Top Stories category, Page 1350
U.S. experts vow ‘no cutting corners’ as vaccine tests expandVideo
WASHINGTON — A huge international study of a covid-19 vaccine that aims to work with just one dose is getting underway as top U.S. health officials sought Wednesday to assure a skeptical Congress and public that they can trust any shots the government ultimately approves. Hopes are high that answers...
South Park man in prison for stealing $1.2M from church now charged with tax fraud
A man already serving five to 10 years in prison for stealing more than $1 million from an Upper St. Clair church was indicted by the federal government this week on tax fraud charges. David Reiter, 51, formerly of South Park, faces 16 counts of failing to pay taxes and...
Woman who claims Pittsburgh police used excessive force on her up for $40K settlement
Pittsburgh City Council is poised to approve a $40,000 settlement for a Trafford woman who claims she was assaulted by officers in her own home five years ago. Deborah Trzeciak, 60, filed a civil lawsuit against the city and five individual police officers in December, alleging excessive force and failure...
50,000 residents download Pennsylvania’s covid app in 24 hours
Pennsylvania’s new covid-19 contact tracing app has been downloaded by 50,000 people, Gov. Tom Wolf’s office said Wednesday. The mobile app, COVID Alert PA, was announced in August and officially launched Tuesday. The app notifies users if they have been exposed to covid-19 using Bluetooth technology. Without tracking identity or...
Pittsburgh Art Commission recommends removal of Columbus statue from Schenley Park
The Pittsburgh Art Commission unanimously recommended removal of the statue of Christopher Columbus that has been in Schenley Park for over 60 years. The recommendation, made during a Wednesday meeting of the commission, puts the issue before Mayor Bill Peduto, who will consider the issue and make a decision. The...
Baldwin couple wanted in connection with infant’s death turn themselves in to police
One month after a caseworker with Children, Youth and Families gave the all-clear on a Baldwin couple’s home, their 1-year-old infant was found dead from what police said Wednesday was a drug overdose. Thomas Humphreys was found dead in his parents’ Oakleaf Road home in Baldwin on Sept. 13. Investigators...
Gov. Wolf’s veto of House Bill 2787 stands as state House override falls short
To the dismay of many high school sports fans, Gov. Tom Wolf’s veto of House Bill 2787 will stand. The state House on Wednesday fell short of the two-thirds majority vote needed to override Wolf’s veto with only 130 in favor of the override and 71 opposed. The House had...
Republicans seek to stay Pa. Supreme Court decision on ballot drop boxes and mail-in ballots
Top Republicans in Harrisburg have asked the state Supreme Court to stay part of its order allowing the use of ballot drop boxes and granting a three-day extension to count mail-in ballots while they appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court. In an application filed Tuesday, the Republican lawmakers...
Louisville police officers not charged for killing Breonna TaylorVideo
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A Kentucky grand jury brought no charges against Louisville police for the killing of Breonna Taylor during a drug raid gone wrong, with prosecutors saying Wednesday that two officers who fired their weapons at the Black woman were justified in using force to protect themselves after they...
4 more covid-19 cases reported at Westmoreland Manor
Initial coronavirus testing has been completed at Westmoreland Manor and officials said Wednesday that one additional resident and three more staffers have been infected with covid-19. Those latest results indicate that since the weekend a total of 33 residents and six employees have been diagnosed with the virus at the...
Westmoreland County records 2nd highest single-day total of coronavirus cases
Westmoreland County posted its second highest single-day total of reported coronavirus cases Wednesday. According to data from the Pennsylvania Department of Health, Westmoreland added 39 positive covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours. The county’s highest one-day mark was set April 25 when 43 cases were reported. The county now...
3 accused in Rostraver armed robbery
A Pittsburgh woman and two Maryland brothers were charged Tuesday in connection with an armed robbery in Rostraver. A female clerk at the Marathon gas station on Route 51 reported to township police at 9:15 p.m. on Aug. 3 that a man pointed a sawed-off shotgun at her and demanded...
Youngstown restaurant 1 of 11 in state to have liquor license suspended for covid violations
The Tin Lizzy Tap Room and Restaurant in Youngstown is set to reopen on Friday after its liquor license was suspended for two weeks because the establishment violated restrictions meant to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. Owner Buck Pawlosky said he will play by the rules, but that...
Blawnox police officer charged in alleged evidence room theft
A Blawnox police officer has been charged with stealing from his department, as well as the North Braddock police department where he was previously employed, according to state police. Joseph Andrew Lynn, 34, of McKeesport is allegedly responsible for multiple thefts from both departments. State police were investigating after cash...
Allegheny County adds 46 new coronavirus cases, 3 deaths
The Allegheny County Health Department reported 46 new coronavirus cases and three new deaths on Wednesday. Those new cases bring the county’s total to 11,867 since the first case was reported on March 14. The state is reporting 354 deaths in Allegheny County, which differs from the county health department’s...
Ginsburg remembered as prophet for justice, American icon
WASHINGTON — With crowds of admirers swelling outside, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was remembered Wednesday at the court by grieving family, colleagues and friends as a prophet for justice who persevered against long odds to become an American icon. The court’s eight justices, masked along with everyone else...
Pitt dean says U.S. is in a great racial crisis
If Larry E. Davis had been able to give the lecture he gave Tuesday evening back when it was originally scheduled last spring, it might not have had the same effect. His lecture “Will Race Always Matter?” was sponsored by the Dick Thornburgh Forum for Law and Public Policy at...
Late-stage study of first single-shot vaccine begins in U.S.Video
Johnson & Johnson is beginning a huge final study to try to prove if a single-dose covid-19 vaccine can protect against the virus. The study starting Wednesday will be one of the world’s largest coronavirus vaccine studies so far, testing the shot in 60,000 volunteers in the U.S., South Africa,...
Car crashes into apartment in Pittsburgh’s Carrick neighborhood
A car crashed into the front of an apartment building in Pittsburgh’s Carrick neighborhood early Wednesday, according to Tribune-Review news partner WPXI-TV. It happened on Brownsville Road, near the corner of East Cherryhill Street, around 1 a.m. The car slammed into the building’s front door, knocking out numerous bricks around...
Pennsylvania takes step to stop jobless benefits fraud
The state is taking additional steps to prevent criminals from illegally siphoning money from a federal unemployment compensation program by filing fraudulent claims, including delaying payments to allow for more time to verify the identity of those seeking the benefits. Those benefits, Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) benefits, are designed for...
Pennsylvania doles out half of federal $300 weekly benefit fund
Pennsylvania has distributed more than one-half of its allocation of $2.8 billion in federal money that is the source of the $300-a-week checks being sent to the eligible covid-19-related jobless, state officials said. The state has sent $1.5 billion to unemployed Pennsylvanians through the federal government’s Lost Wages Assistance Program,...
U.S. government executes killer obsessed with witchcraft
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — The U.S. government on Tuesday executed a former soldier who said an obsession with witchcraft led him to kill a Georgia nurse he believed had put a spell on him. William Emmett LeCroy, 50, was pronounced dead at 9:06 p.m. EDT after receiving a lethal injection...
Trump plays to strengths in crowd-pleasing stop at Pittsburgh International Airport
President Trump stepped off Air Force One on Tuesday evening to the loud cheers of thousands of people packed outside a private hangar at Pittsburgh International Airport. After a quick nod to the Pittsburgh Steelers football team, Trump told the crowd at Atlantic Aviation in Moon Township: “Forty-two days from...
House passes stopgap funding bill shortly after bipartisan deal
WASHINGTON — The House swiftly passed a stopgap funding measure needed to avert a partial government shutdown in eight days after top congressional leaders reached a deal resolving a fight over farm payments. On a lopsided vote of 359-57, the House sent to the Senate a revised continuing resolution that...
Shaler man pleads guilty to starting May riot in Pittsburgh during peaceful protest
A Shaler man pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to initiating the destruction of a Pittsburgh police car during a May protest over the death of George Floyd outside PPG Paints Arena. Brian Bartels, 20, pleaded guilty to a charge of obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder before U.S....
