Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1364
Last-minute assignments, lack of training left Pittsburgh-area poll workers unprepared on Election Day
Spotlight PA is an independent, non-partisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters. This article is made possible through Votebeat, a nonpartisan reporting project covering local election integrity and voting access. PITTSBURGH — About...
Greater Latrobe loses senior high staffer to covid-19, reacts to state directive
A staff member at Greater Latrobe Senior High has died of complications of covid-19, according to the school district. Superintendent Georgia Teppert stated in an email sent to district faculty and staff on Thanksgiving Day that district officials learned Terri Sherwin, a senior high secretary, died Wednesday evening from covid-19...
Los Angeles issues stay-home order as coronavirus surges
LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles County announced a new stay-home order Friday as coronavirus cases surged out of control in the nation’s most populous county. The three-week order takes effect Monday. It came as the county of 10 million residents confirmed 24 new deaths and 4,544 new confirmed cases of...
Pa. senator accuses Twitter of censorship; Trump defends him
A Pennsylvania senator cried foul on Friday saying that his personal Twitter account was censored, while the social media platform claimed it was an error. President Donald J. Trump was quick to back state Sen. Doug Mastriano, R-Franklin, who Trump said has done “a great job of leading a hearing...
Boston Market customers irked over long waits for Thanksgiving preordered meals
Boston Market declined Friday to address complaints from customers who said they waited up to three hours to pick up preordered Thanksgiving meals at the Green Tree restaurant. A restaurant manager in Green Tree referred questions to corporate headquarters, which didn’t respond for comment. Trib news partner WPXI reported that...
TribLive Taste Test: Sheetz Project Happy Hole-idayz Doughnut AleVideo
Beer brewed with doughnut holes? Why not? Today’s TribLive Taste Test subject was the brand-new Project Happy Hole-idayz, a collaboration between Sheetz and North Carolina brewery Wicked Weed. Each batch is supposedly brewed using a pound of the convenience store chain’s Shweetz doughnut holes, with notes of vanilla frosting and...
Westmoreland commissioners OK $350K in technology upgrades
More technological upgrades are coming to Westmoreland County’s courtrooms with the help of federal funding. The county’s 16 district court buildings will be better connected to the courthouse, and courtrooms in Greensburg will have improved wireless infrastructure under two projects totaling about $353,000. Both were approved by commissioners this week....
Covid surge overwhelms Allegheny County case investigation efforts
A staggering rise in new covid-19 cases in Allegheny County means fewer people will receive calls from case investigators who have been overwhelmed with the rapid increase, Allegheny County Health Director Dr. Debra Bogen said Friday. On Thursday and Friday, the county recorded a combined 1,642 new cases – more...
CDC: U.S. covid-19 death toll could reach 321,000 by mid-December
ATLANTA — A new report issued this week by the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the coronavirus death toll could reach up to 321,000 by the middle of December. According to the CDC’s “COVID-19 Forecasts: Deaths,” models are predicting the number of coronavirus deaths will likely increase...
U.S. Circuit Court rejects Trump appeal over Pennsylvania votes
President Donald Trump’s legal team suffered yet another defeat in court Friday as a federal appeals court in Philadelphia roundly rejected its latest effort to challenge the state’s election results. Trump’s lawyers vowed to appeal to the Supreme Court despite the judge’s assessment that the “campaign’s claims have no merit.”...
Pennsylvania reports 2 days of record new covid-19 cases
Pennsylvania on Friday reported a record number of new covid-19 infections for the past two days. The number of new cases reported surged to 8,425 on Thursday, a record, before backing off slightly on Friday with 7,360 cases, the second highest ever reported in the state. The state’s seven-day average...
Westmoreland County 2-day report has 516 new coronavirus cases, 8 deaths
Westmoreland County on Friday reported 516 new cases of covid-19 in two days and eight new deaths. The county added 253 cases Thursday and another 263 on Friday. Those cases came after the county reported a record high number of new cases (273) on Wednesday. The seven-day average is now...
Coronavirus cases continue at record pace in Allegheny County
Allegheny County on Friday reported 869 new cases of covid-19, up sharply from the previous daily record of 773 set just the day before. As predicted by health experts, coronavirus infections are reaching new highs as we approach the colder season and people shift to indoor activities. Allegheny County has...
Stocks rise on Wall Street; S&P 500 closes at record high
NEW YORK — The S&P 500 is closing a shortened session at a record high Friday as investors continue to look forward to the distribution of a covid-19 vaccine and relief for the economy. The benchmark index rose 0.2%, led by gains in technology companies, and closed at an all-time...
Pennsylvania deer hunters to be afield Saturday, Sunday in firearms season for 1st time
For the first time in Pennsylvania history, deer hunters will be able to hunt for a full weekend during the statewide firearms deer season. Hunters will go afield Saturday throughout the commonwealth for the opening day of firearms season for the second consecutive year. Then, those who don’t fill their...
Few people venture out early for Black Friday dealsVideo
Carl Laird wasn’t going to let fears over the pandemic stop him from his 19-year tradition of Black Friday shopping. Shortly after 5 a.m., the 40-year-old from Rillton had already been to Dunham’s for gun ammunition and to Walmart for pajamas. But Laird was one of only a handful of...
Tokyo Olympic organizers plan to host 18 test events
TOKYO — The postponed Tokyo Olympics are getting a kickstart. Local organizers on Friday announced a series of 18 test events set to begin in March and run into May. The Tokyo Olympics are set to open July 23 after being postponed eight months ago because of the covid-19 pandemic....
Vandergrift adjusts Christmas parades for covid concerns
Christmas festivities in Vandergrift will be altered to account for covid-19, but the festivities will continue. The Vandergrift Improvement Program’s (VIP) “Light-up Night” takes place every year the weekend after Thanksgiving, normally including a Christmas parade attended by every fire department in the area, incorporating floats, food vendors and entertainment....
Trump says he’ll leave White House if Electoral College seats BidenVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Thursday that he will leave the White House if the Electoral College formalizes President-Elect Joe Biden’s victory — even as he insisted such a decision would be a “mistake” — as he spent his Thanksgiving renewing baseless claims that “massive fraud” and crooked officials...
12 staff members at Westmoreland Manor test positive for coronavirus
Twelve staff members at Westmoreland Manor, the county-owned nursing home in Hempfield, recently tested positive for coronavirus, the facility announced Thursday. Since Sept. 19, the number of residents testing positive stands at 152; the number of staff with positive test results has reached 60, according to Assistant Administrator Abby Testa....
Small business owners hoping for strong weekend sales
In recent years, the mad rush of post-Thanksgiving sales promotions has been tempered by the steady rise of online shopping. This year, it will be further tempered by concern over the coronavirus, as the U.S. is in the midst of a nationwide surge in positive cases. That makes Small Business...
Alle-Kiski Valley volunteers reach out to provide Thanksgiving mealsVideo
Free take-out turkey meals were abundant across the Alle-Kiski Valley region Thanksgiving Day. Traditional dine-in meals at area churches were off the table this year due to covid-19 restrictions, but individuals, businesses and churches stepped in, giving meaning to the “give” in Thanksgiving. Turkey With A Twist Spice Affair Indian...
AstraZeneca likely to run fresh global vaccine trial, CEO says
AstraZeneca Plc. is likely to conduct an additional global trial to assess the efficacy of its covid-19 vaccine, according to the company’s chief executive officer, after current studies raised questions over its level of protection. The new trial would be run instead of adding an arm to an ongoing U.S....
Holiday spirit of giving wasn’t dampened by covid-19 surgeVideo
The steady stream of volunteers arriving at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Latrobe had to find their way to an unassuming concrete ramp to get into the building on Thanksgiving morning. Despite serving more than 160 takeout meals on the 40th anniversary of the church’s annual Thanksgiving Day Dinner, the...
Natrona Heights man ID’d as inmate who died at Allegheny County Jail
The Allegheny County Jail inmate who died Thursday is a 63-year-old man from the Natrona Heights neighborhood of Harrison, the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s office said. Daniel Pastorek, 63, was found unresponsive in his cell, Warden Orlando Harper said. A corrections officer and medical staff tended to Pastorek until paramedics...
