Top Stories category, Page 1479
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...
Honeybees can gang up and fry Asian giant ‘murder hornets’
If they follow their Japanese counterparts, maybe U.S. honeybees could surround and fry an invading Asian giant “murder hornet” entering its hive, according to a Carnegie Museum of Natural History expert. Agriculture authorities in Washington State are creating a national buzz trying to eradicate the aggressive and invading Asian giant...
Students eligible for free lunch to receive $370 in SNAP benefits to cover rest of school year
Students who are eligible to receive free or reduced-price meals at school can now be reimbursed for the meals they are no longer getting. The Wolf Administration announced a new program Thursday that will let students benefit from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Students who are eligible through the...
Ohio restaurants, bars, salons, barbershops to fully reopen by May 21
Ohio restaurants with outdoor seating, salons and barbershops will begin to reopen next week, with a more expanded opening of restaurants coming the following week, Gov. Mike DeWine announced Thursday. Personal services — barbershops, hair salons, day spas, nail salons and others — can reopen May 15, as can outdoor-seating...
Baking supplies, other staples remain low — or altogether gone — at local grocers amid pandemic
Baking is helping people pass the time under stay-at-home orders, gauging from aisles normally filled with flour, sugar and brownie mixes at several local grocery stores. Cake mixes, chocolate chips and other staples were hard to come by at Target and Giant Eagle in North Huntingdon this week. Stocks of...
Pittsburgh dumps sand in skateboard park to prevent break-ins
Pittsburgh dumped sand into the bowl of a skateboard park in its Polish Hill neighborhood to thwart repeated break-ins by kids, the Department of Public Works director said. Director Mike Gable said he got the idea after seeing sand used to deter people from congregating during the coronavirus pandemic at...
Justice Department dropping Michael Flynn’s Trump-Russia caseVideo
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department on Thursday said it is dropping the criminal case against President Donald Trump’s first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, abandoning a prosecution that became a rallying cry for the president and his supporters in attacking the FBI’s Trump-Russia investigation. The action was a stunning reversal...
UPMC officials say small Mother’s Day visits OK as they push Pennsylvania to reopen
UPMC’s top emergency medicine expert said Thursday that people can go out and “safely” partake in small Mother’s Day visits, maintaining his suggestion is not in conflict with the stay-at-home order that will remain in effect for Allegheny and 42 other counties this weekend. “I think having a visit with...
Pennsylvania’s pause on evictions and foreclosures extended
People can’t be evicted from rental properties and mortgage foreclosures will remain halted through July 10, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf said Thursday. But rents, including back rent, and unpaid mortgage payments still will need to be paid, Wolf and state Attorney General Josh Shapiro said in a joint livestream. A...
Wolf extends stay-at-home order for red zones to June 4, will reveal next yellow-phase areas Friday
Gov. Tom Wolf on Thursday night extended Pennsylvania’s stay-at-home order through June 4 for all counties deemed red zones, although which counties remain under that designation could change Friday. As of Thursday night, all of Southwestern Pennsylvania remains a red zone, where the strictest restrictions on people and businesses remain...
Pittsburgh sinkhole that swallowed bus to be filled soon
Pittsburgh’s infamous, bus-swallowing sinkhole is about to fade into history. Pittsburgh City Council has approved an agreement with the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority to split the estimated $536,000 cost of repairing the giant sinkhole that opened at 10th Street and Penn Avenue Downtown on Oct. 28. A Port Authority...
Rite Aid opens coronavirus testing to all, including at Monroeville location
Rite Aid is expanding its covid-19 testing. Starting Thursday, all of the national pharmacy’s testing sites will be available to anyone, including those who are not displaying coronavirus symptoms, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance. Patients will need to provide a government-issued identification, be at least 18...
Trump valet has coronavirus; president again tests negative
WASHINGTON — A member of the military serving as one of President Donald Trump’s valets has tested positive for the coronavirus, the White House said Thursday. It said Trump and Vice President Mike Pence have since tested negative for the virus and “remain in good health.” It marked the latest...
Pennsylvania reports jump of 310 coronavirus deaths as it continues to catch up with data
Continued work by the state Department of Health to catch up with coronavirus numbers from all 67 counties has resulted in another jump in deaths on Thursday, this one by more than 300. The 310 new deaths, which occurred over the course of several weeks rather than one day, brings...
Greensburg debates looser food truck restrictions
Greensburg is revisiting its food truck ordinance, and reviving a debate about whether mobile eateries help the local economy or jeopardize brick-and-mortar restaurants. The city implemented its current ordinance in 2016 over the objections of food truck operators. It limits trucks operating on city streets to between the hours of...
$3.9 million awarded to support Tree of Life shooting victims, survivors
Nearly $4 million will go toward victims and survivors of the 2018 mass shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Squirrel Hill, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Thursday. The money from the Office for Victims of Crime — just under $3.9 million — comes from a grant from...
