Top Stories category, Page 1514
Parks Conservancy reminds visitors to practice social distancing
With state and local parks, state forests and trails seeing record numbers of visitors, the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy is renewing its call for everyone to practice safe physical distancing. Proper physical distancing is maintaining a minimum of six feet from others. The parks conservancy also urges visitors to follow Gov....
Human remains found near Bethel Park trail; foul play not suspected
A trail walker discovered human remains Monday in Bethel Park, Allegheny County Police said. The person called 911 shortly before 11:30 a.m. after finding the remains while on a trail near trolley tracks, police said. County homicide detectives are investigating but “preliminary indications are that foul play is not suspected,”...
White House pushes unproven drug for virus; doctors waryVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump and his administration kept up their out-sized promotion Monday of an malaria drug not yet officially approved for fighting the new coronavirus, even though scientists say more testing is needed before it’s proven safe and effective against covid-19. Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro championed hydroxychloroquine...
Editorial: Coronavirus can’t stop holidays and normal life
Let’s face it: It’s hard to pretend that anything is normal right now. If this were normal, kids would be playing Little League baseball and high school girls would be trying on prom gowns. People would be enjoying the mild spring weather by shopping for plants for the yard. And...
Kiski Area High School grieves online for student killed in ATV crash
As soon as he heard the news, Principal Chad Roland began making a list. Kiski Area High School senior Dominic G. DeFalco, 17, was killed in a rollover ATV crash in Allegheny Township on Sunday. Now, amid a transition to full-scale digital learning and the stress of a global pandemic,...
‘Pandemic’ overtime pay cost Westmoreland County nearly $700K in 1st 2 weeks
Westmoreland County paid $678,000 in overtime wages to more than 1,200 employees for nearly two weeks of work in late March during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic. Commissioners instituted “pandemic” pay for staff required to report in person for work at the courthouse and in other county offices...
Answering the Call: Pittsburgh nurse talks about her worries during coronavirusVideo
Meghan Dawson is a nurse who works directly with high-risk maternity patients at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital. With covid-19 cases rising, she worries about her patients and herself. A wife and mother, Dawson talked with the Tribune-Review about the strain of her job and the toll it is taking on her...
UPMC researchers developing test to measure antibodies in fight against coronavirus
UPMC researchers are among those nationwide and around the world working to learn more about blood tests that could help physicians understand how a person’s body has responded to covid-19. The blood test would measure whether a person has antibodies to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes covid-19, and could show...
Giant Eagle to limit number of people allowed in stores
Giant Eagle said Monday it will begin limiting the number of customers who can shop at each store at one time. “As supermarkets, convenience stores and pharmacies remain in operation as essential community resources, we believe it’s vital to heighten our social distancing and sanitization procedures throughout the store,” company...
Coronavirus is mostly mild and rarely fatal for U.S. kids, data show
The first national data on covid-19 in U.S. children suggest that while the illness usually isn’t severe in kids, some do get sick enough to require hospital treatment. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report released Monday shows that fever, cough and shortness of breath were the most common...
Pittsburgh police instructor tests positive for coronavirus; recruit class suspended
A Pittsburgh Police Academy firearms instructor tested positive for covid-19, prompting officials to suspend a 28-member recruit class The city’s Public Safety Department is working to identify everyone, including recruits, who came into contact with the instructor. Officials sent the instructor home on Wednesday after he began exhibiting symptoms similar...
Hundreds wait in long lines at Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank for food giveawayVideo
The line seems to be getting longer every week at the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank. The organization on Monday held its fifth drive-up food distribution at its headquarters in Duquesne, serving 861 vehicles in three hours. About a half-hour before the noon start, vehicles were backed up onto Route...
Officials offer guidance on how to properly wear a homemade face maskVideo
Pennsylvania officials last week asked all residents to wear homemade face masks if they leave their homes to help prevent the spread of covid-19. But are they wearing them the right way to protect themselves and others? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended the use of homemade...
Pennsylvania jobless claims exceed 1 million since outbreak
More than one million people filed unemployment compensation claims in Pennsylvania since March 15, state Department of Labor and Industry officials told reporters Monday. The exact number — 1,134,053 — eclipses any surge in unemployment in memory. It also represents a 2,735% increase in the number of claims (40,000) from...
U.S. Postal Service hiring temporary employees
The U.S. Postal Service is hiring temporary workers to fill mail handling and processing positions at various locations in Western Pennsylvania, the agency announced Monday. People are needed to serve as mail handler assistants, mail processing clerk assistants, clerk assistants and city carrier assistants, according to the postal service. The...
10 new coronavirus cases reported in Westmoreland County as total tops 150
Westmoreland County reported 10 new cases of coronavirus, bringing the county total to 157, state health officials said Monday. Statewide, the death toll stands at 162, and the 1,470 new cases reported between 12 a.m. Sunday and 12 a.m. Monday brings the statewide total to 12,980. The 10 new cases...
Pennsylvania reports 12 more deaths, 1,470 new coronavirus cases
Twelve more people have died in Pennsylvania as a result of the coronavirus as the number of cases neared 13,000, state health officials said Monday. The death toll stands at 162, and the 1,470 new cases reported throughout the day Sunday brings the statewide total to 12,980. Secretary of Health...
Robocalls dwindle during coronavirus pandemic
Even the robots are listening to worldwide recommendations to keep our distance from each other. Although robocalls are automated, call centers where they’re managed are closed or have otherwise reduced their operations, Los Angeles Times business columnist David Lazarus noted last week. Lazarus heard from a couple who noticed a...
Allegheny County reports 37 new coronavirus cases, total reaches 642
Allegheny County reported 37 additional covid-19 cases Monday, bringing the countywide total to 642. County officials reported 53 new cases Sunday and 76 new cases Saturday. That does not include four county residents who have died from complications related to covid-19. The most recent deaths, reported this weekend, included a...
Pennsylvania is getting worse at social distancing, data shows
Despite a growing number of covid-19 cases in Pennsylvania, location data shows residents have actually increased their travel. Unacast, a phone data company, used data from mobile phones to track the average change in distance traveled by individuals in each state and country, starting from Feb. 24. The state was...
Peduto seeks extension of disaster declaration for Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto has asked City Council to approve an extension of his disaster declaration until early May. Council is scheduled to introduce a resolution on Tuesday that would authorize an extension of the declaration until May 5. Peduto issued the declaration March 13. It allows the city to...
Police: 2 arrested, teen wanted in Derry Township shooting during bungled drug deal
A 20-year-old man was shot and seriously injured Sunday in a bungled drug deal and robbery outside a Derry Township home, state police said. State police at Kiski arrested Michael E. Sawyer, 28, of Salem and Lorraine Painter, 22, of Greensburg in connection with the shooting and robbery that occurred...
Trump tempers officials’ grave assessments with optimismVideo
WASHINGTON — The U.S. surgeon general said Sunday that Americans should brace for levels of tragedy reminiscent of the Sept. 11 attacks and the bombing of Pearl Harbor, while the nation’s infectious disease chief warned that the new coronavirus may never be completely eradicated from the globe. Those were some...
Coroner’s office identifies teen killed in Allegheny Township ATV crash
A 17-year-old was killed in a rollover ATV crash in Allegheny Township, according to the Westmoreland County Coroner’s Office. Dominic G. DeFalco crashed near his home on the 200 block of McGeary Hollow Road around noon Sunday. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The cause of the crash and...
Western Pa. cemeteries attract more visitors during coronavirus restrictionsVideo
Cemeteries across the region have sprung to life during the coronavirus pandemic, with more people than usual flocking to them for fresh air and exercise. Some, however, aren’t as serene as they were before the pandemic. Homestead’s John English, a frequent visitor to Homewood Cemetery in Pittsburgh’s Point Breeze neighborhood,...
