Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1288
Budget nominee Tanden withdraws nomination amid opposition
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s pick to head the Office of Management and Budget, Neera Tanden, has withdrawn her nomination after she faced opposition from key Democratic and Republican senators for her controversial tweets. Her withdrawal marks the first high-profile defeat of one of Biden’s nominees. Eleven of the 23...
2 motorists flown to hospitals after truck-SUV collide on Route 22 in SalemVideo
A woman driving an SUV and a man driving a tractor-trailer were flown to area hospitals after their vehicles collided Tuesday evening on Route 22 in Salem Township. The crash was reported before 6:30 p.m. at the intersection of Route 119. All lanes of Route 22 in the vicinity were...
Brackenridge steelworkers to vote on ATI strike authorization
The United Steelworkers local representing employees at Allegheny Technologies Inc. facilities in Harrison has scheduled a strike authorization vote. The union’s 10 locals with ATI are scheduling the votes this week after its contract with ATI expired on Sunday without the sides agreeing on a new one. Locals 1196 and...
Pittsburgh’s Three Rivers Arts Festival returns in a new format
The Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival will return this June in a hybrid format, featuring both in-person and virtual events. But none of the real-life events will take place in Point State Park or Gateway Center, where the festival is traditionally held. Organized by the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, the...
Biden vows enough vaccine for all U.S. adults by end of May
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden said Tuesday that the U.S. expects to take delivery of enough coronavirus vaccines for all adult Americans by the end of May, two months earlier than anticipated, as his administration announced that drugmaker Merck & Co. will help produce rival Johnson & Johnson’s newly approved...
People rally at Rep. Conor Lamb’s Penn Hills office in support of $15 minimum wage increaseVideo
Joy Darden-Pipkins has been taking care of her godmother for around 20 years without being paid. “It’s a labor of love,” she said, adding she is grateful to be married to a man who makes enough money to pay the bills and the mortgage. Darden-Pipkins was one of around 30...
‘Such a relief’: People flock to Heinz Field for covid vaccine clinic by Giant Eagle, SteelersVideo
Debbie Andres had reason to smile beneath her purple mask Tuesday afternoon as she strolled outside Heinz Field and prepared to drive home. The sun was shining. And after several bleak winter weeks of trying to book an appointment with any provider she could find, the 63-year-old Harrison woman managed...
FBI Director Christopher Wray calls riot at Capitol ‘domestic terrorism,’ warns movement is growing
WASHINGTON — FBI Director Christopher Wray bluntly labeled the January riot at the U.S. Capitol as “domestic terrorism” Tuesday and warned of a rapidly growing threat of homegrown violent extremism that law enforcement is scrambling to confront through thousands of investigations. Wray also defended to lawmakers his own agency’s handling...
Biden’s plan to distribute virus aid benefits Democratic-led states, some GOP governors say
LINCOLN, Neb. — The Biden administration’s plan to funnel more coronavirus aid into states with greater unemployment has irked governors with lower jobless rates. The $1.9 trillion relief bill working its way through Congress allocates extra money to larger, mostly Democratic-run states with higher unemployment rates, while rural Midwestern and...
Lawyer for man suspected in Unity woman’s disappearance wants evidence tossed in federal firearms case
The attorney for Thomas George Stanko questioned in federal court Tuesday the reliability of a witness and police interpretation of jailhouse phone calls that led state troopers to find 17 guns on his Unity property and in a storage unit. Attorney Komron Jon Maknoon said investigators may have misrepresented what...
Bankruptcy judge approves sale of Conneaut Lake Park
CONNEAUT LAKE — A federal bankruptcy court judge has approved the sale of a century-old amusement park in northwestern Pennsylvania. Pittsburgh-based U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Jeffrey Deller on Tuesday morning approved the sale of Conneaut Lake Park to Keldon Holdings LLC for a cash price of $1.2 million. An auction...
Pa. lawmakers urge improvements in vaccine distribution for seniors
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania lawmakers on Tuesday implored state officials to do better at getting covid-19 vaccines to seniors while the Health Department said the new approval of a third vaccine will help. “This is unacceptable,” state Rep. Bridget Kosierowski, D-Lackawanna, said during a House Aging and Older Adult Services Committee...
Eviction ban passed by Pittsburgh City Council
Pittsburgh City Council moved forward Tuesday with a temporary ban on evictions during the emergency created by the coronavirus pandemic. The legislation, spearheaded by Councilwoman Deb Gross, with support from Mayor Bill Peduto’s administration, and several city activists, was unanimously approved, but only after extensive discussion among council members. They...
Parents of Springdale basketball players protest playoff cancellationVideo
A group of about a dozen parents, players and their head coach showed up in the lobby of the Allegheny Valley School District offices in Harmar on Tuesday morning to protest its decision to forfeit Springdale High School’s WPIAL first-round boys basketball playoff game. The decision was made after four...
Senate Dems sorting final details of $1.9T virus relief bill
WASHINGTON — Democrats sorted through lingering disagreements over emergency jobless benefits and other issues Tuesday and prepared to commence Senate debate on a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief plan that would deliver a major victory to President Joe Biden. With Democrats having no margin for error in the evenly split 50-50...
Police: 13 killed when big rig hits SUV carrying 25 people in California
HOLTVILLE, Calif. — Thirteen people were killed Tuesday when an SUV carrying 25 people and a big rig collided on a Southern California highway near the U.S.-Mexico border, authorities said. Twelve people were found dead when first responders reached the highway, which winds through fields in the agricultural southeastern corner...
Gov. Wolf: Teachers, others can get Johnson & Johnson vaccine when it arrives
Educators in Pennsylvania will be able to receive the Johnson & Johnson covid-19 vaccine when it becomes available, and shipments should start arriving in the state this week, state officials said Tuesday. “We have an unusual opportunity with (the Johnson & Johnson vaccine) because it’s a one-dose,” Gov. Tom Wolf...
Pa. reports 2,564 covid cases, 74 additional deaths
Pennsylvania on Tuesday reported 2,564 additional coronavirus cases and 74 additional deaths, according to the state Department of Health. Tuesday’s reported cases were designated 1,843 confirmed and 721 probable. Of the newly reported deaths, 69 are from February, three from January and one each in December and November. Health officials...
Former Jerry’s Records owner now selling vinyl from Swissvale spot
Jerry “Vinylman” Weber owns hundreds of thousands of records. He’s not a fan of acquiring music on digital platforms. “I have never downloaded a song,” Weber said. “I have a flip phone. I am what you call ‘eccentric.’ ” Weber loves to help others acquire music. He owned Jerry’s Records...
Latrobe police file new complaint against suspended therapist
A ninth former client of a Latrobe mental health therapist awaiting trial for rape and multiple sexual assault-related charges has accused him of sexually harassing her during counseling sessions about three years ago, according to Latrobe police. Police filed a new harassment charge this week against Gregory P. Miscik, 59,...
Westmoreland County has 47 additional covid cases, increase in hospitalizations
Westmoreland County had 47 additional covid cases Tuesday, according to the state Department of Health. The new reported cases were 25 confirmed and 22 probable. That marks the third day cases have been at or below 50. A similar two-day trend was seen last week, when on Feb. 21 (Sunday)...
Candidate’s old tweets touting Trump spur more turmoil among Democrats in Pittsburgh mayoral race
Old social media posts by Pittsburgh mayoral candidate Tony Moreno that support former President Donald Trump were condemned by the city’s Democratic Committee chairman less than a week before the party announces its slate of endorsed candidates. Moreno, 51, a retired city police officer from Brighton Heights, is one of...
Allegheny County covid hospitalizations drop by 25% in last week
The number of Allegheny County covid-19 patient hospitalizations has dropped by about 25% since last week, according to state Department of Health data. There were 152 hospitalizations as of Tuesday, down 54 from Thursday when 206 covid patients were in the hospital. Since hospitalizations peaked at 881 on Dec. 16,...
Latrobe woman’s tiny vacation house gets online magazine spreadVideo
For Jessica Hooper, part of the appeal of tiny house living is that “when you strip away the clutter and distractions in life, you are able to focus your energy on what is truly important.” That’s what the Latrobe resident told readers of Tiny House Magazine, an online publication that...
Lawsuit contends Allegheny County judge is illegally blocking access to virtual hearings
An Allegheny County court watch program filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against Common Pleas Judge Anthony M. Mariani, accusing him of violating the public’s First Amendment rights by blocking virtual access to proceedings in his courtroom. The Abolitionist Law Center’s Court Watch program involves volunteers observing dozens of criminal court...
