Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1279
Dutch inventor of audio cassette tape, Lou Ottens, dies at age 94
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Lou Ottens, the Dutch inventor of the cassette tape, the medium of choice for millions of bedroom mix tapes, has died, said Philips, the company where he also helped develop the compact disc. Ottens died Saturday at age 94, Philips confirmed. A structural engineer who trained...
UPMC teaming up with Penguins to vaccinate 1,000 at PPG Paints Arena
UPMC is teaming up with the Pittsburgh Penguins to vaccinate over 1,000 high-risk individuals during a clinic at PPG Paints Arena on Monday. The event, which will run from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., is appointment-only. Vaccines will be offered to those in Phase 1A of Pennsylvania’s vaccine rollout strategy...
Driver in fatal Route 30 crash that killed 4 in North Huntingdon arraigned on homicide by vehicle, DUI charges
A Pitcairn man who drove a car authorities said was responsible for a deadly Valentine’s Day crash on Route 30 in North Huntingdon was arraigned Friday on multiple criminal counts, including homicide by vehicle and driving under the influence of alcohol. Police said the 1996 Buick LeSabre driven by Timothy...
Wolf says all Phase 1A Pennsylvanians can have vaccine appointments by month’s end
Gov. Tom Wolf on Friday said he is confident Pennsylvania can meet President Biden’s goal of making every adult eligible for the vaccine by May 1, including a pledge to have appointments made for all Phase 1A residents in the next two weeks and promises to elevate the priority of...
Minneapolis reaches historic $27M settlement with George Floyd’s family
The city of Minneapolis on Friday agreed to pay $27 million to settle a civil lawsuit from George Floyd’s family over the Black man’s death in police custody, as jury selection continued in a former officer’s murder trial. Council members met privately to discuss the settlement, then returned to public...
Gov. Wolf seeks to phase out Pennsylvania’s gas tax
Amid a deepening stalemate over financing highways and public transit, Gov. Tom Wolf on Friday proposed phasing out Pennsylvania’s gasoline tax, the second-highest in the nation, and appointed a commission to recommend alternative ways to pay for the state’s needs. Wolf ordered a commission of several dozen lawmakers, transportation industry...
Conflict grows between U.S. and allies over vaccine supply
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s administration is stockpiling tens of millions of doses of a covid-19 vaccine whose authorization in the U.S. remains uncertain, frustrating U.S. allies who say those doses should be used now to save lives overseas. The standoff is part of a growing global debate over who...
Covid or allergies? Here we go again as spring approaches in Western Pa.
While many are eager to welcome warmer temperatures, seasonal allergy sufferers in Western Pennsylvania are likely bracing for the onset of familiar symptoms like watery eyes, nasal congestion and sore throat. Some of those symptoms resemble covid-19, which may make it difficult for some people to determine whether they’re contending...
More than 6,500 Pa. teachers, school staff vaccinated through state initiative so far
Pennsylvania officials on Friday reported that more than 6,500 teachers and school staff have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine this week, through the state’s initiative to inoculate educators. Twenty out of 28 intermediate units are now fully operational as vaccine clinics, with the rest of the units set to...
Covid cases tick up slightly in Pennsylvania, deaths trend downward
Pennsylvania recorded a slight increase in covid-19 cases but is seeing a downward trend in covid-related deaths and a drop in hospitalizations. Pennsylvania The state on Friday added 3,074 new covid cases, the most in a single day this month, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The seven-day average...
How to watch the WPIAL basketball finals on Trib HSSN
The first four of 12 WPIAL basketball championship games will be played tonight at a pair of high school gymnasiums, and a quartet of teams will be rewarded for persevering during an unprecedented 2020-21 season. Teams endured covid-19 protocols and shutdowns that provided a bigger challenge than any on-court opponent....
4 people in Michigan won January $1.05B Mega Millions prize
DETROIT — A four-member suburban Detroit lottery club won a $1.05 billion Mega Millions jackpot and will receive $557 million after taxes, officials said Friday. The winners claimed their prize weeks after the Jan. 22 drawing and chose the immediate lump sum option. After taxes, the $776 million payment was...
Cuomo defiant as wave of lawmakers calls for him to resign
Facing unprecedented political isolation, a defiant New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo insisted on Friday that he would not step down in the wake of sexual harassment allegations and condemned the sprawling coalition of Democrats calling for his resignation as “reckless and dangerous.” The third-term Democratic governor, a leading critic of...
Unemployment rises in Pennsylvania, as payrolls grow too
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate rose in January, as the labor force shrank but payrolls rebounded, according to state figures released Friday. Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate was 7.3%, up two-tenths of a percentage point from December’s adjusted rate, the state Department of Labor and Industry said. Upward revisions to Pennsylvania’s preliminary...
Heinz History Center’s new exhibition looks at ‘American Democracy’Video
In one of its most ambitious projects to date, the Senator John Heinz History Center takes on the complex essence of the nation with its new exhibition, “American Democracy: A Great Leap of Faith,” opening Saturday. It looks not just at the system of democracy and how the Founding Fathers...
Allegheny Valley schools focus on mental health as in-person learning ramps upVideo
This week has marked the return of students to in-person classroom learning four days a week in the Allegheny Valley School District. Superintendent Patrick Graczyk was made aware of something he hadn’t heard about in a while. “While we were in our hybrid phase, it was quiet here. (Monday) was...
From masks to social distancing, pandemic habits are here to stay, experts say
Decades ago, not everyone wore a seat belt. Today, it’s become a habit for most people when they get in a vehicle. The same can be said for some of the habits acquired over a year of living under the covid-19 pandemic, said Jessica Everly, a behavior analyst and associate...
7 displaced after house fire in Hazelwood
Seven people were displaced after a fire broke out in a Hazelwood home Thursday afternoon. Crews with the Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire responded to row houses on the 200 block of Glenwood Avenune around 1:40 p.m. where they were able to quickly extinguish a two-alarm fire, according to Pittsburgh Public...
Biden aims for quicker shots, virus ‘independence’ by July 4
WASHINGTON — One year after the nation was brought to a near-standstill by the coronavirus, President Joe Biden pledged in his first prime-time address Thursday night to make all adults eligible for vaccines by May 1 and raised the prospect of “independence from this virus” by the Fourth of July....
William Shatner to headline Monroeville’s Steel City Con in June
Organizers of Steel City Con, the largest pop culture gathering at the Monroeville Convention Center, have announced a new special guest headliner. Hollywood icon William Shatner is scheduled to attend the first two days of the convention set for June 11-13. The Emmy award-winning Canadian-born actor, writer, producer/director is best...
Sewickley Township mobile home destroyed by explosion, no injuries reported
A state police fire marshal is investigating the cause of an explosion that destroyed a mobile home near Sutersville on Thursday night, a Sewickley Township fire official said. The man who lived at the mobile home on Sutersville Road, in the village of Gratztown along the Youghiogheny River, was not...
As climate fight shifts to oil, Biden faces a formidable foe
CASPER, Wyo. — President Joe Biden’s bid to tackle climate change is running straight through the heart of the U.S. oil and gas industry — a much bigger, more influential foe than Democrats faced when they took on the coal industry during the Obama years. Coal dominated U.S. power generation...
Fingerprint leads to homicide charges against 2nd suspect in North Braddock slaying
A pinky fingerprint led Allegheny County detectives to a second suspect in a botched November burglary that ended with a North Braddock man shot to death in front of his 6-year-old son, according to police. Juwaun Austin, 17, is charged with homicide in connection with the Nov. 7 death of...
Westmoreland County preps for expected $107 million stimulus windfall
Westmoreland County could receive about $107.1 million from the federal American Rescue Plan to bolster its budget and fund projects to help recover from the coronavirus pandemic. The allocation is part of the $13.7 billion awarded to Pennsylvania and includes funding for county and local governments, according to a report...
Mt. Pleasant Township man charged with threatening troopers with knife
A Mt. Pleasant Township man is in the county jail on $10,000 bond because he was charged with threatening to stab two state troopers, according to court records. Chad E. Heiser, 42, of Hecla was arraigned on charges of aggravated assault, harassment, simple assault and terroristic threats in connection with...
