Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1385
Canada’s last intact ice shelf collapses due to warming
Much of Canada’s remaining intact ice shelf has broken apart into hulking iceberg islands thanks to a hot summer and global warming, scientists said. Canada’s 4,000-year-old Milne Ice Shelf on the northwestern edge of Ellesmere Island had been the country’s last intact ice shelf until the end of July when...
Wolf to distribute $10.5 million in grants to career and technology centers
Gov. Tom Wolf announced Thursday that $10.5 million in CTC Equity grants will be dedicated to the state’s Career and Technical Education Centers. The money is to help the centers implement health and safety plans and resume operations. “Our communities depend on having these highly skilled students complete their education...
Dick’s Sporting Goods bucks trend, will open 11 brick-and-mortar locations in 9 states
Pittsburgh-based Dick’s Sporting Goods will open 11 stores in nine states, including five of its recently unveiled warehouse and outlet stores, the company announced Friday. Two of the traditional stores will be in Massachusetts, along with one in New Jersey and another in Texas. The sports and outdoors retailer also...
Steelers and U.S. Steel donate to Mon Valley school districts
Clairton, South Allegheny, West Mifflin and Woodland Hills School Districts will each receive a $3,600 donation from a partnership between U.S. Steel and Pittsburgh Steelers. The donations will go toward funding technology needs for remote learning in each of the Mon Valley districts. “Of the many challenges brought on by...
U.S.: Border tunnel appears to be ‘most sophisticated’
PHOENIX — An incomplete tunnel found stretching from Mexico to Arizona appears to be “the most sophisticated tunnel in U.S. history,” authorities said. The tunnel intended for smuggling ran from a neighborhood in San Luis Río Colorado, Mexico, to San Luis, Arizona, where it stopped short of reaching the surface....
Report: State hotline fielding more calls about student suicide, self-harm concerns
Reports of suicidal or self-harming thoughts by Pennsylvania students reported to the state’s Safe2Say Something tip line increased after schools shut down in March because of the coronavirus pandemic, according to an analysis by Attorney General Josh Shapiro. Between July 2019 and March 13, 17% of all tips received by...
Chef Kevin Sousa makes house calls with fancy meals
Many people slogging through the pandemic deeply miss going out to a fancy restaurant. While some are open at reduced capacity, the fine-dining establishment Superior Motors in Braddock is among those closed for the foreseeable future. So Superior Motors’ chef Kevin Sousa has decided if people can’t come to the...
U.S. officials: Russia denigrating Biden ahead of election; China against Trump
WASHINGTON — U.S. intelligence officials believe that Russia is using a variety of measures to denigrate Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden ahead of the November election and that individuals linked to the Kremlin are boosting President Donald Trump’s reelection bid, the country’s counterintelligence chief said Friday. U.S. officials also believe...
Jury quickly convicts man in 2019 Ligonier Township arson case
It took a Westmoreland County jury an hour Friday to convict a man of burning his Ligonier Township home last year. Brian W. McVicker, 55, of Laughlintown was found guilty of felony arson as well as risking catastrophe and criminal mischief in connection with a fire at a home he...
Pennsylvania adds 758 new covid-19 cases
Pennsylvania added 758 new covid-19 cases Friday, according to the state Department of Health. The new coronavirus cases, which bring the state’s total to 117,279, show a trend where new reported cases have ranged between 700 and 850 each day the past four days. The state reported 15 new deaths...
Union says Port Authority mask message policy violates Free SpeechVideo
A union for transportation workers has accused Port Authority of Allegheny County of violating the Free Speech rights of its employees, after the entity updated its dress code policy to prohibit masks that contain a political or social protest message. The Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 85 sent a letter...
Lawsuit against Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh accuses priest of rape
A man who immigrated to the United States at age 13 from Italy is suing the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh, alleging that he was sexually assaulted by a priest at Immaculate Conception Parish in Bloomfield twice in 1967. The lawsuit, filed in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court, also names as...
Answering the Call: Adrean Allen brightens days for UPMC patients with his voiceVideo
Adrean Allen, born in the Jamaican city of Spanish Town, is employed in the housekeeping department at UPMC Mercy Hospital. He works hard to support his family, which includes two young daughters. A musician, Allen has a recording studio in his home where he produces songs that he writes and...
Allegheny County reports 97 new covid-19 cases, 6 more deaths
The Allegheny County Health Department reported 97 new coronavirus cases Friday, bringing the seven-day average for new cases below 100. Six new covid-19 deaths and eight new hospitalizations were also announced. New coronavirus patients range in age from 1 to 86, with a median age of 33. Positive tests ranged...
All lanes of I-79 in Butler County open after scene of multi-vehicle crash cleared
All lanes of Interstate 79 have been reopened near Zelienople, Butler County, after a multi-vehicle crash with injuries shut the roadway down in both directions early Friday morning, according to state police. The wreck occurred in the northbound lanes shortly before 6 a.m. between the Zelienople and Portersville/Prospect exits, according...
Pittsburgh-area bar put on notice for alleged violation of coronavirus restrictions
A Pittsburgh-area bar was among three licensed liquor establishments in Pennsylvania to receive a notice from the state police’s Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement for violation of covid-19 mitigation efforts. It was the first formal notice a Pittsburgh-area establishment has received from state police since July 1. State police would...
‘Living funeral,’ march held for mother questioning police account of son’s death at Duquesne
A “living funeral” and march were held Thursday as Dannielle Brown continues her search for answers in her son’s death at Duquesne University nearly two years ago. The event began at Freedom Corner in Pittsburgh’s Hill District, where Brown has been staging a hunger strike since July 4. From there,...
Pittsburgh Public Schools plans to postpone fall sports in City League
Pittsburgh Public Schools announced plans Thursday to postpone fall sports in the City League, a move tied to the district’s decision to start classes exclusively online. The delay still requires school board approval. The decision was made before Gov. Tom Wolf recommended all youth sports be delayed until Jan. 1....
Trump bans dealings with Chinese owners of TikTok, WeChat
NEW YORK — President Donald Trump on Thursday ordered an unspecified ban on “transactions” with the Chinese owners of the consumer apps TikTok and WeChat, although it remains unclear if he has the legal authority to actually ban the apps from the United States. The twin executive orders — one...
West Jefferson Hills students to start first week of school online, gradually return to buildings
West Jefferson Hills School District students will start their first week of the upcoming school year online and slowly transition back into buildings as time progresses. The first day of classes in the 2020-21 school year for the estimated 3,100 students in kindergarten through 12th grade is Monday, Aug. 24....
Sewickley Academy to have staff, students back in buildings Sept. 2
Sewickley Academy officials plan to welcome students and staff back to school during the covid-19 pandemic on Sept. 2. Reopening plans call for a full range of programming to be available on campus for the estimated 600 pre-kindergatern through 12th-grade students. “The academy has a framework to support the health,...
New Kensington-Arnold delays start of school year to Sept. 8
New Kensington-Arnold School District will delay the start of the school year by eight days to provide more time for officials to make coronavirus-related preparations and to help students and staff beat the heat, officials announced late Thursday. School will start Tuesday, Sept. 8, the day after Labor Day, rather...
Allegheny County Jail oversight board to review how inmates are disciplined
The Allegheny County Jail Oversight Board is taking initial steps to review how discipline is meted out at the facility to ensure that all inmates are treated fairly. The decision to begin that process came Thursday evening after an initial motion on the matter made by Allegheny County Councilperson-at-large Bethany...
Pittsburgh’s new FBI head eyeing foreign interference in U.S. election, fraud, cyber crimes
FBI agents based in Western Pennsylvania are among those working to identify and block international attempts to interfere in the U.S. presidential election. Michael A. Christman, a Youngstown native who took the helm as Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Pittsburgh field office in mid-May, discussed his elections task...
Peduto sends letter to Congress, advocates for bills that help entertainment venues stay afloat
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto issued a letter to Congress in support of three bills that would offer financial relief to independent music and entertainment venues during the covid-19 pandemic. “I’m urging Congress to ensure that our local venues are included in and protected by relief packages,” Peduto said in a...
