Top Stories category, Page 1502
Murrysville man gives back to community amid coronavirus pandemic
Andrew Thompson was overwhelmed when he found a thank-you note posted on the front door of a home he was delivering groceries to. The note, which read “Thank you, Andrew, for delivering,” is one of several the 41-year-old Murrysville resident has received since he started working for Instacart, a grocery...
Pa. deaths from coronavirus jump to 1,112, the result of reporting changes, officials say
More than 275 additional people in Pennsylvania have died from covid-19, bringing the statewide total to 1,112, state health department officials said Sunday. The Health Department said the majority of the 276 new deaths reported did not occur overnight and are a culmination of data being collected through different reporting...
Editorial: Timing the pandemic reopening
It is no surprise that people are ready for this to be over. For five weeks, Pennsylvania has been a tiger in a cage, prowling back and forth, frustrated by remembered freedom and eager to get out. We know that coronavirus put us here. We know all the simple reasons...
Pennsylvania to reopen some liquor stores for curbside sales
Pennsylvanians can buy a limited amount of liquor or wine from state stores starting Monday, marking their first chance to do so in more than a month because of the coronavirus pandemic-spurred lockdown. A limited number of stores across the state will take orders by phone and provide curbside pickup...
Orthodox churches empty for Easter amid pandemic
KYIV, Ukraine — Orthodox priests in much of Europe held Easter services in churches empty of parishoners because of restrictions imposed to block the spread of coronavirus. In Moscow, St. Petersburg and Kyiv, priests at the services that began late Saturday night wore the elaborate robes that characterize Orthodoxy’s most...
6th Port Authority employee tests positive for covid-19; West Mifflin garage closed for ‘deep clean’
A Port Authority of Allegheny County maintenance worker has tested positive for covid-19, marking the second employee at the West Mifflin garage to contract the disease in two days, officials said Saturday. The latest employee to learn of the positive test result last worked on Monday, Port Authority spokesman Adam...
Vice President Mike Pence delivers Air Force Academy commencement address
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado — In a symbolic show of normalcy, Vice President Mike Pence delivered a commencement address to the U.S. Air Force Academy’s 2020 graduating class on Saturday — a trip aimed at showing the country is on course to gradually reopening after weeks of the coronavirus shutdown. Making...
Self-employed, independent contractors, others can now get state, federal jobless benefits
Pennsylvania’s self-employed workers and independent contractors can now file applications for unemployment benefits. The state’s Department of Labor and Industry said Saturday that workers who were previously ineligible for unemployment compensation will be permitted to seek benefits for wages lost because of the coronavirus pandemic. Department officials said state residents...
Westmoreland County adds 31 new cases of covid-19; state, local death tolls still don’t match
Westmoreland County reported 31 new cases of covid-19 on Saturday, for a total of 280 confirmed cases of the coronavirus disease, state health department data show. The state continues to under-report the number of deaths attributed to covid-19 when compared to local data. As of midday Saturday, the state health...
Pennsylvania reports 80 new deaths from covid-19, total cases now crest 31,000
Eighty more people in Pennsylvania have died of covid-19, hiking the statewide death toll from the coronavirus disease up to 836, state health officials said Saturday. The state’s total number of confirmed cases has crested 31,000, with 1,628 new cases reported between Friday and 10 a.m. Saturday. Positive cases of...
Former Treasury Secretary, Alcoa head Paul O’Neill dies at Pittsburgh home at age 84
Paul O’Neill wasn’t the type to put on airs. The plain-speaking former Treasury secretary and retired head of aluminum giant Alcoa was as comfortable in a corporate board room as he was donning blue jeans and hiking several blocks from his home in Pittsburgh’s Shadyside neighborhood to have breakfast with...
Allegheny County coronavirus cases top 1,000; county notes more test results
Allegheny County saw a jump of 62 new coronavirus cases over the last 24 hours. New data released Saturday morning revealed that a total of 1,009 cases of the virus have been reported in Allegheny County since March 14, when the first positive case was identified. That compares to 22...
Sheetz designates special hour for high-risk shoppers
Sheetz stores will set aside one hour each on Sunday for customers who are high risk to contract covid-19. Sundays from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. will be reserved for those who are at a higher risk to contract the disease brought on by the coronavirus. The program will be...
Westmoreland family wrestles with the ‘unfair way’ virus-stricken father diedVideo
Even as her memory increasingly slipped, James Bower Sr. insisted on caring for his wife and keeping the couple together on their three-acre homestead. But time was taking a toll on them both. Finally, about three years ago, his five children — four sons and a daughter — convinced him...
Youth minister at St. Bonaventure in Shaler tests positive for covid-19
A youth minister at St. Bonaventure Parish in Shaler has tested positive for covid-19, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh reported Friday. The person tested positive for the coronavirus disease on Thursday, but has not been around any parish youth members or involved in any parish gatherings since March 15...
Homewood homicide suspect, from Clairton, arrested by U.S. marshals in New Jersey
A Clairton man wanted in connection with a Homewood homicide was arrested Friday by U.S. marshals in New Jersey, according to Pittsburgh police. Sanders Barber, 44, was taken into custody by marshals and New Jersey State Police, on a Pittsburgh arrest warrant. Barber was charged April 8 with the fatal...
Fire leaves 6 New Kensington residents, their pets homeless
A lit candle knocked over by cats is being blamed for a fire that left six New Kensington residents and their pets homeless Friday afternoon. Fire Chief Ed Saliba said three of the six people living in the house were inside at the time of the blaze at 638 Fifth...
Allegheny County to send mail-in ballot forms to every voter; Gov. Wolf mulls pleas for mail-only election
Allegheny County elections officials have begun sending every resident eligible to vote in the June 2 primary election an application for a mail-in ballot — whether or not they requested one. Citing concerns over the highly contagious coronavirus , Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald is urging everyone to consider voting...
Pitt plans for fall could include hybrid semester
University of Pittsburgh Chancellor Patrick Gallagher is broaching the possibility that Pitt, one of the region’s biggest universities and a major factor in the local economy, may not be able to reopen for business as usual this fall. Like schools across the nation, Pitt was forced to close its campuses...
Unity opera prodigy to enjoy national spotlight on ‘Little Big Shots’Video
Victory Brinker has appeared at Carnegie Hall and has hit her mark before the camera for three yet-to-be-released films. On Sunday evening, the 8-year-old soprano will display her talents for her largest audience yet, singing a German-language aria from the opera “The Magic Flute” for millions viewing NBC’s “Little Big...
Giant Eagle to convert Parkway Center store to curbside pickup, delivery only
Giant Eagle announced Friday that it will convert its Parkway Center Mall location near Green Tree into a curbside pickup center, allowing the grocery giant to increase pickup and delivery orders its employees fill. “As we’ve been piloting creative solutions to increase our curbside pickup and delivery capacity, we have...
Gov. Tom Wolf lays out plan for reopening Pennsylvania’s economy
The plan to reopen Pennsylvania’s economy will be slow and gradual, hinging on a “regional, sector-based approach,” Gov. Tom Wolf said Friday, though he offered no timetable on when the plan would be enacted. The plan, available on the governor’s website, comes in three phases — relief, reopening and recovery...
Westmoreland reports no new coronavirus deaths; total cases up to 249
Westmoreland County officials continued to report 19 coronavirus deaths on Friday as state data showed nine new cases across the county. The coroner’s website, last updated Thursday morning, showed 19 cases: 10 men and nine women. The oldest covid-19 victim in the county was 109 years old, and the youngest...
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo slams feds for ‘passing the buck’ on coronavirus
NEW YORK — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo slammed the federal government for “passing the buck” amid the coronavirus crisis — and President Donald Trump wasted no time in hitting him back for “complaining.” Cuomo accused Congress and President Donald Trump of ignoring the financial needs of hard-hit state governments...
New Pennsylvania coronavirus cases increase sharply; 49 more deaths reported
New coronavirus cases in Pennsylvania jumped by more than 1,700, a marked increase in new daily cases compared to the past week, the Pennsylvania Department of Health reported Friday. State health officials also reported 49 more deaths, bringing the statewide death toll of 756. The Department of Health recorded 1,706...
