Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1354
Allegheny County officials: State covid restrictions are neededVideo
Allegheny County officials again said they are expecting new covid-19 restrictions from the state to be announced soon. “We thought today there were going to be some announcements around mitigating strategies,” County Executive Rich Fitzgerald said during a virtual news conference Wednesday. “Obviously they are needed. … These numbers are...
Peoples natural gas customers getting bill credit after utility’s $4.3B acquisition
Most residential customers of Peoples Gas in Pennsylvania saw a discount on their recent bills as a result of the natural gas company being acquired in a $4.3 billion deal earlier this year. Essential Utilities announced in mid-March that it had completed its acquisition of Peoples. That followed the state...
Pa. appellate court delivers another loss to Trump’s GOP allies seeking to void state’s election results
PHILADELPHIA — A Pennsylvania appellate court on Wednesday denied the latest in a string of legal challenges seeking to roll back certification of the election results, ending the last active court battle in the state over the outcome of the race. In a four-page opinion, Commonwealth Court President Judge Mary...
Plans for Target in Downtown Pittsburgh set for January hearing
Plans for a downsize Target that will be located in the iconic Kaufmann’s building Downtown are set for a January hearing before the Pittsburgh Planning Commission. Christine Mondor, the commission’s chairwoman, said Target presented the plans for review and a hearing is set for next month. The commission doesn’t comment...
Hunter Biden tax probe examining Chinese business dealingsVideo
WILMINGTON, Del. — The Justice Department is investigating the finances of President-elect Joe Biden’s son, including scrutinizing some of his Chinese business dealings and other transactions, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Wednesday. The revelations put a renewed spotlight on questions about Hunter Biden’s financial...
Report: Pittsburgh spends more on police than other cities
On the heels of a Pittsburgh City Council meeting where dozens of residents called for drastic reductions to the $111 million in spending proposed for police in the 2021 budget, the local arm of a Harrisburg-based think tank released a report Wednesday that recommends the city rework its spending priorities....
Feds charge 30 as part of investigation into drugs and weapons in Pittsburgh-area Pagans Motorcycle ClubVideo
As part of a long-term investigation into the Pagans Motorcycle Club in Western Pennsylvania, FBI agents got permission to tap 10 phones. Over a period of several weeks, they said they heard members of the Pagans, their suppliers and sources talk about the kind of heroin they were selling; where...
Gov. Tom Wolf tests positive for covid
Gov. Tom Wolf said Wednesday his covid-19 diagnosis is a reminder that no one is immune from the virus that has infected more than 445,000 people in Pennsylvania. Wolf, 72, said he tested positive for the virus during a routine test and he has no symptoms. His wife, Frances, is...
North Allegheny schools going back to full remote instruction
North Allegheny students returned to an online-only form of instruction Dec. 16 and will continue until at least Jan. 18 to help slow the spike in covid-19 cases gripping the region, district officials announced. The district informed families by letter that the change back to remote instruction is being made...
Pa. cites Western Pa. bars for violating covid restrictions
More than a dozen bars in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties received citations from the state’s Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement in November for violating covid-19 mitigation measures, ranging from not requiring masks to serving alcohol without food. In addition, an East Carson Street bar was hit with a weeklong closure...
Man arrested in connection with 3 dogs found dead in East Huntingdon home after eviction
A Mt. Pleasant Township man was arrested Wednesday on animal cruelty charges after he allegedly left five dogs and two cats at an East Huntingdon home after he was evicted last month, according to court papers. A dog and two puppies were found dead and partially decomposed inside the Reservoir...
Westmoreland County records 15 new covid deaths, tying a record
Westmoreland County added 15 new coronavirus-related deaths Wednesday, the Pennsylvania Department of Health reported, tying a previous record from last week for most reported deaths on a single day. The additional deaths now bring the county’s death toll to 265. There have been 61 deaths attributed to the disease this...
Pennsylvania reports 220 new coronavirus deaths, 8,703 new cases
Pennsylvania’s Department of Health on Wednesday reported 220 new deaths attributed to the coronavirus, its highest increase since May. The death toll for the state stands at 11,762. There have been 1,199 deaths reported this month. The state also reported 8,703 new coronavirus cases, a slight decline from Tuesday’s report....
O Cannoli Tree, O Cannoli Tree: Harmar baker has new holiday confection
Forget about those sugar plums dancing in heads this holiday season and make way for a new Yuletide treat: the Cannoli Christmas Tree. A cannoli tree may seem like something out of a debaucherous dessert dream. But Char Hixson, proprietor of Char’s Creative Confections in Harmar, is baking them up...
Holiday window display competition in Pittsburgh to support artists, causes
The Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership is adding a twist to holiday window displays with a contest this season. “As a retail store, your window displays are one of the most important marketing tools you have,” said Suzanne Mauro, a Pittsburgh-based retail consultant. “They can make someone passing by, enter your store...
Allegheny County reports 34 new coronavirus deaths, passes 35,000 cases
Allegheny County on Wednesday reported 34 new coronavirus deaths, a record for a single day, and 727 additional coronavirus cases. The death toll for the county stands at 619. There have been 105 deaths this month. The Allegheny County Health Department said the new deaths occurred between Nov. 20 and...
First critical segment of 9/11 National Memorial Trail complete in Somerset County
The first 1.4 miles section of a special, off-road recreational trail for the September 11th National Memorial Trail in Garrett, Somerset County, is complete. It’s a milestone for trail organizers, who cobbled together a 1,300-mile network of existing bicycle, pedestrian trails and roads connecting the three 9/11 memorial sites in...
New White House offer adds $600 checks to covid-19 relief
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration dived back into Capitol Hill’s confusing covid-19 negotiations, offering a $916 billion package to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that would send a $600 direct payment to most Americans but eliminate a $300-per-week employment benefit favored by a bipartisan group of Senate negotiators. Treasury Secretary...
$3 million lottery scratch-off sold in Beaver County
A Pennsylvania Lottery player beat the odds in Beaver County this week, winning $3 million on a $30 scratch-off ticket. The odds of winning the grand prize in the Pennsylvania Lottery’s $3 Million Extravaganza scratch-off game are 1 in 1.44 million. The lucky ticket was sold at Caivano’s Discount Tobacco...
UK investigates possible allergic reactions to covid-19 shot
LONDON — U.K. regulators said Wednesday that people who have a “significant history” of allergic reactions shouldn’t receive the new Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine while they investigate two adverse reactions that occurred on the first day of the country’s mass vaccination program. Professor Stephen Powis, national medical director for the National Health...
Norwin sees more covid cases; 57 since Thanksgiving
Norwin continues to a see a surge in covid cases, as another five students and staff reported being infected with the virus, pushing the post-Thanksgiving count to 57, the district said Tuesday. The school district said it learned Tuesday that two high school students, one Hillcrest Intermediate School student and...
Arizona Supreme Court denies GOP bid to inspect more ballots
PHOENIX — The Arizona Supreme Court has rejected a request from the state’s GOP chairwoman to inspect more ballots in her lawsuit that seeks to undo Democrat President-elect Joe Biden’s victory over Republican President Donald Trump in Arizona. The decision Tuesday upheld a lower-court’s dismissal of Chairwoman Kelli Ward’s lawsuit...
Biden expected to pick Marcia Fudge for housing, Tom Vilsack for USDA
WASHINGTON — President-elect Joe Biden has selected Ohio Rep. Marcia Fudge as his housing and urban development secretary and former Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to reprise that role in his administration, according to five people familiar with the decisions. Fudge, a former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, was just...
Contact tracing and case investigations in Pa. remain a struggle in fight against covid
Even as covid-19 cases skyrocket across Pennsylvania and case investigators prioritize who they will call, state officials on Tuesday urged everyone to please answer the phone and cooperate when investigators and contact tracers reach out to them. “In order to effectively contact trace, we need Pennsylvanians to participate in case...
Republican Sen. Pat Toomey calls Trump’s campaign to overturn Pennsylvania election ‘completely unacceptable’
PHILADELPHIA — Sen. Pat Toomey said Tuesday that it’s “completely unacceptable” for President Donald Trump to pressure state lawmakers to overturn Pennsylvania’s election result, a rare rebuke from a Republican elected official as Trump continues his effort to subvert the will of the voters. “It’s completely unacceptable and it’s not...
