Top Stories category, Page 1367
2 nearly struck during target shooting near Cloverleaf Golf Club
Two men are expected to be charged after bullets they fired while target shooting whizzed past golfers at Cloverleaf Golf Club in Salem. Cody Kun, 28, and Timothy Kulasa, 26, both of McKeesport, are expected to face charges of reckless endangerment, according to state police in Kiski. The pair were...
Biden meets Jacob Blake’s family to start Wisconsin trip
KENOSHA, Wis. — Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden began a visit to the battleground state of Wisconsin on Thursday by meeting with the family of Jacob Blake, the Black man whose shooting by a white police officer sparked days of sometimes violent protests. Biden spent more than an hour in...
Jobless claims fall to 881,000 but layoffs remain elevated
WASHINGTON — The number of laid-off Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell to a still-elevated 881,000 last week, evidence that the viral pandemic keeps forcing many businesses to slash jobs. The latest figures, released Thursday by the Labor Department, suggest that nearly six months after the eruption of the coronavirus,...
Editorial: Sign theft stifles free speech
Speech isn’t always about using your voice. Maybe it’s a book. Maybe it’s a quote in a magazine article. It could be a T-shirt or a hat or a tattoo. But as the election approaches, one form of speech will pop up more and more: the yard sign. They may...
White House moves to revoke federal funding from ‘anarchist jurisdictions’
The Trump administration is taking steps to revoke federal funding from metropolitan cities he says are becoming “anarchist jurisdictions.” President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed a five-page memo ordering federal agencies to send information to the White House Office of Management and Budget that detail monies that can be redirected....
House OKs changes to mail-in voting law; Wolf threatens veto
HARRISBURG — In the shadow of an increasingly strident presidential campaign, Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives approved changes to the state’s fledgling mail-in voting law Wednesday, but in highly partisan fashion. The Republican-penned bill passed, 112-90, on a near party-line vote in the battleground state where President Trump’s campaign and the...
Budget deficit to hit record $3.3 trillion because of coronavirus, recession
WASHINGTON — The federal budget deficit is projected to hit a record $3.3 trillion as huge government expenditures to fight the coronavirus and to prop up the economy have added more than $2 trillion to the federal ledger, the Congressional Budget Office said Wednesday. The spike in the deficit means...
Lower Burrell councilwoman to sing national anthem at Trump rally
Lower Burrell Councilwoman Rosina Albanese is singing the national anthem at President Trump’s campaign stop Thursday at the Arnold Palmer Regional Airport. Albanese, 27, a Republican, said she was called recently by a Republican Party representative asking if she would sing at a high profile event at the Unity airport....
Pa. Liquor Control Board reports record net income despite sales decline
Despite the first annual sales decline in 26 years, the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board on Wednesday reported record net income for the fiscal year that ended June 30. Liquor sales were hit hard particularly in the early stages of the pandemic when state wine and spirits stores were closed due...
State attorney general accuses Gillece Services of ‘bait-and-switch’ tactics on clogged sewer jobs
The Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office has filed a lawsuit against Gillece Services in Allegheny County alleging a “bait-and-switch scheme” that lured customers in with deceptively low prices only to tell them the job required different, expensive home improvement work. The complaint filed Tuesday seeks restitution for every customer the attorney...
Nursing home covid-19 case, death data still missing from Pa.’s public reports
Spotlight PA is an independent, non-partisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLIVE/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free weekly newsletter. HARRISBURG — During the first three months of the coronavirus pandemic, the public had no way to measure which Pennsylvania...
Steroids can save lives among covid-19 patients, UPMC and Pitt researchers sayVideo
An international study led by scientists at UPMC and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine found that inexpensive steroids improve outcomes of severely ill covid-19 patients. The World Health Organization has updated treatment guidance in reaction to the study. The findings were published Wednesday in the Journal of the...
Man gets lengthy prison term for child sexual abuse at North Side in-home daycare
A man convicted of sexually abusing children at his mother’s in-home daycare on Pittsburgh’s North Side will serve at least 44 years in prison. David Tyus, 21, was found guilty by a jury in March of rape of a child and other sexual assault charges. Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge...
KDKA-TV says ‘Wendy Bell doesn’t work for us’ after social media outcry
KDKA-TV is distancing itself from Pittsburgh radio personality Wendy Bell in light of controversial comments she made on recent videos, such as calling on park rangers to shoot people who deface monuments honoring historical figures. “KDKA-TV would like to remind our viewers and readers that Wendy Bell does not work...
Route 30 eastbound reopens following 4-car crash
Eastbound Route 30 has reopened near the Eastgate Shopping Center in Hempfield, following a reported 4-car crash on Wednesday afternoon. According to emergency dispatchers, two of the three eastbound lanes closed for a time. The crash was reported around 4:45 p.m. and they were open again by 5:30. Additional information...
Allegheny County health director, executive receive shots in covid-19 vaccine trials
Allegheny County Director of Health Dr. Debra Bogen and County Executive Rich Fitzgerald are taking part in a clinical trial for a covid-19 vaccine, both said Wednesday. “As a pediatrician, I have great confidence in vaccines,” Bogen said during her weekly press briefing on the virus. She said she has...
Pittsburgh City Council told facial recognition bill should be stronger
Restrictions on using facial recognition software and predictive police techniques proposed by Pittsburgh City Councilman Corey O’Connor don’t go far enough, a handful of computer science researchers told council Wednesday. Instead, council should consider a full-fledged ban on using such software and techniques, said David Widder, a doctoral student in...
‘Urgent’ request sent to states in push for coronavirus vaccine delivery by Nov. 1Video
WASHINGTON — Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, sent a letter last week to the nation’s governors with an urgent request. The Trump administration wanted them to do everything in their power to eliminate hurdles for vaccine distribution sites to be fully operational by...
Police: Trooper almost hit by SUV fleeing undercover drug buy in Hempfield
State troopers closing in on a suspected heroin dealer at a busy Hempfield shopping plaza Tuesday evening narrowly escaped injury when the suspect attempted to flee in his SUV, police said. Stephen J. Turner-Perkins, 33, of Pittsburgh, nearly struck Trooper Bruce Walters, who had his gun drawn, in the parking...
Arnold Palmer airport travelers advised to arrive early while President Trump stumps on Thursday
President Trump’s campaign stop Thursday evening at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport isn’t expected to create turbulence for the scheduled commercial flights. Still, with the president’s 7 p.m. appearance expected to attract 2,000 or more people in his bid for reelection, those expecting to board an outbound Spirit Airlines flight are...
Pittsburgh man accused of shooting at ATF agent indicted
A federal grand jury this week indicted a Pittsburgh man accused as part of a drug-trafficking street gang for shooting a federal agent during a June raid by law enforcement. The indictment, returned Tuesday, charges 44-year-old Dion Williams with firing at an agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms...
Sheetz named a top company that cares by People magazineVideo
Sheetz ranked among top businesses in the country as a company that cares. The Altoona-based firm ranked 11th out of 50 companies that received the designation based on their demonstration of respect, care and concern for employees, communities and the environment during the coronavirus pandemic. It was the only convenience...
City treasurer: Pittsburgh faces $100 million less revenue because of pandemic
The coronavirus pandemic’s toll on Pittsburgh’s finances could mean the city collects $100 million less in revenues than projected, Treasurer Douglas Anderson told council members Wednesday. This year will be a “weird budget cycle,” Councilman R. Daniel Lavelle said, as council heard from Anderson about how the 2021 city budget...
Trump, Biden expected to visit Flight 93 National Memorial for 9/11 anniversary
President Trump and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden both plan to visit Shanksville to commemorate the 19th anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks, according to the White House and a Biden campaign spokesman. The president — who will be in Westmoreland County on Thursday — and first lady Melania Trump...
Gov. Wolf lifts ban on spectators at interscholastic sportsVideo
Spectators can watch football, soccer and all other high school sports this fall after Gov. Tom Wolf lifted his ban on fans at interscholastic athletics. But Wolf kept strict limits on gathering sizes, meaning many stadium seats and gym bleachers might stay empty. Outdoor events are limited to 250 individuals,...
