Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1297
Sheriff: 3 dead in gun store shooting in New Orleans suburb
METAIRIE, La. — A person went into a gun store and shooting range in a New Orleans suburb and fatally shot two people Saturday, causing customers and staff to open fire on the shooter, said a sheriff. The shooter also died. The shooting happened at the Jefferson Gun Outlet in...
Trump House creator Leslie Baum Rossi wins Republican nod as party’s candidate for open state House seat
Leslie Baum Rossi, the Unity woman who created the Trump House, was chosen Saturday to be the Republican candidate in the May 18 special election to fill the vacancy in the 59th District State House seat created by the death of Mike Reese. Rossi, 50, was chosen by appointed members...
PNC Park hosts 2nd mass covid-19 vaccination clinic
About 3,500 high-risk Allegheny Health Network patients from throughout Western Pennsylvania got their first covid-19 vaccinations Saturday at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. The participants in the second large-scale coronavirus vaccine clinic held at the baseball stadium by AHN, a Highmark Health company, pre-registered for the vaccinations. No walk-up business was...
Westmoreland County records 98 covid-19 cases, 3 deaths
The Pennsylvania Department of Health on Saturday reported 98 new cases of the coronavirus in Westmoreland County, marking the third time in the past eight days the count has neared triple digits. The county’s total cases are at 26,275, which is an increase of 509 cases from the preceding week’s...
The $1B plan to close the gap between growing and shrinking Pa. school districts
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — When Pennsylvania passed a new formula to distribute money for public schools in 2016, it was hailed as a...
Pennsylvania reports 2,800 more covid cases, 90 deaths
Pennsylvania health officials on Saturday reported 2,818 new coronavirus cases, as hospitalizations and case counts continue to decrease in the Keystone State. The new data bring the total cases to 911,591. That’s a jump of almost 19,300 additional cases from this time last week. Two weeks ago, the increase was...
Cub Scouts ID vets’ markers at Scottdale cemeteries
Three Cub Scouts have identified 152 veterans’ grave markers that need to be replaced at two Scottdale cemeteries. It’s a community service project designed to honor those who served their country, as well as the Confederate States of America. Nathaniel King and Alex Schwenger, both of Scottdale, and Gavin Rummel...
Allegheny County reports 285 new coronavirus cases, 1 death
Allegheny County on Saturday recorded 285 new coronavirus cases, a relative bump up, as cases had been on the decline in recent weeks. Reports haven’t reached 500 cases in nearly five weeks and the county hasn’t reported any 1,000-case days in the past seven weeks, according to data from the...
Suspect left trail of heroin, cocaine, drug paraphernalia before arrest, Greensburg police report
An Allegheny County man was charged with multiple drug and escape charges after Greensburg police said he left a trail of cocaine, heroin and drug paraphernalia while he ran from a home in hopes of avoiding arrest. John R. Stenhouse, 20, of Turtle Creek was taken into custody in an...
Dissatisfied with their choices, Western Pa. voters write in athletes, coaches for president
Duquesne men’s basketball coach Keith Dambrot isn’t sure why one person in Allegheny County — a voter from Baldwin — chose him as a write-in candidate for president in November’s election. He is sure, however, that he doesn’t want the job. “I have enough problems,” Dambrot said with a laugh....
Man arrested after standoff with Pittsburgh SWAT team
A man was taken into custody by Pittsburgh police early Saturday after a standoff in Pittsburgh’s Lincoln-Lemington neighborhood where a man reportedly brandished a gun at a neighbor during a dispute, authorities said. Police and the city’s SWAT team responded at 3:50 a.m. to the 1300 block of Paulson Street...
Man stabbed in South Side, police investigating
A man was critically wounded late Friday after being stabbed multiple times in Pittsburgh’s South Side, according to city police. Police and paramedics responded to a 911 call for a man with stab wounds at the intersection of 7th and East Carson streets around 11:40 p.m., police reported. When officers...
Pitt students, volunteers create VaccinatePA to connect residents with vaccination infoVideo
The coronavirus vaccine rollout in Pennsylvania has created frustration for state officials and residents alike, with counties creating online registries to help get constituents the information they need and hospitals struggling to minimize wasted vaccine doses. But a group of University of Pittsburgh students, with the help of a couple...
Vaccine priority rules emerge as potential ‘obstacle’ as people forced to wait their turn
Priority groups were a necessity for starting the vaccine rollout efficiently in Pennsylvania, especially given the fact there aren’t enough doses to go around. But as the rollout progresses, some experts say the guidelines are slowing distribution when strictly followed. “The question is: Is it becoming an obstacle to getting...
Documentary on WQED looks at how pandemic exposed senior care crisis
A crisis in long-term care facilities that came to a breaking point during the pandemic is the topic of a new documentary produced jointly by the Pittsburgh-based Jewish Healthcare Foundation and WQED. “What Covid-19 Exposed in Long-Term Care” will be screened for the first time online Wednesday, Feb. 24 at...
Weather experts: Lack of planning caused cold catastrophe
This week’s killer freeze in the U.S. was no surprise. Government and private meteorologists saw it coming, some nearly three weeks in advance. They started sounding warnings two weeks ahead of time. They talked to officials. They issued blunt warnings through social media. And yet catastrophe happened. At least 20...
Pittsburgh Film Office asking public to submit videos for virtual event
Ever wanted to star in your favorite movie? Now’s your chance. In place of an annual Oscar-inspired event, the Pittsburgh Film Office is hosting a virtual “Lights! Glamour! Action!” event that consists of members of the public sending in videos of themselves reenacting their favorite movie lines. Submitted videos have...
Thousands await 2nd covid vaccine doses as Allegheny County Health Department confronts shortage
Thousands of people expecting to get their second covid-19 vaccine doses as soon as next week learned Friday the Allegheny County Health Department does not have enough supply for most of them. The health department expects to be able to give the second dose of the Moderna vaccine to only...
Upper St. Clair church sues insurance carrier over theft coverage
An Upper St. Clair church whose administrator stole more than $1 million from it is suing its insurance carrier for breach of contract. The suit contends that Brotherhood Mutual Insurance Company paid $250,000 for the Westminster Presbyterian Church’s loss, but refuses to pay another $250,000 under the policy for the...
State regulators approve smaller than requested rate increase for Columbia Gas of Pa.
The state Public Utility Commission announced Friday it had approved a rate increase request for natural gas distribution from Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania, but less than the utility had requested. The commission voted to approve an 11.1% increase. Columbia had initially asked for a 17.54% increase. An 11.1% increase will...
Unchanged since 1947, Pennsylvania’s 814 area will switch over to 10-digit dialing
Most of Western Pennsylvania has had to dial 10 digits to make a phone call for quite some time now. In the greater Pittsburgh area, the 724 area code wasn’t sufficient to keep pace by 2013, and a third code, 878, was added. But for multiple generations living in the...
Ross man charged with making phone threats to members of Congress
A Ross man has been charged with threatening two members of Congress, according to a federal indictment. Harry E. Miller, 62, is charged with sending threatening communications in interstate commerce. The indictment was returned on Tuesday and unsealed Friday. On Aug. 19, 2019, Miller called the office of Democratic U.S....
Why covid hospitalizations are plunging in Allegheny County
Allegheny County’s recent drop in covid-19 hospitalizations is likely the result of multiple factors, including public support for mitigation measures, officials said. Allegheny County on Friday reported the largest drop this month in hospitalizations resulting from the virus. Data from the Pennsylvania Department of Health showed there were 190 covid-19...
2 stores close at Westmoreland Mall; prom and formal wear store opens
Westmoreland Mall officials confirmed that Littman Jewelers shuttered this month, and a women’s clothing store is set to close. Littman, a national jewelry chain, was located on the first floor across from the former Sears wing and the wing that now houses Live! Casino Pittsburgh. Christopher & Banks, on the...
Police: Beer cans linked suspect to double homicide in Stowe
A bag of beer helped link a McKees Rocks man to a double homicide in Stowe, in which he is charged in connection with the killings of his brother and his brother’s girlfriend, police said. Police charged Timothy Gumm, 60, with two counts of homicide in the deaths of Christopher...
