Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1223
Building in Pittsburgh’s South Side partially collapses in fireVideo
Part of an East Carson Street building on Pittsburgh’s South Side collapsed Monday afternoon as flames shot through the roof, and authorities say the building will likely have to be demolished. A portion of the four-story brick building collapsed around 4 p.m., about an hour after the fire was reported....
House Democrats reveal first draft of stimulus-bill measuresVideo
WASHINGTON — House Democrats on Monday released the first draft text for key pieces of legislation that will constitute President Joe Biden’s covid-19 relief bill. The legislative language released by the Education and Labor Committee and Committee on Financial Services shows Democrats are forging ahead with plans to increase the...
How some Pa. lawmakers score a ‘golden parachute’ to pad their pensions
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. A version of this story originally appeared in our free weekly newsletter. HARRISBURG — Members of Pennsylvania’s Gaming Control Board, whose responsibilities include meeting once or twice...
Pa. ranks No. 2 in terms of residents charged by feds in U.S. Capitol riot
This is hardly an honor, but as of Monday Pennsylvania is in second place among the 50 states in terms of the number of its residents who are facing federal charges in connection with the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. Texan ranked No. 1, with 21 defendants. Pennsylvania...
Peduto asks Gov. Wolf to vaccinate Pennsylvania teachers immediately
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto issued a letter to Gov. Tom Wolf on Monday, calling for the state’s Department of Health to immediately prioritize the vaccination of teachers. His letter follows weeks of sluggishness in the state’s covid-19 vaccine rollout, including confusion and frustration from many educators in the region. Many...
Police say Ruffs Dale man assaulted own grandmother for prescription pills
A Ruffs Dale man was arrested on assault and robbery charges after police say he entered his 73-year-old grandmother’s home early Sunday and hit her with a cane after she refused to let him take her prescription pills. John S. Accipiter, 25, was arraigned on charges of harassment, resisting arrest,...
Crack’d Egg seeks stay to injunction while appeal is heard
The owner of Brentwood’s Crack’d Egg restaurant has filed a motion for a stay pending an appeal to Commonwealth Court. The motion filed Friday said that a decision by Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge John McVay last week is contrary to a federal court ruling in September that found Gov....
New variants raise worry about covid-19 virus reinfections
Evidence is mounting that having covid-19 may not protect against getting infected again with some of the new variants. People also can get second infections with earlier versions of the coronavirus if they mounted a weak defense the first time, new research suggests. How long immunity lasts from natural infection...
Schools plan for potential of remote learning into the fall
Parents of schoolchildren learning from home shouldn’t necessarily count on reclaiming the dining room table any time soon. After seeing two academic years thrown off course by the pandemic, school leaders around the country are planning for the possibility of more distance learning next fall at the start of yet...
Beaver Falls bakery Oram’s tabbed for best doughnuts in the state
Never heard of Oram’s Donut Shop, you say? If you love doughnuts, you might want to acquaint yourself with it. The Beaver Falls bakery, which somehow often finds itself excluded from “best of” lists, landed on Food and Wine’s “The Best Doughnuts in Every State” rankings that were released Friday....
Poll: Few in U.S. say democracy is working very well
Only a fragment of Americans believe democracy is thriving in the U.S., even as broad majorities agree that representative government is one of the country’s bedrock principles, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Just 16% of Americans say democracy is working well...
Michigan man killed after cannon used at baby shower explodes
GAINES TOWNSHIP, Mich. — A Michigan man who was fatally injured when a cannon exploded in a backyard during a baby shower was within 15 feet of the device when the blast occurred, police said. Evan Thomas Silva, 26, of Hartland, was struck by metal shrapnel in Saturday night’s explosion...
Throngs of maskless fans celebrate Tampa’s Super Bowl win
TAMPA, Fla. — So much for the mayor’s order requiring masks at Super Bowl parties. Videos went viral on social media, showing throngs of mostly maskless fans and packed sports bars as the clock inside Raymond James Stadium ticked down on a hometown Super Bowl win for the Tampa Bay...
Pa. Lt. Gov. John Fetterman makes U.S. Senate run official
Pennsylvania Democratic Lt. Gov. John Fetterman officially launched his campaign for U.S. Senate on Monday. “Now, it’s my turn,” Fetterman said on Twitter early Monday morning. “Let’s get to work.” “This will be the most important Senate race in 2022, so we need to build as much early momentum as...
Accumulating snow ends in Western Pa.; PennDOT lifts speed restrictions
PennDOT reduced speed limits on several roads in the Pittsburgh region and urged residents to avoid unnecessary travel as snow made roads slick and treacherous Tuesday morning. PennDOT lifted speed limit restrictions shortly before 11 a.m. Speed limits had been reduced to 45 mph on all interstates and several other...
TV Talk: CBS’s ‘Silence of the Lambs’ sequel ‘Clarice’ is no ‘Hannibal’Video
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. There’s an easy way to figure out if CBS’s “Silence of the Lambs” sequel series, “Clarice,” is for you: If you were a fan of the 1991 Jonathan Demme-directed “Lambs,” partially filmed in Pittsburgh, and...
Pittsburgh’s Jimmy Sapienza, front-man of Five Guys Named Moe, dies at 71
Pittsburgh singer Jimmy Sapienza – front-man of Jimmy Sapienza and Five Guys Named Moe – died Saturday, Feb. 6, 2021. He was 71. “It is with the deepest regret to share with all of you that my husband Jimmy Sapienza unexpectedly passed away this afternoon with immediate family,” his wife,...
WPIAL football players among 30,000 cardboard cutouts in Super Bowl seats
WPIAL football fans might recognize some familiar faces in the Super Bowl crowd at Raymond James Stadium. The NFL filled empty seats with cardboard cutouts Sunday night, and some featured football players who reached the WPIAL finals. Pine-Richland and Peters Township each tweeted to keep eyes open for cutouts of...
Chicago fugitive arrested in Pittsburgh drug bust
A man once called one of Chicago’s “most wanted” alleged criminals was arrested Saturday in Pittsburgh’s Highland Park neighborhood with, among other things, a trash bag of alleged heroin. Randall Langston, 26, of Bellwood, Ill., was arrested as part of a drug bust at an apartment complex, according to Tribune-Review...
Super Bowl ads aim to entertain with light humorVideo
As the Tampa Bay Buccaneers take on the Kansas City Chiefs during Super Bowl 55 in Tampa Bay, Florida, a different kind of action is taking place off the field. After a year of pandemic fear and isolation and a tumultuous election, brands are waging battle during the game’s commercial...
South Africa suspends AstraZeneca vaccine drive
JOHANNESBURG — South Africa has suspended plans to inoculate its front-line health care workers with the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine after a small clinical trial suggested that it isn’t effective in preventing mild to moderate illness from the variant dominant in the country. South Africa received its first 1 million doses of...
Senate Republicans back Trump as impeachment trial nearsVideo
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump’s defenders in the Senate on Sunday rallied around the former president before his impeachment trial, dismissing it as a waste of time and arguing that the former president’s fiery speech before the U.S. Capitol insurrection does not make him responsible for the violence of Jan. 6....
TV Talk: WPXI back on DirecTV, AT&T TV
Following a five-day blackout, WPXI-TV is back on AT&T’s DirecTV and live streaming service AT&T TV. Sunday morning AT&T and Cox Media Group, parent company of WPXI, announced a multi-year deal that ended the retransmission dispute, returning CMG stations to AT&T’s platforms in 20 cities nationwide, including Boston, Atlanta and...
Rescue dog lifts Harrison cancer survivor’s spirits, saves home from fireVideo
A rescued dog that Harrison’s Michael Groce took in last May wound up becoming his rescuer. After going through three bouts of cancer, through which he lost a kidney and parts of a lung, Groce, 53, found himself permanently disabled and unable to work. His husband of six years, Ron...
CMU study shows racial disparities in vaccine distribution, acceptance
Surveys from Carnegie Mellon University researchers show vaccine distribution is lower among Black and Hispanic Americans than white people across the U.S. Carnegie Mellon’s Delphi Research Group began surveying Facebook users nationwide about covid-19 symptoms in April 2020 and throughout the pandemic has released analyses on a variety of covid-related...
