Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1248
Early warning signs emerge for GOP after U.S. Capitol riots
HARRISBURG — Since last week’s deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, about 225 Republicans logged in to the election office in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, to change their party registration. Ethan Demme was one of them. “Ever since they started denying the election result, I kind of knew it was heading...
U.S. asking states to speed vaccine, not hold back 2nd doseVideo
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is asking states to speed delivery of covid-19 vaccines to people 65 and older and to others at high risk by no longer holding back the second dose of the two-dose shots, officials said Tuesday. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said that “the...
Ignoring covid side effects could be deadly, doctors and patients are finding
Sean Kertes says he first began to notice a slight tightness in his chest two days before New Year’s Day. The 34-year-old Westmoreland County commissioner tried to brush off his concerns as he went about activities in his Greensburg home, like taking down the Christmas tree and putting away decorations....
Casey wants consequences for Congress members as pressure mounts to oust Trump
U.S. Sen. Bob Casey called Monday for the impeachment of Donald Trump and consequences for members of Congress “who led the effort to overthrow a democratic election.” “If they refuse to resign their office, then Congress should begin to explore censure or expulsion,” Casey, D-Scranton, said in a statement provided...
Carnegie Museum researchers find 1st dinosaur atop nest with unhatched babies
A multinational team including three Carnegie Museum of Natural History researchers announced a first for the world of paleontology: a dinosaur preserved sitting atop a nest of its own eggs that include fossilized babies inside. The fossil consists of an incomplete skeleton of a large, adult oviraptorid crouched in a...
Shaler man who vandalized Pittsburgh police car seeks probation
The Shaler man who pleaded guilty to initiating the destruction of a Pittsburgh police car in May during riots over the death of George Floyd is asking for probation when he is sentenced later this month. The attorney for Brian Bartels said in a sentencing memorandum filed Monday that his...
Judge expects decision on Tuesday in Ziccarelli-Brewster race
The federal judge considering the challenge to Pennsylvania’s 45th District Senate seat said a ruling on the matter will come Tuesday. U.S. District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan said over the weekend that his order on the challenge by Nicole Ziccarelli against the state and Allegheny County for counting undated mail-in...
Pittsburgh legal experts weigh in on Trump’s Twitter ban
With President Trump banned from Twitter and Facebook, he’s lost a favored platform. But the ban also brings into focus questions about how social media giants should be policed and regulated. In the statement that accompanied Twitter’s ban of Trump on Friday, the company said the bloody assault on the...
Acting Homeland Security chief Chad Wolf is resigningVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s acting head of the Department of Homeland Security abruptly resigned Monday, leaving the post ahead of schedule as the nation faces a heightened terrorism threat from extremists seeking to reverse the election. The announcement by acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf was perplexing. It came less...
After weeklong closure for ignoring covid restrictions, Tin Lizzy bar set to reopen
After a weeklong shutdown for defying Gov. Tom Wolf’s temporary restrictions on indoor dining during a surge in covid cases, the Tin Lizzy Tap Room and Restaurant in Youngstown will reopen 7 a.m. Tuesday. “A trooper from liquor control was in here (Monday) and gave us the OK to reopen,”...
Susan Wild, congresswoman in viral photo from Capitol floor, shares harrowing tale of escaping attackVideo
Susan Wild woke up around 7 on Wednesday morning in her Washington, D.C., apartment. The Democratic congresswoman representing Pennsylvania’s 7th District had a busy day ahead of her — Congress was set to certify the results of the 2020 election. The final step in the election process is usually a...
Ex-House Speaker John Boehner: Trump should consider resigning
WASHINGTON — Former House Speaker John Boehner said Monday that President Donald Trump should “consider resigning his post.” The Republican former Ohio congressman began his remarks during a webinar on health care policy by talking about Trump’s baseless claims of widespread election fraud and last week’s siege of the Capitol...
FBI warns of plans for nationwide armed protests next week
WASHINGTON — The FBI is warning of plans for armed protests at all 50 state capitals and in Washington in the days leading up to President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, stoking fears of more bloodshed after last week’s deadly siege at the U.S. Capitol. An internal FBI bulletin warned that, as...
Pa. health secretary says ‘it’s a misconception’ that covid vaccines are sitting dormant
Pennsylvania’s top health official said the state could “soon” move to Phase 1B of the covid-19 vaccination plan but revealed little about when that will be and what it will look like. The state so far has administered 285,671 doses of the vaccine, said Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine,...
Pennsylvania reports nearly 13K more covid cases, 186 deaths in 2 days
The state added 12,844 more covid-19 cases over the past two days, the Pennsylvania Department of Health reported Monday. Health officials reported 7,506 of those cases Sunday and another 5,338 cases on Monday. Of the newest reported cases, 11,522 were confirmed through PCR tests, while 1,322 were listed as probable....
Westmoreland County adds 400 more covid cases in past 2 days
Another 404 cases of coronavirus were added to Westmoreland County’s total over the past two days, according to a Monday report from the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Officials said 231 cases were added Sunday and another 173 added Monday. Of the new cases, 315 cases were confirmed through 817 PCR...
House speeding to impeach Trump for Capitol ‘insurrection’Video
WASHINGTON — Poised to impeach, the House sped ahead Monday with plans to oust President Donald Trump from office, warning he is a threat to democracy and pushing the vice president and Cabinet to act even more quickly in an extraordinary effort to remove Trump in the final days of...
Allegheny County’s covid count up nearly 900 in 2 days
Allegheny County saw another 887 cases of covid-19 over the past two days, according to a report Monday from the county’s Department of Health. The county reported 519 were added Sunday and another 368 on Monday, pushing the total to 61,075 cases to date. Of those new cases, 765 were...
Port Authority driver pleads guilty to crash that killed Pitt student
A Port Authority bus driver who struck a Pitt student last year in Oakland pleaded guilty Monday to involuntary manslaughter. Shavonne James, 34, will serve three years probation. She also pleaded guilty to one count of recklessly endangering another person. According to Deputy District Attorney Stephie Ramaley, James was driving...
Pitt delays students’ return to campus for spring semester
The University of Pittsburgh has asked students to delay traveling back to campus for the spring term. Citing a possible surge in covid-19 infections following the holidays, administrators asked students to remain at home for the time being in a message from the Covid-19 Medical Response Office on Friday evening....
Supreme Court won’t hear Pittsburgh abortion clinic free speech case
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court is declining to get involved in a case about free speech outside a Pittsburgh abortion clinic. The high court turned away the case Monday. The court’s decision not to hear the case leaves in place a 2019 appeals court decision that upheld a Pittsburgh ordinance...
Supreme Court denies fast-track hearings for remaining GOP challenges to Pa. election results
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court declined to fast-track remaining legal challenges to Pennsylvania’s election results on Monday, underscoring the justices’ reluctance to wade into widely discredited Republican arguments for reversing the outcome of the 2020 vote. The decision did not dismiss the election challenges outright and kept them alive...
Man fatally struck by tractor-trailer on I-70 while working on disabled vehicle is ID’d
An Ohio man working on a disabled vehicle was struck and killed by a tractor-trailer on I-70 eastbound in Fallowfield Township on Monday morning, according to Washington County 911 and the coroner. The crash happened just after 7:20 a.m. near mile marker 37, before the exit to the Mon–Fayette Expressway....
Winter storm coats Southern states with blanket of snow
A winter storm has brought snow to parts of the U.S. South, moving into Alabama and Tennessee on Monday after blowing across Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi the day before. The blanket of white falling across the region forced some school and government office closures, and fostered some play time for...
1 injured when Mercedes flips in Pittsburgh’s South Side neighborhood
One person was taken to the hospital after a Mercedes-Benz flipped onto its roof in Pittsburgh’s South Side neighborhood early Monday morning, Tribune-Review news partner WPXI reported. The crash happened just after midnight. The car struck two other vehicles before flipping on South 24th Street, according to WPXI. Further details...
