Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1322
Man arrested with handgun, ammo at Washington checkpoint
Police have arrested a man with a handgun and 500 rounds of ammunition at a checkpoint in Washington set up ahead of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration. Wesley Allen Beeler of Front Royal, Virginia, was charged with carrying a pistol without a license after being stopped at the checkpoint near the...
National Guard troops pour into Washington as states answer the call
WASHINGTON — By the busload and planeload, National Guard troops were pouring into the nation’s capital on Saturday, as governors answered the urgent pleas of U.S. defense officials for more troops to help safeguard Washington even as they keep anxious eyes on possible violent protests in their own states. Military...
Forbes Road residents shocked gobbler ‘Butterball’ shot by game wardenVideo
Forbes Road residents remained stunned this weekend after a state game warden gunned down Butterball, a free-roaming, friendly turkey that some had come to consider the unofficial mascot of this Salem Township village. “People are in shock. It was a pet,” Josh Nuttall, 35, said Saturday of the dark-feathered turkey...
Jamison Farm to close, ending 35-year run of supplying lamb to top restaurantsVideo
John and Sukey Jamison are bidding farewell to the business they’ve enjoyed for 35 years at their farm in Unity. The couple is phasing out their highly regarded Jamison Farm line of grass-fed lamb products, a decision prompted in part by the covid-19 pandemic. “We had been thinking about retirement...
Snow band moves through Pittsburgh area; mid-30 degrees expected Sunday
While a snow band racked up an inch or two in the Pittsburgh area by early afternoon and up to four inches on the ridges, the region is forecast to be done with any substantial snowfall this weekend. Expect the same old winter gray days for Saturday afternoon into Sunday...
Westmoreland County posts 173 covid-19 cases, 3 new deaths
The Pennsylvania Department of Health on Saturday reported 173 new cases of the coronavirus in Westmoreland County, as hospitalizations and case counts decline in the area. The county’s total cases are at 23,039, which is an increase of more than 1,400 cases from last week’s 21,622. The week before had...
Pennsylvania reports 7,166 coronavirus cases, 231 deaths
Pennsylvania on Saturday reported 7,166 new coronavirus cases, as hospitalizations and case counts are trending down in the Keystone State. The new data bring the total cases to 761,777. That’s a jump of nearly 48,500 cases from this time last week. The week before, the weekly increase was 56,000. Officials...
1 man dead, 1 in critical condition in 2 Pittsburgh shootings; victim identified
A 22-year-old Pittsburgh man was fatally shot late Friday night in the Crafton Heights section of Pittsburgh, police said. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the victim as Martell Good of Crafton Heights. Medics transported him to a local hospital, where he died. Police said they received a report...
Allegheny County reports 526 coronavirus cases; 38 new deaths
Allegheny County on Saturday recorded 526 new coronavirus cases, as recent numbers continue to drop below the 1,000 case mark. Reports haven’t reached 700 cases in more than a week. The county has reported nine days of at least 1,000 new cases, but hasn’t posted one in the last two...
Social ‘climate,’ lagging pay could be fueling decline in municipal police applicants
Some local police chiefs are having a tough time finding officers to join their forces. Jeannette recently advertised seeking candidates to take a civil service test. It received three applications. Irwin had five applicants for its test — all of whom were already part-time officers in the borough. After receiving...
No winner of Mega Millions $750M; Powerball drawing Saturday
DES MOINES, Iowa — One of the largest jackpots in U.S. history will grow even larger since there was no winner for Friday’s drawing of the Mega Millions’ $750 million top prize. The numbers were 3, 11, 12, 38, 43, with a Mega Ball of 15 and would have marked...
Despite pandemic, region sets record for organ, tissue transplants in 2020
Correction: Susan Stuart is CEO of the Center for Organ Recovery and Education. Her name was incorrect in original version of this story. Despite the covid-19 pandemic and all of the hospital restrictions that came along with it, the Center for Organ Recovery and Education (CORE) experienced a second record-breaking...
Trump administration carries out 13th and final execution
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — The Trump administration early Saturday carried out its 13th federal execution since July, an unprecedented run that concluded just five days before the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden — an opponent of the federal death penalty. Dustin Higgs, convicted in the killings of three women in...
Mona Charen: Finally, Trump has crossed a line for GOP, conservatives
Throngs of self-styled conservatives and Republicans have now reached the thunderous realization that Donald Trump is not just a harmless clown. Former White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney acknowledged to Chuck Todd that Trump’s rhetoric was incendiary, but insisted this kind of incitement was par for the course in...
2 Leechburg Area students test positive for covid
Two students in grades 6-12 at Leechburg Area High School have tested positive for covid-19. Students and staff returned to face-to-face instruction Monday, Jan. 11. In an email to district families Friday, Superintendent Tiffany Nix outlined the latest covid-19 updates for all students in grades K-12. Nix said because the...
Man police say is connected to child sex case arrested in Bellevue
A man who police say is connected to a child sex case was arrested Friday. Joshua A. Pollard, 29, was arrested at a house in the 100 block of Lincoln Avenue in Bellevue around 8:30 pm. by members of the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office, fugitive squad and the Bellevue Police...
Police: 2 people struck by vehicle in Pittsburgh’s Brookline neighborhood
Two people were hospitalized in stable condition after being struck by a vehicle in Pittsburgh’s Brookline neighborhood Friday evening. Public Safety spokesman Chris Togneri said the pedestrians were walking along the 700 block of Brookline Boulevard around 5:45 p.m. when they were hit. They told medics the crash gave them...
Biden: We’ll ‘manage the hell’ out of feds’ covid response
WILMINGTON, Del. — President-elect Joe Biden pledged Friday to boost supplies of coronavirus vaccine and set up new vaccination sites to meet his goal of 100 million shots in 100 days. It’s part of a broader covid strategy that also seeks to straighten out snags in testing and ensure minority...
Holocaust survivor Sam Weinreb dies at 94
Sam Weinreb, a Holocaust survivor who raised his family in McKeesport, passed away peacefully Friday at Hebrew Senior Life Rehabilitation Center in Roslindale, Mass. He was 94. While he was only in his mid-teens, Weinreb somehow managed to live through some of the worst mental and physical abuse the Nazis...
$2.2 billion to be allocated to school districts, charter schools across Pennsylvania
Additional federal money is being allocated to school districts across the state to help with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Gov. Tom Wolf on Friday said he is dedicating $2.2 billion in federal stimulus funds to K-12 school districts and charter schools. The money can be used to support...
Pittsburgh City-County Building closed for Inauguration Day out of ‘overabundance of caution’
Offices in the City-County Building in Downtown Pittsburgh will be closed Wednesday out of an “overabundance of caution” as rumors persist regarding potential unrest on Inauguration Day. In a letter to city employees Thursday, Mayor Bill Peduto said those who normally work in the Grant Street building should work from...
Vaccines to stimulus checks: Here’s what’s in Biden plan
WILMINGTON, Del. — President-elect Joe Biden is proposing a $1.9 trillion plan to expand coronavirus vaccinations, help individuals and jump-start the economy. The plan, which would require congressional approval, is packed with proposals on health care, education, labor and cybersecurity. On Friday, he outlined a five-step approach to getting the...
Westmoreland County Democrats flock to the GOP in week of D.C. riot, bucking Pa. trend
Nowhere else in Pennsylvania saw more Democratic voters switch their party allegiances to Republican than in Westmoreland County during the first week of January. From Jan. 4 through Jan. 11, there were 189 registered Democrats who became members of the GOP, according to figures from the Pennsylvania Department of State....
Official: No ‘direct evidence’ of plot to kill at Capitol
PHOENIX — Federal prosecutors said there was “strong evidence” the pro-Trump mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol last week aimed to “capture and assassinate elected officials,” but the head of the investigation cautioned Friday that the probe is still in its early stages and there was no “direct evidence” of...
Seeking 3rd term during pandemic, Peduto says ‘there’s still a lot of work to do’
As he launches his campaign to seek a third term in office, Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto isn’t kissing babies, shaking hands or doing any of the usual things associated with a politician. Instead, on Thursday he shared a recorded interview with supporters on Facebook. On Friday, he began a series...
