Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1334
Wife, attorney await word on inmate’s condition after fall at Allegheny County Jail
A week ago, Antoinette Yates got word that her husband, who is awaiting sentencing at the Allegheny County Jail, fell off the second tier on pod 2C. Witnesses who were conducting video visits with their loved ones on the pod saw Robert Yates fall on Dec. 28. Since then, Antoinette...
State police: Pittsburgh man suspected of DUI tried to hide marijuana blunt in his crotch
A Pittsburgh man accused of illegally having two loaded guns – one of them stolen – in a car he was driving Sunday in East Deer stuffed a marijuana blunt down his pants when he was pulled over by state troopers, police said. Police said they pulled over a car...
Uncounted ballots discovered among Westmoreland County voting equipment
Westmoreland County elections officials disclosed Monday that 21 uncounted provisional ballots submitted at a North Huntingdon voting precinct on Election Day were discovered last week among computer equipment used at the polls in November. Elections bureau staffers found the unopened ballots during a routine inspection of voting machines stored at...
Pittsburgh officials look to improve snow removal plans
The next time it snows, Pittsburgh’s public works employees will be more prepared to keep the city’s streets clear, officials announced Monday. The White Christmas, or at least its aftermath, left some city residents seeing red after they failed to spot a plow or salt truck for two days in...
Urging calm, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser calls in National Guard for protestsVideo
Bracing for possible violence, the nation’s capital has mobilized the National Guard ahead of planned protests by President Donald Trump’s supporters in connection with the congressional vote expected Wednesday to affirm Joe Biden’s election victory. Trump’s supporters are planning to rally Tuesday and Wednesday, seeking to bolster the president’s unproven...
In farewell, DeVos urges Congress to reject Biden’s policies
In a farewell letter to Congress on Monday, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos urged lawmakers to reject President-elect Joe Biden’s education agenda, while imploring them to shield Trump administration policies that Biden has promised to eliminate. DeVos does not explicitly acknowledge President Donald Trump’s election defeat nor does she refer to...
U.K. prime minister orders new virus lockdown for England
LONDON — Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Monday a new national lockdown for England until at least mid-February to combat a fast-spreading new variant of the coronavirus, even as Britain ramped up its vaccination program by becoming the first nation to start using the shot developed by Oxford University...
Neighbors, friends show signs of support for the late Rep. Mike Reese
Mike Reese was thrilled that his small Mt. Pleasant Township community supported his goal of serving in the Legislature. During his initial run for office in 2008, the village of Brinkerton was full of his campaign signs. “The first time he went through, he thought that was so cool that...
Target recalls infant rompers, toddler swimsuits over potential hazards
Target has recalled two types of clothing for infants and toddlers that could become a safety issue for the children wearing them. According to information from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, the two recalls involve Cloud Island infant rompers and Cat & Jack Infant-Toddler One-Piece Rashguard Swimsuits. Both items...
Pa. will get more covid vaccine this week, availability to general public still ‘months’ away
Thousands more doses of covid-19 vaccines are set to arrive in Pennsylvania this week, with more than half reserved for health workers awaiting their second dose of the two-dose vaccination, Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said Monday. So far, 135,044 people across the state have received the vaccine in...
Pennsylvania reports 7,800 more covid cases, 122 deaths over 2 days
The Pennsylvania Department of Health’s latest report, released Monday, shows another 7,805 more cases of covid-19 over the past two days. While still a high number of cases, the latest figures were nearly 10% less than were reported a week ago (8,663). Officials said the case counts are atypically low...
Westmoreland County reaches 20K covid-19 case mark
Westmoreland County reached a grim milestone on Monday, with the announcement it has now surpassed 20,000 cases of the coronavirus. With 359 more covid-19 cases over the past two days, health officials with the Pennsylvania Department of Health reported Westmoreland County has now amassed a total of 20,165 cases in...
Vaccination campaign picks up speed around the world
The campaign to vanquish the coronavirus is picking up speed, with Britain beginning to dispense the second vaccine in its arsenal Monday. But authorities in France and elsewhere in Europe are coming under fire for slow rollouts and delays. In the U.S., meanwhile, government officials reported that vaccinations have accelerated...
Feds involved in Pittsburgh explosion investigation, firework suspected in Hill District blast
Federal authorities are involved in the investigation into separate explosions Sunday night in two Pittsburgh neighborhoods, authorities said. Public Safety spokeswoman Cara Cruz said the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives will assist in investigating an explosion caused by an improvised bomb in Lawrenceville and a...
Troopers accuse Unity man of screwing doors shut to keep woman from fleeing after fight
A Unity man is accused of screwing doors shut at his home to keep a woman he allegedly assaulted on New Year’s Day from leaving, state police reported. Irvin Scott Achhammer, 27, is accused of pushing a woman into a banister and hitting her with a cigarette lighter during an...
Allegheny County reports 850 more covid cases, 5 deaths in 2 days
Allegheny County health officials reported another 852 cases of coronavirus Monday. Of those new cases, 607 were confirmed through 2,361 PCR tests (from Dec. 28 through Sunday), with 245 cases listed as probable. Even in the wake of news that the latest new cases are a 43% increase from last...
Restaurants, gyms, casinos reopen as latest covid-19 restrictions expireVideo
Restaurants, bars, gyms and casinos reopened Monday morning at a still-limited capacity when Pennsylvania’s most recent set of covid-19 restrictions expired at 8 a.m. The restrictions, started Dec. 12, barred restaurants from allowing indoor dining and shut down gyms and casinos in the face of a post-Thanksgiving surge in virus...
Pittsburgh police investigating explosions in Lawrenceville, Hill District
Pittsburgh police were investigating explosions Sunday night in the city’s Lawrenceville and Hill District neighborhoods. Police and firefighters went to the 3600 block of Penn Avenue in Lawrenceville in response to reports that an improvised explosive device was thrown from a moving vehicle just after 9 p.m. A parked vehicle...
Don’t draw military into U.S. election, ex-defense chiefs say
All 10 living former U.S. defense secretaries called for a peaceful transition of power this month and warned that any effort to involve the military in resolving election disputes “would take us into dangerous, unlawful and unconstitutional territory.” Three days before Congress meets to certify President-elect Joe Biden’s victory, the...
Police: Wilkinsburg man charged after shots were fired at Harrison housing complex
A Wilkinsburg man is charged with attempted homicide and other crimes after police said he tried to shoot another man and narrowly avoided shooting a 3-year-old girl at Harrison’s Sheldon Park public housing complex last week. Harrison police said after the shooting, Antonio Williams, 20, buckled the girl into a...
Police looking for leads in North Braddock shooting
Police are investigating after a 17-year-old was shot Sunday afternoon in North Braddock. The shooting was reported shortly before 2:30 p.m. near the intersection of Baldridge and Jones avenues. Police said first responders found the victim to have multiple, non-life threatening injuries. He was taken to a local hospital and...
Nancy Pelosi narrowly reelected speaker, faces difficult 2021Video
WASHINGTON — Nancy Pelosi was narrowly reelected Sunday as speaker, giving her the reins of Democrats’ slender House majority as President-elect Joe Biden sets a challenging course of producing legislation to tackle the pandemic, revive the economy and address other party priorities. The California Democrat, who has led her party...
Woman sues Gateway School District, claiming interracial marriage cost her athletic director job
An athletic director at a small college claims she was passed over for a similar job with the Gateway School District because she is married to a Black man, according to a federal lawsuit. The lawsuit, filed Jan. 1 by Pittsburgh attorney Todd Hollis, claims that Korie Morton-Rozier experienced “race...
Trump, on tape, presses Georgia official to ‘find’ Trump votesVideo
ATLANTA — President Donald Trump pressured Georgia’s Republican secretary of state to “find” enough votes to overturn Joe Biden’s win in the state’s presidential election, repeatedly citing disproven claims of fraud and raising the prospect of “criminal offense” if officials did not change the vote count, according to a recording...
Impact of Pennsylvania casino closures remains to be seen, though industry was surging this fiscal year
After more than a decade of continued growth for Pennsylvania’s gaming industry that has pumped billions of tax dollars into state coffers and local communities, the casino industry — and that cash flow — were largely upended in 2020 by the coronavirus pandemic. But the industry was on the rebound...
