Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1462
Brighton Rehab under scrutiny for hydroxychloroquine use to thwart coronavirus
Evelyn Gilbert, 53, began her five-day dose of hydroxychloroquine while battling covid-19 in a room with three other infected residents at Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center. Kenneth Miller, 66, who had not shown symptoms of the virus, was jolted awake by a Brighton staffer urging him to sign a consent...
‘Covid cannot be used as a cover-up’: Brighton Rehab residents, families outraged by lax oversight during outbreak
As death became a constant at Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center in mid-April, so did certain daily rituals, according to some of the more than dozen residents, families and current and former staff members interviewed during a Trib investigation. Family members’ frantic pleas for updates about loved ones locked down...
After months of uncertainty at the top, Brighton Rehab has manager in place through end of year
A state-appointed manager will oversee operations at the troubled Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center at least through the end of the year, signaling some consistency after months of uncertainty about who is in charge. State officials confirmed Allaire Health Services, installed in mid-May to temporarily manage the facility where 73...
Veil of silence: As outbreak spun out of control, Brighton Rehab ownership group remained mum. It still does.
A knock on the door at two Long Island addresses listed for the owners of Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center did nothing to lift a veil of silence surrounding the company since 73 patients and a housekeeper at the Beaver County nursing home died earlier this year. The reporter who...
Trump’s order to bypass Congress on coronavirus relief faces likely legal challenges
WASHINGTON — President Trump on Saturday said he was bypassing Congress and taking unilateral action to provide financial relief to Americans struggling during the coronavirus crisis, despite uncertainty about his legal authority to do so. Following the breakdown of talks on Capitol Hill to reach a bipartisan deal, Trump signed...
Police: Dog hurt during arrest of owner in Pittsburgh’s Allentown
Pittsburgh police shot and injured a dog Saturday when it went after officers who were trying to arrest its owner, authorities said. The incident happened about 11:45 a.m. as officers were responding to Helen Way on the border of the city’s Allentown and Knoxville neighborhoods for a report of people...
Pirates’ Phillip Evans carted off on stretcher after outfield collision with Gregory Polanco
In a scary scene at PNC Park, Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman Phillip Evans appeared to be knocked unconscious after a collision with right fielder Gregory Polanco and was taken off the field on a stretcher in the sixth inning of Saturday’s game against the Detroit Tigers. Evans was chasing a...
TikTok to sue Trump administration as soon as Tuesday, NPR says
TikTok plans to file a federal lawsuit as soon as Tuesday to challenge President Trump’s executive order banning the video-sharing service from the U.S. as unconstitutional, National Public Radio reported. The lawsuit will be filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, where TikTok’s American operations...
British Airways flights from Pittsburgh to London delayed until October
Plans to restart direct flights from Pittsburgh International Airport to London via British Airways have been put on hold, according to an airport spokesperson. The British airline had initially been set to resume flights last week. Bob Kerlik, spokesman for the Allegheny County Airport Authority, said the covid-19 pandemic has...
Allegheny Valley School Board approves all virtual first month of school
After Allegheny Valley School District parents and school board members questioned a proposal for a phased reopening last week, the board approved a revised plan Thursday night for an all-virtual first month of school. Allegheny Valley School District students are scheduled to start Aug. 24 via virtual learning for a...
Local, federal officials warn against drinking hand sanitizers to combat coronavirus
Local and federal officials are warning people not to ingest hand sanitizers as more people turn to the popular cleansing agent to help mitigate the spread of the coronavirus. Alcohol-based hand sanitizers are liquids, gels or foams that can disinfect hands. Such products should contain only ethanol or isopropanol. But...
Sewickley Bridge reopens slightly ahead of schedule
The Sewickley Bridge connecting Moon and Sewickley has reopened slightly ahead of schedule after four weeks of closures for rehab and repairs. The bridge closed July 17 and was scheduled to be closed until Monday, though Swank Construction crews wrapped up work a day and a half early, according to...
Plasma from covid-19 survivors at ’emergency level,’ blood donation organizations sayVideo
Blood donation organizations say they are facing a critical shortage of convalescent plasma from covid-19 survivors – a part of the blood that contains antibodies that can help those still critically ill with the virus overcome the infection. “I’d say we’re at an emergency level,” said Regina Bratton Boothe, a...
Trump orders more unemployment pay, payroll tax deferral
BEDMINSTER, N.J. — Seizing the power of his podium and his pen, President Trump on Saturday moved to bypass the nation’s elected lawmakers as he claimed the authority to defer payroll taxes and extend an expired unemployment benefit after negotiations with Congress on a new coronavirus rescue package collapsed. At...
Can hydroxychloroquine prevent covid-19? Hesitance to participate stunts large study
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — For 30 days, Kansas City physician Michael Waxman took a daily dose of hydroxychloroquine. Or maybe, he didn’t. Maybe, those pills were nothing more than a placebo. He won’t know until the end of a national clinical trial investigating whether hydroxychloroquine — the drug that keeps...
Editorial: Wolf needs to stop playing chicken
And the can gets kicked down the road again. On Friday, the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association took a tepid fake-out from Gov. Tom Wolf and didn’t try to make a play for the end zone. On Thursday, Wolf made an unexpected drop-in comment at a news conference, saying sports should...
Westmoreland County edges up with 23 new coronavirus cases
Westmoreland County on Saturday reported 23 new coronavirus cases, the most in more than a week. The county had been reporting less than 20 new cases per day in August. The current 7-day average is 14 cases per day in the county, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Westmoreland...
Students’ college plans change as virus drives changes on campus
When Ethan Wyman graduated from Fox Chapel Area High School a semester early last winter, his plans were pretty much set. The O’Hara Township teen would keep working at Giant Eagle and then head to the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg campus this fall. He and his family liked the...
Pennsylvania reports 813 new coronavirus cases, 16 deaths
Pennsylvania on Saturday reported an additional 813 cases of coronavirus. The state’s total cases is 118,092 since the pandemic began. Of the new cases, 114,755 are confirmed with 3,337 considered probable, according to the state Department of Health. The 16 new reported deaths bring the total attributed to covid-19 to...
Allegheny County reports 87 new coronavirus cases, 1 death
The Allegheny County Health Department on Saturday reported 87 new covid-19 cases, bringing the total reported cases to 8,796. The department added one new death, for a total of 258 attributed to covid-19. Nine new hospitalizations were reported to the county. Allegheny County coronavirus by day...
Rare blazing star wildflowers in bloom in Butler County prairieVideo
The sea of tall, purple wildflowers known as blazing stars at Jennings Environmental Education Center are a rarity for Western Pennsylvania, and they won’t last much longer than this weekend. The flower is as exotic as its habitat: a prairie that was first preserved by the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy and...
Judge orders release of body camera video from night George Floyd died
MINNEAPOLIS — A Hennepin County judge has ordered the public release of body camera video from the night George Floyd was killed after a challenge by a coalition of local and national media companies, including the Minneapolis Star Tribune. In a ruling issued Friday, Judge Peter Cahill wrote that “Members...
Trump says he might sign order to boost unemployment checks. Can he?
WASHINGTON — Can President Trump quickly issue an executive order and start hundreds of dollars in unemployment payments flowing to millions of Americans again? Maybe, but he’d face significant hurdles. Like the Constitution. Congress, not the president, has the power “to lay and collect taxes” in order “to pay the...
Drug might lessen covid-19-related lung damage
MIAMI — A Miami hospital will be the first in the country to test a possible covid-19 treatment on humans this month. The research center at Westchester General Hospital in Coral Terrace is on its way to enroll patients to test Ifenprodil, a pill developed in the 1970s to treat...
Census Bureau: In-person census counts to ‘present low risk’ of transmitting coronavirus
As in-person counting efforts kick off across the country for the decennial census, bureau officials are working to keep staff and members of the public safe from the coronavirus. “Participation in 2020 census interviews should present a low risk of transmission of covid-19,” according to the Census Bureau. In-person enumerators...
