Top Stories category, Page 1345
Bishop Zubik eases limits on Mass attendance in Pittsburgh diocese
Now that Pennsylvania has raised indoor dining capacity to 50%, Bishop David Zubik has decided parishes in the Pittsburgh diocese can do the same for services. Beginning this weekend, parishes will be allowed to increase attendance to 50% capacity at each Mass. “People need Jesus now more than ever. We...
Ethane cracker plant in Beaver County about 70% complete, Shell executive says
Construction of a multibillion-dollar ethane cracker plant in Beaver County is about 70% complete, a Shell Global executive said Tuesday during the Shale Insight conference. Hilary Mercer, Shell Global’s vice president of Pennsylvania Chemicals, spent about a half-hour during the virtual conference describing the development of the facility, work on...
Disney to lay off 28,000 at its parks in California, Florida
ORLANDO, Fla. — Squeezed by limits on attendance at its theme parks and other restrictions due to the pandemic, The Walt Disney Co. said Tuesday it planned to lay off 28,000 workers in its parks division in California and Florida. Two-thirds of the planned layoffs involve part-time workers but they...
UPMC doctors: Covid vaccine ‘not going to happen’ this year
UPMC doctors on Tuesday addressed the race for a covid-19 vaccine, calling it “this generation’s moonshot,” but warned that a vaccine by year’s end is pie in the sky. “This is simply not going to happen,” said Dr. David Nace, chief medical officer of UPMC’s senior communities. “We’re hopeful that...
GOP senators praise Trump pick Amy Coney Barrett ahead of confirmation fightVideo
WASHINGTON — Key Republican senators praised President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, as the conservative judge met privately on Capitol Hill Tuesday with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and others in preparation for her fast-track confirmation before the Nov. 3 election. Joined by Vice President Mike Pence,...
Ex-Westmoreland County probation officer charged for alleged ‘intimate’ relationship with prisoner
A former Westmoreland County probation officer has a preliminary hearing Oct. 19 for allegedly having inappropriate contact with a man she was supposed to be monitoring after his release from the county prison in 2018, according to court documents. Mary Jo Borelli, 57, of Jeannette, is charged with one count...
Pennsylvania adds 988 new covid-19 cases, continuing recent trend
Pennsylvania has 988 new covid-19 cases Tuesday, according to the state Department of Health. There were also 16 new coronavirus-related deaths reported. Total cases are now 157,814 and total deaths are now 8,123. Of the 16 deaths reported Tuesday, 13 are from September, one from August, one from July and...
Allegheny County Judge Tranquilli asks court to remove Ebonics claims in 2015 case
The attorney for Judge Mark V. Tranquilli, accused of misconduct and scheduled for trial before the Pennsylvania Court of Judicial Discipline, said that allegations his client spoke in Ebonics should be stricken from the case. Matt Logue, who represents Tranquilli, filed pretrial motions in the case late Monday. Logue asks...
Court to release grand jury record in Breonna Taylor caseVideo
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Kentucky’s attorney general acknowledged that he never recommended homicide charges against any of the police officers conducting the drug raid that led to Breonna Taylor’s death, and said he didn’t object to a judge’s order to publicly release the grand jury’s deliberations. Amid outrage over the jury’s...
Allegheny County sees positivity rate for new covid-19 cases jump
Allegheny County had 71 new covid-19 cases Tuesday, according to the county’s Health Department. In addition, 11 new hospitalizations and no new deaths were reported. Tuesday marked the fourth consecutive day without a coronavirus-related death. The county now has 12,305 cases, 1,211 total hospitalizations and 380 deaths. New cases came...
Celeb chef Guy Fieri to open restaurant at Live! Casino Pittsburgh in Hempfield
This sounds like a winning combination at Live! Casino Pittsburgh — a restaurant owned by Guy Fieri. An Emmy-award winning chef, restaurateur, New York Times best-selling author and television personality, Fieri is opening American Kitchen + Bar sometime this year, as was first reported by the Tribune-Review. “There is nothing...
Lower Fort Pitt Bridge, outbound tunnels reopen after jackknifed truck removed
Access to the outbound Fort Pitt Tunnel was blocked for about three hours Tuesday morning because of a jackknifed tractor-trailer on the lower level of Pittsburgh’s Fort Pitt Bridge. The crash was reported around 4:15 a.m., an Allegheny County 911 dispatcher said. The truck was removed and the lanes were...
Police: Pennsylvania man caps 3rd arrest in 3 days with tri-state car chase
An Eastern Pennsylvania man was arrested three times in three days in Allegheny County, capping off a suspected crime spree Monday afternoon by leading police on a car chase that spanned three states, court records show. Shad Bocella, 24, was released from the Allegheny County Jail about 11:25 a.m. Monday...
Cool beans! Get some free perks on National Coffee DayVideo
Grab your cold press, your K-cup, your cafetiere — or hit your neighborhood cafe — it’s National Coffee Day. It’s a great time to be a coffee drinker, with the recent proliferation of coffee shops and at-home coffee- brewing equipment offering something for even the most discerning coffee palate. “Coffee...
Ethics experts see national security concern in Trump’s debtVideo
WASHINGTON — Revelations that President Donald Trump is personally liable for more than $400 million in debt are casting a shadow over his presidency that ethics experts say raises national security concerns he could be manipulated to sway U.S. policy by organizations or individuals he’s indebted to. New scrutiny of...
Worldwide death toll from coronavirus eclipses 1 millionVideo
NEW DELHI — The worldwide death toll from the coronavirus eclipsed 1 million on Tuesday, nine months into a crisis that has devastated the global economy, tested world leaders’ resolve, pitted science against politics and forced multitudes to change the way they live, learn and work. “It’s not just a...
GOP surrogates dismiss tax report as political jab during Trump bus tour stop in Monroeville
Reports claiming President Trump paid no federal income taxes in 10 of the past 15 years aren’t likely to sway voters toward Democratic challenger Joe Biden, former U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta said Monday in Monroeville. “Oh, ho hum, here we go again. It’s election time. He’s had four years of...
Businesses that sued Wolf over shutdown orders now seek more than $135K in legal fees
The business owners who filed a federal lawsuit against Gov. Tom Wolf over his covid-19 shutdown orders are asking the court to award them attorney fees. In a motion filed Monday before U.S. District Judge William Stickman IV, the plaintiffs ask for $135,790 in attorneys fees and costs. That amount,...
Lawsuit against gun maker, seller allowed to proceed in Mt. Pleasant shooting case
The Pennsylvania Superior Court, in a strongly worded decision, ruled that a lawsuit filed by the parents of a 13-year-old Mt. Pleasant boy who was killed accidentally when his friend fired a gun at him can move forward. It is the first appeals court in the country to find that...
U.S. official: 2020 census to end Oct. 5 despite court orderVideo
ORLANDO — Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross says the 2020 census will end Oct. 5, despite a federal judge’s ruling last week allowing the head count of every U.S. resident to continue through the end of October, according to a tweet posted on the Census Bureau’s website Monday. The tweet...
Biden to visit Pittsburgh, Westmoreland County on Wednesday as part of train whistle-stop tour
Former Vice President Joe Biden will visit Western Pennsylvania by train Wednesday, fresh off his first in-person 2020 election debate against President Trump. Locally, the Democratic nominee and his wife, Jill, will stop in Pittsburgh, Greensburg, Latrobe and New Alexandria. The tour is scheduled to culminate in a 7:30 p.m....
Feds to ship millions of tests in bid to reopen K-12 schoolsVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump announced Monday that the federal government will begin distributing millions of rapid coronavirus tests to states this week and urged governors to use them to reopen schools for students in kindergarten through 12th grade. The move to vastly expand U.S. testing comes as confirmed new...
‘Good Morning America’ comes to Springdale
Allegheny Valley School District’s involvement with an initiative aimed at connecting underserved students to the internet is bringing it national attention. The ABC-TV morning show “Good Morning America” sent a crew to record interviews in Springdale and Cheswick on Monday, including a stop at Springdale Free Public Library to highlight...
The Park House, North Side watering hole and home to bluegrass jams, is for sale
The Park House, a North Side fixture for decades and a longstanding spot for live bluegrass, is up for sale. The East Ohio Street watering hole has been owned for 16 years by Zamir Zahavi, who said in a statement he is looking ahead to new adventures but hopes someone...
Allegheny County adds 133 new covid cases in 2 days
Allegheny County’s covid cases increased by 133 over the past two days, the Health Department reported Monday. On Sunday, the county added 61 new cases, with all but one being confirmed. On Monday, there were 72 new cases added, with all but three being confirmed. In total, there were 1,867...
