Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1118
‘You can’t fix it with facts’: Doctors share patients’ excuses for covid vaccine refusal
Misinformation and denial about covid-19 and its vaccine have left Dr. Heather Walker and her colleagues in the emergency department at Excela Health Westmoreland Hospital feeling defeated. “No matter what you do, it’s not enough,” she said. “It’s exhausting for everyone.” It’s also perplexing for doctors. How can a patient...
4 shot, 2 others injured during Lancaster mall shootingVideo
Six people were injured during the shooting and immediate aftermath at a Lancaster mall on Sunday afternoon, according to police. Lancaster city officers are still investigating the shooting that occurred at Park City Center mall around 2:30 p.m. According to an update on Sunday evening, the shooting stemmed from a...
Gateway signage to be part of Greensburg GetGo project
Gateway signage for the City of Greensburg will be included at a new GetGo fuel station and convenience store slated to be built at the former Family Video store along S. Main Street. The project, which will be located at 531 S. Main St., consists of tearing down the Family...
Pittsburgh teen charged in double shooting outside Kennedy bowling alley
A Pittsburgh teen was charged Sunday with shooting two people, one fatally, on Saturday night outside a bowling alley in Kennedy Township. Allegheny County Police arrested Malik Smith, 19, of Pittsburgh during an investigation into the double shooting, which happened just before 10:30 p.m. at the Kennedy Lanes bowling alley...
Westmoreland Land Trust hosts road-rally fundraiser
A handful of dark clouds were gathering on the horizon Sunday morning as classic, modern and muscle cars lined up at the Donohoe Center in Hempfield for the first Westmoreland Ramble, a road rally to benefit the Westmoreland Land Trust. But with a positive forecast and a 66-mile course that...
Short-term food bank numbers are down, but long-term food insecurity remains an issue nationwide
Hunger and food insecurity across the United States have dropped measurably over the past six months, but the need remains far above pre-pandemic levels. And while that demand has lessened somewhat in Pittsburgh and the surrounding region, local food bank officials are also seeing an uptick in applications for the...
Bitcoin-mining power plant raises ire of environmentalists
An obstacle to large-scale bitcoin mining is finding enough cheap energy to run the huge, power-gobbling computer arrays that create and transact cryptocurrency. One mining operation in central New York came up with a novel solution that has alarmed environmentalists. It uses its own power plant. Greenidge Generation runs a...
In quiet debut, Alzheimer’s drug finds questions, skepticism
The first new Alzheimer’s treatment in more than 20 years was hailed as a breakthrough when regulators approved it more than four months ago, but its rollout has been slowed by questions about its price and how well it works. Several major medical centers remain undecided on whether to use...
Gang with past abductions blamed for kidnapping missionaries
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — A notorious Haitian gang known for brazen kidnappings and killings was accused by police Sunday of abducting 17 missionaries from a U.S.-based organization. Five children were believed to be among those kidnapped, including a 2-year-old. The 400 Mawozo gang kidnapped the group in Ganthier, a community that...
Risky business: Some Capitol riot defendants forgo lawyers
Some of the defendants charged in the storming of the U.S. Capitol are turning away defense lawyers and electing to represent themselves, undeterred by their lack of legal training or repeated warnings from judges. That choice already has led to some curious legal maneuvers and awkward exchanges in court. A...
Greensburg man faces theft charges by local, state police
A Greensburg man wanted by both city and state police on multiple theft charges has been arrested. Chad E. Carlton, 34, of Greensburg, was arrested Oct. 7 by Greensburg police and charged with one count of theft by deception following his arraignment Saturday. Police said Carlton fraudulently leased a Southwest...
Police: Man dies after being struck, dragged by car on North Shore
A pedestrian who police said was struck and then dragged by a car died from his injuries late Saturday night. Pittsburgh Police responded to the intersection of Allegheny Avenue and Casino Drive on the North Shore for reports of a man who had been hit around 10:40 p.m. Responding units...
Nursing homes fall short of vaccine mandates for staff
Nursing homes are struggling to meet vaccination mandates for workers despite the likelihood of federal sanctions. In Pennsylvania, about 28% of the state’s 688 skilled care nursing facilities had met an 80% threshold for staff vaccination rates as of Oct. 3, according to the state Department of Health. Even fewer...
Amid sports program cuts nationwide, local colleges played on during pandemic despite millions of dollars in losses
As college football stadiums, basketball arenas and hockey facilities sat idle during the coronavirus pandemic, Western Pennsylvania universities did not waver. They continued to field their teams. From Pitt and Penn State to Slippery Rock and Duquesne, local colleges bucked a nationwide trend of cutting athletic programs to offset crippling...
Strike dodged with deal between film and TV crews, studios
LOS ANGELES — An 11th-hour deal was reached Saturday, averting a strike of film and television crews that would have seen some 60,000 behind-the-scenes workers walk off their jobs and would have frozen productions in Hollywood and across the U.S. After days of marathon negotiations, representatives from the International Alliance...
Lawsuits demand unproven ivermectin for covid patients
NEW YORK — Mask rules, vaccination mandates and business shutdowns have all landed in the courts during the covid-19 outbreak, confronting judges with questions of science and government authority. Now they are increasingly being asked to weigh in on the deworming drug ivermectin. At least two dozen lawsuits have been...
AHN doctor pushes for better support, resources for grieving families who lose a baby
During National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month, one doctor is pushing for broader access to support and resources for families experiencing pregnancy or infant loss. It’s something Dr. Marta Kolthoff emphasizes through AHN’s Perinatal Palliative Care Program. Kolthoff leads the program, which supports grieving families by providing palliative, hospice,...
Damp weather can’t dampen spirits at Pink Ribbon Walk in HempfieldVideo
The damp weather had zero chance of dampening Kelly White’s spirits on Saturday morning. The Ligonier resident, who is a breast cancer survivor who underwent a mastectomy in May, was attending her first Westmoreland Walks Pink Ribbon Walk. The event is hosted by the nonprofit of the same name that...
Man in stable condition following Homewood South shooting
An early-morning shooting Saturday in Pittsburgh’s Homewood South neighborhood sent a man to the hospital after he was shot in the leg multiple times, according to police. Zone 5 officers were called to the 7000 block of Kelly Street just before 5 a.m. Saturday morning, for a ShotSpotter alert. They...
Man in stable condition after being rescued from hillside in South Side
A man is in stable condition after police say he was dragged over a hillside with his vehicle Friday evening. First responders received reports of the incident in the 3400 block of E. Carson Street shortly before 5 p.m., according to Pittsburgh Public spokeswoman Cara Cruz. Witnesses told members police...
Mount Oliver man’s body pulled from Monongahela River in Pittsburgh
First responders recovered a Mount Oliver man’s body from the Monongahela River in Pittsburgh on Friday evening, according to Pittsburgh police. Officers responded to the river near the Liberty Bridge around 6:15 p.m. after they received reports that a body was spotted in the water, according to Pittsburgh Public spokeswoman...
Former Istanbul Sofra restaurant owner testifies on his own behalf in sexual assault trial
Shortly after Adnan Pehlivan entered Kopy’s Bar on the South Side on May 15, 2018, he bought shots for himself and the women next to him. Then he bought another round. And another. Each time, video surveillance from inside the bar showed, the group would say “cheers.” While the women...
UPMC doctors offer perspective as more covid booster shots near approval
As federal regulators move closer to approving booster shots of the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson covid-19 vaccines, UPMC doctors remain focused on the unvaccinated — those they called most vulnerable people. “I want to make sure we do not put the cart in front of the horse,” said Dr....
Investigation continues into man’s death after he was tasered by Pittsburgh police officer
Allegheny County Police continue to investigate an incident in which a Pittsburgh police officer tasered a man who died a day later. Pittsburgh police did not identify the officer who deployed a Taser at least once against Jim Rogers, who died shortly after 10 a.m. Thursday. About 24 hours earlier,...
Pa. lawmakers hand out millions in public contracts to law firms that fill their campaign coffers
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 — A host of politically connected law firms are pouring millions of dollars into the campaigns of Pennsylvania legislators, who...
