Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 999
Most local school districts move to mask-optional policies following court ruling
Many local school districts are using last week’s state Supreme Court ruling striking down the state’s mask mandate in schools to return to mask-optional policies in their buildings. The state Department of Health in late August ordered that face coverings be worn by everyone in all school buildings. Gov. Tom...
Army Corps’ Pittsburgh District sends 16 workers to provide temporary power in tornado aftermath
The Pittsburgh District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers sent 16 employees this weekend to support the Federal Emergency Management Agency with disaster relief and providing temporary power to Kentucky and other states hit by recent tornadoes. Severe storms and tornadoes devastated more than 1,000 homes over 200 miles...
California brings back mask mandate as coronavirus cases rise
SACRAMENTO — California is bringing back a statewide indoor mask mandate. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration announced the new mandate will start Wednesday and last until Jan. 15. The order comes as the per capita rate of new coronavirus cases in California has jumped 47% in the past two weeks. “We...
Time to finish: Deadline approaching to get gifts under the tree by Christmas
Hey procrastinators: If you think you’ve still got plenty of time to shop for Christmas and get those gifts mailed so they’ll be under the tree come Christmas morning, think again. There are only a few days left if shoppers want to ensure that gifts will arrive on time, and...
Biden visiting Kentucky to console tornado victims, give aidVideo
WASHINGTON — For the fifth time since taking office less than a year ago, President Joe Biden is taking on the grim task Wednesday of visiting an area ravaged by natural disaster to offer comfort and condolences. Biden was headed to Kentucky to survey damage and offer federal support for...
New Kensington police charge man with sexual misconduct with 3 young girls during summer visits
New Kensington police have charged a man with engaging in inappropriate sexual behavior with three sisters ages 11, 13 and 14 during a five-month period. Lawrence William Barber, 66, of Parkview Drive in New Kensington was charged with five felonies — three counts of endangering the welfare of children and...
Brothers found guilty in 2017 Penn Hills killing
Two brothers on trial for the 2017 shooting death of a Penn Hills man were found guilty Monday and face life prison sentences. Donald King, 36, of Stowe was found guilty of pre-meditated first-degree murder, while Devante King, 29, of Wilkinsburg was found guilty of second-degree, or felony murder in...
Nonstop flights from Pittsburgh to London return in 2022 via British Airways
British Airways will return to Pittsburgh International Airport next year, after the covid-19 pandemic grounded the transnational flights in 2020, officials said Monday. Tickets for flights to London’s Heathrow Airport, which resume June 3, are available now. The airline re-upped service in Pittsburgh in 2019 after a two-decade hiatus. British...
Philadelphia to require vaccine proof for indoor dining
PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia will require proof of covid-19 vaccination to dine indoors at bars, restaurants, indoor sporting events and other food-related establishments starting Jan. 3, city and public health officials announced Monday. Public Health Director Cheryl Bettigole said Philadelphia has seen infection rates double in the last few weeks and...
Thousands without heat, water after tornadoes kill dozensVideo
MAYFIELD, Ky. — Residents of Kentucky counties where tornadoes killed dozens of people could be without heat, water or electricity in frigid temperatures for weeks or longer, state officials warned Monday, as the toll of damage and deaths came into clearer focus in five states slammed by the swarm of...
2 men accused in North Huntingdon kidnapping
North Huntingdon police arrested two men Monday who they said were involved with the kidnapping of a 17-year-old township resident during the weekend, according to court papers. Karrar F. Al Hilali, 39, of West Mifflin and James Keith Maskil, 28, of Graysville, Greene County, are charged with kidnapping, conspiracy, burglary,...
Mount Oliver Bodega restaurant on hiatus but will return soon, owner says
The abrupt departure of iconic and nomadic chef Kevin Sousa just two just months after Mount Oliver Bodega restaurant opened left the eatery in a lurch. But its owner said the restaurant will probably reopen in about 30 days as it regroups. “What we’re trying to do is make sure...
Acting Pa. Secretary of Health Alison Beam resigning at year’s end
Acting Secretary of Health Alison Beam, who led the state’s occasionally bumpy covid vaccine rollout, will resign at the end of the year, Gov. Tom Wolf announced Monday. Neither Beam nor Wolf indicated a reason for her departure. Wolf said he intends to name the department’s executive deputy secretary, Keara...
Allegheny County arts, cultural groups to receive recovery plan grants
Allegheny County nonprofit arts and cultural organizations will get a financial boost to help with post-pandemic recovery, thanks to a $500,000 grant to American Rescue Plan grant to the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council from the National Endowment for the Arts. The arts council will regrant 90% of the funds to...
Jan. 6 panel votes for contempt charges against Mark MeadowsVideo
WASHINGTON — The House panel investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection voted Monday to recommend contempt charges against former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows as lawmakers demand his testimony about then-President Donald Trump’s actions before and during the attack. “Whatever legacy he thought he left in the House,...
Hempfield Area School District returns to mask-optional policy
The Hempfield Area School District will return to a mask-optional policy this week after the state’s mask mandate was overturned by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. The message was conveyed in a letter sent to district families Saturday. “The Hempfield Area School District’s Health & Safety Plan indicates that once the...
Woman killed in Robinson crash identified
A 67-year-old woman was killed in a single-vehicle crash Sunday afternoon in Robinson, officials said. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner identified the woman as Katherine Fazio, of Pittsburgh. According to a report from the medical examiner, crews responded to the 4400 block of Campbells Run Road shortly after 2 p.m....
Editorial: Court ruling addresses mask mandate, not safety
The legal back and forth is over and done. Pennsylvania’s mask mandate for schools is kaput. So now what? Now it is up to school districts to decide whether they are going to keep the kids covered or not. That, after all, is what so many schools and parents were...
State police: Fire at Arnold Manor public high-rise ruled accidental
A fire at an Arnold high-rise that displaced more than two dozen residents last week was ruled an accident, state police said. According to a state police report, the cause of the fire that erupted Thursday in apartment 411 of Arnold Manor public housing was electrical. Police said the apartment...
Excela reopens Unity testing center in response to rising covid-19 numbers
In response to the increasing number of covid cases in the region, Excela Health has reopened its testing center at 443 Frye Farm Road in Unity. The center will be staffed from 2 to 6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, and is by appointment only. Appointments can be made by calling...
Brackenridge church hosts open mic event for musicians on autism spectrum
Christmas carols and other music filled the social hall Sunday at United Methodist Church in Brackenridge. All of the performers — about 20 in total — are on the autism spectrum. The event, hosted by Band Together Pittsburgh and the Autism Society of Pittsburgh, aims to build community through music,...
Lack of telehealth law in Pa. a major headache for patients who need it most
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — Cheryl Gibson was in pain as she drove. Eight months earlier, Gibson had begun an at-home breathing treatment for...
Investigations of Pa. State Police troopers who injure, kill should be independent, panel says
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania State Police troopers who kill or injure someone should not be investigated by their own agency, and an...
Fox anchor Chris Wallace leaving network for CNN
NEW YORK — Veteran anchor Chris Wallace signed off his “Fox News Sunday” show after 18 years to join CNN’s new streaming service, dealing a blow to Fox’s news operation at a time its opinion side has become preeminent. CNN’s announcement that Wallace will join CNN+ as an anchor came...
Train derails in Baldwin; East Carson, River Road closed as clean-up commences
River Road in Baldwin was closed between Glass Run Road and Becks Run Road after a Norfolk Southern train derailed early Sunday morning, according to Baldwin police. Pittsburgh hazmat and police responded to the scene of the derailment, which happened around 4:45 a.m. above East Carson Street in Baldwin, as...
