Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1329
‘Hold your nose’ voters could tip 2020 election as Biden struggles with enthusiasmVideo
Sam DeMarco rejects the notion that Joe Biden has a lock on Pennsylvania’s electorate. DeMarco, who chairs the Republican Committee of Allegheny County, says based on his observations and conversations with politicos and constituents in recent weeks, excitement for President Trump in Western Pennsylvania seems to be outpacing the level...
Pittsburgh artist curates art project with safety messages that go round and roundVideo
Looking for circles has become a daily search. We spot round shapes on the ground that help us remain 6 feet apart for social distancing during the pandemic. Artist Janel Young is making those marks easier to see. The Beltzhoover resident collaborated with fellow artists to bring vibrant color, combined...
Editorial: Election hiccups shouldn’t shake faith
Ideally, the closer we get to Nov. 3, the more election issues should be ironed out. Problems should have been anticipated, solutions planned, outcomes corrected. Preparations, after all, have been underway for years. In Westmoreland County, the $7.1 million elections machines were ordered in 2019. They had verifiable paper trails...
Biden hits Trump on economy in Erie, a critical Pennsylvania county
ERIE — With the backdrop of a union facility in a key battleground county of Pennsylvania, Joe Biden on Saturday blistered President Donald Trump as only pretending to care about the working-class voters who helped flip the Rust Belt to the Republican column four years ago. “Anyone who actually does...
Voting-related lawsuits pepper U.S. before Election Day
Hundreds of lawsuits about voting have been filed before the Nov. 3 election. The cases concern the fundamentals of the American democratic process, including how ballots are cast and counted. A look at some of the top lawsuits in battleground states: ARIZONA: A federal judge ruled in favor of Democrats...
1 more covid-19 death, 2 more cases reported at Westmoreland Manor
Another Westmoreland Manor resident has died and two others have tested positive for covid-19, county officials announced Saturday. Four residents remain hospitalized with covid-19, officials said. In all, 107 residents and 32 staff members have tested positive for coronavirus. Three people have died from the disease. Staff and residents who...
Human skeletal remains found in Boyce Park
A hunter found human skeletal remains Saturday morning in a wooded area at Boyce Park in Plum, officials said. Authorities were alerted to the hunter’s discovery shortly after 9:30 a.m., an Allegheny County 911 shift commander said. Detectives with the Allegheny County Police homicide unit were called to the scene,...
Trump schedules Tuesday campaign stop at Johnstown airport
President Trump will return to Western Pennsylvania on Tuesday, with a campaign rally scheduled in Johnstown following his recovery from a covid-19 infection. The “Make America Great Again” rally is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the John Murtha Johnstown-Cambria County Airport, 469 Airport Road. Attendees must register online in advance...
Doctor says Trump no longer at risk of transmitting virus
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s doctor said Saturday the president is no longer at risk of transmitting the coronavirus. In a memo, Navy Cmdr. Dr. Sean Conley says Trump meets the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria for safely discontinuing isolation and that by “currently recognized standards” he is...
West Deer house fire that killed girl, 14, ruled an accidentVideo
The fire that killed a 14-year-old West Deer girl in March has been ruled accidental, the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office said Saturday. Dayanna Shaffer, an eighth-grader at Deer Lakes Middle School, called 911 to report the fire at her home on Shepard Road on the morning of March 26....
Westmoreland County posts record-setting 83 new coronavirus cases; 3 new deaths
The Pennsylvania Department of Health on Saturday reported a record-setting 83 new cases of covid-19 in Westmoreland County. Saturday’s total eclipses yesterday’s previous record of 72 new cases. Three additional deaths were reported, lifting the death toll to 62. This has been the deadliest week for the county after reporting...
Judge throws out Trump campaign’s Pennsylvania lawsuit
HARRISBURG, Pa. — A federal judge in Pennsylvania on Saturday threw out a lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump’s campaign, dismissing its challenges to the battleground state’s poll-watching law and its efforts to limit how mail-in ballots can be collected and which of them can be counted. “This is a...
Pennsylvania reports 1,742 new coronavirus cases, 36 new deaths
Pennsylvania on Saturday reported 1,742 new coronavirus cases — a whopping 362-case jump from yesterday’s 1,380. The state Department of Health reported 36 new deaths attributed to the coronavirus after posting nine on Friday. Wednesday’s total of 28 deaths was the highest of the week before today. The total number...
Allegheny County reports 81 coronavirus cases
Allegheny County on Saturday recorded 81 new coronavirus cases. The county now has a total of 13,183 cases of covid-19, according to data from the Allegheny County Health Department. Seventy-seven of the new cases are confirmed, while 4 are listed as probable. No new deaths were reported, leaving the total...
School districts re-examine attendance policies amid new educational model
School districts throughout the region are asking families to act with an abundance of caution when it comes to students exhibiting potential covid-19 symptoms. If a student is showing any of the 13 symptoms closely associated with the virus, districts are asking parents to keep them home. That didn’t work...
‘Silence of the Lambs’ house in Fayette County back on the market
A piece of horror movie history is on the market again in Fayette County. The three-story house near Perryopolis was made famous by the Academy Award-winning 1991 movie “The Silence of the Lambs,” in which it was used as the home of vicious serial killer Buffalo Bill. Homeowner David Villarreal...
WPIAL high school football Week 5 scores for Oct. 9, 2020
TribLIVE’s sports reporters have you covered from Friday’s Week 5 high school football action. GAMES OF THE WEEK • ALIQUIPPA 35, CHARTIERS VALLEY 7 Vernon Redd returned the opening kickoff 85 yards to the end zone Friday night as Aliquippa lived up to its reputation and defeated Chartiers Valley, 35-6....
Allegheny County investigating after voters receive wrong mail-in ballots
The Allegheny County Elections Division is investigating after receiving numerous reports from voters who say they received the wrong mail-in and absentee ballots. About 20 Allegheny County voters contacted the Elections Division Friday afternoon and evening, according to an announcement from the county. Officials have not determined how the errors...
Trump restarting campaign with White House, Florida events
WASHINGTON — Looking to shove his campaign back on track, President Donald Trump and his team laid out an aggressive return to political activities, including a big White House event on Saturday and a rally in Florida on Monday, a week after his hospitalization for a virus that has killed...
Ballots sent out to some Westmoreland voters after delay spurred by issues with contractor
After years of waiting, Larry Franklin was finally ready to cast his first vote for a United States president. All that was stopping him from doing so was his ballot, which he had expected to receive this week in the mail. On Friday, it had yet to arrive. Franklin, 67,...
Michigan building inspector cut by razor-embedded Trump sign
OAKLAND, Mich. — A Commerce Township building inspector needed 13 stitches after cutting his hand on a booby-trapped political sign. The Trump sign was lined with taped-on razors at the bottom, and the 52-year-old worker cut his hand as he tried to move it. The sign tampering is the latest...
Former Mt. Pleasant police officer convicted of sexually assaulting 3 women
A former part-time Mt. Pleasant Borough police officer was convicted Friday of sexually assaulting three women in 2014 and 2015. John A. Brown, 47, of Mt. Lebanon, who had been free on bail, was handcuffed and sent to jail to await a sentencing hearing at which he faces at least...
Pittsburgh Mayor Peduto recommends removal of Columbus statue from Schenley Park
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto on Friday recommended the removal of the Christopher Columbus statue in Schenley Park. The announcement comes two weeks after the City Art Commission unanimously voted to remove the statue, which has been a source of debate for months. In a statement, Peduto said he directed the...
Ohio county says nearly 50,000 voters received wrong ballots
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Nearly 50,000 voters received incorrect absentee ballots in the county that is home to Ohio’s capital, elections officials said Friday as they promised corrected ballots would be mailed within 72 hours. With about 240,000 ballots mailed, that meant one in five voters received a wrong ballot. The...
Death toll reaches 10 in covid outbreak at Kane in Scott, with 78 active casesVideo
Ten residents of Kane Community Living Center’s Scott location have died from covid-19 in an outbreak that was first detected in mid-September, facility officials said Oct. 9. Kane has three other facilities, in Ross, Pittsburgh’s Glen Hazel neighborhood and McKeesport. Residents range from young people with disabilities to older patients...
