Top Stories category, Page 1496
Police: Body found in Plum identified as Whitehall woman missing for a year
Nearly a year after she was reported missing, Elizabeth Wiesenfeld’s remains were found Sunday, Allegheny County police said. Wiesenfeld, 67, of Whitehall, had been missing since April 30, 2019. In September, Douglas Berry, 48, was charged with homicide in connection with her death, but authorities had been proceeding with the...
Protesters rally in Harrisburg to demand Gov. Wolf reopen economyVideo
HARRISBURG — Protesters gathered Monday outside the state Capitol to demand that Gov. Tom Wolf reopen Pennsylvania’s economy even as new social-distancing mandates designed to counter the new virus took effect at stores and other commercial buildings. Flag-waving protesters — some with masks, some without — massed in front of...
Masked masses face reality of Gov. Wolf’s order to enter businesses
The masks — in a variety of styles and colors — were plentiful Monday. Only the eyes and hair of customers and employees were visible at the Shop ’n Save store on North Main Street in Greensburg. It was the first full day of a bizarre, government-mandated scene officials hope...
Port Authority reports 7th covid-19 case; 3rd at West Mifflin garage
Another Port Authority employee who worked at the agency’s West Mifflin garage has been diagnosed with covid-19, authority spokesman Adam Brandolph said Monday. This is the seventh Port Authority of Allegheny County employee to test positive for covid-19 and the third maintenance employee who worked at the West Mifflin garage....
Pittsburgh Community Food Bank to host food giveaway at Pittsburgh airport
The Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank plans to have enough food on hand Wednesday for 1,500 vehicles during a drive-up food giveaway at Pittsburgh International Airport, the organization announced Monday. The event is scheduled for 1 to 3 p.m. in airport parking lots. “The airport is an ideal location,” Lisa...
Protesters in Pittsburgh demand Gov. Wolf to reopen businesses amid coronavirus pandemicVideo
About 200 protesters — some wearing masks, others not — lined Downtown Pittsburgh’s Grant Street on Monday afternoon to call on Gov. Tom Wolf to reopen Pennsylvania businesses closed by the coronavirus pandemic. The protesters, many of them holding signs with messages including “Liberate PA” and “Impeach Wolf,” cheered when...
Pennsylvania liquor stores begin call-in orders with some confusion
Hopeful customers of Pennsylvania’s liquor stores were frustrated and confused Monday after hitting several barriers in their attempts to buy alcohol over the phone. As noon arrived, many customers were greeted by busy signals when they tried to get through on phone lines. The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board announced Saturday...
Gov. Wolf says Pennsylvania economy will gradually start to reopen May 8
Pennsylvania will begin reopening its economy gradually on May 8, Gov. Tom Wolf said Monday. “We are taking small steps toward regaining a degree of normalcy in Pennsylvania,” Wolf said. As the start to what the governor called a “measured, common-sense” approach, Wolf announced a few initial steps toward lifting...
Cops: 3 Georgia residents arrested in $9,500 iPhone theft scheme
An alleged scheme by three Georgia residents to use a fraudulent credit account to acquire $9,500 worth of new iPhones at the Sam’s Club in Hempfield backfired Friday. Joel E. Teteh, 25, Chantel B. Kennedy, 29, and John O. Nur, 33, all of the Atlanta area, were arrested by state...
Peduto asks Trump for funding, cites potential $127M deficit for Pittsburgh
Mayor Bill Peduto on Monday asked President Trump for funding to help cities provide essential services during the coronavirus pandemic, saying Pittsburgh is facing a $127 million deficit in 2020 and $239 million in losses over the next five years. Peduto in a letter urged the president to provide at...
Allegheny County reports 5 more coronavirus deaths, but only 7 new cases
Five more people have died from the coronavirus in Allegheny County, bringing the countywide death total to 55, county officials said Monday. Most of the 55 people who died — 85% — were 70 or older, the county said. Seven new covid-19 cases were reported Monday, a significant decrease from...
2 cited in Westmoreland in accusation of violating stay-at-home order
State police cited two people for violating Gov. Tom Wolf’s stay-at-home order after troopers said they were found drinking at a friend’s Bell Township home, according to court papers. Kara Lee Lawson, 27, of Bell and Scott James Renwick, 28, of Loyalhanna were cited for violating the Disease Control and...
Oil price goes negative as demand collapses; stocks take a plungeVideo
NEW YORK — Oil futures plunged below zero on Monday, the latest never-before-seen number to come out of the economic coma caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Stocks and Treasury yields also dropped on Wall Street, with the S&P 500 down 1.8%, but the market’s most dramatic action by far was...
Losing face: The rise of the mask, and what’s lost behind it
On Saturday afternoons, the Strip District neighborhood of Pittsburgh becomes a jam-packed hub of old-fashioned shopping. People stride along Penn Avenue, hopping from greengrocer to butcher to fishmonger to Italian market, smiling and gesturing and jabbering as they go. Not this weekend. As strange, spaced-out lines formed outside favorite establishments,...
4/20 celebrations canceled, but marijuana sales strong during pandemic
Coronavirus may have prevented any parties celebrating 4/20 — the unofficial holiday of marijuana — but legal pot sales in Pennsylvania remain strong during the pandemic. “Now you have things like stimulus checks hitting,” said Chris Kohan, co-founder of The Healing Center, which has dispensaries in Monroeville, Washington and Cranberry....
Kennywood picked as country’s Favorite Traditional Park, coasters land No. 1 spots
Kennywood Park has scored big in a new amusement park industry survey. Kennywood claimed the title as Favorite Traditional Park in the 33rd annual NAPHA Amusement Park and Attractions Survey. Knoebels Amusement Resort in Elysburg, Pa., came in second. According to organization, the two parks have been the tops in...
4 more coronavirus-related deaths reported in Westmoreland
Three more men and another woman have died from the coronavirus in Westmoreland County, bringing the death toll there to 24, officials said Monday. Coroner Ken Bacha said three of the most recent deaths came from a personal care home where no deaths had been reported. The fourth death happened...
Police: Jeannette man struck, killed on Pa. Turnpike
A 44-year-old Jeannette man was killed early Sunday after being hit by a semitruck on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Beaver County, state police said. Christopher Elliott was pronounced dead by the Beaver County coroner around 2:20 a.m. According to a police report, Elliott was standing in the right westbound lane...
Trump says he’ll act to increase swab productionVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump says he will use the Defense Production Act to increase manufacturing of swabs used to test for the coronavirus. Many governors have for weeks urged the White House to further evoke federal powers to increase private industry’s production of medical supplies as health officials work...
As Pennsylvania mask order takes effect, most say they’ll follow the mandate
If it helps keep people healthy during the coronavirus pandemic, the statewide order requiring customers and employees of businesses to wear masks makes sense, people in the region said Sunday evening. It went into effect at 8 p.m. The order, announced Wednesday by Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine,...
Trump administration, Democrats near deal for more coronavirus aid to small businessesVideo
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration and congressional Democrats expressed optimism Sunday that more than $450 billion in loans and aid to Americans most affected by the coronavirus outbreak will be enacted this week, providing a measure of financial help as the U.S. death toll passes 40,000. The bulk of the...
Global health crisis pits economic against health concernsVideo
WASHINGTON — The global health crisis is taking a nasty political turn with tensions worsening between governments locked down to keep the coronavirus at bay and people yearning to restart stalled economies and forestall fears of a depression. Protesters worrying about their livelihoods and bucking infringements on their freedom took...
Police: Man wanted in connection with Arnold homicide arrested ‘lounging’ on Florida beach
A New Kensington man wanted in connection with an Arnold homicide was arrested Sunday morning in Duval County, Fla., after police officers spotted him sitting on a beach. Jacksonville Beach police officers saw Mario Matthew Gatti, 30, lounging by some sand dunes in the 500 block of Beach Proper South...
16 killed in Canada shooting rampage, deadliest in 30 yearsVideo
ENFIELD, Nova Scotia — A gunman disguised as a police officer shot people in their homes and set fires in a rampage across the Canadian province of Nova Scotia that killed 16 people, the deadliest such attack in the country’s history. Officials said Sunday the suspected shooter was also dead....
Plum police discover possible human remains in illegal dumping spot
A Plum police officer discovered possible human remains while patrolling the borough Sunday morning, Allegheny County police reported. The officer was in an area known for illegal dumping and off-road vehicles around 10:20 a.m. and spotted a suspicious garbage bag. Upon a closer look the officer found what appeared to...
