Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1363
Fauci: U.S. may see ‘surge upon surge’ of virus in weeks ahead
The nation’s top infectious disease expert said Sunday that the U.S. may see “surge upon a surge” of the coronavirus over the coming weeks, and he does not expect current recommendations around social distancing to be relaxed before Christmas. “When you have the kind of inflection that we have, it...
Homestead police officer shoots suspect after chase to Pittsburgh’s South Side
A Homestead police officer shot a man following a car chase that ended in Pittsburgh’s South Side neighborhood late Saturday, according to Pittsburgh police. Public safety spokesman Chris Togneri said paramedics took the victim to a hospital. He suffered a gunshot wound to his upper torso and was in stable...
Despite federal ban, renters still being evicted amid virus
BOSTON — A nationwide eviction ban was supposed to protect tenants like Tawanda Mormon, who was forced out of her two-bedroom apartment last month in Cleveland. The 46-year-old, who was hospitalized in August for the coronavirus and can’t work due to mental health issues, said she fell behind on her...
Dave Prowse, actor who played Darth Vader, dies at 85
LONDON — Dave Prowse, the British weightlifter-turned-actor who was the body, though not the voice, of arch-villain Darth Vader in the original “Star Wars” trilogy, has died. He was 85. Prowse died Saturday after a short illness, his agent Thomas Bowington said Sunday. Born in Bristol, southwest England, in 1935,...
Contents of Hempfield Ramada to be auctioned Dec. 5
For John Mizikar, seeing the shuttered Ramada by Wyndham Greensburg Hotel and Conference Center in Hempfield go is like losing a good friend. Mizikar, 58, of Mt. Pleasant Township spent a large chunk of his life at the 42-year-old hotel, working his way through the ranks and paving his way...
As battle against HIV continues, Pitt Men’s Study volunteer joins coronavirus vaccine studyVideo
When drug makers solicited volunteers to test a coronavirus vaccines, Marc Wagner jumped. It was a matter of giving back. “I never thought I would outlive a number of my relatives my age or younger,” said the 58-year-old Swissvale resident. “And here I am, still alive.” Wagner felt compelled to...
Police still seek tips, clues a year after North Huntingdon chiropractor’s homicide
One year after the homicide of North Huntingdon chiropractor David S. Bailey, investigators have not made an arrest, despite a billboard alert near the Pennsylvania Turnpike’s Irwin interchange and acquaintances offering a reward for information leading to a conviction. Bailey, 54, was found dead inside his Parkway Drive office on...
1 injured in Penn Hills crash when 3 vehicles collide
At least one person was injured in a crash in Penn Hills on Saturday evening. Allegheny County dispatch said three vehicles collided along Verona Road near Sandy Creek Road around 7:43 p.m. Police and EMS were treating at least one person at the scene for injuries. It was unclear if...
Pa. Supreme Court rejects Rep. Mike Kelly-led lawsuit challenging election
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s highest court on Saturday night threw out a lower court’s order preventing the state from certifying dozens of contests on its Nov. 3 election ballot in the latest lawsuit filed by Republicans attempting to thwart President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the battleground state. The state Supreme Court,...
Police: North Side man accused in several robberies
Pittsburgh police arrested a man Saturday who is accused of committing several recent robberies. Nicolas Ellis, 30, of the city’s North Side, is accused of robbing the Rite Aid along the 3700 block of Forbes Avenue. In addition, police said Ellis confessed to robbing gas stations in Oakland and two...
Positive covid-19 case spurs remote learning for St. Louise de Marillac first-graders in Upper St. Clair
The first-grade classes at St. Louise de Marillac Catholic School in Upper St. Clair will move to a fully remote learning model after someone tested positive for covid-19, officials announced Saturday. The move affects the three classes that make up the first grade. Students will use a virtual instructional model...
40 Pittsburgh Catholic Diocese parishes to merge into 14
Forty parishes in the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh will merge into 14 new groupings in January, Bishop David Zubik announced Saturday. Changes will take place Jan. 4 and affect churches across the region, from Mt. Washington and Moon to South Hills and Shadyside. Zubik said it is a pivotal time...
Westmoreland County retailers ‘cautiously optimistic’ for good holiday shopping seasonVideo
Like many owners of small businesses in the area, the owner of Penelope’s Gifts and More store in downtown Greensburg is hopeful about the holiday shopping season — despite the pandemic and a higher unemployment rate. “I’m cautiously optimistic. It’s such a different year, and you can’t compare it to...
Some pan Saturday start to firearms deer-hunting season
Pennsylvania’s move to start firearms deer-hunting season on Saturday, two days earlier than the traditional Monday after Thanksgiving, turned out pretty good for one hunter along Laurel Summit east of Ligonier. But many of his fellow hunters panned the state Game Commission’s early start for the second year. Josh Vitalie...
Military plane dumps fuel over Westmoreland County en route to emergency stop at Pittsburgh airport
A Pennsylvania Air National Guard refueling plane forced to make an emergency return to Pittsburgh International Airport on Saturday morning dumped fuel over the Jeannette-Penn Township-North Huntingdon and Manor areas, according to the Westmoreland County Department of Public Safety and state Air National Guard. The KC-135 Stratotanker was forced to...
26 state House Republicans call for withdrawing certification of presidential electors
Declaring the results of statewide electoral contests in the 2020 general election to be in dispute, a group of House Republican lawmakers have announced their intention to introduce a resolution calling for Gov. Tom Wolf and Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar to withdraw their certification of the Nov. 3 election...
ATV driver killed on Route 51 in Fayette
A Uniontown man was killed early Saturday morning on Route 51 near Smock Road when the all-terrain vehicle he was driving the wrong way collided head-on with a car, state police in Belle Vernon said. The victim, Jeremiah Pletcher, 22, was driving the ATV southbound in the northbound lanes of...
Westmoreland County posts record 284 covid-19 cases; 5 deaths
The Pennsylvania Department of Health on Saturday reported a record 284 new cases of the coronavirus in Westmoreland County. It is the fifth-straight day the county reported more than 200 cases. Five additional deaths were reported, increasing the death toll to 192. Of the new covid-19 cases, 254 are confirmed...
Pennsylvania reaches 350,000 coronavirus cases; adds 41 deaths
Pennsylvania on Saturday reported 8,053 new coronavirus cases, bumping the Keystone State’s total above 350,000 cases. The new data bring the total cases to 351,667; a 50,000-case jump from this time last week. Officials said 24,926 of total cases are considered probable. Health officials define a probable case as one...
Allegheny County posts 663 new coronavirus cases, 1 death
Allegheny County on Saturday recorded 663 new coronavirus cases, a 260-case reduction from the day before’s record-high of 869 cases. This month’s surge in cases isn’t a surprise to health experts. They predicted covid-19 infections would increase as the weather gets colder and people are spending more time indoors. However,...
Ethiopia’s Tigray capital reported to be ‘heavily bombarded’
NAIROBI, Kenya — Ethiopia’s military launched an offensive on the Tigray regional capital Saturday in a quest to arrest the region’s defiant leaders, and the city was being “heavily bombarded,” Tigray TV reported. Humanitarians confirmed the shelling in Mekele, a densely populated city of a half-million people, which immediately raised...
Pope elevating 13 new cardinals in ceremony marked by COVID
ROME — Pope Francis on Saturday was formally elevating 13 new cardinals, including the first African-American to receive the honor, in a ceremony marked in every way by the coronavirus pandemic: Two of the cardinals stayed home, the rest eschewed the usual celebrations and St. Peter’s Basilica was practically empty...
Bruce Boynton, who inspired 1961 Freedom Rides, dies at 83
SELMA, Ala. — Bruce Carver Boynton, a civil rights pioneer from Alabama who inspired the landmark “Freedom Rides” of 1961, died Monday. He was 83. Former Alabama state Sen. Hank Sanders, a friend of Boynton’s, on Tuesday confirmed his passing. Boynton was arrested 60 years ago for entering the white...
Iran’s supreme leader vows revenge over slain scientist
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s supreme leader on Saturday called for the “definitive punishment” of those behind the killing of a scientist linked to Tehran’s disbanded military nuclear program, a slaying the Islamic Republic has blamed on Israel. Israel, long suspected of killing Iranian scientists a decade ago amid tensions over...
2 shot, killed at Northern California mall on Black Friday
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Police are looking for a gunman who shot and killed two teens at a Northern California mall in the midst of Black Friday, sending shoppers running for safety, authorities said. Arden Fair Mall in Sacramento was evacuated shortly after 6 p.m. when shots were fired near one...
