Top Stories category, Page 1327
Forest Hills man claims Allegheny County denied him job over medical marijuana
A Forest Hills man claims in a lawsuit that he was rejected for a job as a corrections officer at the Allegheny County Jail because he is prescribed medical marijuana. Andrew Reed filed the complaint against the county under the Americans with Disabilities Act in federal court, alleging that the...
Brighton Rehab sued by 15 families, residents for ‘reckless’ response to covid outbreak
The families of 10 residents who died and five residents still living at Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center sued the nursing home’s leaders on Wednesday for what they deem a “reckless” handling of the covid-19 outbreak, which has killed at least 73 residents of the Beaver County facility. “They show...
Barack Obama to hold his first in-person event for Biden in Philadelphia
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Barack Obama is returning to Philadelphia on Wednesday for his first in-person 2020 campaign event for Joe Biden. In 2016, the man known as one of the Democratic Party’s strongest orators delivered Hillary Clinton’s closing argument in the same place — at a rally for...
Trump tends to his electoral map, Biden prepping for debate
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is hopping from one must-win stop on the electoral map to the next in the leadup to a final presidential debate that may be his last, best chance to alter the trajectory of the 2020 campaign. Democrat Joe Biden has been taking the opposite approach,...
State rejects Westmoreland plan to eliminate Penn Township district court
The state Supreme Court has rejected a Westmoreland County plan to shutter a district magistrate office in Penn Township, officials said. County court leaders this summer pitched a redistricting plan to the state’s high court that called for elimination of two magistrates, one that temporarily closed this spring in Mt....
Police: 3 people in stable condition following shooting in Brighton Heights
Three people were taken to the hospital in stable condition after a shooting in Brighton Heights Tuesday night, Pittsburgh Police said. Officers responded to the area of Fleming Avenue and Kalorama Way around 10:50 p.m. after receiving multiple Shotspotter alerts, according to police spokesman Maurice Matthews. While investigating the scene,...
Increase in covid-19 cases prompts closure of Hempfield Area High School
Hempfield Area High School is closed through Friday, following an increase in covid-19 cases at the school. Superintendent Tammy Wolicki announced the closure in a letter posted Tuesday on the district website. She said the decision was triggered when another high school student’s positive case was reported to the district...
Trump tweets clip of ’60 Minutes’ host Lesley Stahl without mask at White House, threatens to air interview early
NEW YORK — He’s tick, tick ticked. President Donald Trump posted video of “60 Minutes” anchor Lesley Stahl appearing maskless after interviewing him Tuesday — then threatened to scoop CBS by airing their recent interview ahead of schedule. “Lesley Stahl of 60 Minutes not wearing a mask in the White...
U.S. spacecraft swoops onto asteroid to snap up sample
NEW YORK — A NASA spacecraft on Tuesday conducted the U.S. space agency’s first sample collection from an asteroid as part of seven-year-long voyage. The event, which lasted around 4 1/2 hours, saw Osiris-Rex approaching Bennu at tortoise speed, about 0.19 miles per hour, and then touching down on the...
Westmoreland GOP rally short on candidatesVideo
Tuesday’s Westmoreland County Republican Committee rally in Hempfield was short on candidates but strong on local party support. More than 50 GOP faithful attended the evening event, spilling from the main room of All Saints Brewing Co. onto the patio. Committee Chairman Bill Bretz, who expressed confidence in county support...
Suspect in custody in double shooting in Jeannette
A juvenile male suspect was in custody following a shooting Tuesday evening in Jeannette that sent two people to AHN Forbes Hospital, according to city police. A 19-year-old man was one of the two people wounded in the shooting outside a South Third Street home. His mother, who declined to...
Pittsburgh writers reflect on Tree of Life massacre in new book
In January 2019, members of New Light Congregation at the Tree of Life synagogue traveled to Charleston, S.C., to pray with members of Emanuel AME Church, where nine Black worshippers were shot to death by a young white supremacist in 2015. It was a less than three months after a...
State could recommend closure of Westmoreland County schools over coronavirus surge
Pennsylvania Department of Education officials soon could begin urging Westmoreland County schools to close and move to fully remote learning if the present coronavirus surge continues. The county has the seventh-highest coronavirus incidence rate in the state, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. This week, it moved from “moderate”...
Westmoreland sheriff wants deputies to patrol polling places on Election Day, in case needed
Westmoreland County Sheriff James Albert on Tuesday said he will assign deputies to patrol near the county’s 307 polling locations on Election Day. The first-term sheriff said he has received no specific information about threats but he wants deputies at the ready should disturbances or calls of voter intimidation arise...
Future of Race for the Cure in question as Komen Foundation closes local chapters
The Susan G. Komen Foundation will close all of its local offices across the country by year’s end, leaving the future of Pittsburgh’s annual Race for the Cure up in the air, the nonprofit announced Tuesday. The foundation, which raises money for breast cancer research, screenings and treatment, plans to...
Biden-Harris caravan, rally planned in Alle-Kiski Valley
A caravan and rally are being held in the Alle-Kiski Valley this weekend in an attempt to drive up support for Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and his running mate, U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris. Harrison’s Rachel Miller created a Facebook group called “Local Biden-Harris Rally” to drum up support for...
Pa. in peak season for number of ticks carrying Lyme disease
While most Lyme disease cases are confirmed in the summer, October and November are when the number of adult ticks carrying Lyme disease is highest and they are most active, according to the state Department of Environmental Protection. “The adult ticks are emerging now and they are here to do...
Plans move ahead for Blue Angels’ return to Westmoreland airshow in 2021
Beset by the covid-19 pandemic and construction at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport that has slashed commercial passenger traffic by 60%, the Westmoreland County Airport Authority is turning the page on 2020 and planning the return of the U.S. Navy Blue Angels next year. The flight demonstration squadron based in Pensacola,...
Officials: Greene County prison inmate dies of covid-19
A 35-year-old inmate in Greene County has died from covid-19, marking the 13th inmate death within the Department of Corrections since the pandemic began, officials said. The man, who was taken to the hospital Oct. 7 for an issue not related to covid-19, tested positive Oct. 13, according to Department...
Pa. Supreme Court hears arguments on statute of limitations in priest sex abuse cases
Renee Rice said she was abused by a priest in the Altoona-Johnstown diocese from the mid-1970s until 1980. She filed a complaint with the diocese in 2006 and received a letter from them in July of that year inviting her to participate in an ongoing investigation. Rice declined because she...
Pennsylvania reports 1,557 new covid-19 cases, 33 additional deaths
Pennsylvania reported 1,557 new covid-19 cases Tuesday, according to the state Department of Health. In addition, 33 new coronavirus-related deaths were reported, the second-most reported in October. All of the reported new deaths are from October. Total cases and total deaths in the state now stand at 184,872 and 8,533,...
Westmoreland County reports 64 additional covid-19 cases, 3 new deaths
Westmoreland County has 64 new covid-19 cases and three new coronavirus-related deaths, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Tuesday’s new reported cases and deaths bring the county’s totals to 3,614 and 74, respectively. There are currently 38 covid-19 patients hospitalized in Westmoreland County, with five on ventilators. Westmoreland County...
After 100 years on AM dial, KDKA Radio adds FM signal
A change is in the air for News Radio 1020 KDKA. Starting Nov. 2, as part of the commemoration of the station’s centennial anniversary, KDKA-AM will simulcast on FM for the first time ever and be heard on 100.1 FM. The spot had previously been occupied by WAMO, a station...
Allegheny County sees new covid-19 case counts trend continue
Allegheny County reported 103 new covid-19 cases Tuesday, according to the county Health Department. One new coronavirus-related death was also reported Tuesday, an individual in their 90s who died Sunday. The county now has 14,277 cases and 406 deaths. Allegheny County coronavirus by dayInfogram New covid-19 cases have hovered around...
Trump says Fauci is ‘terrific guy’ but not ‘team player’
WASHINGTON — A day after claiming that the American people are tired of listening to Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Donald Trump insisted Tuesday that he gets along with the nation’s top infectious disease specialist while also complaining the doctor who has clashed with him at times over the coronavirus is...
