Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1203
Allegheny County Jail administration defends covid-19 testing policy
Allegheny County Jail officials defended their handling of the covid-19 pandemic during Thursday’s oversight board meeting. Chief Deputy Warden Laura Williams told the board that there have been 2,163 inmates tested at the jail since March 2020. Of those, 287 have tested positive. According to Williams, 42 inmates are currently...
Mayor Bill Peduto, challenger Tony Moreno agree to run civil campaign; Ed Gainey silent on issue
Pittsburgh mayoral candidate Tony Moreno took to Facebook with a challenge Thursday, asking his competitors to be civil, during the campaign. Moreno, 51, of Brighton Heights is a retired Pittsburgh police officer. He’s running against incumbent Mayor Bill Peduto, 56, of Point Breeze and five-term state Rep. Ed Gainey, 51,...
Pittsburgh Public Safety promotes firefighters, EMS personnel
Pittsburgh Public Safety officials held ceremonies Thursday to promote and swear in a number of men and women in the bureaus of fire and EMS. The ceremonies were held at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, a venue necessary to allow for social distancing. Promotions included four to the rank...
Owner vows to rebuild after losing his Upper Burrell mobile home in a blaze
An Upper Burrell couple was left homeless Thursday when fire raced through their mobile home on Amy Lane. Neither the couple, their pets nor any firefighters were reported to have been injured. Shortly after Larry Sieff turned on his hot water tank, he saw smoke in his kitchen and found...
Bridgeville man pleads guilty to federal child porn charges
A Bridgeville man pleaded guilty in federal court to child pornography charges. Paul Chretien, 66, pleaded guilty to charges of distribution of material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor and possession of material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced Thursday. He...
Powerful quake hits off New Zealand, prompting evacuations
WELLINGTON, New Zealand — A powerful magnitude 8.1 earthquake struck in the ocean off the coast of New Zealand on Friday, prompting thousands of people to evacuate and triggering tsunami warnings across the South Pacific. The quake was the largest in a series of tremors that struck the region over...
Penn Township man jailed after 19-hour standoff
A Penn Township man peacefully surrendered to police Thursday after a state police special response team took action to end a standoff that began a night earlier, authorities said. James Kassimatis, 51, came out of his Center Street house in Harrison City around 2 p.m., township police Chief John Otto...
Appointments filled after Giant Eagle extends Heinz Field covid vaccine clinic
Appointments for the covid vaccine clinic at Heinz Field next week have been filled, only hours after becoming available. Giant Eagle announced it would extend its covid-19 vaccination clinic at Heinz Field “after receiving an overwhelmingly positive response” this week. The chain made more appointments available to eligible individuals for...
Police: Remains found near VA Hospital in Oakland
Pittsburgh police are investigating after remains were found Thursday morning in Oakland, officials said. Officers received a call just before 10 a.m. about possible remains found on Brackenridge Street near the Oakland VA Hospital, said Public Safety spokeswoman Cara Cruz. Detectives arrived and found bone fragments in the street, Cruz...
Senate begins considering Democrats’ $1.9T coronavirus relief billVideo
WASHINGTON — The Senate voted by the slimmest of margins Thursday to begin debating a $1.9 trillion covid-19 relief bill, after Democrats made eleventh-hour changes aimed at ensuring they could pull President Joe Biden’s top legislative priority through the precariously divided chamber. Democrats were hoping for Senate approval of the...
‘Pink hat lady’ indicted on charges stemming from Capitol insurrection
A Mercer County woman charged with breaching the Capitol during riots there on Jan. 6 has been formally indicted. A federal grand jury sitting in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday returned eight counts against Rachel Powell, 40, of Sandy Lake, including obstruction; destruction of government property; entering a restricted building with...
Strip District’s former Produce Terminal welcomes new tenantsVideo
Visitors to Pittsburgh’s Strip District can now buy plants, candles and locally-made crafts, take golf lessons and shop at a liquor store at the landmark former Produce Terminal on Smallman Street. The sprawling, low-slung building is familiar to anyone who’s eaten a fry-filled sandwich at Primanti’s original location on nearby...
Penguins admit to altering Twitter photo showing fans wearing masks
The Pittsburgh Penguins’ Twitter account on Thursday was making news for the wrong reasons. A seemingly innocuous tweet from the team’s verified account Wednesday showed a Getty Images photo of fans applauding in the stands, with text saying, “Thanks for the continued support, Penguins fans.” Tuesday night’s game against the...
How vaccine clinics will work for Pa. teachers
At least one vaccination site in each of Pennsylvania’s educational regions will be available to teachers and school staff, state officials said Thursday. The clinics could be up and running as early as next week. Child care workers who are not associated with one of the state’s 29 Intermediate Units...
Pennsylvania reports 50 covid deaths, cases rise, hospitalizations fall
Pennsylvania Department of Health on Thursday reported 50 new coronavirus deaths, 3,028 additional coronavirus cases and 1,628 people hospitalized for the virus. Of the deaths newly reported Thursday, 10 are from this month, 37 are from February, one is from January and two are from December. The total number of...
Rep. Mike Doyle defends covid relief bill, minimum wage increaseVideo
A nearly $2 trillion coronavirus relief bill passed the U.S. House last Saturday and is now being scrutinized by the Senate. Even if the Senate makes cuts to the spending bill, pundits say it’s likely to remain a very large one. Most Republicans feel a large amount of federal spending,...
Allegheny County reports 2 more covid deaths, 276 cases
Allegheny County on Thursday reported two additional coronavirus deaths and 276 additional coronavirus cases. The number of the deaths in Allegheny County because of covid-19 stands at 1,688. The health department said that the dates of death ranged from Dec. 7 to Tuesday and that one person was in their...
Details emerge in fatal Trafford shooting; police arrest suspect
The Allegheny County Medical Examiner has identified the victim of a fatal shooting in Trafford early on Thursday morning. Anthony Michael Raymond, 27, of Pittsburgh was found by Trafford police suffering from multiple gunshot wounds in the 500 block of Fifth Street Extension shortly after 6 a.m. Thursday, according the...
Pirates, PNC agree to 10-year extension of stadium naming rights deal for PNC Park
PNC Park is keeping its name on Pittsburgh’s baseball stadium for another decade. The Pittsburgh Pirates and PNC Bank announced Thursday morning a 10-year extension to their naming rights deal to the stadium, which has been considered one of the gems in MLB since it opened in 2001. Financial terms...
House passes sweeping voting rights bill over GOP opposition
WASHINGTON — House Democrats passed sweeping voting and ethics legislation Wednesday over unanimous Republican opposition, advancing to the Senate what would be the largest overhaul of the U.S. election law in at least a generation. House Resolution 1, which touches on virtually every aspect of the electoral process, was approved...
Pittsburgh police seek missing woman who may be in danger
Pittsburgh police are searching for a missing woman who was last seen Tuesday. Olivia Zane, 23, was last seen in the North Oakland neighborhood. Police say she may be in danger. She is described as 5 feet 5 inches tall, around 170 pounds, with brown eyes and brown hair. Police...
Biden blasts Abbott for ‘big mistake’ and ‘Neanderthal thinking’ in lifting Texas’ covid-19 restrictions
WASHINGTON — A day after Gov. Greg Abbott announced an end to all pandemic-related precautions in Texas, President Joe Biden slammed him Wednesday for putting lives at risk by clinging to “Neanderthal thinking” rather than heeding advice from the nation’s top scientists. “I think it’s a big mistake,” Biden told...
Pennsylvania hauled to court over blocking plastic bag bans
PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia and three other municipalities in Pennsylvania sued the state Wednesday over what they say was a covert abuse of legislative power to block local bans or taxes on plastic bags that retailers give out to customers and, they say, end up as pollution and litter. The lawsuit...
Derry man seeks to withdraw guilty plea for friend’s fatal overdose
A Derry man sentenced to a 7-to-14-year prison sentence for the delivery of drugs that prosecutors said led to his friend’s fatal overdose now claims he was “induced” to plead guilty to a crime he did not commit. Glenn A. Levtzow, 39, in court documents filed this week asked to...
Several detained after SWAT team called to Pittsburgh’s Beechview neighborhood
A SWAT team was called to Banksville Road in Pittsburgh’s Beechview neighborhood and several people were detained Wednesday after an investigation into a reported abduction led police to two hotels, according to the Pittsburgh Department of Public Safety. Officers responded to a 911 report of an abduction in progress on...
