Top Stories category, Page 1302
Allegheny County reports 288 new covid-19 cases
After record-setting case counts over the past week in Allegheny County, new covid-19 cases have come down a bit. The Allegheny County Health Department reported 288 additional cases Tuesday. The new cases are a near split, with 145 confirmed and 143 probable. In November, Allegheny County has seen a 30%...
Allegheny County judge to weigh mail-in ballot issue in Nicole Zicarelli challenge
An Allegheny County judge said that he’ll make a decision on Wednesday whether to count undated mail-in ballots that could impact the race for the 45th state Senate District race between incumbent Democratic Sen. Jim Brewster and Republican challenger Nicole Ziccarelli. Ziccarelli filed a petition against the county Election Board...
‘Marshall Plan for Middle America’ calls for billions to be spent to help Western Pa. go greenVideo
More than a year ago, Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto called for a massive investment in middle America the likes of which hasn’t been seen in recent memory. He testified before the U.S. Senate Democrats’ Special Committee on the Climate Crisis and called for what he called a “Marshall Plan for...
Levine to announce ‘targeted efforts’ to control covid cases
Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine is set to announce “targeted efforts” to control the spread of covid-19 as case counts across the state continue to rise. The announcement, set for 1 p.m., comes a day after Levine told members of the media there were no plans to shut...
Freeport Area School District announces remote instruction after covid-19 spike
Freeport Area School District has moved middle and high school students to online-only learning this week after a spike in covid-19 cases, both in the district and Armstrong County. Freeport Area said it has 116 students in quarantine, including 103 from the middle school and high school, according to information...
Wreck slowing traffic along westbound Pa. Turnpike near New Stanton
Traffic is snarled along the westbound lanes of the Pennsylvania Turnpike between Donegal and New Stanton because of an crash. According to PennDOT, the the right lane in the westbound direction is closed near mile marker 85 along Interstate 76. The wreck occurred at around 7 a.m. There were no...
Wexford pastor appointed as next bishop of Youngstown
Pope Francis has named the pastor of a church in Wexford as the next bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Youngstown. The Rev. David J. Bonnar, 58, who serves as pastor of St. Aidan Parish, will be installed as the sixth bishop of Youngstown during an episcopal ordination Jan. 12...
Snow showers could make driving dicey north of Pittsburgh
Motorists traveling through the region north of Pittsburgh Tuesday morning are likely to encounter scattered rain and snow showers that could intensify and limit visibility in some areas, according to the National Weather Service. The rain showers are expected to change to snow at around daybreak and continue through much...
WPIAL bans Peters Township band after investigating ‘blackface’ allegations
The Peters Township marching band is prohibited from performing at any WPIAL event until the school district submits a plan to “eradicate the social and racial insensitivity displayed by the marching band and its director/supervisors,” the WPIAL announced Tuesday. The ban lasts at least six months. The discipline was the...
Dangerous Hurricane Iota makes landfall on Nicaragua coastVideo
MANAGUA, Nicaragua — Powerful Hurricane Iota made landfall on Nicaragua’s Caribbean coast late Monday, threatening catastrophic damage to the same part of Central America already battered by equally strong Hurricane Eta less than two weeks ago. Iota had intensified into an extremely dangerous Category 5 storm early in the day,...
Plum students who attended a parent-sponsored homecoming party Saturday should not come to school
Plum School District officials are asking students who participated in a non-district homecoming dance to stay home from school Tuesday after it was learned one of the students at the dance tested positive for coronavirus. A high school student with the virus attended a Class of 2021 Senior Parent Committee’s...
Georgia elections chief says Sen. Lindsey Graham asked about rejecting more absentee ballotsVideo
ATLANTA — Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham asked him if he had the power to reject more absentee ballots as election officials are conducting a recount and audit of the presidential race. Raffensperger, in an interview with The Washington Post on Monday, said the...
2 Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh schools temporarily closing
Two Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh schools are temporarily closing as coronavirus cases continue to spike across the state. Northside Catholic Assumption Academy, located in Brighton Heights, will close for one day after a person associated with the school tested positive for covid-19, officials said. According to Rosanne Kwiatkowski, Northside Catholic...
Pittsburgh man charged with illegally selling endangered, invasive fish
A Pittsburgh man faces federal criminal charges of selling endangered Asian fish, as well as invasive snakehead fish. Anthony Nguyen, 48, who investigators say also is known as JoJo Nguyen and Jackie Lee, faces charges of interstate trafficking in illegally possessed or transported fish and creating a false record filed...
Penn State students leave campus on Friday; some decline free coronavirus tests
Penn State University will close all of its schools to in-person instruction after Friday, and students at its Upper Burrell campus are rolling with those changes. Penn State has been offering in-person and virtual classes since the beginning of the fall semester. However, the rising number of coronavirus cases caused...
Feds reject Pa.’s plan to spend up to $300M in stimulus money for property tax relief
Spotlight PA is an independent, non-partisan 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 — For more than a decade, state lawmakers have sent yearly payments to Pennsylvania’s school districts so they can lower...
Highmark CEO pay climbs to $8.15M, triple what he made in 2016
Highmark Health CEO David Holmberg’s total compensation last year was $8.15 million — more than triple what the nonprofit health system executive made four years ago, newly filed Internal Revenue Service records show. Holmberg’s salary and related compensation increased by about $660,000 in 2019, marking an 8.8% pay hike from...
Trump rushes environmental regulations that could handcuff Biden
The Trump administration is rushing to issue permits, finalize major environmental regulations and even sell the rights to drill for oil in Alaskan wilderness before Inauguration Day in a push that could complicate Joe Biden’s climate and conservation agenda. The 11th-hour regulatory race underscores the extent to which federal agencies...
Bridgeville Rehabilitation and Care Center reports sharp rise in covid-19 cases, 2 deaths
Editor’s note: This story was updated at 12:23 Nov. 17 with the latest numbers from Bridgeville Rehabilitation and Care Center. A long-term care facility in South Fayette has seen a substantial increase in covid-19 cases among staff and residents since Nov. 4. Bridgeville Rehabilitation and Care Center reported Tuesday that...
‘More people may die’: Biden urges Trump to aid transitionVideo
WILMINGTON, Del. — President-elect Joe Biden on Monday warned of dire consequences if President Donald Trump and his administration continue to refuse to coordinate with his transition team on the coronavirus pandemic and block briefings on national security, policy issues and vaccine plans. The remarks marked Biden’s toughest comments to...
Westmoreland County back in ‘substantial’ virus risk category as cases skyrocket statewide
Last week it appeared Westmoreland County’s coronavirus surge might by on the decline, with its transmission risk dropping just under the threshold that divide a “substantial” risk from a “moderate” one on the state’s Early Warning Monitoring System. That appearance was an illusion. Cases again spiked, and the previous week’s...
About 90K sex abuse claims filed in Boy Scouts bankruptcyVideo
NEW YORK — Close to 90,000 sexual abuse claims have been filed against the Boy Scouts of America as the Monday deadline arrived for submitting claims in the organization’s bankruptcy case. The number far exceeds the initial projections of lawyers across the United States who have been signing up clients...
Pittsburgh doctor: Moderna vaccine may have logistical advantage over Pfizer’sVideo
With the alarming rise of covid-19 cases in Allegheny County and throughout Pennsylvania comes the good news surrounding another vaccine. Moderna said Monday its experimental vaccine is 94.5% effective at preventing illness, according to preliminary data from the company’s still ongoing study. Last week Pfizer Inc. announced its own covid-19...
Export couple arrested after stabbing
An Export couple is in the Westmoreland County Prison after an argument turned into someone getting stabbed early Sunday, according to state police. Devon M. Nuccetelli, 42, is charged by state police with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, harassment, reckless endangerment and simple assault after the 4:20 a.m. altercation...
Trump to order troop reductions in Afghanistan, Iraq
The Trump administration is expected to cut the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan almost in half to 2,500 by Jan. 15, a U.S. official said Monday. The order would stop short of outgoing President Donald Trump’s goal to have all troops withdrawn by the end of the year, which...
