Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1346
Allegheny County restaurant task force shuts down 2 repeat offenders for covid-19 violations
Health inspectors shut down two Allegheny County restaurants, for the second time, over the weekend for flouting covid-19 restrictions meant to slow the spread of the virus, according to reports from the county health department. On Saturday at Savoy in the Strip District, inspectors noted patrons orderings drinks without food...
Cops: Vandals shot paintball guns at Pittsburgh Black Lives Matter mural
Pittsburgh police are looking for two men suspected of using paintball guns to vandalize a Black Lives Matter mural Downtown Saturday. The police department shared photos of the men walking near the mural along the Allegheny River, near Point State Park. One can be seen carrying a paintball gun in...
Pennsylvania launches new coronavirus exposure notification app
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s new coronavirus exposure notification app became available in app stores Tuesday and could soon be compatible with those of three neighboring states, including New York. The release of the app, named COVID AlertPa, is part of Pennsylvania’s effort to more quickly break chains of transmission by using...
Pittsburgh police investigating fatal shooting in Lincoln-Lemington neighborhood
Pittsburgh police are investigating an apparent homicide in the city’s Lincoln-Lemington neighborhood, according to the city Department of Public Safety. The city’s ShotSpotter audio detection system alerted officers of a shooting on the 1300 block of Schwerner Court around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday. Officers found a man with multiple gunshot wounds...
In battleground states, Catholics are a pivotal swing vote
For decades, Roman Catholic voters have been a pivotal swing vote in U.S. presidential elections, with a majority backing the winner — whether Republican or Democrat — nearly every time. How they vote in the battleground states this year could well decide the outcome, and the rival campaigns are targeting...
Beta weakens to tropical depression, stalls over Texas coastVideo
HOUSTON — Beta weakened to a tropical depression Tuesday as it parked itself over the Texas coast, raising concerns of extensive flooding in Houston and areas farther inland. Beta made landfall late Monday as a tropical storm just north of Port O’Connor, Texas, and has the distinction of being the...
Beaver County hotel sweep turns up 16 suspected drug dealers, human traffickers
Law enforcement agencies teamed up to arrest suspected drug dealers and human traffickers in Beaver County hotels, according to Beaver County District Attorney David Lozier. The district attorney’s office, Center Township Police Department, the FBI Human Trafficking Task Force and the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police conducted the sweep at numerous...
Car crashes into house in Pittsburgh’s Lincoln-Lemington neighborhood
A car went through the front of a house in Pittsburgh’s Lincoln-Lemington neighborhood Monday night, narrowly missing a man who had been sleeping in the living room, according to Tribune-Review news partner WPXI. The crash happened around 11:30 p.m. on Westmoreland Avenue. Homeowner Albert Lowry told WPXI the car went...
President Trump back in Western Pa. to rev up base, win over ‘slivers’ of wavering voters
President Trump will seek to rev up Western Pennsylvania voters Tuesday night during a campaign rally at a hangar outside Pittsburgh International Airport, marking the Republican incumbent’s fourth stop in the battleground state this month. “I’m not at all surprised to see that Trump is back in the state,” said...
Sen. Toomey mum on Trump’s rush to replace Justice Ginsburg; Casey balks at GOP hypocrisy
U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey has not said whether it’s critical to let the American people have the chance to “weigh in and select a new president” before filling the Supreme Court seat left vacant by the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. That’s what Toomey, a Lehigh Valley Republican, described as...
Federal judge: Postal Service must process election mail on time
NEW YORK — For the second time in a week, a federal judge said a nationwide order is necessary to ensure mail for November’s election is delivered on time, and he is threatening to demand weekly updates on efforts by the U.S. Postal Service to process election mail. On Monday,...
North Hills School District sues Juul, contending e-cigarette company targets young people
The North Hills School District on Monday became the latest in the Pittsburgh area to file a federal lawsuit against Juul, alleging the e-cigarette maker purposely targeted its products to young people, forcing the district to reallocate resources to battle what the U.S. Centers for Disease Control has called an...
Tom Purcell: Autumn’s beauty can restore the better angels of our nature
Autumn has arrived — and it couldn’t come soon enough. I love this time of year — the brilliant colors, the chilly air, the sweet yet tart taste of apple cider and the smell of oak burning in a fire pit. I love childhood memories of Devil’s Night mischief and...
20 residents at Westmoreland Manor test positive for coronavirus; more cases expected
Nearly two dozen people at Westmoreland Manor tested positive for the coronavirus over the weekend, and county officials said the number of those infected could increase in the coming days. Routine testing conducted last week identified the cases among 20 residents and two staffers, of which many appeared to be...
Eastern Allegheny County boroughs discuss cooperative police forceVideo
Elected officials from four Allegheny County communities gathered Monday to discuss possible plans for a regional police force, though some remained hesitant as to whether the move is what’s best for the boroughs. Officials from Braddock, East Pittsburgh, North Braddock and Rankin spoke, for the most part, in support of...
Plaintiffs fighting Gov. Wolf’s shutdown order say a stay is unnecessary
Attorneys who led the fight against Gov. Tom Wolf’s covid-19 shutdown orders said on Monday that he will likely not prevail on appeal and that allowing the judge’s order to be stayed just compounds the harm already done. U.S. District Judge William Stickman IV issued a ruling on Sept. 14...
Mt. Lebanon school director who used profanity during virtual meeting resigns
A Mt. Lebanon school director who uttered profanities during a virtual school board meeting broadcast to the public has resigned, the school board president announced Monday night. Michael Riemer, who was absent from Monday’s school board meeting, used the vulgarities prior to the official start of the Sept. 14 board...
West Deer denies rezoning of Pittsburgh National Golf ClubVideo
West Deer has denied a request from a developer to rezone the Pittsburgh National Golf Club, preventing the developer from being able to build up to 352 homes on the golf course. Leslie Road Associates wanted to rezone the 189-acre property from rural residential and semi-suburban residential to suburban residential....
East Liberty’s Ace Hotel, still closed, leaves scheduled weddings in the lurch
Closed since the pandemic started in March, the Ace Hotel in Pittsburgh’s East Liberty neighborhood has been the subject of complaints to the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office over unreturned deposits for scheduled weddings. A spokesperson for the Attorney General’s Office confirmed the office has received complaints but declined further comment....
Trump to make court pick by Saturday, before Ginsburg burial
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Monday he expects to announce his pick for the Supreme Court by week’s end, before Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is buried, launching a monumental Senate confirmation fight ahead of the November election. Trump said he is planning to name his pick by Friday or...
Woman, adult son charged with hoarding, neglecting 117 dogs
A year after 117 emaciated dogs and puppies were rescued from squalor at a Ross home, a woman and her adult son have been charged with hoarding and abusing the animals. Mary Lu Frankovic, 69, and Christopher Frankovic, 45, each face 20 felony counts of aggravated animal cruelty and 56...
Voting victories for Democrats in Pa. might have closed the door on more election reform
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 weekly newsletter. HARRISBURG — With less than seven weeks to go, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has significantly altered how the state’s election...
Pittsburgh legal luminaries remember Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
For those who never met Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the intense, demure and small woman behind the large glasses might have appeared to be someone who was not easy to approach. Quite the contrary, said Duquesne University President Ken Gormley. “She looked so serious. She looked kind of...
Gilpin farm to host fundraiser in place of Leechburg’s canceled Pink Day event
A Pink Day event has been held annually in Leechburg since 2011, raising more than $100,000 for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, but the covid-19 pandemic forced organizer Sherry Price to cancel this year’s event. Leechburg-area businesswoman Linda Alworth stepped in to help when she found out about the cancellation....
CDC says it mistakenly posted that coronavirus is airborne
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has removed an update on its website that stated coronavirus commonly spreads through the air, saying the post was shared by mistake. “A draft version of proposed changes to these recommendations was posted in error to the agency’s official website,” the organization wrote...
