Top Stories category, Page 1391
Chef Kevin Sousa makes house calls with fancy meals
Many people slogging through the pandemic deeply miss going out to a fancy restaurant. While some are open at reduced capacity, the fine-dining establishment Superior Motors in Braddock is among those closed for the foreseeable future. So Superior Motors’ chef Kevin Sousa has decided if people can’t come to the...
U.S. officials: Russia denigrating Biden ahead of election; China against Trump
WASHINGTON — U.S. intelligence officials believe that Russia is using a variety of measures to denigrate Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden ahead of the November election and that individuals linked to the Kremlin are boosting President Donald Trump’s reelection bid, the country’s counterintelligence chief said Friday. U.S. officials also believe...
Jury quickly convicts man in 2019 Ligonier Township arson case
It took a Westmoreland County jury an hour Friday to convict a man of burning his Ligonier Township home last year. Brian W. McVicker, 55, of Laughlintown was found guilty of felony arson as well as risking catastrophe and criminal mischief in connection with a fire at a home he...
Pennsylvania adds 758 new covid-19 cases
Pennsylvania added 758 new covid-19 cases Friday, according to the state Department of Health. The new coronavirus cases, which bring the state’s total to 117,279, show a trend where new reported cases have ranged between 700 and 850 each day the past four days. The state reported 15 new deaths...
Union says Port Authority mask message policy violates Free SpeechVideo
A union for transportation workers has accused Port Authority of Allegheny County of violating the Free Speech rights of its employees, after the entity updated its dress code policy to prohibit masks that contain a political or social protest message. The Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 85 sent a letter...
Lawsuit against Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh accuses priest of rape
A man who immigrated to the United States at age 13 from Italy is suing the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh, alleging that he was sexually assaulted by a priest at Immaculate Conception Parish in Bloomfield twice in 1967. The lawsuit, filed in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court, also names as...
Answering the Call: Adrean Allen brightens days for UPMC patients with his voiceVideo
Adrean Allen, born in the Jamaican city of Spanish Town, is employed in the housekeeping department at UPMC Mercy Hospital. He works hard to support his family, which includes two young daughters. A musician, Allen has a recording studio in his home where he produces songs that he writes and...
Allegheny County reports 97 new covid-19 cases, 6 more deaths
The Allegheny County Health Department reported 97 new coronavirus cases Friday, bringing the seven-day average for new cases below 100. Six new covid-19 deaths and eight new hospitalizations were also announced. New coronavirus patients range in age from 1 to 86, with a median age of 33. Positive tests ranged...
All lanes of I-79 in Butler County open after scene of multi-vehicle crash cleared
All lanes of Interstate 79 have been reopened near Zelienople, Butler County, after a multi-vehicle crash with injuries shut the roadway down in both directions early Friday morning, according to state police. The wreck occurred in the northbound lanes shortly before 6 a.m. between the Zelienople and Portersville/Prospect exits, according...
Pittsburgh-area bar put on notice for alleged violation of coronavirus restrictions
A Pittsburgh-area bar was among three licensed liquor establishments in Pennsylvania to receive a notice from the state police’s Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement for violation of covid-19 mitigation efforts. It was the first formal notice a Pittsburgh-area establishment has received from state police since July 1. State police would...
‘Living funeral,’ march held for mother questioning police account of son’s death at Duquesne
A “living funeral” and march were held Thursday as Dannielle Brown continues her search for answers in her son’s death at Duquesne University nearly two years ago. The event began at Freedom Corner in Pittsburgh’s Hill District, where Brown has been staging a hunger strike since July 4. From there,...
Pittsburgh Public Schools plans to postpone fall sports in City League
Pittsburgh Public Schools announced plans Thursday to postpone fall sports in the City League, a move tied to the district’s decision to start classes exclusively online. The delay still requires school board approval. The decision was made before Gov. Tom Wolf recommended all youth sports be delayed until Jan. 1....
Trump bans dealings with Chinese owners of TikTok, WeChat
NEW YORK — President Donald Trump on Thursday ordered an unspecified ban on “transactions” with the Chinese owners of the consumer apps TikTok and WeChat, although it remains unclear if he has the legal authority to actually ban the apps from the United States. The twin executive orders — one...
West Jefferson Hills students to start first week of school online, gradually return to buildings
West Jefferson Hills School District students will start their first week of the upcoming school year online and slowly transition back into buildings as time progresses. The first day of classes in the 2020-21 school year for the estimated 3,100 students in kindergarten through 12th grade is Monday, Aug. 24....
Sewickley Academy to have staff, students back in buildings Sept. 2
Sewickley Academy officials plan to welcome students and staff back to school during the covid-19 pandemic on Sept. 2. Reopening plans call for a full range of programming to be available on campus for the estimated 600 pre-kindergatern through 12th-grade students. “The academy has a framework to support the health,...
New Kensington-Arnold delays start of school year to Sept. 8
New Kensington-Arnold School District will delay the start of the school year by eight days to provide more time for officials to make coronavirus-related preparations and to help students and staff beat the heat, officials announced late Thursday. School will start Tuesday, Sept. 8, the day after Labor Day, rather...
Allegheny County Jail oversight board to review how inmates are disciplined
The Allegheny County Jail Oversight Board is taking initial steps to review how discipline is meted out at the facility to ensure that all inmates are treated fairly. The decision to begin that process came Thursday evening after an initial motion on the matter made by Allegheny County Councilperson-at-large Bethany...
Pittsburgh’s new FBI head eyeing foreign interference in U.S. election, fraud, cyber crimes
FBI agents based in Western Pennsylvania are among those working to identify and block international attempts to interfere in the U.S. presidential election. Michael A. Christman, a Youngstown native who took the helm as Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Pittsburgh field office in mid-May, discussed his elections task...
Peduto sends letter to Congress, advocates for bills that help entertainment venues stay afloat
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto issued a letter to Congress in support of three bills that would offer financial relief to independent music and entertainment venues during the covid-19 pandemic. “I’m urging Congress to ensure that our local venues are included in and protected by relief packages,” Peduto said in a...
Playing electoral defense, Trump claims Biden opposes GodVideo
CLEVELAND — President Donald Trump billed his trip to Ohio Thursday as a chance to promote economic recovery, but he quickly pivoted to a deeply personal attack on Joe Biden, even questioning without foundation the former vice president’s faith in God. Even for a president known for his blunt criticism,...
Audit of Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy ‘a little bit concerning,’ Controller Michael Lamb says
The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy pays the City of Pittsburgh $1 per year for Schenley Plaza, the popular five-acre park in the heart of Oakland that bustles with college students and families. City workers cut the grass and provide routine maintenance. The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy operates and maintains the plaza, a...
Westmoreland leaders say covid-19 grant awards will take longer than expected
Westmoreland commissioners said Thursday that $10 million in grants for local small businesses and nonprofits hurt by the coronavirus pandemic won’t be awarded until the end of August. The county received 500 grant applications by last week’s deadline. While officials originally suggested that money could begin to flow as early...
First Commonwealth Bank to close 29 locations, including 4 in Alle-Kiski ValleyVideo
Ashley Coudriet wasn’t happy to hear that First Commonwealth Bank on Leechburg’s Market Street is scheduled to close its doors in December. She and her husband own several rental properties in the Leechburg area and do all of the banking for their rental business there. “It’s been so nice. I...
U.S. rescinds global ‘do not travel’ coronavirus warning
NEW YORK — The Trump administration on Thursday rescinded its warnings to Americans against all international travel because of the coronavirus pandemic, saying conditions no longer warrant a blanket worldwide alert. The State Department lifted its level-four health advisory for the entire world in order to return to country-specific warnings....
Gov. Wolf’s recommendation to postpone high school sports gets mixed reactions
Gov. Tom Wolf’s recommendation that youth sports be postponed until Jan. 1 was met Thursday with mixed reactions. Wolf’s suggestion that “we don’t do any sports until Jan. 1” first came during a morning news conference when he was asked about spectators at high school sporting events. By the afternoon,...
