Top Stories category, Page 1535
Western Pa. patients line up for drive-by coronavirus testing
Patients concerned they might have been exposed to covid-19 were able to take advantage of drive-by testing at three locations Monday across Western Pennsylvania, and the testing is expected to be offered Tuesday, as well. Central Outreach Wellness Center, with locations on the North Shore, Aliquippa and Washington, had about...
Police: 2 men shot at South Side gas station
Two men were shot shortly after midnight Monday during an argument at a South Side gas station, Pittsburgh police said. The shooting was reported around 12:30 a.m. in the 3200 block of East Carson Street. Police said when they arrived at the scene, they found a man who had been...
Stocks nosedive on Wall Street, triggering trading halt
NEW YORK — Stocks dropped 8% in the first minutes of trading Monday on Wall Street and triggered another temporary halt to trading as huge swaths of the economy come closer to shutting down, from airlines to restaurants. Emergency actions taken by the Federal Reserve late Sunday to prop up...
Coronavirus vaccine test opens as U.S. volunteer gets 1st shot
SEATTLE — U.S. researchers gave the first shot to the first person in a test of an experimental coronavirus vaccine Monday — leading off a worldwide hunt for protection even as the pandemic surges. With a careful jab in a healthy volunteer’s arm, scientists at the Kaiser Permanente Washington Research...
Excela, Western Pa. hospitals tighten visitation rules to slow spread of coronavirus
Allegheny Health Network, Excela Health and UPMC facilities have tightened their visitation policies to help prevent the spread of covid-19. Excela Health announced on Monday that visitors are limited to one adult per patient in the ER and other areas of the hospital. For obstetric patients (new or laboring mothers),...
Allegheny County ordered to stop dine-in service at restaurants and barsVideo
Gov. Tom Wolf on Sunday ordered Allegheny County bars and restaurants to stop dine-in service for 14 days to help stop the spread of the coronavirus. The order, which goes into effect at 12:01 a.m. Monday, came on the same night Allegheny County officials urged all non-essential businesses to close...
Pittsburgh Diocese cancels all Masses to help slow spread of coronavirus
The Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh has canceled all weekday and Sunday Masses starting Monday to prevent the spread of covid-19. “Although in many ways it saddens me to make this decision, given the best advice from health experts on federal, state and local levels, I feel it is a necessary...
U.S. moves nearer to shutdown amid coronavirus fears
CHICAGO — Officials across the country curtailed elements of American life to fight the coronavirus outbreak on Sunday, with governors closing restaurants, bars, and schools and a government expert saying a 14-day national shutdown may be needed. At the same time, long airport lines for virus screenings raised doubts that...
Pitt, Duquesne go online only for rest of semester; Duquesne closes dorms
The University of Pittsburgh and Duquesne University announced Sunday that they have committed to online-only classes for the remainder of the semester amid the coronavirus pandemic. Duquesne also announced it is closing dorms for the rest of the semester and asked students living on campus to return home. “We have...
Government official: Coronavirus vaccine trial starts Monday
WASHINGTON — A clinical trial evaluating a vaccine designed to protect against the new coronavirus will begin Monday, according to a government official. The first participant in the trial will receive the experimental vaccine on Monday, the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the trial has not...
Planes on time, few lines, facilities clean at Pittsburgh airport, travelers say
Jackie Whitaker and her husband didn’t have much trouble traveling Sunday afternoon from Phoenix to Pittsburgh, but the Elk County woman said at least one thing was striking: The planes and airports have never looked cleaner. “Even as we were still getting off the plane, they were wiping off the...
Several shops in Ross Park Mall close, modify hours due to coronavirus
Wayne Christ, 79, sat alone in the food court of Ross Park Mall. Christ, who lives in Ross, said he’s been keeping his distance from others and frequently washing his hands. But he still came to the mall — he didn’t want to halt his entire life because of the...
Fed slashes rate to near zero, eases lending rules
WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve took emergency action Sunday and slashed its benchmark interest rate by a full percentage point to nearly zero and announced it would purchase more Treasury securities to encourage lending to try to offset the impact of the coronavirus outbreak. The central bank said the effects...
Pittsburgh’s paid sick leave requirement goes into effect
An ordinance requiring employers in Pittsburgh to provide paid sick leave went into effect Sunday, guaranteeing many employees who work within city limits will still get paid and accrue sick time as coronavirus cases continue to grow. Under the ordinance, employers with 15 or more employees must give them up...
Trump calls on Americans to cease hoarding food, suppliesVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Sunday called on Americans to cease hoarding groceries and other supplies, while one of the nation’s most senior public health officials called on the nation to act with more urgency to safeguard their health as the coronavirus outbreak continued to spread across the United...
Trump defends U.S. over airport crowding amid coronavirus fears
CHICAGO — Harsh criticism rained on the Trump administration Sunday from state and local officials over long lines of returning international passengers at some U.S. airports that could have turned them into coronavirus carriers as they tried to get home. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, both...
Here’s how Western Pa. schools plan to feed students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunches
School districts started announcing how they would get food to students who qualify for free and reduced-price lunches amid a statewide public school shutdown over the coronavirus pandemic. Gov. Tom Wolf on Friday ordered all Pennsylvania K-12 schools to close for two weeks in an effort to stem the spread...
Editorial: Pennsylvania’s handling of school closings gets ‘F’
This is not an editorial about coronavirus. It’s an editorial about questionable government decision-making that just happens to involve coronavirus. The thing is it could be about any big, important issue. Probably a few smaller, more mundane ones, too. For days, there was hemming and hawing about what would close...
Pittsburgh police investigating after man jumped, assaulted in Oakland
Pittsburgh police are investigating the alleged assault of a man early Saturday in Oakland. Emergency responders were called to the scene of a reported assault on the 300 block of Atwood Street around 3 a.m. When they arrived, they found an unconscious man lying on the sidewalk. Witnesses told investigators...
Western Pa. restaurants offer free lunches to schoolkids during hiatus over coronavirus fearsVideo
School lunches are getting an upgrade from restaurants around the area that are offering free mid-day meals to children in light of a two-week shutdown of schools amid concerns over the coronavirus pandemic. Many owners said they felt the need to help after Gov. Tom Wolf on Friday ordered all...
Amid pandemic, Pittsburgh parishioners attend Mass for ‘reassurance of faith’
The sign in front of Sacred Heart church in Pittsburgh’s Shadyside neighborhood pointed out the canceled fish fry, but parishioners still attended Mass Sunday morning. During exchange of Sign of Peace, some waved, others held up two fingers rather than shaking hands. “We woke up and we wanted to go,”...
Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium to close temporarily over coronavirus fears
The Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium is shuttering operations because of concerns over the coronavirus. The zoo on Sunday announced that it will be temporarily closed to the public until further notice starting Monday. All scheduled events, programs and classes will be canceled. “Our dedicated caretakers and veterinarians will continue...
ICYMI: Non-coronavirus news you may have missed
There’s no doubt the vast majority of the news cycle these past few days has been focused around the coronavirus. Because of that, stories not having to do with the virus may have escaped your view. Here’s a roundup of non-coronavirus news worth noting. PennDOT warns of month-long restrictions on...
Coronavirus worldwide: Pentagon restricts access; France closes Eiffel Tower; Italy sees 20% surge in cases
Pentagon officials have laid out new restrictions for access to the building, saying people who have been overseas should stay away for two weeks and others should expect more screening questions from officers posted at the entrances. Senior defense officials said in a conference call with reporters that personnel who...
9 things to know about coronavirus spreading, testing and symptoms
The medical impact of the new coronavirus is coming into sharper focus as it continues its spread in what is now officially recognized as a pandemic. Its true fatality rate isn’t yet known, but it seems 10 times higher than the flu, which kills hundreds of thousands around the world...
