Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1494
3 more in Pittsburgh police department test positive for coronavirus
Three more Pittsburgh police employees tested positive for coronavirus, Public Safety officials said Thursday. An instructor in the police academy, an officer in the administrative branch and a police recruit all are at home in self-isolation, according to spokeswoman Cara Cruz. A firearms instructor tested positive earlier this week, prompting...
Animal Friends to host pet food distribution for low-income pet owners
Animal Friends will host a drive-thru, free pet food distribution for low-income pet owners Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at its Ohio Township campus. The distribution will be a no-contact drive-thru pick up. Motorists should stay in their cars while Animal Friends’ staff members and volunteers load food...
Westmoreland County reports 7 additional coronavirus cases
Westmoreland County reported seven new cases of coronavirus on Thursday as the statewide total grew by nearly 2,000 new cases. The new cases bring the county’s running total to 190 since the first two cases were reported on March 19. The county saw its first death on Wednesday. The 1,989...
Pennsylvania sees nearly 2,000 new coronavirus cases, but ‘curve has changed’
Nearly 2,000 new coronavirus cases were reported in Pennsylvania, state health officials said Thursday, and 29 more people have died. With 1,989 new cases, the running total of covid-19 cases statewide reached 18,228 since the virus was first identified here on March 6. The latest numbers represent about a 12%...
Port Authority reports 3rd bus driver tests positive for coronavirus
A third Port Authority bus driver tested positive for coronavirus, authority officials said Thursday. The driver works out of the West Mifflin garage and has not been to work since March 13, according to spokesman Adam Brandolph. The employee has been in self-quarantine since March 23. Brandolph said that, upon...
Tornado causes critical damage to New Kensington church bell towerVideo
One of the bell towers at St. Mary of Czestochowa in New Kensington is so badly damaged from Wednesday’s tornado that it has to be removed, Msgr. Michael Begolly said in a message to parishioners. A structural engineer has told church officials that the bell tower on the left side...
Allegheny County reports 2 more deaths, 39 new coronavirus cases
Two more people in Allegheny County have died from the coronavirus, county health officials said Thursday, bringing the countywide total to 12. The 39 newly reported cases bring the county’s running total to 759 since the first local case was identified on March 14. The number of new cases in...
UPMC launches trials of coronavirus drugs, including hydroxychloroquine
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and UPMC on Thursday launched a new, global effort they say could speed up the process for testing covid-19 treatments. “We don’t have the luxury of time,” Dr. Derek Angus, UPMC chair of critical care, said during a news conference. Multiple...
Gov. Wolf closes Pennsylvania schools for rest of academic year
Gov. Tom Wolf on Thursday announced that all schools will stay closed for the rest of the academic year. “We must continue our efforts to mitigate the spread of the virus during this national crisis,” Wolf said in a statement. “This was not an easy decision, but closing schools until...
Police: Rostraver man shot while assaulting his elderly mother
A Rostraver man was hospitalized early Thursday after being shot while assaulting his elderly mother, township police said. Christopher N. Visnich, 37, was taken to Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh. His leg wound was not believed to be life-threatening, police said. Officers were called at 2 a.m. Thursday to an...
‘Happy’ 90-year-old dances down Hempfield Manor hallwaysVideo
A walker now might help Sarah “Dolly” Ponchak with her balance, but she still doesn’t miss a beat. To prove it, staff at Hempfield Manor — where Ponchak lives — recently danced down the nursing home hallways with the 90-year-old. Her family and others posted a video posted on the...
Record 16.8 million have sought U.S. jobless aid since virusVideo
WASHINGTON — With a startling 6.6 million people seeking jobless benefits last week, the United States has reached a grim landmark: More than one in 10 workers have lost their jobs in just the past three weeks to the coronavirus outbreak. The figures collectively constitute the largest and fastest string...
3 Jeannette dwellings damaged in early-morning fireVideo
A state police fire marshal is investigating the cause of a fire that damaged three homes in Jeannette early Thursday. A fire at 824-½ Gaskill Ave. spread to homes on either side of it shortly after 4 a.m., according to fire Chief Bill Frye. No injuries were reported. The fire...
Food bank hosting distribution at PPG Paints Arena
The Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank will hold a drive-up food distribution Friday at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh. Organizers plans to serve 1,300 vehicles between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. in the parking lots adjacent to the arena. The event is sponsored by the Pittsburgh Penguins and Pittsburgh Police....
2nd covid-19 case confirmed at Presbyterian SeniorCare facility in Washington County
A resident at a Presbyterian SeniorCare Network community in Washington has tested positive for covid-19, the second confirmed case at the Washington County facility. SeniorCare officials made the announcement in a news release Wednesday night. “Although we did not have any residents who had exhibited any covid-19 related symptoms, we...
The Heinz Endowments joins foundations shifting millions to emergency needs during pandemic
Western Pennsylvania’s largest grant-making foundations are banding together to get money quickly into the hands of those who need it the most to survive the coronavirus pandemic and statewide shutdown. They’re shifting funding priorities, earmarking new pots of money toward covid-19 emergency relief for things like food, shelter and protective...
HHS: Federal stockpiles of protective equipment nearly exhaustedVideo
WASHINGTON — The Strategic National Stockpile is nearly out of the N95 respirators, surgical masks, face, shields, gowns and other medical supplies desperately needed to protect front-line medical workers treating coronavirus patients. The Department of Health and Human Services told the Associated Press on Wednesday that the federal stockpile was...
County report shows few covid-19 cases in predominantly black Pittsburgh neighborhoods
The Allegheny County Health Department released an interactive dashboard Wednesday that shows how many covid-19 cases have been reported in each Pittsburgh neighborhood. Among the neighborhoods reporting the most cases in the city are Squirrel Hill South, with 18 cases; Glen Hazel, 14; Shadyside, 13; Highland Park, 11; Squirrel Hill...
Westmoreland struggles to get a handle on covid-19 infections as county logs first death
Westmoreland County officials struggled to get a handle on the local impact of covid-19 infections Wednesday, even as the Pennsylvania Department of Health announced the county’s first death related to the disease caused by the coronavirus. County officials learned of the death when local media reported on the state’s daily...
Map shows how many hospital beds, ventilators Pennsylvania has available in each county
Real-time data on number of hospital beds and ventilators available in every Pennsylvania county are now available on a website launched Wednesday by the state Department of Health. The Hospital Preparedness Dashboard shows, county by county, the number of coronavirus cases, deaths, intensive care beds, medical beds, isolation rooms and...
Outcry over racial data grows as coronavirus slams black AmericansVideo
As the coronavirus tightens its grip across the country, it is cutting a particularly devastating swath through an already vulnerable population — black Americans. Democratic lawmakers and community leaders in cities hard-hit by the pandemic have been sounding the alarm over what they see as a disturbing trend of the...
Gov. Wolf signs order allowing medical supplies to be redistributed to Pa. areas hit hardest by coronavirus
In light of the continued spread of the coronavirus across Pennsylvania, Gov. Tom Wolf on Wednesday signed an order that will allow the state’s emergency management agency to take protective equipment and supplies from one medical facility and give them to others with greater needs. “I’m trying to make sure...
Western Psych infection prevention manager discusses challenges of coronavirusVideo
What is it like to tell someone they have covid-19? Nina Tatar knows the answer to that question. Tatar is an infection prevention manager at UPMC Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic. She would normally touch patients and shake their hands. The coronavirus pandemic has changed how she must approach her...
Westmoreland flying club members lament loss of plane, hangar in strong storms
The Cessna four-seater airplane Chestnut Ridge Flying Club bought eight months ago was totaled early Wednesday as strong storms swept across the region, said group secretary Rick Indovina. He and a few other club members took photos of their damaged 1976 Cessna 172 that was stored inside their hangar at...
Coronavirus will likely delay Pittsburgh’s free grass-cutting program
Pittsburgh plans to offer free grass cutting again in 2020 for seniors, veterans and people with disabilities, but is uncertain when the service might begin because of the coronavirus pandemic. City Council on Tuesday voted 8-1 to allocate $300,000 for the City Cuts program. Dan Gilman, Mayor Bill Peduto’s chief...
