Top Stories category, Page 1247
Leechburg mansion once home to steel, tin industrialist now great digs for family of 11
A historic residence in Leechburg has new owners. The three-story mansion at 701 First St. was purchased by Ashley and Quinto Martin in August. According to Armstrong County records, the property was sold for $210,000. Money doesn’t stretch as far as it used to. It was built in 1866 —...
How do physicians verify patients’ vaccine eligibility?
Health care workers administering covid vaccines will rely mostly on the honor system to verify that new patients outside of their hospital systems are eligible to get the shot. Pennsylvania officials have expanded eligibility of those who can move to the front of the vaccination line. The top priority group,...
Frustration grows with Pennsylvania’s ‘confusing’ vaccine rollout
In the hours after the big announcement, the region’s health systems were inundated with phone calls and emails to clinics, physicians and call centers. Thousands of people were suddenly eligible to get the covid-19 vaccine. They wanted it fast. But the announcement by Pennsylvania officials — expanding the vaccination eligibility...
History pitches challenges as experts, activists express hopes for Joe Biden’s time in White House
A new day, and a new moment for America. Time to let the healing begin. Republicans, Democrats and people across the nation echoed those themes when expressing their hopes for Joe Biden’s new administration and a future less fraught with anger and division in the United States. “There are times...
Officials: More skiers, tubers at Boyce Park in opening month compared to last season
The Boyce Park ski slopes and tubing area have seen about a 14% increase in usage in this season’s opening month compared to last season in spite of the raging pandemic, according to Allegheny County officials. Parks department records show nearly 4,700 skiers took to the slopes in Plum from...
FBI: Texan charged in Capitol riot tweeted ‘Assassinate AOC’
DALLAS — A 34-year-old Texas man has been arrested for allegedly taking part in the storming of the U.S. Capitol this month and posting violent threats, including a call to assassinate Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York. Garret Miller, who is from the Dallas suburb of Richardson, was arrested...
Mexican leader says Biden offers to give $4B to Central America
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s first calls to foreign leaders went to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador at a strained moment for the U.S. relationship with its North American neighbors. Mexico’s president said Saturday that Biden told him the U.S. would send $4...
Greater Latrobe School District starts vaccinating staff, sees ‘light at the end of the tunnel’
The Greater Latrobe School District staff members who lined up Saturday to get covid vaccines said the shots gave them a glimmer of hope that the pandemic could be nearing its end. “I was thrilled,” said Renee Gyory, a secretary and one of the first district employees to be vaccinated....
3,400 arrested at protests demanding Navalny’s release
MOSCOW — Russian police arrested more than 3,400 people Saturday in nationwide protests demanding the release of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, the Kremlin’s most prominent foe, according to a group that counts political detentions. The protests in scores of cities in temperatures as low as minus-58 F highlighted how Navalny...
Ligonier businesses welcome 30th annual Ice Fest
The 30th annual Ligonier Ice Fest was a happy occasion for business owners who have seen many of the borough’s other signature events canceled or curtailed due to the coronavirus, but this weekend’s rare live event attracted people to see dozens of ice sculptures, ride a horse-drawn carriage and pop...
Pa. legislator mocks trans state health secretary who is a Biden nominee
HARRISBURG — A Pennsylvania legislator from Armstrong and Indiana counties shared on Facebook an image mocking the appearance of the state’s recently departed health secretary, Dr. Rachel Levine, a transgender woman who has been nominated to serve in the Biden administration, and then offered a general apology Saturday. State Rep....
Capitol attack reflects U.S. extremist evolution over decades
The takeover in 2016 by right-wing extremists of a federal bird sanctuary in Oregon. A standoff in 1992 between white separatists and federal agents in Ruby Ridge, Idaho. The 1995 bombing of a federal building in Oklahoma City that killed 168 people. Right-wing extremism has previously played out for the...
Hospitalizations related to covid continue to fall in Pa.
For the third consecutive day, Pennsylvania on Saturday reported a significant drop in the number of patients who are hospitalized with covid-19, according to the state Department of Health. The state reported that 3,997 patients are hospitalized with the virus. That’s down from 4,882 on Wednesday. The number of newly...
Westmoreland County records 140 additional covid cases, 5 new deaths
Five more people in Westmoreland County died from covid-19, according to the latest information from the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Since the pandemic struck in Western Pennsylvania in March, 565 people in Westmoreland County have died from coronavirus, according to state data released Saturday. The county also had 140 newly...
Covid hospitalizations in Allegheny County fall while cases tick upward
The number of newly reported coronavirus cases in Allegheny County ticked upward Saturday, while the number of covid-19 patients hospitalized in the county fell, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The county reported 464 additional cases of the coronavirus — up from 343 a day earlier. But the seven-day...
Suspect in Clairton stabbing arrested in Rochester, N.Y.
A suspect in connection with the fatal stabbing of a Clairton man was arrested Friday in Rochester, N.Y. Sabr Cree Ellis, 21, of Clairton is accused of killing Anthony Koontz, 55. The stabbing in the 400 block of Mendelssohn Avenue was reported about 1:30 p.m. Thursday, Allegheny County Police said....
Larry King, broadcasting giant for half-century, dies at 87
LOS ANGELES — Larry King, the suspenders-sporting everyman whose broadcast interviews with world leaders, movie stars and ordinary Joes helped define American conversation for a half-century, died Saturday. He was 87. King died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, his production company, Ora Media, tweeted. No cause of death...
Michigan Mega Millions ticket wins $1.05 billion jackpot
DETROIT — Someone in Michigan bought the winning ticket for the $1.05 billion Mega Millions jackpot, which is the third-largest lottery prize in U.S. history. The winning numbers for Friday night’s drawing were 4, 26, 42, 50 and 60, with a Mega Ball of 24. The winning ticket was purchased...
Retired Pittsburgh cop Tony Moreno says he dislikes politics but has what it takes to be mayor
After Tony Moreno retired from the Pittsburgh police in 2018, he intended to move to Florida. But Moreno, 51, of Brighton Heights, said he had ideas about how the city could be improved. He looked for someone to share them with, someone who could run for office. “I started seeing...
Pitt study examines racial differences in postpartum blood pressure
Lying on a stretcher in the back of an ambulance was when the severity of the moment hit Tyarra Kelly. It was 3 a.m. Her blood pressure was high. The new mom hadn’t been feeling well five days after her son Tristan’s birth seven months ago. “I was having trouble...
Plum School District officials seeks parental input on district’s future via survey
Plum School District officials seek input from parents on policies and the future of the district via online survey. The survey, available here, features questions about returning to full-time in-person instruction, adhering to Center for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines or stricter safety regulations, and having the option to stay...
Monroeville clinic to start vaccinating people 65 and older; supply ‘extremely limited’
People age 65 and older can sign up to get a covid-19 vaccine at a Monroeville clinic starting next week, Allegheny County health officials announced Friday night. An “extremely limited” number of appointments to receive the first dose of the Moderna coronavirus vaccine will be available as soon as Monday...
Man killed in crash after vehicle goes over hillside in Hampton
A man was killed in a crash involving a vehicle over a Hampton hillside Friday evening, according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s office. The victim was identified as Douglas Hanson, 57, of Allison Park. The crash happened just before 7 p.m. by a cul-de-sac along the 4000 block of...
Lottery players have $1 billion dreams: Travel, help family, buy lots of good stuffVideo
Mega Millions lottery ticket buyers — with visions of what it might be like to win $1 billion — plucked down $2 in droves Friday at retailers with the hopes that maybe, just maybe, they could be rich beyond their wildest dreams. It’s the stuff that dreams are made of,...
New Stanton woman charged with making 40th false alarm to 911
A New Stanton woman who has been charged 11 times since September with making false alarm calls to 911 allegedly made her 40th unnecessary call to the dispatch center — one that landed her in the county jail, according to state police. Twandrea N. Brown, 33, who is awaiting hearings...
