Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1443
Unemployment rate falls to 13.3%, with 2.5 million jobs addedVideo
WASHINGTON — The U.S. unemployment rate fell unexpectedly in May to 13.3% — still on par with what the nation witnessed during the Great Depression — as states loosened their coronavirus lockdowns and businesses began recalling workers. The government said Friday that the economy added 2.5 million jobs last month,...
Signs of normalcy: Scenes from Western Pennsylvania in the green phaseVideo
Western Pennsylvania moved to the green phase of the state’s tiered reopening plan at 12:01 a.m. Friday, a step into a semblance of normalcy not seen since mid-March. Under the green phase, nail salons, barbershops, gyms and bowling alleys are among the businesses permitted to reopen, under certain restrictions. And...
Driver injured after crashing twice — in 2 different townships
One person was transported to a hospital following a vehicle crash Friday morning that started in Mt. Pleasant Township and ended in Hempfield, deputy fire chief John Storey said. According to Storey, the vehicle crashed along Route 819 in Mt. Pleasant Township, causing damage to a garage around 7:30 a.m....
Police: Pittsburgh man planted homemade explosives outside PNC Plaza
Pittsburgh police said a man left a backpack full of homemade explosive devices in a bush outside of PNC Plaza in Downtown Pittsburgh on Sunday. Matthew Michanowicz, 52, of Pittsburgh, is facing three counts of possessing weapons of mass destruction and three counts of arson, according to a criminal complaint....
Gov. Wolf: Masks, social distance could remain this fall as part of Pennsylvania’s ‘new world’
While most of southwestern Pennsylvania celebrated Friday as the region moved to the less-restrictive green phase of the pandemic reopening plan, Gov. Tom Wolf made clear that more hurdles must be cleared before all limits are lifted. Just what those stages might be has not been determined. “We’re trying to...
J.C. Penney stores closing at Pittsburgh Mills in Frazer, Monroeville, near Butler and in the Beaver Valley
Four J.C. Penney stores in Western Pennsylvania will close as part of the retailer’s plans to shutter 154 stores, in what it said Thursday was the first round of store closings. Stores at the Pittsburgh Mills mall in Frazer; Monroevile Mall in Monroeville; the Clearview Mall near Butler; and the...
5 Western Pa. UPMC hospitals given covid-19 drug
Five Pittsburgh-area UPMC hospitals have received shipments of the antiviral medication remdesivir to treat hospital patients with covid-19, the Pennsylvania Health Department said. UMPC Presbyterian, Mercy, Shadyside and St. Margaret, all in Pittsburgh; and Passavant in McCandless were among the 73 hospitals in the state to receive a total of...
Maintenance tasks will disrupt traffic on Liberty and Elizabeth bridges
Maintenance work will disrupt traffic patterns Friday morning on the Elizabeth Bridge and Pittsburgh’s Liberty Bridge, PennDOT said. Weather permitting, the Elizabeth Bridge that carries Route 51 across the Monongahela River will close at 9 a.m. so that crews can replace cables. Traffic will be detoured in both directions during...
ACLU sues Trump administration over police force on protesters near White House
WASHINGTON — The American Civil Liberties Union sued the Trump administration Thursday, alleging officials violated the civil rights of protesters who were forcefully removed from a park near the White House by police using chemical agents before President Donald Trump walked to a nearby church to take a photo. The...
Wolf calls for police oversight, troopers association calls it an attack on law enforcement
Gov. Tom Wolf on Thursday announced his proposals to implement more training, transparency and oversight of Pennsylvania police departments in response to the killing of George Floyd. “We must rise to the challenge, because too many people have lost faith in our public safety institutions, and in our institutions in...
Many business owners amped up for ‘going green’ FridayVideo
Marianne Anzovino knows she might have to separate some hugs Friday during the first day The Aerobic Center at Lynch Field in Greensburg is reopened, but hearing the whir of exercise machines and clang of free weights once again will be worth it. “I’m sure it’s going to be a...
Vandergrift braced for unrest, but protest remained peacefulVideo
Police, residents and business owners in Vandergrift braced for unrest that never materialized. A Black Lives Matter protest scheduled for Thursday had some in the borough of about 5,200 people on edge — despite the fact that the protest had formally been canceled after one of the organizers became the...
Greensburg man guilty of assaulting Westmoreland prison guards
A Greensburg man will serve up to three years in prison for assaulting three guards and threatening another at the Westmoreland County Prison in 2018. Esteban Sosa, 38, pleaded guilty Thursday to three counts each of aggravated assault and simple assault as well as one charge of making terroristic threats...
White House designates Westmoreland County as a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area
Westmoreland County now is officially designated a “High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area” by the White House’s Office of National Drug Control Policy. The label makes the county eligible for increased federal funding, sharing of intelligence, analytical support and enhanced training opportunities. Westmoreland joins Allegheny, Beaver and Washington counties in the...
Protesters take to Pittsburgh streets for 6th straight day in 4-hourlong peaceful marchVideo
Heavy rains and strong winds did not keep hundreds of protesters out of Pittsburgh streets for an hourslong, peaceful march that took them from Downtown to the South Side to the Hill District and back. It marked the sixth straight day of protesting on city streets in response to racial...
Sheraden man sentenced for 2018 East Hills murder
A man from Pittsburgh’s Sheraden neighborhood was sentenced Thursday to 10 to 20 years in prison for a 2018 East Hills shooting that left a Virginia man dead. Leonard Bernard Hilton, 26, also was ordered to serve 10 years of probation following his release. Allegheny County Judge David Cashman agreed...
Doctors say covid-19 at UPMC is declining in virulence, infection levels
Covid-19 is declining in both virulence and infection levels among patients at the state’s largest health care system, UPMC officials said Thursday. Dr. Donald Yealy, who heads emergency medicine at the system that has hospitals across the state, said both the ratio of patients testing positive for the virus and...
`Get your knee off our necks!’: Floyd mourned in MinneapolisVideo
MINNEAPOLIS — Hollywood celebrities, musicians and political leaders gathered in front of the golden casket of George Floyd at a fiery memorial Thursday for the man whose death at the hands of police sparked global protests, with a civil rights leader declaring it is time for black people to demand,...
Vote counting drags into 3rd day after Pennsylvania primary
HARRISBURG — Counting an avalanche of 1.4 million mail-in votes dragged into a third day in Pennsylvania on Thursday as some races from Tuesday’s primary remained too close to call. The Associated Press has not yet called a number of races where the contest was close or had a large...
Pennsylvania reports 75 new coronavirus deaths, 537 new cases
The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported 75 new covid-19 deaths and 537 new cases in the state Thursday. That brings the state’s total case count to 73,942, with 5,817 deaths. The state considers 618 patients as probable cases, but they are not confirmed. Gov. Tom Wolf on Wednesday renewed the...
Allegheny County reports 13 more coronavirus cases, 13 more deaths
As Allegheny County prepares to enter the least restrictive phase of Gov. Tom Wolf’s reopening plan, county health department officials reported 13 additional covid-19 cases and 13 new deaths Thursday. The county enters the green phase of the state’s reopening plan Friday. That leaves the total number of deaths countywide...
Pittsburgh leaders call for police reform after East Liberty protest melee
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto during a call for police reform Thursday morning said there are indications that police commanders did not give the go-ahead for using tear gas to disperse protesters during a Monday night protest in East Liberty. The hourslong march for racial justice began to break up around...
Protests eclipse pandemic, but White House fears resurgence
WASHINGTON — For weeks, President Donald Trump has been eager to publicly turn the page on the coronavirus pandemic. Now fears are growing within the White House that the very thing that finally shoved the virus from center stage — mass protests over the death of George Floyd — may...
ATI removes ‘priceless’ stainless steel cars from Harrison plant, plans to auction them
Stainless steel may be resistant to rust and the ravages of time, but the tangible history of Allegheny Ludlum may not be as resilient. That’s the fear of longtime employee Todd Barbiaux. He worries the company’s legacy, and a source of community pride, will fade with the loss of four...
Police: Brentwood homeowner killed intruder during burglary
A Brentwood homeowner shot and killed a burglar Wednesday night, Allegheny County Police said. Mitch W. Verheyen, 38, of Brentwood, was shot by the owner during a burglary in the 100 block of Bellcrest Avenue, police said. Verheyen was pronounced dead at the scene as a result of the shooting,...
