Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1504
Wolf administration lays off about 2,500 state employees amid coronavirus outbreakVideo
HARRISBURG — The Wolf administration has laid off about 2,500 part-time and seasonal employees and interns as the financial fallout from the coronavirus deepens, straining Pennsylvania’s cash flow, Spotlight PA has learned. The affected workers, which include temporary clerical staff and employees who help out in departments across state government...
North Shore police memorial vandalized
A memorial to law enforcement officers near Heinz Field was vandalized. A profane anti-police message was spray painted in yellow on the Allegheny County Law Enforcement Officers Memorial on North Shore Drive, according to Pittsburgh police. The vandalism was on the part of the memorial facing the Allegheny River. The...
Pittsburgh police seek suspect in fatal Homewood shooting
A woman was found shot in Homewood early Monday morning, according to Pittsburgh police. Officers responded to a 911 call for a person shot in the 7000 block of Monticello Street just before 2:20 a.m. The woman was found inside a residence with a gunshot wound. Medics pronounced her dead...
Gas prices continue plummeting, averaging $2.27 a gallon in Pittsburgh area
Gasoline prices are continuing to fall but, unlike the national average, the average in the Pittsburgh area remains above $2 per gallon, according to price-tracking service GasBuddy. The national average has fallen under $2 per gallon for the first time in more than four years, caused by an unprecedented drop...
Power outages reported across Pittsburgh region
Duquesne Light and West Penn Power were both reporting power outages in the Pittsburgh area early Monday morning. As of 6 a.m., Duquesne Light had about 350 outages. Most were in Churchill, 106; Hampton, 97; and Ross, 68. By 10:30, outages were down to about 170, while still focused with...
With an eye on ICU beds, Pa. hospitals prep for surge in coronavirus patients
As coronavirus cases continue to grow, hospitals across the state are doing what they can to prepare for a surge of critical patients that officials fear could overwhelm the health care system. More than half of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties, however, have fewer than 20 intensive care beds, according to data...
Trump adds 30 days to distancing guidelines as virus spreadsVideo
WASHINGTON — Bracing the nation for a grim death toll, President Donald Trump on Sunday extended the voluntary national shutdown for a month, bowing to public-health experts who told him the coronavirus pandemic could claim over 100,000 lives in the U.S., perhaps significantly more, if not enough is done to...
9 more residents of Beaver County nursing home diagnosed with covid-19
Nine more residents of a Beaver County nursing home tested positive for covid-19, said the home’s medical director. Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center started testing residents Friday, and 10 positive covid-19 cases were confirmed by Saturday morning. On Sunday, Dr. David Thimons, the center’s medical director, said there were another...
2 residents of St. Barnabas Nursing Home in Richland test positive for covid-19
Two residents at St. Barnabas Nursing Home in Richland are in quarantine after testing positive for covid-19, a spokesman confirmed Sunday. “They’re in a separate section of the building as well as separate rooms,” said Jim Lauteri, a spokesman with St. Barnabas Health System. St. Barnabas has five assisted-living facilities...
School districts develop plans, implement online learning
Kiski Area School District, like many other districts, will begin teaching students remotely this week, relying on Google tools, email and the cooperation of parents to stream lectures and distribute assignments. It’s going to be a challenge, Superintendent Tim Scott said. But at this point, there are few options. “We’re...
Priest who serves in Pittsburgh’s Oakland-area grouping tests positive for covid-19
A priest who had been in isolation as a result of being exposed to someone else who tested positive for covid-19 has himself been diagnosed with the disease, the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh said. The Rev. Adam Potter, who served as an assistant priest for the parishes in the city’s...
2 people hurt in multi-vehicle collision on Route 65
Two people were taken to the hospital following a multi-vehicle collision in Bellevue on Sunday, according to authorities. The crash occurred just after 2:30 p.m. on the 4200 block of Route 65, also known as Ohio River Boulevard, an Allegheny County 911 dispatcher said. The collision closed in the highway...
Artist transforms Uptown tiger into ‘Tiger King’ portrait of Joe Exotic
Pop culture is a big part of Jeremy Raymer’s art, and he knows the value of having a finger on the pulse of the cultural zeitgeist. So when a friend mentioned the old tiger’s head, painted on a wall near the intersection of Moultrie Street and Tustin Street behind the...
6 additional covid-19 cases reported in Westmoreland County
Westmoreland County’s covid-19 case count rose by six overnight, as figures released Sunday by state health officials show 47 confirmed cases. That is up from 41 cases in figures released yesterday. There have been no deaths related to the virus in the county, which has been under a stay-at-home order...
Pennsylvania reports 4 more deaths, 643 new cases of coronavirus
Four more people in Pennsylvania have died from covid-19, increasing the statewide coronavirus death toll to 38, state health officials said Sunday at their daily briefing. The state reported 643 new cases of covid-19. A total of 3,394 residents had tested positive as of noon Sunday. Confirmed cases are now...
Gov. Wolf orders Beaver, Centre, Washington County residents to stay home
HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Wolf has extended his order for residents to stay at home in most circumstances to almost one-third of Pennsylvania’s counties amid an increase in coronavirus cases and a dozen more deaths that brought the total to 34 for the outbreak. The governor on Saturday extended the...
Allegheny County sees 46 new coronavirus cases, bringing total to 265
Allegheny County health officials reported an additional 46 cases of covid-19 Sunday morning. That figure is down from the 61 new cases reported from Friday to Saturday. In all, county health officials have confirmed 265 cases. The cases are split evenly between genders: 133 females and 132 males. The age...
Pittsburgh garbage collection to resume Monday
Garbage collection in the city of Pittsburgh will resume Monday after being delayed due to concerns about the coronavirus and thunderstorm warnings, city officials said. Collection was halted last week due to concerns about the coronavirus. Crews on Saturday were able to collect most of the leftover trash and recycling,...
Specter of 100K-plus virus deaths as Trump seeks reopening
WASHINGTON — As President Donald Trump looks for ways to restore normalcy in parts of the U.S., his foremost infection disease expert says the country could experience more than 100,000 deaths and millions of infections from the coronavirus pandemic. Dr. Anthony Fauci, speaking on CNN’s “State of the Union” on...
What’s essential? In France: pastry, wine. In U.S.: golf, guns
The coronavirus pandemic is defining for the globe what’s “essential” and what things we really can’t do without, even though we might not need them for survival. Attempting to slow the spread of the virus, authorities in many places are determining what shops and services can remain open. They’re also...
Trump: No quarantine, but travel advisory for NY, CT and NJ
NORFOLK, Va. — President Trump backed away from calling for a quarantine for coronavirus hotspots in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, instead directing Saturday night that a “strong Travel Advisory” be issued to stem the spread of the outbreak. Vice President Mike Pence tweeted that the CDC was urging...
Police investigate Homestead drive-by shooting, boy shot in arm
A boy in Homestead was shot in the arm Saturday evening in Homestead, police say. Allegheny County Police say he was possibly shot in the 1100 block of Sylvan Avenue. The original call summoned police to the 300 block of West 12th Avenue at about 5:10 p.m. Allegheny County detectives...
Landslide closes Route 837 in West Mifflin
A portion of Route 837 in West Mifflin is closed in both directions due to a landslide. The closure is in effect between Boswell Oil Co., in Dravosburg and the McKeesport-Duquesne Bridge. The closure is in effect until further notice, PennDOT said Saturday night....
Pittsburgh Catholic diocese cancels all funeral Masses, weddings, baptisms due to coronavirus
The Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh has canceled all funeral Masses, weddings and baptisms throughout the diocese after two priests in separate parish groupings were exposed to the coronavirus. The church announced Saturday night that the Sacrament of Reconciliation (confession) services that have taken place in churches or church parking lots...
Beaver County nursing home confronts covid-19 outbreak; at least 10 residents infected
A Beaver County nursing home is scrambling to contain an outbreak of covid-19 that has infected at least 10 residents, officials said Saturday. The Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center began testing residents Friday night, and the first several results came back negative, the center’s leaders said in a statement. Results...
