Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1268
Winter is here: 5 facts about the season
Monday is the official first day of winter, though a glance out the window will tell you the season is already here. Here are a few winter facts and stats so you can start the season informed: 9 hours, 16 minutes and 58 seconds That is how much daylight to...
Planned Parenthood of Western Pa. to offer hormone therapy for transgender, nonbinary people
Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania will begin offering hormone therapy to transgender and nonbinary individuals, the organization announced Friday. Patients can now receive testosterone or estrogen/antiandrogen therapy at any family planning center. “Hormone therapy can be an important step for people to feel more comfortable in their bodies, enhance their...
‘You feel hope’: 1st Excela front line workers get coronavirus vaccineVideo
When registered nurse Miranda Donaldson treats covid-19 patients, she wears a surgical gown and mask, gloves, goggles and a respirator that resembles a hood. Now, she has something inside her body to protect her from the coronavirus, too. Donaldson was among the first Excela Health employees to get vaccinated at...
Salvation Army’s Red Kettle fundraisers struggle in pandemic year
The Salvation Army’s famous red kettles are a lot lighter than usual this year, and there are fewer of them to be found around Westmoreland County. “As of right now, we’re not even at half our goal, and we have six kettle days left,” said Lt. Donna Hannan, assistant corps...
Taming the pandemic: Pitt virologists forge ahead with coronavirus vaccineVideo
Millions of doses of the covid-19 vaccine have shipped around the nation, but virologist Sham Nambulli’s work is far from done. He rises daily in his South Fayette home, hops into his Toyota Camry and heads north on I-79 toward the Parkway West. His destination is the University of Pittsburgh’s...
Westmoreland County reports drop in daily covid cases
Westmoreland County on Friday reported 248 new cases of coronavirus, the lowest daily total since posting a record 657 cases a week ago. The drop brings the county’s seven-day average down to 395 from a high of 469 just two days ago. Of the new cases, 229 are confirmed from...
Pennsylvania sees fewer daily covid-19 cases, deaths than in recent days
Pennsylvania on Friday reported a slight drop in new coronavirus cases with 9,320 added, the fewest in three days. Since reporting a record 12,884 new cases two weeks ago, the state has seen just seven days below 10,000 cases. The seven-day average is 9,803 cases, down from a high of...
U.S. Sen. Bob Casey calls for increased funding, jobs creation in economic relief packageVideo
Congressional negotiators are close to a deal on a long-delayed $900 billion covid-19 economic relief bill. But they are not there yet. U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, a Democrat from Scranton, talked to the Tribune-Review about where things stand and whether a partial government shutdown can be avoided before a midnight...
Daily covid cases dip in Allegheny County; 27 new deaths reported
Allegheny County on Friday reported a small drop in covid-19 numbers with 827 new cases added, the second day in a row below 1,000 new cases. The county Health Department added 850 cases Thursday and the seven-day average is now down to 951 cases from a high of 1,067 just...
Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate declines to 6.6% in November
WILKES-BARRE — Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate was down 0.8 points over the month to 6.6% in November — falling below the U.S. rate of 6.7% in November for the first time since May 2015. The commonwealth’s unemployment rate was 2 points above its November 2019 level while the national rate was...
Vice President Pence, wife Karen, get covid-19 vaccine
WASHINGTON — Vice President Mike Pence became the highest profile world leader to be vaccinated for the coronavirus Friday. Pence’s wife Karen and Surgeon General Jerome Adams also received shots on live television. President Donald Trump’s administration helped deliver vaccinations against the coronavirus earlier than even some in his administration...
Holiday symbols represent the meanings for the season
They are the universal symbols of the holiday season. Menorahs and dreidels, wreaths and trees, unity cups and bowls of fruit — all integral parts of Hanukkah, Christmas and Kwanzaa. While each has its own customs and meanings and ways to celebrate, all three share one thing in common: light....
Leechburg native Msgr. Larry Kulick named new bishop of Diocese of GreensburgVideo
Catholics in the Greensburg Diocese are celebrating an early Christmas gift from Rome: the appointment of one of their own, Msgr. Larry J. Kulick, as bishop-elect. Pope Francis announced the appointment of Kulick, a Leechburg native, as the sixth bishop of the diocese early Friday. The appointment of the 54-year-old...
Police: Man arrested after barricading himself in Mt. Washington home
A man was taken into custody Thursday by Pittsburgh police after barricading himself in a Mt. Washington home for about two hours. Juan Hernandez, 53, who is listed in court documents as homeless, surrendered to authorities shortly after 8 p.m. when a SWAT team gained access to the residence along...
Perfect timing: Boyce Park ski slopes, snow tubing opens Saturday
Just days following a 9-inch snowfall, the Boyce Park ski slopes and snow tubing area will open for the season on 10 a.m. Saturday. Restrictions will be in place to comply with Pennsylvania’s temporary covid-19 protection measures. Only 50 skiers and 50 snow tubers will be permitted during each session....
Lawsuit alleges negligence by shuttle driver in September crash that killed pedestrian
The sister of a woman struck and killed by a shuttle bus in Pittsburgh’s Oakland section in September has filed a lawsuit against UPMC for negligence. Mary Flaherty, 76, of Monroeville was struck about 3:40 p.m. on Sept. 17 as she was walking near the intersection of Terrace and Buffalo...
Excela Health receives covid vaccine, set to start administering to workers on Friday
A record-breaking storm that left parts of the region under 9 inches of snow did not stop Pfizer’s covid-19 vaccine from making it into Excela Health’s hands. Officials received it Thursday, as expected. They anticipate administering it to the first employees on Friday. Chief Medical Officer Dr. Carol Fox said...
Pitt cardiologist sues school after backlash to his article on affirmative action
A University of Pittsburgh cardiologist who faced backlash over an opinion piece he wrote criticizing affirmative action is suing his employers, the American Heart Association and the company that published and then retracted his article, alleging that he was demoted and defamed because his views were unpopular. Dr. Norman C....
Pittsburgh homicide suspect caught in Seattle
A Pittsburgh man wanted on homicide charges for allegedly killing a woman in November was apprehended Thursday in Seattle. Terrence Washington, 36, was arrested without incident by a U.S. Marshals Task Force, Seattle police and the King County Sheriff’s Department, reported Phil Cornelious, chief deputy U.S. marshal of the Western...
Moderna’s covid-19 vaccine set for OK in U.S. with panel endorsement
WASHINGTON — A government advisory panel endorsed a second covid-19 vaccine Thursday, paving the way for the shot to be added to the U.S. vaccination campaign. The Food and Drug Administration is expected to follow the recommendation for the vaccine from Moderna and the National Institutes of Health. The FDA...
Allegheny Valley Hospital doctors, nurses expected to get covid vaccine
Physicians and nurses at Allegheny Valley Hospital in Harrison are expected to be among Allegheny Health Network’s first caregivers to receive covid-19 vaccinations Friday morning, an AHN spokeswoman said. Spokeswoman JoAnne Clobus could not say how many employees of the Harrison hospital would be getting shots Friday. Employees were busy...
1,200 Pa. health care workers vaccinated so far for covid-19Video
About 1,200 Pennsylvania health care workers received covid-19 vaccinations over the past three days as more shipments continue to arrive at dozens of hospitals statewide, Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Rachel Levine said Thursday. No adverse effects have been reported in the 1,205 vaccinations, Levine said. Sixteen of the initial 87...
Mt. Oliver man wanted in connection with North Huntingdon woman’s fatal shooting
Police are seeking a Mt. Oliver man wanted in connection with the Dec. 5 shooting death of a North Huntingdon woman. An arrest warrant has been obtained for Jerrel Marquis Ingram, 32, of Mt. Oliver. Allegheny County detectives said 22-year-old Madison Gilroy of North Huntingdon died of injuries sustained during...
Gov. Wolf grants 5th extension to renew firearms carry permits
Gov. Tom Wolf’s decision to grant a fifth consecutive extension to renew firearms carry permits through March 31 couldn’t have been more timely, according to Westmoreland County Sheriff James Albert. The previous extension was set to expire Dec. 31 and Albert said his two deputies assigned the “appointment only” permit...
Westmoreland commissioners approve budget with no tax hike
The coronavirus has been good for Westmoreland County’s bottom line. Commissioners on Thursday unanimously approved a $339.7 million budget for 2021 that does not raise property taxes in part because federal covid relief money held back to pay for personnel and other expenses related to the ongoing pandemic. Property taxes...
