Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1435
Pennsylvania reports 587 new covid-19 cases, 15 new deaths
Pennsylvania reported 587 new covid-19 cases Thursday, according to the state Department of Health. In addition, 15 new coronavirus-related deaths were reported. Of the state’s newly reported deaths, one is from April, five are from August and nine are from September. The state’s case count rises to 141,877 and death...
Allegheny County reports no new covid-19 deaths, 54 new cases
Allegheny County on Thursday reported 54 new coronavirus cases, according to the county health department. Cases in the county are now up to 10,969. No additional deaths were reported. The death total remains at 358. The additional covid-19 cases come from 859 tests, with tests from Sept. 2-9. Positivity rate...
Hempfield high school student tests positive for covid-19
A Hempfield Area High School student recently tested positive for the coronavirus, the district announced. The student, who was not identified, was last in school Sept. 1, according to a letter from Superintendent Tammy Wolicki. The district was notified Tuesday of the positive test results. District officials worked with the...
CMU’s Heinz College announces layoffs
Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy will lay off a number of staff members, school officials said this week. The affected staff were notified Tuesday morning. In an email to Heinz College faculty and staff, Dean Ramayya Krishnan said the financial impact of the covid-19...
Plum School District employee quarantined after testing positive for covid-19
A Plum Borough School District employee has tested positive for covid-19, according to district officials. The employee, who has not been at work since Sept. 3, tested positive for the virus on Sept. 4, according to a notice sent to parents from Lisa Pace, a registered nurse who serves as...
Fayette County woman killed in New Stanton crash
A 44-year-old woman was killed in a one-vehicle crash in New Stanton early Thursday, according to the Westmoreland County Coroner’s office. Deputy Coroner Sean Hribal pronounced Susan M. Clawson of Uniontown dead at the scene of the 1 a.m. crash in the roundabout off Rachel Drive, the coroner’s office reported....
California wildfires growing bigger, moving faster than ever
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — When it comes to California wildfires, it now takes days, not decades, to produce what had been seen as a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence. Last weekend, a fire burning in California’s Sierra National Forest exploded in size, trapping hundreds of Labor Day holiday campers who could only be rescued...
Hackers hit virtual-learning lessons with porn, racial slurs in Pittsburgh Public, Trinity Area districts
Pittsburgh Public Schools and the Trinity Area School District were targeted by hackers who exposed students to pornography and racial slurs during remote learning sessions on Wednesday. “This morning, we took immediate action upon notification of an inappropriate video that was embedded in the link of an educational video on...
Serra Catholic High School temporarily closes after 2 students test positive for covid-19
Serra Catholic High School has moved all students to online learning after two students tested positive for covid-19, the school confirmed Thursday. The school building will remain closed through Monday, and all sports programs will be suspended through the weekend. Administrators at the McKeesport school had sent an email to...
Justice Department push into Trump defamation lawsuit could prompt dismissalVideo
WASHINGTON — Attorney General William Barr on Wednesday defended the Justice Department’s move to intervene in a defamation lawsuit against President Donald Trump, even as experts were skeptical of the federal government’s effort to protect the president in a seemingly private dispute. The Justice Department’s action is “a normal application...
VP Mike Pence: ‘The road to victory goes straight through Pennsylvania’Video
Vice President Mike Pence said Wednesday afternoon he chose to visit a Beaver County natural gas well for one reason: “Pennsylvania and America need four more years of President Donald Trump in the White House.” “I’m here to roll up my sleeves because the road to victory goes straight through...
W&J College sends 26 students home for violating covid-19 guidelines
Washington & Jefferson College has sent more than two dozen students home for violating covid-19 guidelines since the fall semester began, the institution said Wednesday. The semester began Aug. 24. In the past two weeks, 26 students have been asked to return home to continue their studies remotely, according to...
Weekend fracas in Downtown Pittsburgh viewed by some as isolated; others waryVideo
The actions of protesters Saturday on Penn Avenue in Downtown Pittsburgh were “an isolated incident,” Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership President Jeremy Waldrup said Wednesday. “We welcome protests, and we understand the needs for folks to get out during these times and demand change,” he said, while adding the public conflicts Saturday...
VP Mike Pence stops in Westmoreland, rallies pro-life voters at Murrysville church
Anti-abortion activists from across the region gathered Wednesday at Cornerstone Ministries in Murrysville as Vice President Mike Pence addressed the kick-off of the Susan B. Anthony List’s campaign to engage pro-life voters in Pennsylvania. The visit to the large, nondenominational church marked Pence’s third appearance with the group. Long a...
Experts weigh in on best time to get a flu vaccine
When is the best time to get the flu vaccine? Most medical experts say as soon as possible — and certainly by the end of October. “With the potential for flu and covid-19 co-occurring, we need everyone to take steps to prevent overrunning our health systems,” said state Department of...
Bob Woodward book: Trump said of coronavirus, ‘I wanted to always play it down’Video
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump talked privately about the severity of the coronavirus threat even as he was telling the nation that the virus was no worse than the seasonal flu and insisting that the U.S. government had it totally under control, according to a new book by journalist Bob...
Apollo-Ridge teacher wins state award for teaching real-world applications of geography
A Vandergrift woman who teaches at Apollo-Ridge High School won a state award for teaching how knowledge of geography could be applied to real jobs. Jessica Johns, a social studies teacher, received the 2020 Pennsylvania Geographical Society John J. Katana K-12 Distinguished Teaching Award. “I am very humbled and very...
U.S. withdrawing thousands of troops from Iraq, Afghanistan
WASHINGTON — The United States will pull thousands of troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan by November, the top American commander for the Middle East said Wednesday, as President Donald Trump tries to make good on his campaign promise to get America out of “endless wars.” During a visit to...
Pennsylvania adds 931 new coronavirus cases, with large number stemming from Centre County
The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported 931 new positive coronavirus cases on Wednesday, with a large number stemming from Centre County, the home of Penn State’s main campus. Centre County added 184 new cases on Wednesday, with that one-day total accounting for more than 21 percent of the county’s total...
Pittsburgh principal drops rap video encouraging students during pandemic
The principal of Pittsburgh Miller Pre-K is encouraging students to excel during remote learning — with song. In a video posted Tuesday morning, the school district tweeted a video of Margaret Starkes, “the Rapping Principal,” dropping a few bars of reassurance for students on their first day of school. All...
Allegheny County reports 68 new coronavirus cases, 9 deaths
Allegheny County on Wednesday added 68 coronavirus cases and nine deaths to its totals. The additional cases bring the county’s totals to 10,915 positive covid-19 cases and 358 deaths, according to the county’s health department. The 68 new cases (62 confirmed and six probable) come from 663 tests, with the...
WTAE-TV hires Jeff Verszyla as weekend meteorologist
Former KDKA-TV chief meteorologist Jeff Verszyla has been hired on staff at WTAE-TV as weekend evening meteorologist beginning Oct. 1. Verszyla, who was let go by KDKA in December 2018 after 23 years at the station, has been a fill-in, freelance forecaster for Channel 4 over the summer. The Sewickley...
Trump nominated for Nobel Peace Prize by Norwegian lawmaker
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — A far-right Norwegian lawmaker said Wednesday that he has nominated President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in the Middle East. Christian Tybring-Gjedde, a member of the Norwegian Parliament for the far-right Progress Party, said Trump should be considered because of his work...
Police: Derry Township man assaulted woman, tried to set her on fire
A Derry Township man was ordered held in the county jail without bond on charges he assaulted a woman and then attempted to set her on fire during an argument Tuesday. State police charged Paul Staschak, 44, with aggravated assault, harassment, indecent assault, reckless endangerment, simple assault, making terroristic threats...
California wildfire explodes, burning across 25 miles in dayVideo
SHAVER LAKE, Calif. — A Northern California wildfire burning for more than three weeks roared to life after being stoked by high winds, spreading at a ferocious rate across an estimated 25 miles of mountainous terrain and parched foothills and destroying an untold number of homes. As thick smoke choked...
