Top Stories category, Page 1305
Safety measures taken at Live! Casino Pittsburgh prior to openingVideo
As the number of coronavirus cases continues to climb in Westmoreland County, Live! Casino Pittsburgh officials are taking extra precautions as their opening date nears. Hand sanitizer, signs promoting social distancing and plexiglass dividers placed around table games and slot machines dominate the casino floor, located in the former Bon-Ton...
GOP state Senate challenger Ziccarelli seeks to have ballots tossed
The Republican candidate for state Senate running against incumbent Sen. Jim Brewster has filed a petition in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court to set aside 2,349 undated mail-in ballots. Unofficial vote totals Friday morning from Allegheny and Westmoreland counties showed Brewster, D-McKeesport, leading by 44 votes. Attorney Matthew Haverstick, who...
Game warden cites Derry Township man after trophy deer post on social media
A Derry Township man’s boast on social media about bagging an albino deer during archery season last month landed him in hot water with the state game commission. After an investigation, Stone P. Kepple, 23, admitted to wardens that he had struck the deer while driving in Derry Borough and...
Westmoreland County reports 119 new coronavirus cases
Westmoreland County on Friday reported 119 new cases of coronavirus, down from yesterday’s record 207 daily cases. But that was not enough to keep the county’s seven-day average from reaching a new high of 123 cases. The seven-day total rose to 858 cases. The county has had a total of...
Pennsylvania continues to set coronavirus records with 5,531 new cases
Pennsylvania on Friday continued to set records with 5,531 new cases of coronavirus. That is the fourth consecutive day of record-high daily cases. The state’s seven-day average has marched upward for a dozen consecutive days to 4,348 cases. Similarly, the seven-day case total has been accelerating and is now 30,437....
Pittsburgh fugitive on the run for nearly 50 years arrested in MichiganVideo
After nearly 50 years on the run, a Pittsburgh man who escaped authorities in 1971 was done in by $43. Leonard Rayne Moses had been working as a traveling pharmacist under the name Paul Dickson in Michigan since at least 1999, according to federal authorities. He’d served two years of...
Santa is coming to malls, wearing a mask, keeping his distance and making his list
Covid-19 travel restrictions won’t stop Santa from visiting some local malls, although he will be wearing a mask and keeping his distance. Other shopping centers will offer virtual visits with the jolly old elf. Plan your in-person or online visit with Santa at these locations: • Westmoreland Mall: Santa and...
Pittsburgh lawyers seek to withdraw from Trump federal suit
The Pittsburgh-based attorneys representing the Trump campaign in a federal lawsuit challenging the election results are seeking to withdraw from the case. Ronald L. Hicks Jr. and Carolyn B. McGee, who work for Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP, filed the motion Thursday. The firm filed a lawsuit in the...
Giant pickle ornament among Pittsburgh’s holiday attractions
There’s a big dill in Pittsburgh this holiday season. The giant custom-made Heinz pickle balloon, a recognizable sight above the Clemente Bridge during Picklesburgh festivals, has been transformed into a super-sized ornament. It will be unveiled Nov. 27 (the Friday after Thanksgiving) in EQT Plaza, Downtown, a project of the...
5 Things to do this weekend in and around Pittsburgh
Looking for weekends plans? Here are a few fun things to do in Pittsburgh: Fall Foliage Yoga Hike with Elevate Yoga Pittsburgh Elevate Yoga Pittsburgh is hosting a hiking and yoga event at Settlers Cabin Park in Collier, North Fayette and Robinson at 12 p.m. on Saturday. The Fall Foliage...
Lori Falce: Christmas movies and the end of 2020
Let’s just move on. It’s time. We have to put things behind us and get on with our lives. Some people are happy and some aren’t, but really, there are just two kinds of people in the world anymore. People who are ready for Hallmark Christmas movies to be on...
Army Corps says Parks Township nuke cleanup on way and a top priority nationally
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said Thursday night that resuming the $500 million cleanup of the nuclear waste dump in Parks Township is a top priority and they are getting ready. “The time is right for it,” U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Col. Andrew J. “Coby” Short said in...
Court blocks small number of ballots in Pennsylvania over ID
HARRISBURG — A Pennsylvania judge sided with President Donald Trump’s campaign Thursday and ordered counties not to count a small number of mail-in or absentee ballots for which the voter didn’t submit valid identification within six days after the Nov. 3 election. The injunction issued by Commonwealth Court Judge Mary...
Top officials: Nov. 3 election most secure in U.S. history
WASHINGTON — A coalition of federal and state officials said Thursday that they have no evidence that votes were compromised or altered in last week’s presidential election, rejecting unsubstantiated claims of widespread fraud advanced by President Donald Trump and many of his supporters. The statement from cybersecurity experts, which trumpeted...
Schindler’s list survivor, Pittsburgh cantor Moshe Taube dead at 93
Moshe Taube, an accomplished cantor and successful recording artist who famously survived the Holocaust by having his name on Schindler’s list, died Wednesday after being hospitalized with heart problems. He was 93. Taube, a Squirrel Hill resident, was a cantor for more than 40 years at Congregation Beth Shalom in...
Charles Morris nursing home in Squirrel Hill set to close in January
Confronting financial woes exacerbated by the pandemic, the Jewish Association on Aging announced Thursday that it plans to close Charles Morris Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood. The nonprofit nursing home — among the highest-rated such facilities in Western Pennsylvania — is set to shut down permanently...
Pitt-Georgia Tech game postponed because of covid protocols
After playing most of this season uninterrupted by the coronavirus pandemic, Pitt postponed its game Saturday at Georgia Tech because of covid-related issues on both teams. Football injuries at Georgia Tech also were cited by its athletic director, Todd Stansbury. The ACC said in a statement the game was postponed...
Allegheny County officials plead for ‘wake-up call’ amid rising covid numbers
Allegheny County officials and medical experts from across the county delivered a dire and pleading message Thursday as the number of covid-19 cases continued to rise, with this week’s new case count likely to top 2,000. “These data concern me and they must be a wake-up call to everyone in...
Trump supporters to rally in D.C. against voter fraud; evidence has yet to materialize
Len Young remembers the inspiration he felt a decade ago during a Tea Party rally in Washington, D.C. The Monroeville resident said he hopes to replicate that experience Saturday in the same place, this time in support of President Trump, other state and federal races and “real discovery of fraudulent...
Sneak peek offered of Live! Casino Pittsburgh before grand opening at Westmoreland MallVideo
Dazzling lights and the sounds of slot machines greet visitors as they enter the new Live! Casino Pittsburgh, the $150 million facility that will open soon at Westmoreland Mall in Hempfield. Seven hundred fifty slot machines and 30 table games have replaced the racks of clothes that once dominated the...
Justice Department: ‘Poor judgment’ used in Jeffrey Epstein plea deal, but finds no misconduct
WASHINGTON — A Justice Department report has found former Labor Secretary Alex Acosta exercised “poor judgment” in handling an investigation into wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein when he was a top federal prosecutor in Florida. The report, obtained by The Associated Press, is a culmination of an investigation by the Justice...
Pennsylvania health officials discourage all gatherings as cases surge
State health officials urged Pennsylvania residents to avoid gatherings both large and small, as the state continues to report more covid-19 cases than it has all through the pandemic. The state again broke its record for its highest daily case total on Thursday, adding 5,488 cases for a total of...
Kim Ward becomes 1st woman to serve as majority leader in Pennsylvania Senate history
State Sen. Kim Ward made history Thursday as fellow Senate Republicans appointed her as the state legislature’s first woman to serve as majority leader. Ward, of Hempfield, replaces Sen. Jake Corman, who has been appointed Senate president pro tempore. “I’m very, very honored today to have been chosen as the...
Latrobe man charged with rape accused of lewdness, assaulting prison guard
A Latrobe man accused of raping a woman hours after his release from the Westmoreland County Prison last week was awaiting arraignment Thursday on new charges of exposing himself to a nurse at the Hempfield lockup and assaulting a prison guard. Zackery D. Kimmick, 30, was returned to the prison...
Pittsburgh police reform task force members call on city officials to act on report
Members of the Pittsburgh Community Task Force on Policing Reform had a singular message for City Council members Thursday: They want the recommendations in their 47-page report implemented. The 15-member task force met regularly since it was formed in June by Mayor Bill Peduto. They disagreed on many things during...
