Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1303
Pittsburgh bald eagles lay 1st egg of 2021; marks 9th year nesting on Hays hillsideVideo
The Pittsburgh Hays female bald eagle laid her first egg of the season Friday evening. A live nest cam captured the egg for the first time shortly before 6 p.m. The female eagle returned to the nest just before 5 p.m., then ate “a food gift brought by the Hays...
Trump lawyer mistakenly refers to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger as Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger
Fumble! It has not been a great week for former Montgomery County district attorney Bruce Castor. The lead lawyer of former President Donald Trump’s defense team during an unprecedented second impeachment trial before the U.S. Senate committed a gaffe Friday afternoon that brought some humor to the serious charges against...
Man held for trial in connection with shooting of McKeesport officerVideo
The McKeesport police officer shot in December by a man he was transporting recounted the incident during a hearing Friday. Geriasimo Athans testified that one bullet that struck him the afternoon of Dec. 20 went straight through his neck, and another, still lodged in his body because it’s too dangerous...
Westmoreland County man charged with carrying unlicensed firearm at airport
Security agents caught the third gun in nine days – and the second this week – at Pittsburgh International Airport on Friday, Transportation Security Administration officials said. Security officers stopped a Westmoreland County man at the security checkpoint after they spotted a .38-caliber handgun in the man’s carry-on bag. Allegheny...
Biden will try to close Guantanamo Bay prison after ‘robust’ review
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden will seek to close the prison on the U.S. base at Guantanamo Bay following a review process, resuming a project begun under the Obama administration, the White House said Friday. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said it was the “intention” of the Biden administration...
Philadelphia-area lawyer defending Trump accustomed to political disaster
HARRISBURG — Bruce L. Castor Jr. answered his cellphone, but he had no time to talk. “I’m 12 minutes from prime time,” he said, before heading to the well of the U.S. Senate to defend his client, Donald Trump, as one of the defense lawyers in the ex-president’s second impeachment...
Health department orders aim to speed up, streamline Pa. vaccination process
New orders from state health officials will try to speed up and streamline Pennsylvania’s vaccination process, requiring vaccine providers to administer the bulk of their allotted first doses within one week of receiving them. Effective Feb. 22, vaccine providers will have to administer 80% of the first-dose vaccines that they...
Beaver County man charged in connection with Capitol riot
A Beaver County man who traveled to Washington with his wife and mother to rally for Donald Trump was arrested Friday on accusations that he participated in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S Capitol. Russell James Peterson, 34, of Rochester, is charged with knowingly entering any restricted building or...
Grove City College receives largest unrestricted gift in its 145-year history
From his birth in a Brackenridge garage, to growing up in Harrison, to becoming a business owner in Southern California, Richard Staley says the success he’s found in life has been part luck, part hard work. “At so many points along the way, things could have turned ugly very quickly,”...
CDC: In-person schooling can be done safely if guidelines are followed
The nation’s top public health agency on Friday provided a roadmap for reopening schools in the middle of a pandemic, emphasizing mask wearing and social distancing and saying vaccination of teachers is important but not a prerequisite for reopening. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced the long-awaited update,...
Westmoreland County reports 66 new covid cases, no deaths
Westmoreland County on Friday reported 66 additional cases of covid-19, below the seven-day average of 77 cases. Of the new cases, 32 are confirmed via 141 new PCR tests. The county has seen a total of 25,668 coronavirus cases since the pandemic began. Of those, 18,338 were confirmed via PCR...
Pennsylvania adds 3,987 covid cases, 99 deaths
Pennsylvania on Friday reported 3,987 additional cases of covid-19, keeping the seven-day average below 4,000 for the eighth consecutive day. The state’s seven-day case average has been trending mostly downward since peaking above 10,000 in mid-December. It currently sits at 3,797. Of the newly reported cases, 3,337 are confirmed via...
Pitt researchers find Black Americans nationwide must travel farther to get covid vaccine
A study from researchers at the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Pharmacy shows that Black residents in many regions of the U.S. will have farther to travel to receive a covid-19 vaccine — creating a potential accessibility issue. “Pharmacies should be easy to access, but in some places there’s low...
Allegheny County adds 252 new covid cases; 7-day average continues to drop
The seven-day average of covid-19 cases in Allegheny County on Friday continued to drop as 252 additional cases were reported, according to county and state health department data. The seven-day average of 270 is the lowest since early November. It peaked at more than 1,300 in December. Of the newly...
9-time Pro Bowl center Maurkice Pouncey retiring from Steelers
Citing the “sacrifice” playing pro football carries on his life, nine-time Pro Bowl center Maurkice Pouncey announced his retirement from the Pittsburgh Steelers on Friday. Pouncey and his twin brother, Mike, made their joint announcement via Maurkice Pouncey’s longtime teammate and friend, Ramon Foster, on Foster’s verified Twitter page. Foster,...
Freeport Area approves remote learning program to possibly nix snow days
Snow days may be a thing of the past for Freeport Area School District students. The district was approved by the state for the Flexible Instructional Day Program, which allows schools to engage in remote learning rather than canceling and rescheduling school days because of factors like hazardous weather, damage...
Trump impeachment trial: Defense wraps up case in 3 hoursVideo
WASHINGTON — The defense attorneys for Donald Trump have wrapped up their presentation in the former president’s impeachment trial. Lawyers argued for three hours Friday that former President Donald Trump didn’t incite the Jan. 6 rally crowd to riot at the U.S. Capitol and that his words were merely figures...
Police say driver crashed into gas station in effort to steal ATM
A man crashed a pickup into a Hill District gas station Friday morning trying to steal an ATM machine, Pittsburgh police said. Police and medics responded to the report of a vehicle into a building in the 2300 block of Centre Avenue shortly after 7 a.m. Officers found a large...
Board games provide low-tech alternative to online obsessionsVideo
A board game called Pandemic was a customer favorite early last year at Mr. Nice Guy Games in Monroeville. “It was our No. 1 seller in February and March,” said Christy Kotwica, who owns the store with her husband, Ron Kotwica. “We ordered four times what we’d normally order, and...
Ex-Tribune-Review Sunday editor remembered as a ‘giant of a man’
William T. “Bill” Dymond, the first editor of the Sunday Tribune-Review, was a man great in stature and personality, a man who cared deeply about his family and community, his friends said. “He was a giant in so many ways. Not only in personal stature, but a giant in the...
Police: Monroeville man facing multiple sexual assault charges involving child
A Monroeville man was arrested last week on multiple sexual assault charges stemming from the early 2000s, according to Pittsburgh police. Raymond Dixon Jr., 36, was arrested Feb. 4. He faces charges of unlawful contact with a minor, two counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, sexual assault, two counts of...
John Fetterman: ‘Race played no role’ in shotgun-wielding chase of Black jogger he mistook for criminalVideo
Lt. Gov. John Fetterman on Thursday rebuffed criticism stemming from a 2013 decision to grab his 20-gauge shotgun and chase after someone he thought might be a shooter on the run but turned out to be an unarmed jogger. The incident resurfaced this week with the ambitious, progressive Democrat’s newly...
Bishop Larry Kulick ordained to lead Diocese of Greensburg
The Diocese of Greensburg welcomed its new bishop Thursday with worship, prayer and pageantry — but without the crowds of parishioners usually present to celebrate such an event. “Like so many things we have done differently during the pandemic, this liturgy is no exception,” said Monsignor Raymond Riffle, rector of...
Biden says U.S. is securing 600 million vaccine doses by JulyVideo
BETHESDA, Md. — President Joe Biden visited some of the nation’s leading scientists on the frontlines of the fight against covid-19 on Thursday, as he announced the U.S. will have enough supply of the vaccine by the end of the summer to inoculate 300 million Americans. Biden toured the Viral...
Slow snow removal causes frustration in some Pittsburgh neighborhoods
In some Pittsburgh neighborhoods, snow doesn’t create a winter wonderland. It creates treacherous road conditions that too often go unplowed and untreated. Following Wednesday night’s snowfall, City Councilman Anthony Coghill received five or six calls from residents who were concerned about snow-covered roads. “That’s a walk in the park,” Coghill...
