Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1228
Wolf launches a budget fraught with deficits, uncertainty
HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Wolf will ask lawmakers Wednesday to raise income taxes on higher earners and give public schools a massive boost in aid, even as he faces a gaping deficit and uncertainty over how much more pandemic relief the federal government will send. Because of the coronavirus pandemic,...
Pittsburgh-filmed ‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’ lands 2 Golden Globe nominations
NEW YORK — David Fincher’s vision of a bygone Hollywood “Mank” topped nominations to the 78th Golden Globe Awards on Wednesday with six nods, leading Netflix’s overall domination in a pandemic-marred movie year. The film about “Citizen Kane” co-writer Herman Mankiewicz, landed nominations for best film, drama; best actor for...
Biden, Treasury Secretary Yellen say GOP virus aid too small
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden panned a Republican alternative to his $1.9 trillion covid rescue plan as insufficient as Senate Democrats pushed ahead, voting to launch a process that could approve his sweeping rescue package on their own, if Republicans refuse to support it. Biden and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen...
Minority Leader McCarthy meets with Marjorie Taylor Greene; House GOP faces decision point
WASHINGTON — House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy met with hard-right Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene as Republicans wrestled over how to handle a bipartisan outcry over her endorsement of outlandish conspiracy theories and of violent, racist views. Aides to McCarthy and Greene offered no immediate comment after the two spent around...
Westmoreland County fields bids to print, mail ballots for primary
Westmoreland County has received proposals from seven companies to print and mail ballots for the spring primary, including one from the Cleveland-based firm that has yet to be paid as a result of production delays last fall that impacted thousands of local voters. Elections Bureau director JoAnn Sebastiani said Midwest...
Pittsburgh police issue warning after almost 50 vehicles stolen in city last monthVideo
Pittsburgh police have issued a warning after they said almost 50 vehicles were reported stolen in the city last month. At least 16 vehicles were left running and unoccupied with the keys inside, police said. Of those, seven were left unattended by people warming up their vehicles due to cold...
Police: Stabbing in Pittsburgh’s South Side, suspect in custody
Charges are pending against a Pittsburgh man authorities said stabbed a teenager in Pittsburgh’s South Side neighborhood. Taylor Clark, 32, was apprehended after a street fight near the intersection of East Carson and South Seventh streets around 7 p.m. Tuesday, Pittsburgh Public Safety spokesman Chris Togneri reported. The victim, an...
Police apprehend Pittsburgh man accused of beating woman with a tire iron after escaping house arrest
A suspect accused of beating a woman with a tire iron earlier this year after escaping from house arrest was apprehended Tuesday evening. The Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office announced that sheriffs picked up Richard Robinson, 52, of the Marshall-Shadeland neighborhood of Pittsburgh. Robinson had been wanted since Jan. 26 on...
DA directs case closed in snow-related murder-suicide
The triple shooting in Plains Township motivated by a dispute about snow removal will be officially ruled a murder-suicide, according to the Luzerne County District Attorney’s Office. Authorities said Jeffrey Spaide, 47, shot and killed his neighbors, James Goy, 50, and his wife Lisa Goy, 48, on Monday morning as...
VA Pittsburgh Health Care sets covid vaccine clinic for senior veterans
The VA Pittsburgh Health Care System is offering a walk-in covid-19 vaccine clinic for eligible senior veterans Saturday at its University Drive campus in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood. Hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., but requested arrival times are broken up based on the first letter of each veteran’s last...
Should cancer patients get the covid vaccine?Video
Many oncologists are being asked by their patients if they should get the covid vaccine when it becomes available to them. Some cancer patients are afraid that adding one more thing during treatment may not be good. Dr. Stanley Marks, chairman of the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center and a nationally...
Biden signs immigration orders as Congress awaits moreVideo
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Tuesday signed a second spate of orders to undo his predecessor’s immigration policies, demonstrating the powers of the White House and its limitations without support from Congress. His orders on family separation, border security and legal immigration bring to nine the number of executive...
Crack’d Egg restaurant asks to withdraw bankruptcy filing
The Crack’d Egg, a Brentwood restaurant that is embroiled in a legal dispute with Allegheny County, is seeking to withdraw its separate Chapter 11 bankruptcy case. A hearing on the bankruptcy matter is scheduled for Feb. 23. In the Monday filing, the restaurant’s attorneys wrote that the Chapter 11 bankruptcy...
Another path to justice for survivors of clergy sex abuse faces uphill battle in Pa. legislature
Spotlight PA is an independent, non-partisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — When Republican state Rep. Jim Gregory learned Monday from Gov. Tom Wolf that an administrative error will delay a...
Biden, Yellen say GOP covid relief too small, Democrats push onVideo
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden panned a Republican alternative to his $1.9 trillion covid rescue plan as insufficient Tuesday as Senate Democrats pushed ahead, voting to launch a process that could approve his sweeping rescue package on their own, if Republicans refuse to support it. Biden and Treasury Secretary Janet...
Arrest warrant issued for man accused of shooting pregnant woman in Leetsdale
Editor’s note: This issue went to press on Feb. 4. For more recent developments in this case, visit sewickleyherald.com. Allegheny County police have issued an arrest warrant for a man wanted in connection with the Jan. 25 shooting of a pregnant 20-year-old woman in Leetsdale. Investigators charged Roderick Ferguson, 19,...
Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s founder, will step down as CEO
NEW YORK — Jeff Bezos, who founded Amazon as an online bookstore and built it into a shopping and entertainment behemoth, will step down later this year as CEO, a role he’s had for nearly 30 years, to become executive chairman, the company announced Tuesday. Bezos, 57, will be replaced...
Alejandro Mayorkas becomes first Latino, immigrant to lead Department of Homeland Security
WASHINGTON — The Senate confirmed Alejandro Mayorkas on Tuesday as President Joe Biden’s homeland security secretary, the first Latino to fill a post that will have a central role in the government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, a sweeping Russia-linked cyber hack and domestic extremism. Mayorkas was confirmed by a...
Pittsburgh councilman moves to declare ‘state of educational emergency’ in the city
A Pittsburgh councilman is moving forward with an effort to address what he terms “a state of emergency” in the public school system. “We need to have a joint response to react to this emergency,” Councilman Ricky Burgess of North Point Breeze said Tuesday. “It’s going to take all of...
Monroeville man pleads not guilty in animal fighting case
A Monroeville man is heading to county court facing 28 charges related to dog fighting. Davon Carter “Big Boy” Williams, 32, pleaded not guilty during a preliminary hearing Jan. 25, according to a transcript of the event. The charges stem from three separate dog fights that Monroeville and Allegheny County...
Gov. Wolf seeks income tax hike to pay for big increase in school funding
HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Wolf will propose a sweeping new plan to dramatically boost funding for public schools, to be supported by an increase in the state’s personal income tax rate that also expands exemptions for lower-wage earners, administration officials said Tuesday. Wolf’s administration began releasing details of the plan...
Pittsburgh police: Man found dead in Downtown alley after falling from building
Updated: Police on Thursday identified the man as Howard Letcher, 45, of Espyville. Authorities are investigating after police say a man fell off a building at about noon Tuesday in Downtown Pittsburgh. Police and paramedics responded to the call at about 12:15 p.m. for a man who had fallen several...
‘Silence of the Lambs’ house in Fayette County sells again
The sale of a Fayette County home made famous by its appearance in “The Silence of the Lambs” couldn’t have been more timely. The Perryopolis home — at 8 Circle St. — sold last week, just a few days shy of the 30th anniversary of the release of “The Silence...
Pa. covid hospitalizations increase slightly for 1st time in 2 weeks
After about two weeks of decreasing covid hospitalizations in the state, the streak ended with Tuesday’s numbers. Albeit slight, covid hospitalizations increased to 3,821 on Tuesday in Pennsylvania, after dropping for 12 consecutive days. Prior to this stretch, covid hospitalizations last increased on Jan. 20 when the total went up...
Biden moves to provide covid vaccine to pharmacies
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration will begin providing covid-19 vaccines to U.S. pharmacies, part of its plan to ramp up vaccinations as new and potentially more serious virus strains are starting to appear. A White House announcement was expected Tuesday, a person familiar with the plan told The Associated Press....
