Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1274
Pa. officials still leave covid restrictions up to school districts
A day after Gov. Tom Wolf announced a suspension of all school sports and extracurricular activities, Pennsylvania’s Acting Secretary of Education Noe Ortega and Deputy Secretary Matt Stem doubled down on the state’s approach of leaving the ultimate reopening decisions up to individual school districts. “We recognize there is no...
Port Authority driver who died of covid remembered as ‘a ray of sunshine’Video
The father of a Port Authority driver who died of covid-19 wants his son to be remembered as more than another statistic. Patrick Hazlett, 34, of Plum died Monday after a 10-day battle with the illness. Hazlett, who worked at the Port Authority for eight years, is one of two...
Pennsylvania reports 12,745 new covid cases; 23% of total cases have come in December
Pennsylvania reported 12,745 new covid-19 cases Friday, according to the state Department of Health. The new cases mark the sixth time that new reported cases have been over 10,000, all of these instances coming in December. Total cases in the state are now 470,034 and will likely hit 500,000 by...
What you need to know about the covid vaccine
Americans could start receiving a covid-19 vaccine as early as this month, as three drugmakers have produced vaccines deemed highly effective. Health and government officials are moving quickly to organize the distribution and delivery systems for the vaccines. Three drugmakers — AstraZeneca, Moderna and Pfizer — are seeking regulatory approval...
Westmoreland County breaks new covid case record for 2nd straight day
Westmoreland County has again broken the record for new covid-19 cases in the county, a day after the previous record was broken. There were 657 new covid cases reported Friday, surpassing Thursday’s record of 505 cases. In the past two days, 1,162 cases have been reported. It previously took the...
Allegheny County sets record for new covid cases for 2nd time in a week
Allegheny County set a record for new covid-19 cases Friday. There were 1,322 new covid cases reported, breaking the previous record set Dec. 5 by 125 cases. This is the fourth time that new reported cases have eclipsed 1,000, all of which have come this month. New patients range in...
U.S. carries out rare execution during presidential transition
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — The Trump administration Thursday carried out its ninth federal execution of the year in what has been a first series of executions during a presidential lame-duck period in 130 years, putting to death a Texas street-gang member in the slayings of a religious couple from Iowa...
Many Black Americans don’t trust the covid-19 vaccine; here’s why and what’s being done
WASHINGTON — Confronted with widespread distrust of government in communities of color, the Trump administration is turning to historically Black colleges and churches for help to alleviate fears about the coming coronavirus vaccines and promote them to a population that has been at high risk during the pandemic. Surgeon General...
Governor’s shutdown of inside dining another blow to restaurants, barsVideo
Restaurant and bar owners in Westmoreland County who were hoping to cash in any way they could during the Christmas and New Year holidays — typically one of the busiest times of the year, when not in a pandemic — suffered another blow Thursday with the announcement of another round...
Congress stuck as McConnell torpedoes emerging covid relief dealVideo
WASHINGTON — An emerging $900 billion covid-19 aid package from a bipartisan group of lawmakers all but collapsed Thursday after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Republican senators won’t support $160 billion in state and local funds as part of a potential trade-off in the deal. McConnell’s staff conveyed to...
Holiday Market in Downtown Pittsburgh to close in response to Gov. Wolf’s covid orders
The Peoples Gas Holiday Market and Santa Zoom Experience in Market Square are closing Friday night, the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership announced. The Merry Market Pop-Up scheduled to open this weekend will not take place. News of the cancellations came after Thursday’s announcement by Gov. Tom Wolf. His orders amid the...
Pennsylvania blasts Texas’ bid in Supreme Court to overturn Biden’s election
HARRISBURG — Lawyers for Pennsylvania responded in the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday to Texas’ effort to overturn the election result in four states for President-elect Joe Biden, calling it a “seditious abuse” of the courts that rests on conspiracy theories and falsehoods. Texas lacks standing to bring the challenge,...
FDA panel endorses widespread use of Pfizer covid-19 vaccine
WASHINGTON — A government advisory panel endorsed widespread use of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine Thursday, putting the country just one step away from launching an epic vaccination campaign against the outbreak that has killed close to 300,000 Americans. Shots could begin within days, depending on how quickly the Food and Drug...
Western Pa. hospitals rush to buy massive, ultra-cold freezers for covid vaccine
Preparing for the covid-19 vaccine is like no other immunization, said Dr. Brian Parker, chief quality learning officer at Allegheny Health Network. In recent weeks, the network has acquired several massive ultra-cold freezers in expectation of the Pfizer vaccine, which requires an environment of minus 70 degrees below Celsius —...
Irwin man accused of bilking Lowe’s in $3,200 paint return scam
A 58-year-old Irwin man was arrested by state police Thursday in connection with a month-long paint return scheme that bilked an area hardware store out of more than $3,200. Terry S. Good was charged by troopers with seven counts of receiving stolen property and one count of theft by deception...
Gov. Tom Wolf halts indoor dining, suspends school sports as part of new restrictionsVideo
After weeks spent imploring Pennsylvanians to stay home as much as possible, limit their in-person interactions and wear a mask, Gov. Tom Wolf and the state secretary of Health issued new orders shutting down indoor dining, gyms, school sports and more as cases and deaths across the commonwealth continue to...
Watchdog faults VA Secretary Robert Wilkie over handling of sex assault report
WASHINGTON — Confronted with a sexual assault allegation at a veterans hospital, Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie repeatedly sought to discredit the congressional aide who made the complaint and his staff worked to spread negative information about her while ignoring known problems of harassment at the facility, according to an...
CDC official says she was ordered to destroy emails to alter scientific reportVideo
WASHINGTON — A senior manager with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told congressional investigators she was ordered to delete an email suggesting attempted political interference by the Trump administration in coronavirus reports to the public, according to a transcript released Thursday. Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., who released the...
Watch: Wolf, Levine outline new coronavirus mitigation steps in Pa.
Gov. Tom Wolf and state Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine are addressing the current status of the covid-19 pandemic in Pennsylvania during a 4 p.m. news conference. Watch the livestream of the news conference here. On Wednesday, Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald said he expected new covid-related restrictions from the...
13 companies awarded funds to expand broadband across Pennsylvania
More than 2,600 households and businesses in rural parts of Allegheny and Westmoreland counties soon will have access to high-speed internet after the Federal Communication Commission auctioned about $9.2 billion to companies across the country with the goal of closing the digital divide in rural America. The first phase of...
Port Authority leadership urges prioritizing transit workers for covid-19 vaccine
Port Authority of Allegheny County leaders have asked Pennsylvania’s governor and Secretary of Health to prioritize transit workers when the covid-19 vaccine becomes available, according to a letter sent earlier this week. The letter, addressed to Gov. Tom Wolf and Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine, comes days after the Port Authority...
Some local Pa. judges enjoy light workloads as taxpayers pay millions for salaries, benefits
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. Greg Johnson has a pretty good job — and even better benefits. The Dauphin County magisterial district judge and his colleagues...
1-day U.S. deaths top 3,000, more than D-Day or 9/11
MISSION, Kan. — Just when the U.S. appears on the verge of rolling out a covid-19 vaccine, the numbers have become gloomier than ever: Over 3,000 American deaths in a single day, more than on D-Day or 9/11. One million new cases in the span of five days. More than...
Penguins say project at former Civic Arena site remains on track
The latest snag in the delayed project to redevelop the former Civic Arena site in Pittsburgh’s Lower Hill District shouldn’t impact plans to start construction on the site next year, Pittsburgh Penguins Vice President and General Counsel Kevin Acklin said Thursday. “This is a technicality related to the interruptions all...
Pa. First Lady Frances Wolf negative for covid after Gov. Wolf tests positive
Pennsylvania First Lady Frances Wolf has tested negative for covid-19 a day after her husband, Gov. Tom Wolf, announced he had contracted the virus. Per guidance from state and federal health agencies, she will continue to quarantine at home. She said in a statement that she and the governor are...
