Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1255
Allegheny County tops 1,000 coronavirus deaths
Allegheny County on Tuesday reported 29 new coronavirus deaths, bringing the death toll for the county to 1,011. “Passing 1,000 deaths is a grim milestone that I had hoped Allegheny County would be spared,” Allegheny County Health Department Director Dr. Debra Bogen said in a release. “Each of the 1,011...
Illinois teen pleads not guilty in Kenosha protest slayings
MADISON, Wis. — An Illinois teenager who fatally shot two people and wounded a third amidst sometimes violent summer protests on the streets of Kenosha, Wis., pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to charges including intentional homicide. Kyle Rittenhouse, 18, entered his plea in a brief hearing conducted by teleconference that...
Esquire features 2 Pittsburgh restaurants that we ‘can’t afford to lose’
The pandemic has hit the restaurant industry hard. Some are gone, others hanging on. And some, according to one magazine, are too important to fail during the covid pandemic. Last week, Esquire Magazine named the “100 Restaurants America Can’t Afford to Lose.” Two Pittsburgh favorites made the list: Tessaro’s in...
Carnegie Museum of Art names 3 to senior leadership team
Three new members have joined the leadership team of the Carnegie Museum of Art, as the institution reopens after the second pandemic-related shutdown and moves into the new year. “This is a really exciting time to build new leadership, as we move out of the pandemic reality,” said Eric Crosby,...
Georgia counts ballots as Senate control hangs in balanceVideo
ATLANTA — Georgia officials counted the final votes of the nation’s turbulent 2020 election season early Wednesday as polls closed in two critical races that will determine control of the U.S. Senate and, in turn, the fate of President-elect Joe Biden’s legislative agenda. The two Senate runoff elections are leftovers...
Holocaust survivor, Pittsburgh resident Shulamit Bastacky dead at 79
Shulamit Bastacky, a child survivor of the Holocaust who spent her adult life in Pittsburgh, died Friday after a brief battle with cancer. She was 79. Bastacky spent her first three years of life being hidden from the Nazis in a nun’s cellar in her native Lithuania. She was miraculously...
First responders recall fatal Pennsylvania Turnpike crash in Mt. Pleasant Township 1 year later
Mention the morning of Jan. 5, 2020, to Jerry Lucia, and the Mt. Pleasant fire chief automatically responds, “Milepost 85.5 Pennsylvania Turnpike.” Lucia, a borough firefighter for 45 years, has responded to hundreds of crashes along the toll road in Westmoreland County during that time. But a deadly tour bus...
Woman in critical condition after being shot in McKeesport
A woman was in critical condition after being shot multiple times in McKeesport, according to Allegheny County Police. The shooting in the 200 block of Fifth Avenue was reported to 911 shortly after 12:30 a.m. Tuesday, county police said. The woman was shot inside a gas station convenience store, police...
Female pedestrian killed in Somerset County Turnpike crash; vehicle fled
A female pedestrian was killed in a crash Monday evening on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Somerset County, state police said. She was hit and killed by a vehicle just before the Somerset exit at 6 p.m., troopers said. That vehicle fled the scene eastbound. State police did not identify the...
Police: Penn Hills man shot multiple times
A Penn Hills man was hospitalized in critical condition after being shot multiple times Monday night. Police Chief Howard Burton said the shooting took place at about 7:45 p.m. near the intersection of Woods Road and Marion Way. The victim is a 47-year-old resident. He was taken to UPMC Presbyterian...
Pa. Republicans to delay Sen. Brewster’s oath of office for ‘time to digest’ Ziccarrelli’s election dispute
Pennsylvania’s top Republican in the Senate called Monday night for holding off on swearing in Democratic state Sen. Jim Brewster, spurring staunch criticism from Democrats who argue doing so defies state-certified election results and multiple court rulings. Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman, a Centre County Republican, defended his decision...
Analysis: With call, Trump shows no limit to his power grabVideo
ATLANTA — President Donald Trump’s ongoing efforts to overturn the 2020 election results — laid out in stark detail in an hourlong weekend phone call with a Georgia election official — are demonstrating his unrestrained determination to maintain a grip on power no matter the consequences for the nation’s democratic...
Proud Boys leader arrested, accused of burning church banner
WASHINGTON — Police in the nation’s capital on Monday arrested the leader of the Proud Boys, who is accused of burning a Black Lives Matter banner that was torn down from a historic Black church in downtown Washington last month. Henry “Enrique” Tarrio, 36, was arrested by Metropolitan Police Department...
Attorney: Congressional seat data from census won’t be ready in January
A Trump administration attorney said Monday that the numbers used for deciding how many congressional seats each state gets won’t be ready until mid-February at the earliest, putting in jeopardy an effort by President Donald Trump to exclude people in the country illegally from those figures. The U.S. Census Bureau...
Worries about vaccine rollout rise as New York finds coronavirus variantVideo
ALBANY, N.Y. — In an effort to speed up what has been a sluggish rollout of the coronavirus vaccine, New York’s governor threatened Monday to fine hospitals up to $100,000 if they don’t finish their first round of inoculations by the end of the week. Gov. Andrew Cuomo made the...
Wife, attorney await word on inmate’s condition after fall at Allegheny County Jail
A week ago, Antoinette Yates got word that her husband, who is awaiting sentencing at the Allegheny County Jail, fell off the second tier on pod 2C. Witnesses who were conducting video visits with their loved ones on the pod saw Robert Yates fall on Dec. 28. Since then, Antoinette...
State police: Pittsburgh man suspected of DUI tried to hide marijuana blunt in his crotch
A Pittsburgh man accused of illegally having two loaded guns – one of them stolen – in a car he was driving Sunday in East Deer stuffed a marijuana blunt down his pants when he was pulled over by state troopers, police said. Police said they pulled over a car...
Uncounted ballots discovered among Westmoreland County voting equipment
Westmoreland County elections officials disclosed Monday that 21 uncounted provisional ballots submitted at a North Huntingdon voting precinct on Election Day were discovered last week among computer equipment used at the polls in November. Elections bureau staffers found the unopened ballots during a routine inspection of voting machines stored at...
Pittsburgh officials look to improve snow removal plans
The next time it snows, Pittsburgh’s public works employees will be more prepared to keep the city’s streets clear, officials announced Monday. The White Christmas, or at least its aftermath, left some city residents seeing red after they failed to spot a plow or salt truck for two days in...
Urging calm, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser calls in National Guard for protestsVideo
Bracing for possible violence, the nation’s capital has mobilized the National Guard ahead of planned protests by President Donald Trump’s supporters in connection with the congressional vote expected Wednesday to affirm Joe Biden’s election victory. Trump’s supporters are planning to rally Tuesday and Wednesday, seeking to bolster the president’s unproven...
In farewell, DeVos urges Congress to reject Biden’s policies
In a farewell letter to Congress on Monday, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos urged lawmakers to reject President-elect Joe Biden’s education agenda, while imploring them to shield Trump administration policies that Biden has promised to eliminate. DeVos does not explicitly acknowledge President Donald Trump’s election defeat nor does she refer to...
U.K. prime minister orders new virus lockdown for England
LONDON — Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Monday a new national lockdown for England until at least mid-February to combat a fast-spreading new variant of the coronavirus, even as Britain ramped up its vaccination program by becoming the first nation to start using the shot developed by Oxford University...
Neighbors, friends show signs of support for the late Rep. Mike Reese
Mike Reese was thrilled that his small Mt. Pleasant Township community supported his goal of serving in the Legislature. During his initial run for office in 2008, the village of Brinkerton was full of his campaign signs. “The first time he went through, he thought that was so cool that...
Target recalls infant rompers, toddler swimsuits over potential hazards
Target has recalled two types of clothing for infants and toddlers that could become a safety issue for the children wearing them. According to information from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, the two recalls involve Cloud Island infant rompers and Cat & Jack Infant-Toddler One-Piece Rashguard Swimsuits. Both items...
Pa. will get more covid vaccine this week, availability to general public still ‘months’ away
Thousands more doses of covid-19 vaccines are set to arrive in Pennsylvania this week, with more than half reserved for health workers awaiting their second dose of the two-dose vaccination, Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said Monday. So far, 135,044 people across the state have received the vaccine in...
