Top Stories category, Page 1459
Allegheny County reports 23 coronavirus cases, no new deaths
Allegheny County reported 23 additional cases of the coronavirus Thursday, bringing the total number of cases countywide to 1,851. No new deaths were reported, leaving the total at 151. The county earlier this week reported three consecutive days with no new deaths. The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported 161 deaths...
Pennsylvania Supreme Court ends judicial emergency
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has issued an order to end the statewide judicial emergency on June 1. Local president judges, however, may keep restrictions in place where they deem necessary. The order means that district, county and appeals courts mostly closed to the public and operating on a limited basis...
Election HQ: Information on primary races in Western Pa.
Primary election day in Western Pennsylvania is Tuesday, June 2. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., and voters are asked to wear a mask and practice social distancing inside polling places because of the coronavirus pandemic. In Allegheny County, your polling place might not be where it...
Pennsylvania pools are allowed to open, but some may choose to stay closed
The water is being filled. Come next week, splashing and fun — socially distanced, of course — should return to Youngwood Park N Pool. “Once the chemicals are balanced, we’ll be ready to open,” said Ed Christofano, president of the Westmoreland County pool. “We’re excited.” The Youngwood pool will be...
Fires, looting rock Minneapolis after man’s death in police custody; 1 deadVideo
MINNEAPOLIS — Fires burned and looters struck Thursday after violent protests over the death of a black man in police custody rocked a Minneapolis neighborhood for a second straight night, with damage stretching for miles across the city and Mayor Jacob Frey appealing to the governor to activate the National...
41 million Americans have lost jobs since coronavirus hit, but layoffs slowVideo
WASHINGTON — The coronavirus crisis threw at least 2.1 million Americans out of work last week despite the gradual reopening of businesses around the country, stoking fears Thursday that the scourge is doing deep and potentially long-lasting damage to the U.S. economy. Amid a few glimmers of hope, most of...
11-year-old Pittsburgh boy killed in Parkway crash
An 11-year-old Pittsburgh boy who was killed in a multi-vehicle crash along the Parkway East — Interstate 376 — Thursday morning has been identified. Jaiden Childs, 11, was pronounced dead at a hospital after the vehicle he was a passenger in was stuck by a truck shortly before 6:30 a.m.,...
Animal Friends resuming public services suspended during statewide shutdown
A local animal shelter that was forced to suspend most of its operations in late March to comply with the state-mandated shutdown order to help slow the spread of coronavirus is resuming operations with some restrictions. Animal Friends in Ohio Township announced that while patrons cannot “drop in” as they...
North Shore police memorial vandalized for 2nd time this spring
The word “deceit” was spray painted on a police memorial on Pittsburgh’s North Shore Wednesday night, police said. Officers found the Law Enforcement Officers Memorial on North Shore Drive near Heinz Field defaced with white spray paint around 9:45 p.m., according to Maurice Matthews, spokesman for the Pittsburgh Public Safety...
Police say Latrobe man fled after car chase without clothes on
State police are seeking a Latrobe man they say led them on a chase and then fled the scene without his clothes on. State policein at Greensburg are seeking John Mekic, 34, of Latrobe in connection with a report of a man undressing in his car on Andrew Lane in...
Gateway’s 2020 grads mark their day in Monroeville Mall parking lotVideo
Gateway High School graduates made history Wednesday as they graduated from a mall parking lot during a “hybrid commencement ceremony,” as the school’s principal put it. Traditionally, the high school graduation ceremony marks finality – a last hurrah before parting ways. But this year their last day was effectively March...
College student wanted in 2 Connecticut slayings is capturedVideo
HARTFORD, Conn. — A college student sought by police as a suspect in a crime spree including two slayings in Connecticut has been captured, Connecticut State Police said Wednesday night. Peter Manfredonia, 23, had been the subject of a six-day search involving several police agencies and the FBI. He was...
Cal U student from Greensburg sues over online learning
A California University of Pennsylvania student from Greensburg has sued the university for failing to refund pro-rated tuition for the online instruction she and thousands of other students received for the last part of the spring semester because covid-19 restrictions forced colleges to close. Ashleigh Coffman claimed that the online...
Pa. Dems accuse GOP of keeping Rep. Lewis’ coronavirus diagnosis a ‘secret’
Western Pennsylvania Democrats are accusing Republican lawmakers of keeping the status of a GOP colleague who tested positve for the coronavirus a “secret.” Rep. Andrew Lewis issued a statement on Wednesday making it known that he tested positive for covid-19 and has fully recovered. The freshman lawmaker from Dauphin County,...
Gov. Wolf: Restaurants in yellow counties can begin outdoor dining services June 5
Gov. Tom Wolf on Wednesday released new guidelines for outdoor dining during the yellow phase, as well as general guidelines for the green phase as counties gradually reopen. Restaurants and retail food services in yellow counties, including Allegheny andWestmoreland, can begin outdoor dining services June 5, with some restrictions. Indoor...
Pittsburgh police union says city overcharged members ‘millions’ for medical benefits
Pittsburgh is seeking to recover more than $250,000 it mistakenly provided police officers for 2019 uniform costs, but a union official on Wednesday said the city should first reimburse officers “millions” it has overcharged since 2017 in co-pays for medical benefits. On Tuesday, the city reported its Human Resources Department...
Gov. Wolf order: Pittsburgh pro sports teams may return to practice, play without fans
Gov. Tom Wolf issued an order Wednesday afternoon that allows Pittsburgh’s pro sports franchises to return to using their team facilities, albeit without spectators. The order, which provides guidelines for pro teams in counties in the yellow or green phase of the governor’s plan for reopening, paves the way for...
PWSA repairing Pittsburgh’s infamous Downtown sinkhole
Pittsburgh is finally filling the sinkhole that swallowed a bus and nearly ate a vehicle last year. Contractors for the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority were on the job Wednesday working on the hole that has closed 10th Street, Downtown, between Penn and Liberty avenues since October. The city and...
Court approves Robert Levin’s bid to revive Levin furniture brand
A federal judge Wednesday signed an order green-lighting Mt. Pleasant native Robert Levin’s plan to begin reviving the century-old family furniture chain he sold three years ago. Judge Christopher Sontchi’s order filed in U.S. District Bankruptcy Court in Delaware approved Levin’s $25.7 million bid to buy back the Levin brand...
Biden: Wolf doing ‘one hell of a job’ during coronavirus pandemic
Former Vice President Joe Biden and Gov. Tom Wolf traded compliments Wednesday morning while discussing what the country needs to overcome the coronavirus pandemic. Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee and a Scranton native, spoke with the governor just hours after Wolf formally endorsed the Democrat’s bid to oust President...
Lower Burrell man identified as motorcyclist who died in Murrysville crash
A motorcyclist died Wednesday when his vehicle collided with a car along Route 380, about one-quarter mile west of the Route 366 intersection in northern Murrysville, police said. The Westmoreland County coroner’s office identified the motorcyclist as Gregg A. Leipertz Jr., 24, of Lower Burrell. Leipertz was pronounced dead at...
Giant Eagle sued over its pandemic mask policy
At least seven lawsuits have been filed against Giant Eagle claiming the grocery store chain’s mask policy during the coronavirus pandemic is discriminatory toward disabled shoppers who cannot wear them. The customers filed the lawsuits in federal court under the Americans with Disabilities Act. In a statement Wednesday, Giant Eagle...
113 new coronavirus deaths reported in Pennsylvania, state adds 780 cases
The Pennsylvania Department of Health on Wednesday reported 113 new deaths and 780 additional cases of the coronavirus. The state has now had 69,417 total cases and 5,265 deaths. Deaths have been recorded in 54 of the state’s 67 counties, and every county has had a positive case. More than...
Disney plans to reopen parks beginning July 11Video
Looks like a lot of people are about to get a whole lot happier. Disney announced Wednesday it is hoping to reopen all four of its parks — the Happiest Place on Earth — in Orlando, Fla., by mid-July, the Orlando Sentinel reports. The phased reopening would begin July 11...
U.S. deaths from coronavirus surpass 100,000 milestoneVideo
HARTFORD, Conn. — The United States surpassed a jarring milestone Wednesday in the coronavirus pandemic: 100,000 deaths. That number is the best estimate and most assuredly an undercount. But it represents the stark reality that more Americans have died from the virus than from the Vietnam and Korea wars combined....
