Top Stories category, Page 1297
Biden to name longtime aide Antony Blinken as secretary of StateVideo
WASHINGTON — President-elect Joe Biden intends to name his longtime adviser Antony Blinken as secretary of State, according to three people familiar with the matter, setting out to assemble his Cabinet even before Donald Trump concedes defeat. In addition, Jake Sullivan, formerly one of Hillary Clinton’s closest aides, is likely...
Trump appeals rejection of effort to block Pennsylvania vote
HARRISBURG — President Donald Trump is appealing a federal judge’s dismissal of his campaign’s effort to block the certification of votes in Pennsylvania. The president and other plaintiffs filed notice of appeal to the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Sunday, a day after the judge issued a scathing...
Plum closes school buildings through Dec. 1 because of covid-19 outbreak
Plum School District is closing its buildings and moving to remote learning to contain a covid-19 outbreak, district officials announced Sunday. Four employees and three students notified the district they tested positive for covid-19, the district said in a news release. One high school employee and two students were among...
Trump campaign legal team distances itself from Sidney Powell
WASHINGTON — Perhaps Sidney Powell has gone too far for even Rudy Giuliani this time. The Trump campaign’s legal team moved to distance itself Sunday from the firebrand conservative attorney after a tumultuous several days in which Powell made multiple incorrect statements about the voting process, unspooled unsupported and complex...
Pa.’s new ‘Pennie’ health exchange in jeopardy if Trump’s ACA lawsuit prevails
Pennsylvania’s new state-run health exchange is among the many pieces of the Affordable Care Act that would be in peril if the Trump administration’s attack on it prevails in the Supreme Court, consumer advocates warn. The state’s insurance enrollment system, called Pennie, debuts this season’s open enrollment period, which runs...
Trump’s legal team cried vote fraud, but courts found none
PHILADELPHIA — As they frantically searched for ways to salvage President Donald Trump’s failed reelection bid, his campaign pursued a dizzying game of legal hopscotch across six states that centered on the biggest prize of all: Pennsylvania. The strategy may have played well in front of television cameras and on...
Inequality ‘baked into’ virus testing access as cases surge
The day after Amanda Serulneck found out she might have been exposed to covid-19, she visited a rapid testing center in New Jersey but was turned away because they ran out of tests. She returned at 7 a.m. the next day. After waiting for an hour, officials said they had...
PennDOT seeks public-private partnership to address major bridgesVideo
Through a public-private partnership, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation replaced more than 550 small bridges across the state in just under three years. Now, PennDOT hopes to do the same to address major bridges statewide. “A lot of these bridges were designed in the ‘50s and built in the ‘60s,...
Pa. hunting licenses up 7%, shooting range permits soar 93%, turkey permits up 20%
Bucking the long-run trend of declining hunting license and permit sales statewide, hunters purchased 7 % more for all hunting licenses and permits from last year. Sales of specialty licenses and permits are surging with permits for snow geese up 863%, river otters climbing 73%, and shooting range permits soaring...
Latrobe baking sensation Lucy Pollock, 98, diesVideo
Lucy Pollock loved her fans. As star of the popular “Baking With Lucy” Facebook page, the 98-year-old from Latrobe would spend hours reading and re-reading messages from her supporters. Because her eyesight wasn’t the best, her daughter would sometimes have to read stuff to her. “She would read it and...
Rupprecht family encourages Deer Lakes to implement ‘Hope Squad’ suicide prevention program
The family of a West Deer teenager who died by suicide last year wants to bring a school-based, peer-to-peer suicide prevention program to the Deer Lakes School District. “Hope Squad” was created by Gregory Hudnall, an associate superintendent with Provo City School District in Utah. For over 12 years, the...
Biden’s 1st Cabinet picks expected Tuesday amid road blocks
WILMINGTON, Del. — President-elect Joe Biden’s first Cabinet picks are coming Tuesday and planning is underway for a pandemic-modified inauguration in January as his team moves forward despite road blocks from the Trump administration. Ron Klain, Biden’s incoming chief of staff, offered no details Sundays about which department heads Biden...
Business owners upbeat about vaccine, wary as virus spreads
NEW YORK — Promising news about a coronavirus vaccine has small business owners feeling more upbeat despite cases of the virus surging in many parts of the U.S. Owners hope consumers and businesses will be more relaxed about spending now that two drug companies, Pfizer and Moderna, have vaccines that...
Trump election challenges sound alarm among voters of color
DETROIT — When longtime Detroit community advocate Frank McGhee watched two Republican canvassers vote against certifying election results in the majority Black city, he was furious. McGhee, 58, has spent more than two decades working with Detroit youth and educating them on the electoral process. He said it was “outrageous”...
Pittsburgh police arrest man after hit-and-run, standoff in East Hills
Pittsburgh police took a man into custody after a hit-and-run crash and SWAT standoff early Sunday in the East Hills section of the city. Officers on patrol before 2:45 a.m. witnessed the head-on crash involving the man and a female driver in a second vehicle, who wasn’t harmed and refused...
A look inside schools’ reopening decisions
Gary Peiffer was “cautiously optimistic” at the beginning of this school year. The superintendent of Greensburg Salem School District felt ready for the district’s planned hybrid model. Federal CARES Act funds had been used to purchase laptops, cleaning materials and plastic barriers. Teachers had gone through training for new remote...
Sean Sullivan’s four-decade streak in gambling industry rolls on at Live! Casino in Hempfield
For years, Sean Sullivan has played a hand in the gaming industry, taking part in casino openings and spending decades managing facilities across the country. His storied career led him to be part of the opening of MGM Grand and The Stratosphere Tower, two Las Vegas casinos, and sent him...
Loeffler quarantining after mixed covid test results
ATLANTA — U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler is quarantining after receiving mixed results from recent coronavirus tests. The Georgia Republican took two rapid COVID tests on Friday morning that came back negative, a spokesperson for her campaign said in a statement Saturday night. She received another test Friday evening and the...
Trump team requests recount of Georgia presidential vote
President Trump’s legal team said Saturday that his campaign has requested a recount of votes in the Georgia presidential race after results showed Democrat Joe Biden winning the state. Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on Friday certified the state’s election results, which had Biden beating Trump by 12,670 votes...
Supporters of Trump election, Black Lives Matter engage in war of words in GreensburgVideo
A Saturday afternoon rally for those who don’t accept President-elect Joe Biden as the winner of this month’s election briefly spilled onto Greensburg’s Main Street as supporters of President Trump confronted motorists who drove by with signs and chants expressing a different view. As an estimated 200 people gathered for...
Suit challenges expansion of mail-in voting in Pennsylvania
Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly is leading a suit filed Saturday in Pennsylvania challenging the use of mail-in ballots predominately cast by Democrats in lifting Joe Biden to victory in the presidential race in the state and seeking to block certification of the election results. The lawsuit was filed in...
Judge throws out bid to stop Pa. vote certification; Toomey calls on Trump to ‘accept outcome of election’
Pennsylvania officials can certify election results that currently show Democrat Joe Biden winning the state by more than 80,000 votes, a federal judge ruled Saturday, dealing President Donald Trump’s campaign another blow in its effort to invalidate the election. NEW: The @TeamTrump lawsuit against the PA Sec’y of State —...
Harrison World War II veteran celebrates 100th birthday with a bona fide paradeVideo
A slight drizzle didn’t dampen Howard Traenkner’s party on Saturday. A parade was held in his honor for his 100th birthday outside his Harrison home. There were police cars and ambulances and firetrucks. More than 60 vehicles filled with old friends and family members drove by with their windows down,...
Leechburg woman spends Thanksgiving week organizing holiday take-out dinner for 150
Jamie Rimmel never spends Thanksgiving Day in her own kitchen. Instead, she volunteers her time every year organizing and cooking a traditional Thanksgiving meal for the public at her church, Cross Roads Community Presbyterian Church in Leechburg. A free take-out Thanksgiving dinner will be offered Thursday to anyone from noon-...
Looking to get a covid-19 test? Here are some of your options
As the number of covid-19 cases explodes in the region, more residents are seeking tests and face a number of options. And depending on where you go, waiting for results might take longer, according to health officials. While there are a number of covid-19 testing sites in the region, many...
