Top Stories category, Page 1477
Faces of courage: Ambulance personnel on coronavirus front lines
The call comes over their radio — the patient is having trouble breathing, they need an ambulance. Then, “call the center for special patient information,” says a Westmoreland 911 dispatcher. The paramedics know it’s likely they’re heading toward the invisible threat that everyone else is trying to stay away from...
Ohio Gov. DeWine sees risks ‘no matter what we do’ amid reopening
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine is acknowledging that there are risks to reopening Ohio’s economy following closures due to the coronavirus pandemic, but he says “it’s really a risk no matter what we do.” The Republican governor dialed into the economic toll the pandemic has had on businesses...
Comedian, actor Jerry Stiller dies at 92
Comedy veteran Jerry Stiller, who launched his career opposite wife Anne Meara in the 1950s and reemerged four decades later as the hysterically high-strung Frank Costanza on the smash television show “Seinfeld,” died at 92, his son Ben Stiller announced Monday. He died of natural causes, his son — a...
Mother’s Day crowds overwhelm Red Lobster in Ross
Police were called to keep order as the Red Lobster in Ross Township closed Sunday evening, leaving dozens of customers without food after they spent hours waiting, according to Tribune-Review news partner WPXI. The McKnight Road restaurant was swamped by Mother’s Day orders. The parking lot was packed with customers,...
Trib Total Media partners with Pittsburgh police, Global Links to distribute free masks
Trib Total Media has partnered with Pittsburgh police and local nonprofit Global Links to offer free, cloth masks across the city. More than 10,000 free masks are available to the public at Pittsburgh police stations through the “Need a Mask, Take a Mask” initiative. The masks are located in newspaper...
Vice President Mike Pence self-isolating after aide tests positive for coronavirusVideo
WASHINGTON — Vice President Mike Pence is self-isolating away from the White House following his press secretary’s diagnosis of covid-19 on Friday, said three people familiar with the situation. The vice president didn’t attend a meeting on Saturday with President Donald Trump and top military officials. Pence tested negative for...
Pa. National Guard to help Beaver County nursing home with covid-19 outbreak
A Beaver County nursing home where at least 61 people have died from covid-19 is getting help from the Pennsylvania National Guard to respond to the outbreak, officials said. “Throughout this unprecedented crisis, we have called on the state to provide us with the critical resources we needed to combat...
John Steigerwald: Sports without fans will be dreadful, and we all know it
Good for the NFL. The league, after taking major heat for holding its draft as scheduled at the end of April, released its 2020 schedule Thursday with the intention of starting the season on time. The big question, of course, is will fans be allowed to attend the games? If...
Sen. Chuck Schumer calls on VA to explain use of unproven drug on vets
WASHINGTON — The Senate’s top Democrat on Sunday called on the Department of Veterans Affairs to explain why it allowed the use of an unproven drug on veterans for the coronavirus, saying patients may have been put at unnecessary risk. Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York said the VA needs...
Penn State virtual commencement features messages from Joe Jonas, Lara Spencer, Trace McSorley
While the Penn State Class of 2020 was not able to hold their graduation on campus, they did get some virtual love from celebrities and high profile alumni. According to the university, a livestream of the ceremony Saturday had 92,000 views from 121 countries. The school awarded more than 15,000...
Editorial: Line drawn in sand at Pittsburgh skate park
Sometimes someone doesn’t use common sense and it ruins things for everyone. And sometimes a lot of people don’t use common sense and it just starts to spread like, well, a virus. That kind of outbreak could be happening around a Pittsburgh park. It started with the city’s shutdown of...
Police: Philadelphia man used counterfeit bills at stores in Indiana, Cambria counties
A Philadelphia man was jailed for using two counterfeit $100 bills at a Giant Eagle supermarket in Indiana County to buy flowers and other low-cost items last week, state police at Indiana said. The suspect, Bilal Basil Butler, 23, allegedly used the fake bills to buy merchandise at the supermarket...
Westmoreland County adds 2 new covid-19 cases, no new deaths
Westmoreland County reported two additional cases of covid-19 on Sunday, bringing the total number of people to test positive for the virus to 417, according to Pennsylvania health officials. No new deaths from the virus were reported. Westmoreland County is one of the counties that will shift to the yellow...
Pennsylvania reports 19 new covid-19 deaths; total coronavirus cases top 56K
Pennsylvania health officials reported 19 more covid-19 deaths Sunday, and 1,295 additional positive cases, bringing the statewide death total to 3,707 and positive case total to 56,611. People in all 67 counties have tested positive for the virus. More than 227,700 people have tested negative. Starting Friday, two dozen northern...
Covid-19 claims 2 more lives in Allegheny County
Two more people in Allegheny County have died from covid-19, raising the death toll to 122, the Allegheny County Health Department said Sunday morning. Seventeen more people were confirmed as either having covid-19 or were probable over the past day, raising the total number on Sunday to 1,503 cases, the...
14th Port Authority employee tests positive for covid-19
A Port Authority of Allegheny County bus driver is being treated at an area hospital for covid-19, bringing the agency’s total number of employees who have tested positive to 14, the agency said Sunday. The employee, who works at the East Liberty garage, last worked on May 5, according to...
National parks visitors should plan for ‘new normal’
BRYCE CANYON NATIONAL PARK, Utah — After closing amid the coronavirus pandemic, the National Park Service is testing public access at several parks across the nation, including two in Utah, with limited offerings and services. Visitor centers and campgrounds remain largely shuttered at Bryce Canyon and Capitol Reef, but visitors...
Store workers become enforcers of social distancing rules
NEW YORK — Sandy Jensen’s customer-service job at a Sam’s Club in Fullerton, California, normally involves checking member ID cards at the door and answering questions. But the coronavirus has turned her into a kind of store sheriff. Now she must confront shoppers who aren’t wearing masks and enforce social...
As Trump pulls back from virus, Congress races to fill void
WASHINGTON — As President Donald Trump tries to moves on from the coronavirus, Congress is rushing to fill the void and prepare the country for the long fight ahead. Jolted by the lack of comprehensive federal planning as states begin to reopen, lawmakers of both parties, from the senior-most senators...
Jeannette man jailed in high-speed pursuit through 2 counties
A Jeannette man was jailed in Armstrong County Saturday after allegedly leading police on a high-speed chase through two counties that ended when the car he was driving crashed into a vehicle that was occupied by a family. Rasheed Gordon, 28, was arraigned early Sunday on charges of possession with...
2 members of White House virus task force in quarantine
WASHINGTON — Two members of the White House coronavirus task force placed themselves in quarantine after contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19, another stark reminder that not even one of the nation’s most secure buildings is immune from the virus. Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for...
Fire rips through 2 Etna houses, 10 people displacedVideo
A fire destroyed an Etna home and damaged a neighboring house Saturday afternoon, displacing 10 people, officials said. None of the residents of the two households was injured. Firefighters saved two cats, one from each of the affected structures on Wilson Street, Etna Fire Chief Greg Porter said. A firefighter...
New Westmoreland recycling center opens Monday in Unity
Westmoreland Cleanways will open its new recycling center just south of Route 130 in Unity at noon Monday, while following all of the prescribed Centers for Disease Control guidelines, the organization announced. The organization has been able to work on the recycling center at 355 Pleasant Unity-Mutual Road, during the...
Documents show top White House officials buried CDC report on reopening communities
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The decision to shelve detailed advice from the nation’s top disease control experts for reopening communities during the coronavirus pandemic came from the highest levels of the White House, according to internal government emails obtained by The Associated Press. The files also show that after the AP...
Westmoreland County adds 2 new covid-19 cases, deaths remain at 32
Westmoreland County confirmed two more cases of covid-19 between Friday and Saturday, bringing the countywide total to 415, state health data show. The state has confirmed that at least 30 people in the county have died from the disease. Westmoreland County Coroner Ken Bacha, whose tally has been higher than...
