Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1314
McConnell backs off Senate filibuster fight with Schumer
WASHINGTON — Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell backed off his demand that Senate Democrats preserve the procedural tool known as the filibuster, easing a standoff with new Majority Leader Chuck Schumer as the two negotiated a power-sharing agreement in the closely divided chamber. McConnell said late Monday he had essentially...
As 2nd Trump impeachment trial draws near, Sen. Pat Toomey remains on the fence
U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey remained uncommitted Monday on whether he would vote to convict former President Donald Trump even as the House prepared to deliver the impeachment charge to the Senate. Toomey, who has said he will not seek reelection in 2022, has been a harsh critic of Trump in...
Minnesota case marks 1st detection of Brazil covid variant
MINNEAPOLIS — A new Brazilian variant of the coronavirus has made its first known appearance in the United States in a person who recently returned to Minnesota after traveling to Brazil, state health officials announced Monday. The Brazil P.1 variant was found in a specimen from a patient who lives...
Duquesne University asked to bring back professor fired for using racial slur in class
A faculty-elected oversight body recommends that Duquesne University President Ken Gormley rehire Gary Shank, the education professor fired for using a racial slur during a virtual lecture on race and language in September. “While Dr. Shank’s use of the N-word was misguided, it was not malicious,” concludes a report by...
Trump impeachment goes to Senate, testing his sway over GOPVideo
WASHINGTON — Democrats marched the impeachment case against Donald Trump to the Senate Monday night for the start of his historic trial, but Republican senators were easing off their criticism of the former president and shunning calls to convict him over the deadly siege at the U.S. Capitol. It’s an...
Pa. Congressman Scott Perry acknowledges introducing Trump to Justice lawyer
PHILADELPHIA — U.S. Rep. Scott Perry, a Republican from the Harrisburg area, acknowledged Monday that he introduced former President Donald Trump to a Department of Justice attorney sympathetic the president’s false election claims, and who later joined Trump in a plot to pressure Georgia officials to overturn the results in...
Pennsylvania sets early start, statewide schedule for trout season
Pennsylvania’s trout season will open earlier than usual this year, and statewide, on April 3. The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission on Monday set the opening date and also approved a single statewide Mentored Youth Trout Day on March 27. As a result of the consolidation, separate regional mentored youth...
Janet Yellen wins Senate approval as 1st female treasury secretary
The Senate on Monday approved President Joe Biden’s nomination of Janet Yellen to be the nation’s 78th treasury secretary, making her the first woman to hold the job in the department’s 232-year history. Yellen, a former chair of the Federal Reserve, was approved by the Senate on a 84-15 vote,...
Biden more bullish on vaccines, suggests 1.5M shots per dayVideo
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Monday appeared to boost his goal for coronavirus vaccinations in his first 100 days in office, suggesting that the nation could soon be vaccinating 1.5 million Americans on average per day. Biden signaled his increasing bullishness on the pace of vaccinations after signing an...
Supreme Court set to decide in Feb. whether to hear Rep. Mike Kelly’s election case
The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to announce in as soon as a month whether it will hear the election case of U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, who started his legal fight against the results of the presidential race within weeks after fellow Republican Donald Trump lost the White House to...
Department of Justice watchdog to probe if staff tried to alter election outcomeVideo
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department’s inspector general has opened an investigation into whether department staff members sought to use the agency to alter the outcome of the 2020 election and overturn President Joe Biden’s victory. The department didn’t say what prompted Inspector General Michael Horowitz to open the inquiry, but...
Greensburg parolee charged with assault, strangulation after battered woman shows up at police station
A man who was released from state prison after pleading guilty to brutally assaulting a woman in Latrobe is now charged with another alleged attack in Greensburg. A woman went to the city police station around 8 p.m. Saturday to report that Glenn J. Whittier assaulted her at his Walnut...
Covid contact tracing still challenging in Pennsylvania
Contact tracing remains a challenge in Pennsylvania, officials said Monday. From Jan. 10 to Jan. 16, only 18% of the 46,708 covid cases reported had a case investigation started within 24 hours, according to the Department of Health. An additional 5% had a case investigation started within 48 hours. “We...
Godiva closing its U.S. chocolate stores, including 1 at Ross Park Mall
Luxury chocolatier Godiva is closing all of its brick and mortar stores in the United States. The company will exit its 128 physical locations, some through sales and others through closures, by the end of the first quarter of 2021. Locally, Godiva has a store at Ross Park Mall in...
Former Catholic school on Mt. Washington poised to become loft apartments
A former school atop Mt. Washington with a commanding view of the Downtown Pittsburgh skyline is set to be converted into loft apartments. Grandview Lofts would be located in the former Bishop Leonard-St. Mary of the Mount Academy building at 115 Bigham St. Its rooftop deck would offer the skyline...
Former Westmoreland County driver claims racial discrimination in suit against transit authority
A Jeannette woman who drove for National Express Transit and the Westmoreland County Transit Authority is suing both, alleging race discrimination and a hostile work environment. Ashley Oliver, who is Black, began working for the Illinois-based transit company in June 2019. Her employment then switched to the transit authority in...
Covid cases continue to drop in Pennsylvania, fewer deaths starting to follow
With new coronavirus cases on the decline in Pennsylvania, a report from the state Department of Health shows covid-related deaths are also beginning to slow slightly. Over the past two days, the state added 7,910 new cases of covid-19 — a 21% drop from the same two-day period last week,...
Westmoreland County reports fewer new covid cases, deaths
Westmoreland County added 213 new covid-19 cases over the past two days, according to a report Monday from the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The two-day total — from cases added Sunday and Monday — were just one less than last week’s report (214). It’s the lowest Sunday-Monday tally since Nov....
New coronavirus cases continue to decline in Allegheny County
Over the past two days, another 620 cases of coronavirus were added to Allegheny County’s total, according to a report Monday from the county’s Health Department. The report shows there were 22% fewer new covid cases reported this week than the last Sunday-Monday period (796) in the county, and 30%...
Dominion Voting Systems sues Giuliani for $1.3B over election claimsVideo
Dominion Voting Systems filed a defamation lawsuit Monday against Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, who led the former president’s efforts to question the results of the 2020 election, including in Pennsylvania. The lawsuit seeks more than $1.3 billion in damages for the voting machine company, a target for conservatives...
Pittsburgh police seek tips to find Beechview man last seen Saturday night
Pittsburgh police are seeking the public’s help in the search for a Beechview man who hasn’t been seen since late Saturday night. Investigators say Thomas Hughes, 25, was last seen at around 11 p.m. on Jan. 23. He is 6-feet 1-inch tall, weighs 260 pounds and has blonde hair and...
Budweiser joins Coke, Pepsi brands in sitting out Super Bowl
NEW YORK — For the first time since 1983, when Anheuser-Busch used all of its ad time to introduce a beer called Bud Light, the beer giant isn’t advertising its iconic Budweiser brand during the Super Bowl. Instead, it’s donating the money it would have spent on the ad to...
Biden plans to sign order for government to buy more U.S. goods
BALTIMORE — President Joe Biden plans to sign on Monday an executive order that aims to boost government purchases from U.S. manufacturers, according to administration officials. The United States has shed roughly 540,000 factory jobs since last February as the coronavirus pandemic hurled the world’s largest economy into recession. The...
High covid numbers could delay return to hybrid classes until April for Pittsburgh students
The Pittsburgh Public Schools Board is scheduled to vote this week on a measure to delay the return to partial in-person instruction until at least April 6 because of the high number of people in Allegheny County testing positive for the coronavirus, district officials announced. Delaying the planned return to...
TV Talk: Eureka! Syfy debuts comedic drama ‘Resident Alien’Video
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. With media companies prioritizing streaming services over their basic cable networks, the number of original scripted shows on cable has started to decline. Other than “The Magicians,” which ended last year, Syfy’s scripted originals have...
