Top Stories category, Page 1478
New Pennsylvania dental guidelines spark confusion
Pittsburgh orthodontist David Pechersky knows he has a lot of patients who need him right now and, like many in his profession, he’s been frustrated by his inability to see them. “I’ve got patients with braces who haven’t been seen for three or four months, because we schedule eight to...
IRS sets Wednesday deadline for direct deposit stimulus payments
WASHINGTON — The IRS said it will accept bank account information until noon Wednesday for people who want to receive stimulus payments by direct deposit. After that, the IRS will send the money by check to the address on file, with those payments expected to arrive in late May and...
87-year-old Unity golfer scores 1st hole-in-one after coronavirus banVideo
At 87, Don Ferlin thought he’d never sink a hole-in-one. Heck, with the coronavirus pandemic dragging on and golf courses declared off-limits by Gov. Tom Wolf until May 1, the Unity man wondered whether he would ever tee off again. But Thursday, Ferlin and his longtime golfing buddies, Sonny Baughman...
Stocks rise on hopes that awful jobs report marks the bottom
Wall Street doubled down on its bet that the worst of the recession has passed, sending stocks higher again on Friday despite another historic, crushing report on the job market. Stocks around the world were already rising before the U.S. government gave its monthly report on jobs, in part on...
Beaver County officials blast Wolf’s decision to keep county under heavy coronavirus restrictions
Beaver County officials blasted Gov. Tom Wolf on Friday for his decision to keep their county under the most restrictive pandemic-related guidelines, while the county’s district attorney declared he wouldn’t prosecute business owners who choose to flout the continued restrictions. Commissioners and lawmakers got ahead of Wolf’s 2 p.m. announcement...
Aide to Vice President Mike Pence tests positive for coronavirus
WASHINGTON — An aide to Vice President Mike Pence has the coronavirus, marking the second person in the White House complex known to test positive this week. The latest positive test was confirmed by a person familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters....
Was sand dumping at Pittsburgh City Hall in retaliation to shuttered skateboard park?
Someone dumped sand in a revolving door at Pittsburgh’s City Hall on Thursday night, hours after city officials reported a public works crew put sand in a shuttered neighborhood skateboard park to prevent repeated break-ins. Public safety spokesman Chris Togneri said police were investigating the sand dumping in a doorway...
Gov. Wolf announces most of Western Pa. moving to yellow phase May 15
Allegheny and Westmoreland are among the counties Gov. Tom Wolf announced Friday can begin the first phase of a gradual reopening and easing of coronavirus-related restrictions. A majority of the Southwest and South-Central counties will proceed to the yellow phase of the tiered reopening plan on May 15. That includes...
Hundreds of suspected marijuana plants worth $500K seized in Penn Hills
Authorities seized hundreds of suspected marijuana plants during a raid on the home of a 66-year-old Penn Hills man, according to the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office. Kenneth Creekmore will face charges of drug possession and possession with intent to deliver, District Attorney spokesman Mike Manko said. Police from numerous...
Pennsylvania reports 200 more coronavirus deaths, more than 1,300 new cases
Pennsylvania added 200 more coronavirus deaths to its toll on Friday along with more than 1,300 new cases of the virus, state health officials said. The new numbers bring the statewide death toll to 3,616. Of those deaths, 2,458 — 68% — have been in long-term care facilities. The total...
Market Square farmers market moving to new Pittsburgh location
The Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership is changing the location and day of operation for its popular Market Square farmers market as a safety precaution during the coronavirus pandemic. The partnership announced Friday that the market will open May 17 in a parking lot at 11th Street and Waterfront Place in the...
Locked-down stores, shoppers emerge in parts of Pennsylvania
People across a swath of Pennsylvania began opening stores Friday that had been shut down since March as some coronavirus restrictions were lifted, while residents began leaving their homes unfettered by a just-expired stay-at-home order that had been in place since April 1. Located in a primarily rural swath of...
Allegheny County reports 2 new coronavirus deaths, 16 more cases
Allegheny County officials reported 16 additional cases of covid-19 and two more deaths Friday, bringing the total to 1,455 confirmed or probable cases and 119 deaths countywide. The county reported 45 cases Thursday — the biggest single-day increase in reported cases in two weeks — but attributed that increase to...
13th resident dies from coronavirus at Kane’s Glen Hazel facility
A 13th resident died from coronavirus at Kane Community Living Center’s Glen Hazel location, according to data from Allegheny County. At least 110 residents at the long-term care facility have been tested for covid-19, and 71 have tested positive. Four tests are pending. A total of 174 people reside in...
Western Pa. leaders respond as most of region set to move to yellow phase next week
Officials in Westmoreland and Allegheny counties applauded Gov. Tom Wolf’s decision Friday to move most of Southwestern Pennsylvania to a phase of eased coronavirus restrictions, though many said the decision was overdue. “It’s a step in the right direction,” Westmoreland County Commissioner Sean Kertes said. “This should’ve happened a week...
U.S. jobless rate spikes to 14.7%, highest since Great Depression
WASHINGTON — The U.S. unemployment rate hit 14.7% in April, the highest rate since the Great Depression, as 20.5 million jobs vanished in the worst monthly loss on record. The figures are stark evidence of the damage the coronavirus has done to a now-shattered economy. The losses reflect what has...
New book: ‘Mister Rogers’ actor stayed in closet to remain on show
Francois Clemmons vividly recalls a come-to-Jesus meeting with Fred Rogers 52 years ago, as if it happened yesterday. Clemmons, who had spent a good portion of his life struggling with his sexuality, was coming into his own as a gay man. He was frequenting a gay club behind the Greyhound...
Record-breaking cold prompts freeze warning
The coldest temperatures ever recorded in May in the Pittsburgh area are expected overnight Friday into Saturday morning, according to the National Weather Service. A freeze warning is scheduled to run from midnight to 9 a.m. Saturday, with the low temperature expected to get down to 26 degrees, meteorologist Michael...
Elected officials, businesses in 4 Pa. counties sue to end coronavirus shutdown
Citing growing frustration with emergency orders that closed businesses and halted political campaigns, three state lawmakers and U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Butler, Thursday joined a group of local business owners and four southwestern counties in a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Gov. Tom Wolf’s orders. County commissioners from Butler,...
2 men arrested in killing of unarmed black jogger Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia after outrage
SAVANNAH, Ga. — Georgia authorities arrested a white father and son Thursday and charged them with murder in the February shooting death of a black man they had pursued in a truck after spotting him running in their neighborhood. The charges came more than two months after Ahmaud Arbery, 25,...
Proposal to test all inmates at Allegheny County Jail for coronavirus fails
The Allegheny County Jail Oversight Board voted down a proposal Thursday to test all inmates for coronavirus, including those who show no symptoms. The proposal was modeled after testing conducted in late April in Montgomery County, where officials tested all inmates at the county jail regardless of whether they were...
Steelers schedule: Thanksgiving vs. Ravens, 2 prime-time December games
For the third time in eight years, Thanksgiving desserts across Western Pennsylvania will involve a heavy helping of the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers are scheduled to host the rival Baltimore Ravens in a prime-time game Nov. 26, one of the highlights of their 2020 schedule revealed Thursday night. “We just...
Reopened campgrounds see rush of guests while observing social distancingVideo
Families anxious to get away from it all after weeks under Pennsylvania’s stay-at-home orders have flocked to the area’s privately owned campgrounds. Still, they haven’t escaped from social-distancing guidelines in force as a precaution against the spread of the coronavirus. While camping facilities at state parks aren’t set to open...
Biden accuser Tara Reade gives first on-camera interview, to Megyn KellyVideo
WASHINGTON — The woman who has accused Joe Biden of sexually assaulting her decades ago repeated her allegation Thursday, in her first on-camera interview since the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee unequivocally denied her claim last week. “I want to say, ‘You and I were there, Joe Biden,’” Reade said in...
Duquesne University graduates visit campus ahead of virtual graduation
They won’t have the graduation they dreamed of, but some Duquesne University graduates descended on campus Thursday for an impromptu picture-taking day. They wore caps and gowns and stood on the picturesque walkway that crosses the Uptown campus. Duquesne is hosting a virtual ceremony Friday. “The class of 2020 has...
