car in which she was a passenger. Victoria Elizabeth Brandt, 19, who was a student at Community College of Allegheny County South Campus, majoring in general studies, was killed...
Rioters acted on Trump’s ‘order,’ Democrats insist in impeachment trialVideo
WASHINGTON — House prosecutors concluded two days of emotional arguments in Donald Trump’s impeachment trial late Thursday, insisting the Capitol invaders believed they were acting on “the president’s orders” to stop Joe Biden’s election, the deadly culmination of Trump’s pattern of spreading false and violent rhetoric that will continue to...
Beards for Pittsburgh residents would be protected in revised law
After enacting a law last year to protect the rights of people with hairstyles that reflect their ethnic or religious heritage, Pittsburgh officials are expanding the protections for facial hair. But to do so, the city needs to be inclusive of people regardless of their ethnicity or religious background, Jam...
Covid hospitalizations in Pennsylvania drop again
For the second day in a row, hospitalizations in Pennsylvania dropped by more than 100 patients. According to the state covid-19 dashboard, the number of residents hospitalized for the virus is 2,687, down 102 from Wednesday, which was down 101 from Tuesday. Hospitalizations in the state have been on a...
Passengers recount experience of plane sliding off taxiway at Pittsburgh airportVideo
A Lower Burrell native was among the 77 people on board a Boeing 717 that slid off a taxiway before takeoff Wednesday evening at Pittsburgh International Airport. Kristen Singleton, 46, had a window seat on Delta Air Lines Flight 2231. Sitting in the midsection of the plane, she was looking...
Allegheny County reports no new deaths, reassigns 1 to another county
Allegheny County on Thursday reported 270 additional coronavirus cases and no new coronavirus deaths. Though the county did not add any deaths in the new report, one death previously reported was reassigned to a different county, which was not identified, resulting in a reduction in the total number of deaths...
