Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1403
Police reopen Pa. Turnpike right lane in Mt. Pleasant after tractor trailer crashVideo
State police reopened the right lane of the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Mount Pleasant Township at 10 p.m. Sunday when a tractor trailer collided with a van just before 8 p.m., said Trooper Justin Summa. An emergency medical helicopter landed near the turnpike to transport the driver of the van to...
PennDOT antes up another $3 million to upgrade road at doorstep of proposed $70 million biz park in Harrison
The state announced it will pay $3 million to modify Route 366 (Bull Creek Road) just off Route 28’s Tarentum exit to pave the way for an estimated $70 million, 162-acre business park planned just over the border in Harrison. The business park, known as Harrison Point, still has numerous...
GOP leaders, Trump to discuss coronavirus aid as crisis deepensVideo
WASHINGTON — Top Republicans in Congress were expecting to meet Monday with President Donald Trump on the next covid-19 aid package as the administration panned more virus testing money and interjected other priorities that could complicate quick passage. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was prepared to roll out the $1...
United Arab Emirates: Amal functioning after launch to MarsVideo
TOKYO — A United Arab Emirates spacecraft rocketed away Monday on a seven-month journey to Mars, kicking off the Arab world’s first interplanetary mission. The liftoff of the Mars orbiter named Amal, or Hope, from Japan marked the start of a rush to fly to Earth’s neighbor that includes attempts...
Big Burrito Restaurant Group closes specialty restaurants because of covid-19 dining restrictions
Big Burrito Restaurant Group temporarily closed all of its specialty restaurants on Saturday due to newly imposed coronavirus-related restrictions, its president said. The specialty restaurants are Alta Via, Casbah, Eleven, Kaya, Soba and Umi. President Bill Fuller said those restaurants “are not viable under current business conditions.” Mad Mex locations...
Man collapses at Sandcastle pool, section of park closed
A man was taken to a hospital after suffering a medical emergency while leaving a pool at Sandcastle Water Park on Sunday, a spokesman said. Spokesman Nick Paradise said park employees were alerted to the situation at 3:15 p.m., and lifeguards and paramedics responded immediately. The man was treated by...
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine: Mask order may cover ‘a lot more counties’ this weekVideo
COLUMBUS, Ohio — An Ohio order requiring masks to be worn in public may include “a lot more counties” next week as the coronavirus continues to spread in the state, Gov. Mike DeWIne said Sunday. DeWine said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that he is still considering a statewide mask...
Pittsburgh activists, influencers to appear on season 5 premiere of CNN documentary
Pittsburgh-area activists and influencers will appear on the CNN original series “United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell” at 10 p.m. Sunday. The Emmy-winning series, which returns for its fifth season on Sunday, follows comedian and political provocateur W. Kamau Bell as he explores communities across America to understand...
Greensburg bishop addresses flock ahead of September move to Cleveland Diocese
Barbara Piasecky of Hempfield was saddened by the news last week that Bishop Edward Malesic is slated to leave the Greensburg diocese to serve in the same role for the larger Catholic community in Cleveland. Initially, she said, “it was a gut punch.” But she was more at peace with...
Trump not ready to commit to election results if he loses
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is refusing to publicly commit to accepting the results of the upcoming White House election, recalling a similar threat he made weeks before the 2016 vote, as he scoffs at polls showing him lagging behind Democrat Joe Biden. Trump says it’s too early to make...
Westmoreland County sees 18 new coronavirus cases
On Sunday, Westmoreland County saw 18 new cases of covid-19, but no additional deaths, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The new cases bring the total to 1,153 cases in the county since the virus was first reported there on March 20. The death toll stands at 40. The...
Pennsylvania reports 786 new cases, 8 new coronavirus deaths
The Pennsylvania Department of Health’s latest data added 786 new cases and eight new covid-19 deaths to the state totals on Sunday. The statewide totals now stand at 101,027 cases and 7,015 deaths. More than 926,352 people have tested negative for the virus, state numbers show. Westmoreland County saw an...
Hempfield motorcyclist dies in Irwin crash
A Hempfield man died when his motorcycle collided with a sport utility vehicle Saturday night on Route 30 in Irwin. Irwin police said Glenn W. Hauliska Jr., 54, was killed upon impact when his westbound Harley-Davidson motorcycle struck the driver’s side of a Jeep Patriot at about 9 p.m., just...
Pittsburgh man killed, another man wounded in Sheraden shooting
A Pittsburgh man was killed and another man was wounded in a shooting Saturday night in the city’s Sheraden neighborhood. The slain man was Clarence Thomas IV, 18, according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office. He was pronounced dead by medics at the scene in the 500 block of...
Health officials: Stay home while waiting for covid-19 test results
People who are awaiting covid-19 test results should presume they have the virus and self-isolate until they receive the results in order to mitigate the spread of the virus, health officials said. A question of personal responsibility in regard to the coronavirus pandemic was posed to health care professionals after...
Cost, hassle of stamps questioned as mail-in voting surges
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Even if it weren’t for her disability and fear of catching covid-19, Delinda Bryant said getting the necessary postage to cast a ballot this year will be a struggle. Bryant, 63, doesn’t have $10 for a book of stamps, a printer to make them at home or...
Given a chance, Trump would push court pick before election
WASHINGTON — President Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have tried to make it clear: Given the chance, they would push through a Supreme Court nominee should a vacancy occur before Election Day. The issue has taken on new immediacy with the disclosure Friday that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg...
As parents look for alternatives, home schooling sees ‘explosive’ interest
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — For Laila Barakat’s children, school will be home, like other students in their district. But they won’t participate in distance learning. Their teachers will be mom and dad. Barakat has decided to do home schooling for her three school-aged children — one in first grade, one in...
Editorial: Names of jurors in Held trial should be released
A jury has a job. Everything that happens in a criminal trial plays to an audience of 12. The jury is entrusted with the solemn responsibility of hearing evidence and legal arguments and setting aside preconceptions to determine whether or not someone committed a crime. It’s arguably the most important...
Scavenger race spotlights downtown Greensburg featuresVideo
Kelly Mazon and her three friends nearly missed a valuable landmark Saturday morning as they raced along the sidewalks of downtown Greensburg. Looking up near the corner of West Second Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, they used their phones to snap a shot of a spiral staircase — part of a...
Maxine Bruhns, longtime Pitt Nationality Rooms director and ‘citizen of the world,’ dies
E. Maxine Bruhns spent most of her life ensuring University of Pittsburgh students and visitors learned something about the many diverse cultures from around the globe. She served at least 54 years as director of the Oakland campus’ Nationality Rooms, which were described as mini-museums representing the Steel City’s ethnic...
Protesters hit with gas as locals demand feds leave Portland
PORTLAND, Ore. — Militarized federal agents deployed by the president to Portland, Oregon, fired tear gas against protesters again overnight as the city’s mayor demanded that the agents be removed and as the state’s attorney general vowed to seek a restraining order against them. Federal agents, some wearing camouflage and...
Westmoreland County reports 18 new coronavirus cases
Westmoreland County saw 18 new cases of covid-19 in the past 24 hours, the Pennsylvania Department of Health reported Saturday, but no additional deaths. The county had seen increases of at least 20 cases every day in July with the exception of July 12 and 13, when the state reported...
Pennsylvania surpasses 100,000 covid-19 cases, 1 million tests
Pennsylvania achieved an unwanted trifecta after the Department of Health released the state’s coronavirus case results Saturday. As of July 18, the Keystone State had surpassed 100,000 positive cases and 7,000 deaths after administering more than 1 million tests. There were 763 new cases and 15 new covid-19 deaths reported...
As schools’ reopening plans balance safety with education, officials left feeling they’re picking ‘the best bad option’
Some school officials say their districts are in a no-win situation as they draw up reopening plans meant to balance health and education amid a pandemic that closed schools in the spring and upends any hope of normalcy in the fall. Those plans, required by state health and education officials...
