Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1493
U.S. Customs in Pittsburgh seizes counterfeit items potentially worth $200K
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers recently seized multiple “Express Delivery” parcels headed for Western Pennsylvania destinations, including Allegheny and Westmoreland counties, containing counterfeit brand name merchandise that would have fetched more than $200,000 on the market if authentic. The largest seizure was March 25 when officers confiscated a...
Answering the Call: Pittsburgh nurse volunteered to work in coronavirus spaceVideo
Jessi Showalter is a nurse at Allegheny Health Network’s West Penn Hospital who volunteered to work in the covid-19 space there. What compelled her to volunteer in the space and take on the risks that go with it? That’s one of the questions Showalter addressed in a video interview with...
Kiya Tomlin, wife of Steelers coach, converts fashion business into mask-making operationVideo
Kiya Tomlin kept her four-person staff on payroll after her Etna-based fashion retailer was ordered to close as part of the state’s social-distancing directive. The wife of Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, she was forced to abandon production of her spring collection, and decided to sell her existing inventory at...
Pennsylvania reports 78 more coronavirus deaths as total case count nears 20,000Video
Seventy-eight new coronavirus-related deaths were reported to the Pennsylvania Department of Health throughout the day Thursday to bring the state’s death toll to 416, according to state health officials. The total coronavirus case count is approaching 20,000, the data show. The state saw three days this week where new deaths...
Report: Toilet paper shortage a result of people being home more, not hoarding
By now, most have heard about confrontations between people wanting to buy toilet paper during the coronavirus pandemic that have reached the point of authorities having to intervene. A recent report from USA Today suggests the idea that people have been selfishly hoarding the highly coveted tool may not paint...
6 more coronavirus deaths reported in Allegheny County
Six more people in Allegheny County died from the coronavirus, county health officials said Friday, bringing the countywide total to 18. Allegheny County Health Department initially reported a total of 20 deaths Friday morning but later corrected an error in the data. All of those people were over the age...
Westmoreland coroner says county has 11 coronavirus deaths
Westmoreland County has 11 deaths related to coronavirus, according to Coroner Ken Bacha. Pennsylvania’s Department of Health reported one death in the county through Thursday, with that number rising to five in its Friday update. But Bacha said Friday morning that 10 additional fatalities are attributed to covid-19, all of...
Dairy industry group working to stop purchase limits on milk
If your local grocery store still has a limit on how much milk a customer can buy, the state’s Department of Agriculture wants to know about it. Despite the covid-19 pandemic disrupting the local dairy supply chain, agriculture officials announced the American Dairy Association North East is working to stop...
State police seize more than $11 million worth of drugs in first 3 months of 2020
State police seized more than 68 pounds of cocaine worth about $1.5 million in the first three months of 2020, according to figures released by the law enforcement agency. That amount is part of more than $11 million in illicit drugs troopers confiscated statewide between Jan. 1 and March 31....
April snow showers dust Pittsburgh region
Western Pennsylvanians woke up to April snow showers Friday morning. The National Weather Service station at the Pittsburgh International Airport measured one-tenth of an inch of snow. Some areas, like Saxonburg and Butler County, reported more than an inch, NWS meteorologist Lee Hendricks said. Though it might be spring on...
Coronavirus highlights inequities among Western Pa. school districts
In the McKeesport Area School District, Superintendent Mark Holtzman estimates more than a thousand families either don’t have reliable internet access or the necessary technological devices to complete online schoolwork. Lessons are being made available via paper handouts, social media and the district website, he said. Completing material is strongly...
Excela ER doctor takes precautions; donations sought for protective equipment
After 15 years of practicing in Excela Health emergency rooms, Dr. Greg Harbaugh has added a new twist to his daily routine. Every day when he arrives home, Harbaugh strips down in the garage, places his clothing in a plastic bag, dumps the contents in the washing machine and heads...
Now hiring: Get a job helping Pennsylvania’s jobless, expediting unemployment payments
Pennsylvanians looking for work during the pandemic-spurred shutdown now have the option to get a job helping the jobless. The state Department of Labor and Industry is hiring a slew of workers to respond to an unprecedented surge in unemployment claims in recent weeks. Applications can be submitted starting Monday...
Medical examiner IDs man fatally shot in Pittsburgh
A man was fatally shot Thursday afternoon in Pittsburgh’s Marshall-Shadeland neighborhood. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s office identified the victim as David Craig Smith, 38, of Pittsburgh. Officers responded to a 911 call for a man shot along the 2600 block of Stayton Street around 5 p.m. Police said they...
Rivers Casino Pittsburgh plans to furlough most employees
Rivers Casino Pittsburgh will start furloughing most of its employees beginning next week amid the coronavirus pandemic. “This was an extremely difficult decision and one we desperately hoped to avoid,” Rivers CEO Greg Carlin said in a statement issued Thursday. The casino has been closed since March 15 to help...
Pa. Department of Health to provide county EMS agencies more details on covid-19 cases
The Pennsylvania Department of Health will release additional information about the location of covid-19 patients to county emergency management agencies beginning Friday. Citing the privacy provisions of the 1955 Disease Prevention and Control Act, the Pennsylvania Department of Health, which holds daily briefings on the statewide case count, previously refused...
Port Authority sets rider limits on buses, light rail
The Port Authority of Allegheny County will limit the number of riders allowed on buses at one time starting Monday in an effort to maintain social-distancing guidelines and slow the spread of the coronavirus. • No more than 10 riders will be allowed on a 35-foot bus • No more...
Applications for mail-in ballots surge as lockdown continues
Applications for mail-in ballots are surging across Pennsylvania, even as President Trump repeatedly condemns mail-in voting as a scheme that could hamper GOP chances to prevail at the polls. According to the Pennsylvania Department of State, the number of applications for mail-in ballots increased from 179,172 on April 1 to...
Western Pa. grocers try to keep customers, workers safe as government discourages shopping tripsVideo
Grocery stores around the Pittsburgh region continue to do all they can to keep customers and employees safe and healthy during an escalating coronavirus pandemic that prompted federal officials to warn people to avoid supermarkets. Along with social distancing, at the top of the list for most area grocers is...
North Versailles man hopes to continue Army service through pandemic response
Bill Roland never hesitated when he was called to serve his country, and fighting the coronavirus pandemic is no different. After receiving an email from the VFW asking for retired military medical personnel to join the front lines, the 69-year-old former Army nurse immediately volunteered. “I’ve been medical since 1988,”...
Cleanup underway at Rostraver’s Cedar Creek Park after storm topples 65 trees
Cedar Creek Park in Rostraver is expected to remain closed until at least Saturday as work crews clean up more than 65 trees felled during Wednesday morning’s storm. “Many of them were 60-to-80-foot pine trees and it will take a couple of days to clear,” said Greg McCloskey, director of...
‘You can’t relax’: New York coronavirus deaths up, but hospital trends hopeful
NEW YORK — New York state posted a record-breaking increase in coronavirus deaths for a third consecutive day even as a surge of patients in overwhelmed hospitals slowed, while isolation-weary residents were warned Thursday the crisis was far from over. The number of deaths rose by 799 to more than...
Why a Pittsburgh-area family opted for unproven hydroxychloroquine for sick dad
Bob Schrecengost, a resident at Caring Heights in Kennedy, is one of the 759 Allegheny County residents diagnosed with covid-19. The McKees Rocks native turns 77 on Friday. Schrecengost has dementia and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and has battled two recent non-covid-19 respiratory infections. Those conditions led his daughter, Lisa...
Pennsylvania officials: Enjoy the outdoors, but stay close to home
Try your luck catching a trout, but do it close to home. That was the message Thursday from state officials, who reminded residents that, no matter what outdoor recreation or exercise you choose, keep your distance from others. “People should recreate close to home. There’s a high interest right now...
Answering the Call: Pittsburgh pulmonologist describes caring for patients during coronavirus pandemicVideo
Dr. Tiffany DuMont is a pulmonologist who works in the intensive care unit at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh. She has led much of the covid-19 planning for the hospital. In a video interview with the Trib, DuMont described the pressure of her job and how she is taking care...
