Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1325
Swissvale bar closed again for covid violations
A Swissvale bar is shut down for the second time for violating covid-19 restrictions meant to safeguard against the spread of the virus, Allegheny County records show. Wilson’s Nite Out, on Denniston Street, can reopen Friday if owners and management submit a covid-19 safety plan. Owners had previously submitted a...
Restaurant, bakery expected to open in O’Hara’s RIDC Park in early 2021
A new restaurant and bakery is expected to open in the former Max & Erma’s in RIDC Park in early 2021. Periwinkle’s, an American-style eatery with burgers, soups and salads, will open at 900 Gamma Drive, O’Hara, just off the Allegheny Valley Expressway. The building and its 2.8-acre parcel were...
Pitt Law School adjunct teacher resigns after using racial slur
An adjunct professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law resigned Wednesday afternoon, after using a racial slur during a class discussion. Law students at the University of Pittsburgh were informed via email Wednesday evening. According to the email, the teacher, who was not named, used the N-word while...
Westmoreland County sees biggest jump in reported coronavirus cases
Westmoreland County saw its highest single-day spike in covid-19 cases Thursday adding 148 new cases, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The county also recorded one death. The county had not seen more than 90 cases reported in a single day, which happened Monday. Westmoreland County’s seven-day average is...
Pennsylvania reports 1,598 new coronavirus cases, 21 new deaths
Pennsylvania on Thursday reported another day of over 1,000 new covid-19 cases, along with 21 new deaths attributed to the coronavirus. The state Department of Health reported 1,598 cases Thursday. October has seen all but two days of over 1,000 cases reported. The total number of cases climbed to 177,520...
Details emerge on suspected Taco Bell bandit charged in Southwestern Pa. burglaries
An Ohio man accused of burglarizing more than 30 Taco Bells across four states now faces charges for similar crimes in Southwestern Pennsylvania. Joshua John Logue, of Columbus, Ohio, is accused of hitting Taco Bell restaurants in the Waterworks Mall complex, Scott and South Strabane in Washington County. All of...
Army Corps of Engineers gives tour of Emsworth Locks and Dams in advance of major rehabilitation projectVideo
Army Corps of Engineers officials are inspecting the Emsworth Locks and Dams’ primary lock chamber as part of a major project at the 99-year-old site along the Ohio River. The 110-foot-wide and 600-foot-long chamber was recently dewatered, meaning about 14 million gallons of water was pumped out into the river...
Allegheny County sees highest number of new coronavirus cases since July
Allegheny County on Thursday reported 139 new coronavirus cases with no new deaths. It’s the highest single-day report since July. The county’s total number of cases stands at 13,672 with 9,792 recoveries. According to the Allegheny County Health Department’s covid-19 dashboard, 196,641 individuals have been tested for the virus. The...
Widespread recalls affect popular diabetes medication Metformin
A common diabetes medication is in the midst of widespread national recalls after researchers found a contaminant that could potentially cause cancer, but local experts say there are plenty of alternative options available for those who take the drug. Metformin is used to control blood sugar levels in patients with...
CNN, New York Times spotlight Westmoreland County as key in presidential race
National media outlets are eyeing Westmoreland County as a key battleground in the looming presidential election. Both CNN and the New York Times this week spotlighted the county in reports, talking to residents and politicians about their efforts to swing the race in favor of either President Donald Trump or...
Brett Keisel’s ‘Shear Da Beard’ event memorialized with a mural
Ten years. $1 million raised. Former Steelers defensive end Brett Keisel is no longer growing hair on his face for the annual “Shear Da Beard” charity event. But the fan favorite will be remembered for all the times he allowed his teammates and other celebrities to be his barber. A...
Senate Judiciary sets Oct. 22 vote on Barrett’s Supreme Court nomination
WASHINGTON — The Senate Judiciary Committee convened Thursday and set an Oct. 22 vote on Amy Coney Barrett’s Supreme Court nomination as Republicans race to confirm President Donald Trump’s pick before the Nov. 3 election. The session is without Barrett after two long days of public testimony in which she...
AP explains: Trump seizes on dubious Biden-Ukraine story
WASHINGTON — Looking to undermine rival Joe Biden 20 days before the election, President Donald Trump’s campaign has seized on a tabloid story offering bizarre twists to a familiar line of attack: Biden’s relationship with Ukraine. But the story in the New York Post raises more questions than answers, including...
Pennsylvania state universities move forward with merger study, as IUP aims at its own restructuring plan
A process that could integrate or merge six struggling state-owned universities into two “academic powerhouses” has cleared its first hurdle. The Board of Governors of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education on Wednesday approved launching the second step in a study that could result in California, Clarion and Edinboro...
Pittsburgh police investigating fatal shooting in Manchester
A man who was transported to a Pittsburgh hospital after being shot in the city’s Manchester neighborhood on Wednesday night has died, according to authorities. Officers from the city’s Zone 1 station in the North Side responding to a Shotspotter alert in the 1200 block of North Franklin Street around...
Police investigating abduction of 2 girls from Penn Hills, juveniles safely returned
The two teenaged girls abducted at gunpoint in Penn Hills on Oct. 14 and found later that evening were not targeted randomly, Allegheny County police said. After the girls, both age 17, were found unharmed in Brighton Heights around 5 p.m., a car was found in Oakland by University of...
2 more Port Authority employees test positive for covid-19; overall count reaches 54
Two Port Authority of Allegheny County employees have tested positive for covid-19 in the past week, officials said Wednesday. The employees, based at garages in Collier and in Ross, bring the public transit agency’s coronavirus total count to 54, according to Port Authority spokesman Adam Brandolph. The majority of workers...
Plum High School remains open after 2 students test positive for covid-19
Plum High School remains open in a hybrid learning model despite two students testing positive for covid-19. District officials said they were notified Wednesday of two students from the same family at the high school having positive cases. Principal Joe Fishell said via letter that the district’s conducted contact tracing...
Live wires impede crash rescue efforts on Route 130 in Penn Township
First responders shut down part of Route 130 in Penn Township Wednesday night as they worked to free a person from a vehicle surrounded by live wires, according to Westmoreland County 911. The crash near the intersection of Pleasant Valley Road happened around 8:25 when the vehicle struck a power...
Man suspected of Sheraden Park assault surrenders after SWAT standoff
A police chase of an alleged assault suspect culminated in a SWAT standoff in Pittsburgh’s Sheraden neighborhood Wednesday night, officials said. A woman called 911 from a residence to report that she was assaulted in Sheraden Park at about 5 p.m., Pittsburgh Public Safety spokeswoman Cara Cruz said. The woman...
Postal Service agrees to reverse service changes
HELENA, Mont. — The U.S. Postal Service agreed Wednesday to reverse changes that slowed mail service nationwide, settling a lawsuit filed by Montana Gov. Steve Bullock during a pandemic that is expected to force many more people to vote by mail. The lawsuit filed against Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and...
Medical examiner IDs North Side woman killed in Perry South crash
A 28-year-old North Side woman died Tuesday when her vehicle struck a tree in Pittsburgh’s Perry South neighborhood. Shronda Watkins was identified as the driver in the crash, the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office said. The crash, which did not involve any other vehicles, happened at about 10 p.m. Tuesday,...
Facebook, Twitter seek to keep Hunter Biden report from going viral amid disinformation crackdown
After heavy criticism over the way they let misinformation run wild on their platforms in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election, social media companies gradually have been adopting stronger policies to stem the spread of misinformation. For the first time, Facebook and Twitter deployed those policies Wednesday against a...
Passenger killed in South Side Slopes crash ID’d as 55-year-old woman
The woman killed Monday morning in Pittsburgh’s South Side Slopes after the minivan she was riding in collided with a concrete mixer truck has been identified as Roberta Leonard, 55. the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office said Wednesday. A residence for Leonard was not provided in the medical examiner’s initial...
Southmoreland High School closing due to coronavirus cases
Southmoreland High School is shutting down for five days after two people tested positive for the coronavirus, the district announced Wednesday. The district was informed of the latest positive test this week. Officials have not disclosed whether the infected people are students or staff members. The high school will close...
