Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1471
Pence draws crowd at Cops for Trump event in GreensburgVideo
Applause and cheers filled South Main Street in Greensburg Thursday as Vice President Mike Pence touted a pro-police stance during a campaign event in a parking lot next to the city police station. He promised the 400 or so people in attendance that President Trump and the rest of the...
Crash injures 3, ties up traffic on Highland Park Bridge for over 2 hours
The Highland Park Bridge reopened to traffic in both directions shortly before 7 p.m. Thursday following a one-vehicle crash. At least three people were transported for treatment, according to an Allegheny County 911 supervisor. The wreck, on the O’Hara side of the bridge was reported at about 4:30 p.m. The...
At John Lewis funeral, Obama calls for renewing Voting Rights ActVideo
ATLANTA — Former President Barack Obama used Rep. John Lewis’ funeral on Thursday to issue a stark warning that the voting rights and equal opportunity the late civil rights icon championed are threatened heading into the 2020 election. Speaking from the pulpit of the church that Martin Luther King Jr....
Gov. Wolf, GOP critic spar over social media post parroting health secretary’s LGBQT comments
A public back-and-forth between Gov. Tom Wolf and one of his vocal House critics played out Thursday over the Lebanon County lawmaker’s parody of the health department secretary. The feud ended in calls from both parties for censures, resignations and dismissals. The incident started Wednesday with a social media post...
‘Isaias’ unleashes flooding, landslides in north CaribbeanVideo
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Tropical Storm Isaias battered Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic on Thursday as it continued on a forecast track toward the East Coast. The storm unleashed small landslides and caused widespread flooding and power outages on an island still recovering from previous hurricanes and earthquakes....
2 Pittsburgh motorcycle officers hurt in crash during Pence’s travel to Greensburg
Two Pittsburgh police motorcycle officers who were part of the security detail for Vice President Mike Pence’s Thursday visit to Greensburg were hurt in a crash on Route 837 in White Oak, Pittsburgh Public Safety spokeswoman Cara Cruz said. The officers are with the Special Deployment Division and were part...
Worst economic quarter impacts Western Pa. professionals
No one has seen numbers as bad as these. Shoulders slumped in America on Thursday as news broke that the U.S. economy shrank at a disastrous 33% annual rate during the April-June quarter, the worst quarterly drop in history. The previous worst quarterly plunge was a 10% drop in 1958....
Voice of Westmoreland holds ‘Rally for Black Lives’ in Greensburg’s St. Clair ParkVideo
While Vice President Mike Pence was attending a “Cops for Trump” rally in downtown Greensburg, a half-mile away in St. Clair Park, city resident Arlena Williams was describing the fear she felt recently watching her son get pulled over by police right near her front door. “Our fears are not...
Allegheny County sets record for new coronavirus hospitalizations; sees triple-digit cases for 8th straight day
Allegheny County has been consistently reporting new coronavirus cases in the triple digits. Thursday’s report of 132 new cases from the Allegheny County Health Department is the eighth in a row above 100. The report included a record 23 new hospitalizations and one new death. Of the new cases, 126...
31 new coronavirus cases reported in Westmoreland County
Westmoreland County has 31 new coronavirus cases, according to the latest report from the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The total of 1,382 cases through Thursday includes 1,344 confirmed and 38 probable. There were 328 new test results reported Thursday by the health department, with a positivity rate of 9.5%. Westmoreland...
Former GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain dies after covid-19 battleVideo
ATLANTA — Herman Cain, former Republican presidential candidate and former CEO of a major pizza chain who went on to become an ardent supporter of President Donald Trump, died Thursday of complications from coronavirus. He was 74. Dan Calabrese, who authored a post on Cain’s website announcing the death, told...
Allegheny County data shows parties becoming a growing source of coronavirus
While Allegheny County bars and restaurants are still linked to the most covid-19 cases, case investigations show a growing number of infected individuals have reported attending private parties and other large gatherings. Dr. Debra Bogen, director of Allegheny County’s Health Department said Wednesday parties, weddings, funerals, religious services and gyms...
Dunkin’ to shut down about 800 stores by end of 2020
Dunkin’ said it plans to shut down about 800 of its U.S. stores by the end of 2020, according to a release posted Thursday. There was no word on which stores would be closing. A new Dunkin’ store is set to open soon in East Huntingdon’s Countryside Plaza. The doughnut...
Motorcyclist killed in early morning crash in Beechview
One person was killed Thursday in a motorcycle crash in Beechview, authorities said. Police responded at about 6:40 a.m. along Crane Avenue, near Brashear High School. No other vehicles were involved. Crane Avenue is shut down at Route 51. BREAKING: Motorcyclist killed in earlier crash on Crane Ave, near Brashear...
Trump floats November election delay – but he can’t do that
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is for the first time floating a “delay” to the Nov. 3 presidential election, as he makes unsubstantiated allegations that increased mail-in voting will result in fraud. The dates of presidential elections — the Tuesday after the first Monday in November in every fourth year...
Greensburg hosts Pence visit, Rally for Black Lives event
Greensburg experienced opposite ends of the political spectrum Thursday, hosting a Cops for Trump rally and a Rally for Black Lives about a half mile from each other. Vice President Mike Pence attended the noon Cops for Trump rally held in Mid Town Plaza, next door to city hall and...
U.S. economy shrank at record-breaking 33% rate last quarterVideo
WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy shrank at a dizzying 33% annual rate in the April-June quarter — by far the worst quarterly plunge ever — when the viral outbreak shut down businesses, throwing tens of millions out of work and sending unemployment surging to 14.7%, the government said Thursday. The...
1.4 million seek jobless aid as virus keeps forcing layoffs
WASHINGTON — More than 1.4 million laid-off Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week, further evidence of the devastation the coronavirus outbreak has unleashed on the U.S. economy. The continuing wave of job cuts is occurring against the backdrop of a spike in virus cases that has led many states...
Enrollment booming for cyber schools, online academies
With families concerned about the safety of students returning to schools amid the covid-19 pandemic, cyber charter schools and the online academies run by school districts are seeing an increase in demand, officials of the schools said. “Pennsylvania’s public cyber charter schools have been inundated with inquiries about their schools...
Officials: Shooting claims boy in Uniontown
Uniontown police are searching for a suspect in a fatal shooting Wednesday night on the city’s Lenox Street. One person was confirmed dead, according to police. The victim was a male juvenile, according to a Fayette County 911 dispatch supervisor. The shooting was reported at about 9:30 p.m. Additional details...
Officials ID man killed in assault at Kennedy Township hotel
A 29-year-old man was charged with involuntary manslaughter after an assault Wednesday left another man dead in a Kennedy Township hotel. The suspect, Cecil Guy, was detained after police responded to the motel along the 100 block of Kisow Drive shortly before 8 p.m. and found a man unresponsive with...
4 Big Tech CEOs tell Congress they don’t stifle competitionVideo
WASHINGTON — The leaders of Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google fended off accusations Wednesday that their companies stifle competition, under intense questioning from lawmakers who have been i nvestigating Big Tech’s market dominance for the past year. Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, in his first appearance before Congress, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, Sundar...
Reschenthaler self-quarantines after House colleague tests positive for covid-19
U.S. Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, R-Peters, Washington County, announced Wednesday he’s self-quarantining for 14 days after coming into close contact with a colleague who tested positive for covid-19. The possible exposure occurred Tuesday at a House Judiciary Committee hearing, when Reschenthaler was in close proximity to Rep. Louie Gohmert of Texas....
Post-Gazette newsroom union to vote whether to strike; objects to ‘unfair’ changes
Unionized newsroom employees of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette will vote whether to go on strike in response to what the union deems unfair working conditions and other controversial changes imposed by management. The vote will be decided by secret ballots that will go out in the mail to members in coming...
Westmoreland Manor residents can have in-person visits for first time since March
Visitation with residents of Westmoreland Manor resumed this week in an outdoor setting, under a tent on a patio in front of the county-owned nursing home in Hempfield. County officials Wednesday announced new safety measures and other precautions associated with the resumption of visits to the nearly 400 Manor residents,...
