Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1327
Possible safety issue spurs pause of Eli Lilly’s covid-19 antibody study
Independent monitors have paused enrollment in a study testing the covid-19 antiviral drug remdesivir plus an experimental antibody therapy being developed by Eli Lilly that’s similar to a treatment President Trump recently received. Lilly confirmed Tuesday that the study had been paused “out of an abundance of caution” and said...
5 more coronavirus cases at Westmoreland Manor
Pennsylvania National Guard members, stationed a Westmoreland Manor since late September, departed the county-owned nursing home over the weekend even as coronavirus cases there continued to grow. County officials said Tuesday another five residents tested positive since Saturday at the 400-bed home in Hempfield. There have now been 112 residents...
Westmoreland jail virus outbreak explodes
The coronavirus outbreak at Westmoreland County Prison continued to grow over the Columbus Day weekend and, on Tuesday, officials said the number of cases could result in overcrowding at the Hempfield lockup. Another 33 inmates and two more guards tested positive for the virus since late last week, county commissioners...
Experts: Rise of covid cases in Western Pennsylvania not surprising
Westmoreland County’s rate of positive coronavirus tests remained high Tuesday, but health experts said the increase is no surprise. “Covid-19, not unlike other previous viral pandemics, came here and will have ebb and flow to it,” said Dr. Don Yealy, UPMC’s chair of emergency medicine. Yealy cited the virus’ trajectory...
Allegheny County reports no new covid-19 deaths for 4th day
Allegheny County reported 74 new covid-19 cases Tuesday. There were seven new hospitalizations and no new coronavirus-related deaths reported. Total cases in the county are now 13,436. Total hospitalizations are now 1,293 and the death toll remains at 397. Allegheny County coronavirus by dayInfogram There has not been a new...
Allegheny County Judge John A. Zottola, creator of Veterans Court program, dies
Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge John A. Zottola, who founded the Veterans Court program and was revered for his compassion, died on Monday. Zottola was 63 and lived in Fox Chapel. A graduate of Central Catholic High School who earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh, Zottola also...
Pennsylvania continues trend of 1,000-plus new covid-19 cases
Pennsylvania reported 1,342 new covid-19 cases Tuesday, according to the state Department of Health. Coronavirus-related deaths also increased, with 16 new deaths reported. Of the 16 deaths reported Tuesday, one is from October, nine are from September, three are from August, one is from July and two from June. Total...
Westmoreland County sets record for covid-19 case average, 7-day total
Westmoreland County added 89 new covid-19 cases Tuesday, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. There were no new coronavirus-related deaths reported. Cases now near the 3,000-mark with 2,993 total cases as of Tuesday. The death total remains at 64. Westmoreland County coronavirus by dayInfogram In the county, there are...
Westmoreland mail-in ballots on their way to voters; drop boxes to be availableVideo
Westmoreland County officials said mailing out the first batch of 50,000 mail-in ballots was completed Tuesday as elections staff and the Ohio-based private company hired to oversee the process catch up after technical problems caused a weeklong delay. So far, about 60,000 mail-in ballot applications have been approved in the...
The Palace Theatre’s new livestream system will bring arts into homes
While audiences are unable to come to The Palace Theatre, Westmoreland Cultural Trust will bring programming to audiences with a new livestreaming service. “Livestreaming will allow us to bring back much-needed entertainment and cultural experiences that have been missing since the pandemic began,” said April Kopas, CEO of Westmoreland Cultural...
Watch live: Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett hearing continuesVideo
The confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett continues on Tuesday at 9 a.m. President Donald Trump nominated Barrett just two weeks ago to fill the seat of the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died Sept. 18. Trump and Republicans want Barrett on the bench in time for...
Mail carrier suspended after ballot request, political ads allegedly found in trash
A mail carrier has been placed on unpaid leave after federal agents found mail in a trash can that was supposed to be delivered to homes and businesses in Pittsburgh’s Bloomfield neighborhood. The items the carrier allegedly tossed away included “several different classes of mail, including one ballot request and...
2nd covid-19 vaccine trial paused over unexplained illness
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. — A late-stage study of Johnson & Johnson’s covid-19 vaccine candidate has been paused while the company investigates whether a study participant’s “unexplained illness” is related to the shot. The company said in a statement Monday evening that illnesses, accidents and other so-called adverse events “are an...
Defiant Trump defends virus record in 1st post-covid rallyVideo
SANFORD, Fla. — Defiant as ever about the coronavirus, President Donald Trump on Monday turned his first campaign rally since contracting covid-19 into a full-throated defense of his handling of the pandemic that has killed 215,000 Americans, joking that he was healthy enough to plunge into the crowd and give...
A Nevada man got covid-19 twice; his case shows why we need a vaccine
If you were counting on a coronavirus infection to keep you safe from covid-19 without having to get a vaccine, scientists have some bad news: It won’t work. The evidence for this comes from a Nevada man who was infected with two distinct versions of the novel coronavirus and became...
Connellsville’s Harold Betters, known as ‘Mr. Trombone,’ dies at 92
Known as “Mr. Trombone,” Western Pennsylvania native Harold Betters succeeded on the world stage, but he always called Connellsville home. It was in Connellsville where Betters died peacefully Sunday, surrounded by family, according to his daughter. He was 92. Betters, well known for his command of the trombone, was for...
Gisele Fetterman grateful for support after enduring racial slurs while shopping
Gisele Fetterman, wife of Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor, said Monday she is grateful for the support she has received after a stranger verbally attacked her at a grocery store near her home. “Everyone from the governor (Tom Wolf) to our attorney general (Josh Shapiro) to our senator (Bob Casey), they are...
Derry Area closes schools until next week because of covid-19 cases
Derry Area schools will be closed through Friday because five district workers tested positive for covid-19, the district said Monday. Superintendent Eric P. Curry said all school activities, including sports, will be canceled through Sunday and schools will reopen for in-person classes Monday. Anyone who had close contact — those...
Pittsburgh-area Italians gather on Columbus Day to fight for Schenley Park statueVideo
Flo Spagnolo sat in a lawn chair facing the Christopher Columbus statue in Schenley Park on Monday. It was Columbus Day. The controversial statue was obscured, wrapped from top to bottom in plastic and tape. “I have been here since the beginning when the statue was placed here,” said Spagnolo,...
Metzgar Elementary closed amid 5 coronavirus cases at 2 Greensburg Salem schools
James H. Metzgar Elementary School in Salem is closed through Friday, after three students tested positive for the coronavirus. They are among five positive cases among Greensburg Salem students that occurred over 14 days and were announced late last week in a letter to parents posted online by Superintendent Gary...
USDA extends waivers for free school meals
Schoolchildren across the United States can continue receiving free school meals through the end of the academic year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. “As our nation recovers and reopens, we want to ensure that children continue to receive the nutritious breakfasts and lunches they count on during the...
3 Hempfield Area High students positive for coronavirus; school, athletics shut down
Hempfield Area High School is closed Tuesday through Friday after three students tested positive for the coronavirus. School administrators were notified of the positive cases over the weekend, according to a letter to parents from Superintendent Tammy Wolicki, posted Sunday on the district website. During the five-day closure, all students...
Police issue arrest warrant, file charges in fatal shooting at Monroeville Mall
Allegheny County Police have issued a warrant for the arrest of a man believed to have shot and killed a 20-year-old at the Monroeville Mall. Lawrence Mark Murphy, who police believe is from the Braddock area, is believed to have shot Saheed Gayle, 20, in the torso just outside the...
UK sheep farmer jailed for contaminated Heinz baby food plot
LONDON — A sheep farmer was sentenced to 14 years in prison Monday for his plot to use baby food laced with metal shards to blackmail one of Britain’s biggest supermarket chains. Nigel Wright planted jars of the contaminated baby food in Tesco grocery stores and sent dozens of letters...
Westmoreland County sets another record with 90 new cases Monday, 2 deaths
Westmoreland County had 90 more covid-19 cases added in the past 24 hours Monday, with another 52 cases reported on Sunday, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The new numbers are another record set for the county of nearly 349,000 residents. Over the past two days, Westmoreland County had...
