Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1293
Supreme Court upholds death penalty in Greensburg Six torture-murder appeal
Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court this week upheld the death sentence imposed against the man convicted in the 2010 torture slaying of a mentally disabled woman in Greensburg. Justices unanimously rejected the appeal from Melvin Knight of Swissvale, who claimed a Westmoreland County jury improperly sentenced him to death by lethal injection...
Drag queen art critics return for The Westmoreland’s online program
Drag performers know a thing or two about fashion, hair and makeup. Some of them also know a thing or two about fine art. Through their lush false eyelashes, Pittsburgh-based performers Alora Chateaux and Tootsie Snyder will take a look at works from The Westmoreland Museum of American Art’s permanent...
Streets closed in Oakland to repair water main break
Several streets in the Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood are shut down this morning because of a water main break. The break was reported about 4 a.m. along South Bouquet Street, according to the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority. The road is shut down between Sennott and Joncaire streets so crews can...
County covid surge prompts Shaler to switch to remote learning for 3 weeks
The Shaler Area School District is switching to all-virtual instruction for three weeks because of the increase in the community transmission rate of covid-19. The change takes effect on Nov. 23. Students are scheduled to return to a blend of online and in-person instruction on Dec. 14. Schools are closed...
Covid forces Punxsutawney Phil to go virtual; no crowds on Gobbler’s Knob in February
Say it ain’t so, but the covid-19 pandemic will keep thousands of people from witnessing whether Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow atop the famed Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney on Feb. 2 and forecasts six more weeks of winter. Even though people want to see Phil’s prognostication in person for the...
Serra Catholic moves to remote learning
Serra Catholic High School in McKeesport will move to remote learning because of an increase in covid-19 cases, the third case in the past three days, Pittsburgh Catholic Diocese said Wednesday night. The diocese said it is following guidance from the Allegheny County Health Department in making the decision to...
Plum High School closed until Dec. 1 as 3 more students test positive for covid-19
Plum High School will be closed and students will learn online until the start of December after three more students tested positive for covid-19. All sports and activities at the school are also canceled through Tuesday, Dec. 1, according to a letter to district families Wednesday. The district spoke with...
Parking deal clears path for 99 new apartments in Greensburg
Greensburg has cleared the path for 99 new apartments to be built downtown by agreeing to a deal that would allow residents to park in one of the city’s lots — but only at night. The decision waives Greensburg’s usual parking requirements. Instead, developer Urban Communities will lease the Buncher...
Guided by faith, Lower Burrell couple opens home to 4th adopted child
Lacie and Eric Hooks became emotional when their foster son’s first-grade teacher at Bon Air Elementary mentioned something peculiar about Jayden. “His teacher told us he wouldn’t write his last name,” Eric Hooks said. “He was writing our last name.” The shy little boy with the contagious smile can now...
Coronavirus death toll surges past 250,000 in U.S.Video
The still-raging coronavirus pandemic reached another grim milestone Wednesday, with the U.S. death toll surging past 250,000. The quarter-million milestone, confirmed by Johns Hopkins University, is higher than the number of American military deaths in every conflict since the Korean War as well as those recorded during the U.S. Civil...
Georgia’s hand recount of presidential race nears endVideo
ATLANTA — Election officials across Georgia were expected to complete a hand tally of the presidential race Wednesday night, which would allow state officials to begin the process of certifying the election results, a top elections official said. The hand recount of about 5 million votes stems from an audit...
Allegheny County judge’s resignation sends message against systemic racism, experts say
The resignation of an Allegheny County judge on the eve of his misconduct trial for making racist comments should signal to other jurists and the community that the system is changing, experts say. “This will send a message to other judges that the system as a whole will get to...
Allegheny County advises ‘stay home except for essentials,’ warns of public health order
Allegheny County Health Department Director Dr. Debra Bogen issued a countywide stay-at-home advisory on Wednesday with the warning that a full-blown public health order could come next if case counts continue to rise. “For the past few weeks, I’ve asked people to follow the rules, curtail gatherings and parties, stay...
New York City schools to close again as city fights coronavirusVideo
NEW YORK — New York City is shuttering schools to try to stop the renewed spread of the coronavirus, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday in a painful about-face for one of the first big U.S. school systems to bring students back to classrooms this fall. The nation’s largest public...
Mt. Pleasant area contractor charged with taking $12K down payment for work never done
A Mt. Pleasant area contractor was charged this week after state police say he took a $12,000 down payment from a local dentist for a building repair project, but never did any work. Timothy Jay King, 34, was charged Tuesday with deceptive business practices, home improvement fraud, theft and theft...
Virus outbreak delays Westmoreland vote certification
Westmoreland County Commissioners said a final certification of election results won’t come until after Thanksgiving as officials continue to deal with a coronavirus outbreak among employees tasked with completing the ballot count. As of Wednesday, the outbreak that started days before the Nov. 3 election left just two full-time and...
PWSA pleads guilty to violating Clean Water Act, pumping sludge into Allegheny RiverVideo
For seven years, employees and supervisors at the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority dumped sludge into the Allegheny River from the Aspinwall treatment facility, violating the Clean Water Act and sending plumes of rust-colored chemicals into the river, U.S. Attorney Scott Brady said Wednesday. The authority pleaded guilty to eight...
Commonwealth Court to Allegheny County: Don’t count — for now — disputed ballots in tight Brewster-Ziccarelli Senate race
An Allegheny County judge on Wednesday denied two petitions by Republican state Senate candidate Nicole Ziccarelli to throw out provisional and faulty mail-in ballots in her challenge against Democratic incumbent Sen. Jim Brewster, D-McKeesport. But the state Commonwealth Court on Wednesday night later ordered Allegheny County’s Board of Elections to...
Westmoreland County sets new coronavirus mark with 228 additional cases
Westmoreland County added more than 200 new coronavirus cases for the second time in a week, setting a new high with 228 on Wednesday. The new cases bring the county’s total to 6,649, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The previous high was 207 reported last Thursday. Of the...
6 Western Pa. counties set new highs as Pa. reports record new coronavirus cases
Six counties in southwestern Pennsylvania experienced their highest single-day coronavirus case totals, as the state set another record for most new cases in a single day on Wednesday. Pennsylvania added 6,339 new positive cases, raising the state’s total to 281,852. The previous high of 5,900 was set Tuesday. Allegheny, Armstrong,...
Kennywood introduces chaperone policy for guests under 18
Kennywood Park announced a chaperone policy beginning with the opening of the 2021 season. Anyone under 18 years of age who enters after 4 p.m. must be accompanied by someone 21 or older, who is also a paying customer. In the past few years there have been incidents — from...
Time to string the lights: Temperatures to reach 60s in Western Pa.
From snow flurries to 60s in a couple of days, this week’s weather is proving to be a late-autumn roller coaster ride. The National Weather Service is predicting warmer than usual temperatures in the 60 degree or above range through Sunday. It appears to be part of the dry weather...
Allegheny County sets another record for new coronavirus cases
Allegheny County set another high for new coronavirus cases on Wednesday. There were 620 new covid-19 cases, bringing the county’s total to 21,434, according to the Allegheny County Health Department. Of the new cases, 506 are confirmed and 114 probable from 2,797 PCR tests. The new cases put the daily...
A rusty Giuliani returns to the courtroom on Trump’s behalf
WILLIAMSPORT — Representing a client inside a courtroom for the first time in nearly three decades, Rudy Giuliani showed some rust as he tried to make the case that President Donald Trump has been robbed of re-election. The former federal prosecutor and New York City mayor, who has taken over...
Biden’s DIY transition proceeds without Trump assistance
WILMINGTON, Del. — President Donald Trump’s refusal to cooperate with his successor is forcing President-elect Joe Biden to seek unusual workarounds to prepare for the exploding public health threat and evolving national security challenges he will inherit in just nine weeks. Blocked from the official intelligence briefing traditionally afforded to...
