Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1374
Pittsburgh doctor: Moderna vaccine may have logistical advantage over Pfizer’sVideo
With the alarming rise of covid-19 cases in Allegheny County and throughout Pennsylvania comes the good news surrounding another vaccine. Moderna said Monday its experimental vaccine is 94.5% effective at preventing illness, according to preliminary data from the company’s still ongoing study. Last week Pfizer Inc. announced its own covid-19...
Export couple arrested after stabbing
An Export couple is in the Westmoreland County Prison after an argument turned into someone getting stabbed early Sunday, according to state police. Devon M. Nuccetelli, 42, is charged by state police with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, harassment, reckless endangerment and simple assault after the 4:20 a.m. altercation...
Trump to order troop reductions in Afghanistan, Iraq
The Trump administration is expected to cut the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan almost in half to 2,500 by Jan. 15, a U.S. official said Monday. The order would stop short of outgoing President Donald Trump’s goal to have all troops withdrawn by the end of the year, which...
Virginia governor pushes to legalize marijuana
RICHMOND, Va. — Gov. Ralph Northam is pushing to legalize marijuana for recreational use in Virginia, which could be the first Southern state to do so. Northam announced his support for legalization Monday, saying he wants a responsible approach that promotes racial equity and preserves youth safety. The Democratic governor...
Philadelphia bans indoor gatherings, broadens coronavirus rules
PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia is banning indoor dining at restaurants and indoor gatherings of any size, public or private, as the city battles a resurgence of the coronavirus, officials announced Monday. The city also plans to shutter gyms, museums and libraries, prohibit in-person instruction at colleges and high schools, and reduce...
3rd Breonna Taylor grand juror: Cops ‘got slap on the wrist’
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A woman who sat on the Breonna Taylor grand jury said she believes their investigation was incomplete and that prosecutors wanted to give police “a slap on the wrist and close it up.” The woman is the third grand juror to speak anonymously about the September proceedings,...
North Allegheny moving to full-remote learning for remainder of monthVideo
Starting on Thursday, the North Allegheny School District will move to full-remote learning through the end of the month because of the uptick in the number of positive covid-19 cases in the county. During the past week, there 2,870 positive cases for the virus reported in Allegheny County. Since the...
Levine plans no new Pennsylvania restrictions as covid cases continue to rise
Covid-19 cases continue to rise along with the percentage of people who are testing positive for the virus, but Pennsylvania’s top health official said Monday there are no plans to put harsher restrictions in place again. “We have no plans to go back to red-yellow-green or any type of scheme...
Pennsylvania adds 9,675 new covid cases in 2 days, 51 new deaths
Pennsylvania added more than 9,600 new cases of coronavirus in the past two days, according the state’s Department of Health. There were 5,199 cases added on Sunday and another 4,476 added Monday. Of Sunday’s cases, 4,821 were confirmed; of Monday’s, 4,152 were confirmed. Among Monday’s new cases, 20.7% of those...
Westmoreland County adds 354 covid cases in 2 days, 3 deaths
Over the past two days, Westmoreland County added 354 new covid-19 cases, according to Monday’s update from the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The county added 187 cases Sunday and 167 on Monday. Of those, 149 and 132 were confirmed through PCR tests, respectively. On Monday, Westmoreland posted the sixth highest...
Allegheny County adds 500 new covid cases, 1 new death
A day after posting a record number of new covid-19 cases Sunday, Allegheny County added another 500 new covid cases Monday. The county’s health department reported 450 of the new cases were confirmed through 2,397 PCR tests conducted from Nov. 9-15 — a 18.8% positive new-PCR-test rate. In the state,...
Dow returns to record, S&P 500 adds to its on vaccine hopesVideo
NEW YORK — The Dow Jones Industrial Average returned to a record Monday for the first time since plunging nine months ago in despair about the pandemic, riding a swell of optimism that a vaccine may soon control the coronavirus and the economic destruction it’s caused. Moderna said early in...
Where do you want to go in 25 years? Port Authority of Allegheny County wants to knowVideo
In normal times, people take about 230,000 trips per day on the Port Authority of Allegheny County’s bus and light-rail system. That’s decreased by about 70% during the covid-19 pandemic to between 65,000 and 70,000 trips daily, authority spokesman Adam Brandolph said. “It’s a huge deal,” Brandolph said. “It’s affecting...
PNC to buy U.S. unit of Spain’s BBVA bank for $11.6 billionVideo
NEW YORK — PNC Financial Services Group Inc. said Monday it is buying the U.S. subsidiary of Spain’s BBVA bank for $11.6 billion in cash. BBVA’s U.S. operations, which are based in Houston, Texas, have $104 billion in assets and operate 637 branches, mainly in the south and southwest of...
Trump campaign drops key request in Pennsylvania lawsuit
HARRISBURG — President Donald Trump’s campaign is withdrawing a central request in its lawsuit seeking to stop the certification of the election results in Pennsylvania, where Democrat Joe Biden beat Trump to capture the state and help win the White House. Ahead of a Tuesday hearing in the case, Trump’s...
Moderna coronavirus vaccine appears 95% effective in early U.S. tests
For the second time this month, there’s promising news from a covid-19 vaccine candidate: Moderna said Monday its shots provide strong protection, a dash of hope against the grim backdrop of coronavirus surges in the U.S. and around the world. Moderna said its vaccine appears to be 94.5% effective, according...
Power still out for many after winds sweep through the region, toppling trees and utility lines
Service has been restored for all but a handful of the nearly 3,500 Duquesne Light customers who lost power on Sunday when high winds swept through Southwestern Pennsylvania, toppling trees and downing power lines. But a majority of the more than 10,600 local customers of West Penn Power who lost...
Pittsburgh police seek suspect in fatal shooting in Carrick on Sunday
A man who was shot by an assailant in Pittsburgh’s Carrick neighborhood late Sunday night died after being transported to a hospital for treatment, according to city police. Officers and emergency medical services responding to a 911 call for two people shot in the 2000 block of Brownsville Road at...
State seeks to add Pittsburgh-to-New York City Amtrak train
Amtrak’s proposal to add another Pittsburgh-to-Harrisburg daily round-trip train in about three years is good news to Sharon Calloway of Uniontown, a frequent traveler on the Pennsylvanian train from Greensburg to New York City, where she works. “It would be nice to have more than one option,” said Calloway, who...
Michigan halts high school classes, indoor restaurant diningVideo
LANSING, Mich. — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration on Sunday ordered high schools and colleges to stop in-person classes, closed restaurants to indoor dining and stopped organized sports — including the football playoffs — in a bid to curb Michigan’s spiking coronavirus cases. The restrictions will begin Wednesday and last three...
Allegheny County reports ‘beyond concerning’ record 527 new coronavirus cases
Allegheny County added a record 527 new coronavirus cases to its total on Sunday, shattering the previous high by more than 100. The new cases bring the county’s total to 20,026, becoming the second county in the state with more than 20,000. (Philadelphia has the most with 48,817 and surpassed...
Delayed start to transition of power hurts coronavirus-fighting effort, Biden team saysVideo
WASHINGTON — With President Trump still balking at conceding electoral defeat and public health experts forecasting a horrific new phase of the covid-19 pandemic, calls intensified Sunday for the start of a formal transition to the administration of President-elect Joe Biden. The nationwide virus caseload last week touched unprecedented heights...
Iron City Beer ad returns to Mt. Washington billboard for 1st time in 66 years
Old is new again. At least when it comes to the billboard atop Pittsburgh’s Mt. Washington. For the first time in roughly 66 years, an ad for Iron City Beer is being displayed on the Lamar Advertising Co.-managed billboard that overlooks the city. The ad went up Saturday and will...
Trump urges judge to preserve suit over Pennsylvania ballots
The Trump campaign urged a judge to preserve its bid to block Pennsylvania from certifying President-elect Joe Biden as the winner, claiming there’s evidence that voters in Democratic-leaning counties were improperly allowed to fix errors with their ballots. In a filing Sunday in federal court, the campaign said a half-dozen...
New cases prompt Penn-Trafford to close Penn Middle School through Wednesday
Penn Middle School will be closed Monday through Wednesday because of an increase in covid-19 cases. Penn-Trafford School District officials notified parents in a letter emailed Sunday from Superintendent Matthew Harris. There are five active covid-19 cases at the school, two of which were added over the weekend. Four of...
