Top Stories category, Page 1825
California Rep. Eric Swalwell joins 2020 Democratic presidential field
Eric Swalwell, a four-term San Francisco Bay Area congressman who has grown into a cable TV fixture as a slashing and unremitting critic of President Donald Trump, formally announced Monday his long-shot bid for the 2020 Democratic nomination. Fittingly, he chose national television as the venue to declare his intent,...
CDC finds 78 new measles cases as outbreak sprints to record
WASHINGTON — For the second week in a row, U.S. health officials added dozens of new reports to the year’s list of confirmed measles cases, bringing the total to 465 — already the highest number in the last five years. It’s another significant milepost on the road to what will...
Shapiro appeals UPMC ruling to state’s highest court
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro is asking the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to review consent decrees involving the dispute between healthcare giants UPMC and Allegheny Health Network. Shapiro announced Monday that he filed an appeal with the Supreme Court after the state’s Commonwealth Court last week ruled in favor of UPMC,...
Man found shot to death in Pittsburgh’s Larimer neighborhood identified
The identity of a man shot to death in a Larimer home on Monday has been released. Mark Anthony Jackson, 39, was killed at 6:18 p.m., according to the Allegheny County medical examiner’s office. Pittsburgh police are investigating the fatal shooting. Police spokeswoman Alicia George said Zone 5 officers were...
Pennsylvania gun violence activists set sights on new bill
HARRISBURG — Fresh from a victory in Pennsylvania last fall, anti-gun violence advocates are turning their attention to legislation to empower family members or police to seek the immediate, if temporary, seizure of someone’s firearms. Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America went to the state Capitol on Monday...
Bridge, slide repairs top $200M in road work this construction season
PennDOT expects to spend more than $200 million to fix the region’s roads and bridges this construction season. In addition to ongoing projects, PennDOT District 12 officials are slated to seek bids for $122 million in new construction projects, which will include resurfacing of 126 miles of highways and repairing...
Pittsburgh ranks second in nation for high number of Target stores
Love shopping at Target? Pittsburgh ranked second in the top 10 list for cities with the highest ratio of Target stores to residents, according to Apartment Guide, a rental website that helps people find apartments. According to the study, Pittsburgh has one Target for every 37,801 people. Knoxville, Tenn., topped...
Judge blocks Trump’s asylum policy but delays enforcement
SAN FRANCISCO — A U.S. judge on Monday blocked the Trump administration’s policy of returning asylum seekers to Mexico as they wait for an immigration court to hear their cases but the order won’t immediately go into effect. Judge Richard Seeborg in San Francisco granted a request by civil liberties...
Editorial: UPMC, Highmark should consent to modification
It’s not that nothing can be done. When Commonwealth Court Judge Robert Simpson issued his decision in Josh Shapiro’s plea for a stay of execution in the UPMC-Highmark consent decree, he didn’t throw the Pennsylvania attorney general a lifeline. Simpson’s ruling might be read as helpless when he says, “this...
Stars of bear webcam, sow and cub, expected to leave their den soon
The time to watch a hibernating black bear sow and her single cub on a live webcam is running out as they are expected to leave any day now. The Pennsylvania Game Commission launched its first ever live bear webcam this year from a bear den under a porch at...
Dress for success: Westmoreland County sets business casual rule for workwear
Denim is out for Westmoreland County work attire. A new dress code approved by county commissioners, which takes effect April 15, sets business casual as the rule for attire for most of the nearly 1,800 workers at the courthouse and other government buildings. “We only have one opportunity to make...
Felicity Huffman, 12 other parents to plead guilty in college scheme
BOSTON — Actress Felicity Huffman and a dozen other prominent parents have agreed to plead guilty in the sweeping college admissions cheating scam that has ensnared wealthy families and athletic coaches at some of the nation’s most selective universities, federal authorities said Monday. The “Desperate Housewives” star and the other...
Tarentum police charge man they say had knife at Praha Hotel
Tarentum police arrested a man Sunday who is accused of pulling a knife on another customer at the Praha Hotel who, police said, responded by drawing a gun. The incident happened shortly before 6 p.m. Sunday at the bar at Corbet Street and East Fourth Avenue. In a criminal complaint,...
Antwon Rose family to receive proceeds from East Liberty concert
A concert Wednesday to benefit the family of Antwon Rose II will include Atlanta rapper Sa-Roc along with several local musical acts. Organized by 1Hood Media, Unappreciated Management and Voices Against Violence, the concert will be from 7 p.m to 10 p.m. at the Ace Hotel in Pittsburgh’s East Liberty...
3 American soldiers, 1 U.S. contractor killed in Afghanistan
KABUL — Three American service members and a U.S. contractor were killed when their convoy hit a roadside bomb on Monday near the main U.S. base in Afghanistan, the U.S. forces said. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. The U.S. and NATO Resolute Support mission said the four Americans...
Bills to combat child sexual abuse move ahead in Pennsylvania Legislature
HARRISBURG — Two related bills designed to help victims of child sexual abuse received favorable committee votes in the Pennsylvania House on Monday and are poised to pass the full chamber in the coming days. The House Judiciary Committee voted overwhelmingly for a bill that would eliminate the statute of...
Excela leadership shakeup comes amid financial losses, worker outsourcing
Excela Health’s abrupt announcement Friday that two top executives were resigning immediately followed months of growing financial pressures on the Westmoreland County health system that said it is seeking “fresh perspectives.” Recent developments suggest the health system that encompasses Latrobe, Westmoreland and Frick hospitals and is the county’s largest private...
Secret Service Chief Randolph ‘Tex’ Alles leaving Trump administration, White House says
WASHINGTON — U.S. Secret Service Director Randolph “Tex” Alles will be stepping down from his post, the latest in a string of departures from President Trump’s administration. Alles “has done a great job at the agency over the last two years, and the President is thankful for his over 40...
Allegheny Valley Hospital raises flag to raise organ-donation awareness
Officials from Allegheny Valley Hospital celebrated Donate Life Month on Monday with a flag-raising ceremony. National Donate Life Month is celebrated every April to encourage people to register as organ, eye and tissue donors and to honor those whose organ donations have saved or extended other people’s lives. Across the...
McKeesport woman takes plea deal to avoid death penalty for killing her son
A McKeesport woman took a plea deal Monday to avoid the death penalty for suffocating her 17-month-old son out of anger when she believed her boyfriend was cheating on her. Christian Clark, 24, faces life in prison without the possibility of parole for killing her son, Andre Price III, by...
Pitt study says doctors overprescribe meds to kids through telemedicine
As telemedicine visits increase, so do the chances of overprescribing of antibiotics to children, according to a new study. Children with acute respiratory infections were prescribed antibiotics more often during direct-to-consumer telemedicine visits than during in-person appointments or urgent care visits, according to UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh research reported...
Bad idea: Pouring gas on wet ballfield, setting it on fire
RIDGEFIELD, Conn. — Authorities say it could cost over $50,000 to repair a Connecticut baseball diamond where somebody dumped gasoline and set it on fire to dry out the infield. Police are investigating the fire in Ridgefield in which 25 gallons of gasoline was poured on the field Saturday. First...
Bernie Sanders plans presidential campaign rally in Pittsburgh
Presidential hopeful U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders will have a campaign rally Sunday in Pittsburgh. His campaign announced Sanders will stop at Schenley Plaza on Forbes Avenue in North Oakland in his bid to win the Democratic nomination for president in the 2020 primary election. The rally will start at 5...
Police: Homewood man cuts other man in fight over $2
A man from Pittsburgh’s Homewood neighborhood is accused of cutting another man’s face with a knife during an argument over $2. Gary Bennett, 53, is scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing Tuesday on aggravated and simple assault charges in connection to the April 1 fight. A phone message left...
Man accused of exposure, stalking woman on Ligonier track
A Cook Township man was charged with exposing himself and stalking a woman who was running on the track at Weller Field in Ligonier. Joseph T. Puschnigg, 24, was identified after the alleged victim obtained the license number on the red Jeep he was driving. The woman told police she...
