Top Stories category, Page 1244
U.S. terrorism alert warns of politically motivated violenceVideo
WASHINGTON — The Department of Homeland Security issued a national terrorism bulletin Wednesday warning of the potential for lingering violence from people motivated by anti-government sentiment after President Joe Biden’s election, suggesting the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol may embolden extremists and set the stage for additional attacks. The...
Richard King Mellon Foundation to award $1.2B in Pittsburgh region over 10 years, seeks public input
The Richard King Mellon Foundation, the region’s largest philanthropic organization, plans to give away $1.2 billion over the next decade, its director announced Wednesday. And it will continue a new practice in doling out the old money by soliciting public input on where it will do the most good. The...
Board won’t probe alleged election night imbibing by Pittsburgh officers
The Citizens Police Review Board will not dig any further into allegations several Pittsburgh Police officers imbibed while on duty on election night last year, the board has decided. The Nov. 3 incident involved a group of 17 officers who were working an extended shift the night of the election,...
Jim Rutherford resigns as Penguins GM, Patrik Allvin to serve as interim as club starts search
Jim Rutherford has resigned as general manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins, citing personal reasons, the team announced Wednesday afternoon in a news release. Assistant general manager Patrik Allvin has been promoted to interim general manager. The search for a new GM will begin immediately, the team said. “It has been...
Excela planning for vaccine distribution when supplies become available
Excela Health plans to open coronavirus vaccination appointments to community members meeting the state’s guidelines when the health system has enough vaccine to go around. But not just yet. Dr. Carol Fox, the system’s chief medical officer, said health care workers at Excela’s three hospitals and other independent community providers...
Allegheny County covid cases continue to trend lower than past months
Allegheny County added 376 new coronavirus cases to its totals on Wednesday, the second-highest total in the state, but far removed from where it stood a month ago. Allegheny’s new cases trailed only Luzerne County, which added 468, yet the numbers have declined greatly in recent weeks. Just one month...
Gov. Wolf defends moving smokers to top covid vaccine priority group
Smokers are among people included in Pennsylvania’s first priority group for the covid-19 vaccine, a move state officials tried to justify this week. Health officials announced Jan. 19 that the state would follow updated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that recommended anyone aged 65 or older...
Shaler man apologizes, ordered to halfway house for vandalizing police car during riot
A Shaler man who pleaded guilty to vandalizing a Pittsburgh police car during protests May 30 over the death of George Floyd will serve six months in a halfway house. Senior U.S. District Judge Arthur J. Schwab ordered Brian Bartels to spend one day in the custody of the U.S....
Man injured in East Liberty protests sues Pittsburgh officials, police
A man who claims his face and skull were fractured by an aggressive Pittsburgh police response to a protest in East Liberty is suing city officials in connection with his life-changing injuries. The civil rights suit was filed in U.S. Western District Court on behalf of a man who says...
Butler man admits to stealing nearly $1.5 million from electric company
A Butler man who served as his company’s controller pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to taking more than $1 million. Paul Harmon, 63, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud before U.S. District Judge Nicholas Ranjan. He will be sentenced on May 25. Harmon worked for Fuellgraf Electric...
1 person treated at scene of early-morning house fire in Sheraden
Firefighters battled a blaze in Pittsburgh’s Sheraden neighborhood Wednesday morning. The fire was reported at 6:40 a.m. in a two-story house in the 2700 block of Glen Mawr Street, according to authorities. Sheraden is located the city’s West End. First responders encountered heavy smoke and flames shooting through an attic...
Suspect sought in connection with pair of shootings in Washington County
Police in Washington County are searching for a man in connection with a pair of shootings — one fatal — on Tuesday that may be connected. The first shooting occurred shortly before 4:45 p.m. in the parking lot of the Family Dollar store at 130 Highland Ave. in the city...
Rankin man charged with sexually assaulting multiple children
Allegheny County Police on Tuesday afternoon arrested a man suspected of sexually assaulting multiple children and babies. According to a news release, 27-year-old Devaughante J. Law Sr., of Rankin, was arrested under the suspicion of performing sexual acts against “numerous children, toddlers and infants.” Police said Law also recorded himself...
Lawyer says Pelosi laptop hasn’t been recovered from Pennsylvania suspect
HARRISBURG — A laptop stolen from the offices of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi during the U.S. Capitol attack has not been recovered from the home or car of a Pennsylvania woman accused of helping steal it, the woman’s lawyer said Tuesday. Public defender A.J. Kramer told a federal judge that...
Biden names Baldwin native Susan Orsega as acting surgeon general
President Joe Biden is expected to name Baldwin native Susan Orsega as the nation’s acting surgeon general, according to a report from the Washington Post. Rear Adm. Orsega will hold down the position until Biden’s nominee, Dr. Vivek Murthy, can be confirmed by the Senate. Murthy served in the role...
Allegheny County’s most recent vaccination appointments filled for age 65, older
Two hours after announcing additional covid-19 vaccination appointments for people age 65 and older in Allegheny County, the registration had been filled to capacity. The newest appointments were made available on Feb. 9 and 13 by the county Health Department. But at around 7 p.m., a Trib reporter logged into...
U.S. boosting vaccine deliveries amid complaints of shortagesVideo
Answering growing frustration over vaccine shortages, President Joe Biden announced Tuesday that the U.S. is ramping up deliveries to hard-pressed states over the next three weeks and expects to provide enough doses to vaccinate 300 million Americans by the end of the summer or early fall. Biden, calling the push...
Developer plans apartment building at former gas station site in Oakland
A Chicago-based developer Tuesday presented plans for a 10-story, 300-unit apartment building at the now-vacant site of a former gas station on Forbes Avenue in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood. Pittsburgh Planning Commission members heard from Jessica Leo of CA Ventures, the developer of the project, and Jay Silverman of Dwell Design...
Wolf frustrated with covid vaccine supply in Pennsylvania
Gov. Tom Wolf on Tuesday called on President Biden to speed up the covid vaccine distribution process, which has frustrated residents statewide. Wolf blamed the Trump administration for asking states to add people 65 and older to their top covid-19 vaccine priority group when there weren’t enough available doses. “The...
CDC study: Schools mostly safe to open with proper precautions
Schools operating in person have experienced scant transmission of coronavirus, particularly when proper precautions are employed, according to a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report released Tuesday. The CDC researchers, who wrote in the Journal of the American Medical Association, said indoor athletics have led to infections and...
All Allegheny County air quality monitors meet federal standards, a first in 2 decades
For the first time since air-quality standards were set more than 20 years ago, Allegheny County’s eight monitors have met federal air quality standards, the county said Tuesday. The accomplishment means that the region is now within the desired benchmarks for carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, ozone and particulate matter (PM2.5,...
Netflix founder gives $3 million to Robert Morris University for minority scholarships
Netflix founder and co-CEO Reed Hastings is donating $3 million to underwrite 20 full scholarships at Robert Morris University, adding the Allegheny County school to a growing list of colleges and universities profiting from philanthropy aimed at boosting the future of minorities. The four-year scholarships —including money for room, board...
Vaccine doses coming to Pa. hospitals ‘don’t match up’ to increased demand, health leaders say
Vaccine allocations to Western Pennsylvania hospitals aren’t enough to inoculate all who are eligible, health care leaders said Tuesday. State officials last week expanded phase 1A of the distribution plan beyond health care workers and long-term care residents – to include people older than 65 and people with various health...
Senate rejects GOP motion to dismiss Trump impeachment trialVideo
WASHINGTON — The Senate has rejected a Republican attempt to dismiss Donald Trump’s historic second impeachment trial, a vote that allows the case on “incitement of insurrection” to move forward but also foreshadows that there may not be enough votes to convict him. The 55-45 procedural vote to set aside...
Pa. overdose deaths likely to increase because of pandemic disruption
Overdose deaths in Pennsylvania will likely tick upward for the first time in several years when 2020 reports are finalized, according to state officials, showing the effects of a year marked by isolation and a cutoff of group and in-person services. Overdose drug deaths were higher month over month for...
