Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1254
Happy ending for puppy snatched from Squirrel Hill owners
A puppy snatched from her owners Tuesday night in Squirrel Hill has been reunited with her family, police said. Daphne, a 4-month-old mixed breed, was returned to her family by Pittsburgh police Zone 4 Cmdr. Daniel Herrmann. Police said the pup was found by Public Works employees in the Blue...
Steelers stadium will remain named ‘Heinz Field’ through 2021
It’s possible Sunday’s playoff game is the final contest of the season for the Pittsburgh Steelers. But it won’t be the last one at the facility that has been known for two decades as Heinz Field. The Steelers and the Kraft Heinz Co. on Wednesday announced a one-year extension for...
Westmoreland Commissioner Sean Kertes recovering from blood clot after covid diagnosis
Westmoreland County Commissioner Sean Kertes is at home recovering from a blood clot in his lung that he said was related to his recent coronavirus infection. He was hospitalized over the weekend after having difficulty breathing. Kertes told the Tribune-Review he hopes to be back at the Greensburg courthouse next...
What to expect from Pa. Congress members in Electoral College count
It’s the final step in certifying Joe Biden as the next president of the United States, the constitutionally required Jan. 6 Electoral College vote count being held Wednesday as part of a joint session of Congress. But some Republican lawmakers will use the occasion to make one last attempt to...
Capitol session on Biden victory halted as protesters swarm buildingVideo
WASHINGTON — Angry supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol Wednesday, marching through the building, shouting and waving Trump and American flags and forcing a halt to congressional deliberations over challenges to Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory. Senators were being evacuated. Some House lawmakers tweeted they were sheltering...
Warnock, Ossoff win in Georgia, handing Dems Senate control
ATLANTA — Democrats won both Georgia Senate seats — and with them, the U.S. Senate majority — as final votes were counted Wednesday, serving President Donald Trump a stunning defeat in his last days in office while dramatically improving the fate of President-elect Joe Biden’s progressive agenda. Jon Ossoff and...
Teen dies at shooting scene in Wilkinsburg
One of three boys handling a handgun in a Wilkinsburg home died when the weapon discharged, according to Allegheny County Police. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner identified the boy as Marcus Gibson, 15. According to Allegheny County Police, Wilkinsburg police and paramedics were called to the 1300 block of Franklin...
Man took puppy while owner was walking the dog in Frick Park, police say
A four-month-old dog was taken from its owner while they were walking Tuesday night in Frick Park, Pittsburgh police said. Daphne, a 4-month-old mixed breed with black and white fur, was reported stolen shortly before 6 p.m. Tuesday along the 2000 block of Beechwood Boulevard in Squirrel Hill, according to...
New 12-unit housing development proposed in Oakmont with some homes over $1 million
A new housing plan has been proposed in Oakmont with some properties expected to cost more than $1 million. Oakmont Place, a 12-unit one-floor patio home development off Hulton Road by Eleventh Street, was introduced to council at Tuesday night’s workshop meeting. Landscape architect Steven Victor of Victor-Wetzel Associates and...
Dr. Fauci: U.S. could soon give 1 million vaccinations a dayVideo
The United States could soon be giving at least a million covid-19 vaccinations a day despite the sluggish start, Dr. Anthony Fauci said Tuesday, even as he warned of a dangerous next few weeks as the coronavirus surges. The slow pace is frustrating health officials and a desperate public alike,...
A final EPA rollback under Trump curbs use of health studies
The Environmental Protection Agency released one of its last major rollbacks under the Trump administration on Tuesday, limiting what evidence it will consider about risks of pollutants in a way that opponents say could cripple future public health regulation. EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler said the new rule, which restricts what...
Troopers say Virginia Beach man linked to 2019 bicycle bank robbery in HempfieldVideo
A Virginia Beach man with ties to Allegheny and Westmoreland counties this week proclaimed he is innocent of a 2019 bank robbery in Hempfield during which the scofflaw fled on a bicycle. Ronald D. Sever, 57, was extradited from Virginia on robbery and other charges filed by state police in...
No charges against Wisconsin officer who shot Jacob Blake
MADISON, Wis. — A Wisconsin prosecutor announced Tuesday that he will not file criminal charges against a white police officer who shot a Black man in the back in Kenosha last summer, leaving him paralyzed and setting off sometimes violent protests in the city. Officer Rusten Sheskey’s shooting of Jacob...
UPMC employees get 2nd dose of covid vaccine, describe ‘first step’ toward ending pandemic
Fifteen UPMC employees received covid-19 vaccines Tuesday, 10 of whom became the first employees to receive a second dose and complete the full course of the vaccine. “I feel like it’s the first step in ending this,” said Alli Okonak, a certified registered nurse practitioner who has been working at...
U.S.: Hack of federal agencies ‘likely Russian in origin’Video
WASHINGTON — Top national security agencies confirmed Tuesday that Russia was likely responsible for a massive hack of U.S. government departments and corporations, rejecting President Donald Trump’s claim that China might be to blame. The rare joint statement represented the U.S. government’s first formal attempt to assign responsibility for the...
Calls for Gateway school board member to resign come after racially charged text message
A Gateway School Board member who is the subject of a federal lawsuit has doubled down on his innocence as calls for his resignation grow louder. Paul Caliari, 46, of Monroeville is currently serving a two-year term on the Gateway School Board. A federal lawsuit filed Jan. 1, which also...
Pennsylvania House holds moment of silence for the late Mike Reese, who was to have been sworn in today for 7th term
State Rep. Mike Reese was memorialized on the floor of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives on Tuesday, the day he was supposed to have been sworn in to his seventh two-year term. A black cloth, framed photograph and what appeared to be a jersey with his last name and H59...
GOP seizes control of Pa. Senate floor, blocks Brewster from being seatedVideo
The Pennsylvania Senate devolved into chaos Tuesday as Republicans, the majority party, refused to seat Democrat Jim Brewster of McKeesport to his third term in office. The state certified Brewster as the winner of the Nov. 3 election in the 45th District, which includes parts of Allegheny and Westmoreland counties....
Pittsburgh Public Schools announces new equity task force, lays out plans for return to buildings
Pittsburgh Public Schools on Tuesday announced the development of a new task force to recommend and influence policies that combat racial disparities in school safety. “I can share with you with great certainty that our district will not bring Black students back to live and learn under the same racially-biased...
Allegheny County argues Crack’d Egg can’t hide from covid restrictions under bankruptcy filing
A federal judge must decide if a bankruptcy case filed in his court can stop the Allegheny County Health Department from pursuing action against the Crack’d Egg, a Brentwood restaurant that has continued to operate despite an order in August shutting it down for violating state-mandated covid-19 mitigation orders. The...
Westmoreland County adds 228 new coronavirus cases, 8 deaths
Westmoreland County added 228 new covid-19 cases and eight new deaths, the Pennsylvania Department of Health reported on Tuesday. After topping the 20,000 mark on Monday, the total number of cases in the county now stands at 20,393 with 15,247 confirmed and 5,146 probable since the first cases were reported...
Demolition of Hempfield’s Ramada underwayVideo
Demolition of Hempfield’s Ramada by Wyndham Greensburg Hotel and Conference Center is underway, paving the way for construction of a new home improvement store. According to Patrick Karnash, director of planning and zoning for the township, “demolition has started and is moving along quite quickly” on the 42-year-old hotel. Leveling...
Pennsylvania reports 8,818 new covid-19 cases, 185 deaths
Pennsylvania’s Department of Health on Tuesday reported 8,818 additional cases and 185 deaths attributed to the coronavirus. The death toll for the state stands at 16,546 since the pandemic started last March. With the day’s report, there have been 568 deaths counted this month. Of the deaths newly reported on...
Brighton Rehab claims it is immune from lawsuit in federal court filing
Attorneys for a Beaver County nursing home where more than 70 residents died of covid-19 claim it has immunity from civil liability — even as a judge in the same jurisdiction has previously said, in a separate case, it does not. In a motion to dismiss filed Monday in federal...
Pennsylvania legislators to kick off session by taking oath
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania lawmakers returned to the Capitol on Tuesday to be sworn in for the two-year legislative term, facing a still-raging pandemic and a dispute over seating as senator, with Republicans holding large majorities in both chambers. The state House begins the session with 113 Republican seats and 90...
