Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1344
Peduto: ‘$600 is not enough’ to help families struggling during pandemic
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto said he is “profoundly disappointed” that funding for cities and states was left out of the $900 billion pandemic relief package Congress passed Monday night. “With the exclusion of cities from this stimulus package, our first responders and front-line essential workers who have worked tirelessly during...
Will Western Pa. get a white Christmas? Meteorologist weighs in
If you’re dreaming of a white Christmas this year, your dreams will likely come true. Western Pennsylvania residents should expect to wake to new fallen snow on Christmas morning, said Myranda Fullerton, a meteorologist from the National Weather Service in Moon. She said this Christmas will be cold, windy and...
Editorial: Learn from the 1st covid relief package
As leaders in Washington come to a new coronavirus relief plan, it would seem the old one had been exhausted. The money allotted to help people through the pandemic was long since spent, right? Wrong. While some of the most obvious chunks — such as the stimulus checks sent in...
Congress approves $900B covid relief bill, sending to TrumpVideo
WASHINGTON — Congress passed a $900 billion pandemic relief package Monday night that would finally deliver long-sought cash to businesses and individuals and resources to vaccinate a nation confronting a frightening surge in covid-19 cases and deaths. Lawmakers tacked on a $1.4 trillion catchall spending bill and thousands of pages...
Point State Park gets to keep its Christmas tree
Looks like the Tree of Lights will be in Pittsburgh next year after all. The state decided to continue the Pittsburgh tradition by permitting the picturesque tree to be erected at Point State Park next year. In a reversal of a decision announced last month, the state Department of Conservation...
Restaurant and bar owners decry Gov. Tom Wolf’s orders, encourage others to openVideo
“Just open.” The words, spoken by Joe Tambellini, resonated with dozens of restaurant and tavern owners who gathered in a parking lot outside of Al’s Cafe, a restaurant in Bethel Park, on Monday. They were there for a “Rights for Restaurants” rally organized by the restaurant’s owner, Rod Ambrogi, and...
Tensions rise inside and outside of Oregon’s CapitolVideo
SALEM, Ore. — State police declared an unlawful assembly Monday morning at Oregon’s Capitol building as protesters opposed to covid-19 restrictions attempted to force their way in during the third special legislative session. Lawmakers are at the Capitol to consider measures that would provide $800 million in relief to people...
Pennsylvania man accused of casting dead mother’s ballot
PHILADELPHIA — A Pennsylvania man is facing charges of unlawful voting and perjury after prosecutors say he illegally voted on behalf of a long-dead family member in the General Election. Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer said during a news conference Monday that Bruce Bartman, 70, of Marple, voted in...
Health officials launch online form to speed covid case investigations
Pennsylvania health officials will start conducting covid-19 case investigations digitally for some people, the Department of Health announced Monday. The department unveiled a new “digital case investigation tool” for state residents between the ages of 19 and 64 who live in a county without its own county or municipal health...
Steelers Hall of Famer Kevin Greene dies at 58
Kevin Greene, one of the more recognizable and popular players of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ renaissance in the 1990s, died at age 58. The Pro Football Hall of Fame was among those announcing the death of the Hall of Fame outside linebacker who spent three of his 15 NFL seasons as...
U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly asks Supreme Court to rule against mail-in voting before primary
Even with the arrival of vaccines, the pandemic is all but certain to continue to grip Pennsylvania when voters go to the polls for the municipal primary on May 18. U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, who himself suffered from covid-19 in the spring, does not want mail-in ballots to be available...
Biden gets covid-19 vaccine, says ‘nothing to worry about’
NEWARK, Del. — President-elect Joe Biden on Monday received his first dose of the coronavirus vaccine on live television as part of a growing effort to convince the American public the inoculations are safe. The president-elect took a dose of Pfizer vaccine at a hospital not far from his Delaware...
Pittsburgh council adopts 2021 budget, could be revised depending on federal covid reliefVideo
A 2021 Pittsburgh budget adopted by city council Monday is a “stop-gap” plan that is balanced and will need to be revised depending upon whether federal covid relief is ever approved for cities, Councilman R. Daniel Lavelle said. Although it doesn’t include a 50% cut in funding to the police...
Pennsylvania’s covid-19 cases continue slight downward trend
Health officials said there were 15,100 new cases of coronavirus over the past two days — 19% less than this time last week. The Pennsylvania Department of Health announced 7,213 covid-19 cases on Sunday and another 7,887 cases on Monday. Of the two-day new cases, 90% (13,653) were confirmed through...
Westmoreland County posts 574 new covid cases, 4 deaths over 2 days
Westmoreland County posted 574 new cases of coronavirus over the past two days, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The county added 213 cases on Sunday, 361 on Monday. Of the new two-day cases, 75% (430) were confirmed through PCR tests, while 144 were considered probable cases. There were...
Caution urged as covid vaccines arrive in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine laid out the state’s vaccine distribution progress Monday while updating the public on covid’s mounting toll in the state. Levine reported 7,745 new covid-19 cases statewide Monday and 7,355 Sunday, bringing the state’s total number of infections to 563,589. There were 57 new deaths...
AG William Barr: ‘No reason’ for special counsel on election, Hunter Biden
WASHINGTON — Attorney General William Barr used his final public appearance to undercut President Donald Trump on multiple fronts Monday, saying he saw no reason to appoint a special counsel to look into the president’s claims about the 2020 election or to name one for the tax investigation of President-elect...
Justice Dept. charges bombmaker in 1988 Pan Am explosion
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department on Monday unsealed charges accusing a Libyan bomb expert in the 1988 explosion of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, an attack that killed 259 people in the air and an additional 11 on the ground. The charges were announced on the 32nd anniversary...
Allegheny County reports Pa.’s highest batch of new covid cases
Allegheny County on Monday posted the highest number of new coronavirus cases in Pennsylvania, recording more than twice as many new cases than the next county. Officials with the county’s Health Department reported 781 additional cases Monday. The next highest new-case count was recorded in Lehigh County with 382. Over...
Britain hit with travel bans over new coronavirus strain
LONDON — Trucks waiting to get out of Britain backed up for miles and people were left stranded at airports Monday as countries around the world slapped tough travel restrictions on the U.K. because of a new and seemingly more contagious strain of the coronavirus in England. A growing number...
Injured McKeesport patrolman expected to be released soon, search continues for suspected gunmanVideo
McKeesport Police Officer Geriasimo Athans, already shot once in the neck, took cover behind his vehicle’s engine block Sunday afternoon and emptied his weapon at the fleeing gunman, who got away, according to a criminal complaint. The complaint offers new details into the incident in which Koby Francis, 22, is...
Clouds will likely block view of ‘Christmas Star’ tonight; won’t be visible again until 2080
The planets Jupiter and Saturn will be so close to one another tonight that they will look like a single bright point of light in the sky — a phenomenon that some refer to as the “Christmas Star” or “Star of Bethlehem.” But viewers in the Pittsburgh region and most...
Covid-19 vaccinations will start at long-term care facilities in Pennsylvania next week
Pharmacy workers from CVS Health will begin administering the covid-19 vaccine to residents and staff members in 2,283 skilled nursing and assisted living facilities in Pennsylvania starting Monday, Dec. 28. The Pfizer vaccine is being distributed under a phased plan starting with health care workers and residents and staff members...
Congress seals agreement on $900 billion covid relief bill
WASHINGTON — After months of Washington gridlock, Congress is set to act on a $900 billion pandemic relief package, finally delivering long-sought cash to businesses and individuals and resources to vaccinate a nation confronting a frightening surge in covid-19 cases and deaths. The relief package, agreed to on Sunday and...
U.S. airport traffic rising despite holiday travel warnings
SAN RAMON, Calif. — More than 1 million people have passed through U.S. airport security checkpoints in each of the past two days in a sign that public health pleas to avoid holiday travel are being ignored, despite an alarming surge in covid-19 cases. It marks the first time U.S....
