Top Stories category, Page 1401
East Vandergrift man ordered to trial in assault of girl at Westmoreland Mall
A Greensburg-area teenager tearfully testified Tuesday how a stranger grabbed her by the throat, picked her “off the floor” and threw her to the floor at Westmoreland Mall on Dec. 27 after she replied to an offhand comment he made about her appearance. “After he made the comment to me...
Pittsburgh City Council approves police reforms supported by Mayor PedutoVideo
Pittsburgh City Council gave final approval Tuesday to a series of reforms to police procedures and policies. But council members say the reforms aren’t the city’s final answer to addressing issues raised after the May 25 death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police. The legislation, sponsored by...
Pittsburgh Mayor Peduto joins other mayors asking for federal help during pandemicVideo
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto joined mayors from across the country Tuesday in a call for an infusion of federal cash to help local governments deal with financial shortfalls caused by the coronavirus pandemic. “We are at a critical juncture as we look into the future of an economic recovery,” Peduto...
Covid-19 testing of all nursing home residents, staff complete, Pa. health department says
All of Pennsylvania’s 693 nursing homes have completed at least one round of covid-19 testing for all residents and staff, Pennsylvania Department of Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine announced Tuesday. This first round of testing will help to prevent further spread of the virus by detecting residents and staff who...
Protest over Pittsburgh bar’s dress code results in multiple charges
Multiple activists face charges stemming from a protest outside a Downtown Pittsburgh bar last month over a dress code some called racist and transphobic, court records show. The incident that led to the protest happened June 20 after two men at the 941 Saloon on Liberty Avenue were asked to...
State, Westmoreland see drop in OD deaths; Allegheny sees increase
Pennsylvania saw a slight decrease in drug overdose deaths in 2019 for what could be the second consecutive year the number has dropped. The state health department on Tuesday released preliminary data that shows 4,348 people died in Pennsylvania from a drug overdose last year, a 1.7% decrease from 2018...
State: Brighton Rehab nursing home failed to get proper approval to use hydroxychloroquine on residents
Residents of a Beaver County nursing home that is the site of one of the worst coronavirus outbreaks in the country were given an experimental drug without approval from the state health department, inspection records show. Hydroxychloroquine, typically used to treat malaria, was administered to 205 of the 435 residents...
Twitter gives Trump’s son Don Jr. a tweet timeout
CHICAGO — Twitter has temporarily halted President Donald Trump’s son from tweeting on its site after he shared a video riddled with unsupported claims about the coronavirus Monday. Many Republicans reacted with outrage, filling social media with cries of “censorship,” after Donald Trump Jr.’s account was put on a timeout...
Pittsburgh International Airport gets $3M in federal funding for runway rehab
Pittsburgh International Airport will receive more than $3 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation to improve taxiways and buy new snow removal equipment, federal officials announced Tuesday. The grant is part of more than $273 million awarded to 184 airports across the country for safety and infrastructure improvements by...
‘Watchmen,’ ‘Mrs. Maisel,’ ‘Ozark’ lead Emmy nominees
LOS ANGELES — “Watchmen,” cloaked in superhero mythology and grounded in real-world racism, received a leading 26 nominations Tuesday for the prime-time Emmy Awards. The series, which captured America’s unease as it faces racial clashes amid a pandemic, was nominated as best limited series and received bids for cast members...
Allegheny County reports 20 new covid-19 hospitalizations, 7 new deaths
Allegheny County Health Department reported 20 new hospitalizations and seven new deaths from the coronavirus Tuesday. The county added 119 new covid-19 cases to the running total, which now stands at 7,593. There have been only three other times in July that new cases have been lower. Tuesday’s near-record number...
Loitering definition debated as Latrobe considers amending rules governing parks
Latrobe Council is considering changing the city’s parks ordinance to prohibit feeding of wildlife in recreational areas. But city officials aren’t so sure about language for addressing loitering. At the city’s agenda meeting Monday , councilman Jim Kelley questioned whether a prohibition against loitering might be interpreted to prevent a...
Pa. school leaders to state officials: We need specifics, not guidance, for reopening plans
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s existing reopening guidance for schools is too vague, and superintendents and school boards need more specifics from the state Department of Health about how to do it safely, a superintendents group said Monday following a call with Wolf administration officials. The superintendents asked for more concrete recommendations...
Latrobe eyes plaza update, fee reduction at parking garage
Officials in Latrobe are hoping for a funding assist so they can update aging, patched infrastructure in a small business plaza tucked away next to the municipal parking garage. City manager Michael Gray mentioned the need for renovation at the Courtyard Plaza more than a year ago. Now, he’s recommending...
Boat blocked traffic midday Monday in New Kensington
A boat blocked traffic in both directions along Stevenson Boulevard in New Kensington Monday. Firefighters said the incident took place shortly before noon near the Fourth Street intersection. Cameron Yockey of Realty ONE Group Horizon in Murrysville was in the traffic jam. He said he had left an appointment in...
Pitcairn family staying with relatives after fire burns their home
A Pitcairn family is being helped by relatives after their home caught fire Monday evening. No injuries were reported in connection with the fire at a 2½-story home near the intersection of 12th Street and Brinton Avenue, Pitcairn Assistant Fire Chief Tommy Dick reported. He said the occupants were outside...
AG William Barr to condemn rioting at much-anticipated House hearing
WASHINGTON — Attorney General William Barr is defending the aggressive federal law enforcement response to civil unrest in America, saying “violent rioters and anarchists have hijacked legitimate protests” sparked by George Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police. Barr will tell members of the House Judiciary Committee at a...
Power mostly restored after Monday’s storms roll through region
Power was expected to be restored by about 6:30 a.m. to the last of the homes affected by Monday’s storm-related outages, according to the West Penn Power website. There are about 40 customers without electricity in Westmoreland County and less than 10 in Allegheny County, after storms rolled through the...
Strangest Pirates home opener everVideo
If a Pirates home opener were played in the Twilight Zone, this is probably what it would look like. Ninety minutes before the first pitch with the Milwaukee Brewers, the normally teeming streets and sidewalks around PNC Park were practically empty. There were no pedestrians marching to the ballpark across...
Mt. Pleasant woman charged with DUI in Rt. 31 crash that injured 2 pedestrians
State police say a Mt. Pleasant woman was nearly three times over the legal limit of alcohol when she veered off Route 31 early July 3 and struck two pedestrians in Mt. Pleasant Township, seriously injuring one. Elizabeth M. Sirianni, 30, was arraigned Monday on charges of driving under the...
Police: Vehicle suspected in Wilkinsburg homicide located in Rankin
Allegheny County police on Monday said they located a vehicle suspected of being involved in a Wilkinsburg homicide. A 27-year-old man died Sunday after being shot in the head near the intersection of Ardmore Boulevard and Marlboro Avenue late that morning. Officers were looking for a silver and green sedan...
Westmoreland controller does about-face on mask wearing
After more than a week of public shame and praise, Westmoreland County Controller Jeffrey Balzer masked up — and all it took was a text from his daughter. Balzer, the three-term Republican, was both criticized and supported after he was confronted by a citizen just before a public meeting this...
Pelosi, others hail John Lewis as ‘conscience’ of CongressVideo
WASHINGTON — In a solemn display of bipartisan unity, congressional leaders praised the late Democratic Rep. John Lewis as a moral force for the nation on Monday in a Capitol Rotunda ceremony rich with symbolism and punctuated by the booming, recorded voice of the late civil rights icon. House Speaker...
Family of Monroeville man says he ‘died happy’ on raceway
James “Big Jim” Baker’s death at Keystone Raceway last week was exactly the way he’d have wanted to go out. For this, his family said, they are grateful. “He’d say, ‘If I die in that car, I’ll die happy,’ ” his daughter, Nichole Baker, said of her father. “He died...
Greensburg prepares for Thursday vice presidential visit
Before he was sworn as Greensburg’s new police chief two weeks ago, Robert Stafford said he hoped the city would remain peaceful. Westmoreland’s county seat has been the site of a few relatively small Black Lives Matters protests against police brutality, in contrast to large and violent protests in Pittsburgh,...
