Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1491
Delirium, inflammation, stroke, nerve damage: This is the brain on covid-19
NEW YORK — Delirium, inflammation, stroke: This is your brain on covid. Evidence is mounting that covid-19, the illness caused by the novel coronavirus, can cause brain damage regardless of the severity of other symptoms such as respiratory issues. Researchers at University College London studied neurological symptoms in 43 people,...
More Port Authority of Allegheny County employees test positive for covid-19
Four more Port Authority of Allegheny County employees have tested positive for covid-19 since last week, authorities announced Wednesday. Spokesman Adam Brandolph said three of them tested positive on Saturday and one had a positive test Wednesday. He said all four are recovering in a medically directed self-quarantine at home....
Westmoreland eateries brace for another round of restrictions
The extra marketing Jeanine DeGennaro did for her South Greensburg restaurant paid off while it was shut down. Now DeGennaro’s Restaurant & Lounge faces another blow as state officials are expected to halt indoor dining and drinking in Westmoreland and surrounding counties for at least two weeks amid the coronavirus...
Allegheny County will allow outdoor dining beginning Friday, Rivers Casino allowed to reopen
Outdoor dining at Allegheny County restaurants and bars will be allowed beginning Friday according to revised covid-19 restrictions issued by the county Health Department. Also, Rivers Casino will be permitted to reopen. Indoor dining and alcohol consumption will continue to be banned at restaurants and bars under the new two-week...
Preliminary hearings continued to Sept. 4 for defendants in death of Oakmont toddler
The preliminary hearings for three Oakmont residents accused of the physical and psychological torture, and eventual death, of a toddler have been continued to September, according to court records. Jose Salazar-Ortiz Sr., 29, and Laura Ramriez, 27, were charged June 24 with homicide, criminal conspiracy, aggravated assault of a child,...
Minneapolis officer to George Floyd: ‘It takes … a lot of oxygen to talk’
MINNEAPOLIS — As George Floyd told Minneapolis police officers that he couldn’t breathe more than 20 times in the moments before he died, the officer who pressed his knee against Floyd’s neck dismissed his pleas, saying “it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk,” according to transcripts...
Trump threatens to cut federal aid if schools don’t reopenVideo
Determined to reopen America’s schools, President Donald Trump threatened on Wednesday to hold back federal money if school districts don’t bring their students back in the fall despite coronavirus worries. He complained that his own public health officials’ safety guideline are impractical and too expensive. Shortly afterward, Vice President Mike...
Carnegie Mellon shuts down fall sports
With growing concern over the widespread coronavirus spike that has made its way to Allegheny County, Carnegie Mellon will not participate in fall sports, the university announced Wednesday. Sports that will be shelved are football, cross country, golf, soccer, tennis and women’s volleyball. All but football and volleyball field men’s...
Lawsuit claims UPMC, doctors failed to get proper patient consent for procedures
A federal lawsuit alleges health care giant UPMC and several doctors failed to get proper patient consent for surgeries and participation in clinical trials and then filed false insurance claims for the procedures. The lawsuit’s plaintiffs include the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Centers for Medicare &...
Latrobe man allegedly angry at GetGo ‘mask wearing’ request cited for damaging merchandise
A Latrobe man was cited for criminal mischief and disorderly conduct after he allegedly became angered and damaged merchandise inside a convenience store Thursday when he was asked by a store clerk to wear a protective mask while shopping. State police Trooper Ryan Ilich reported Jonathan P. Hazen, 37, was...
University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon join push against Trump’s edict on student visas
Officials at the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University joined leaders at research universities across the nation calling on the Trump administration to rescind its plans to deny visas and or deport foreign students unless they attend classes in person. Unlike Harvard, the University of Southern California and MIT,...
Lawsuit: Pennsylvania lifers should have chance at parole
Three women and three men serving life sentences in Pennsylvania prisons sued the state Board of Probation and Parole on Wednesday, alleging the state’s refusal to allow a chance at parole to those serving life sentences is tantamount to a death sentence. The lawsuit challenges a provision in the state’s...
Covid-19 cases in 19- to 24-year-olds on the rise in Pa.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported 849 new cases and 25 new deaths from covid-19 on Wednesday, totaling 92,148 cases and 6,812 deaths statewide. Allegheny County reported 230 new coronavirus cases Wednesday and Philadelphia County reported 90 coronavirus cases Wednesday, accounting for almost 40% of the state’s total new cases....
33 new covid-19 cases reported in Westmoreland County
The Pennsylvania Department of Health on Wednesday reported 33 new covid-19 cases and no new deaths in Westmoreland County, bringing the countywide case total to 896 and death total to 39. That includes 27 probable cases. The department reported 35 new cases Tuesday, 27 new cases Monday, 27 new cases...
Heat advisory issued for Thursday as 90-degree streak to continue in Pittsburgh region
Southwestern Pennsylvania will continue to sizzle in the 90s through Friday before finally seeing some relief, according to the National Weather Service. Both Thursday and Friday could be 91 or hotter, according to NWS meteorologist Myranda Fullerton. Highs for the region could reach the 90s both days, according to forecasts...
‘Grasping for anything’: Desperation science slows hunt for coronavirus drugs
Desperate to solve the deadly conundrum of covid-19, the world is clamoring for fast answers and solutions from a research system not built for haste. The ironic, and perhaps tragic, result: Scientific shortcuts have slowed understanding of the disease and delayed the ability to find out which drugs help, hurt...
Firearms background checks, purchase denials on rise in Pennsylvania in 2020
Pennsylvania State Police processed about 22% more background checks for firearm purchases so far in 2020 compared to last year. The state’s instant check system also denied 41% more applicants through the first six months of the year compared to the same period in 2019, according to police statistics. Gun...
Supreme Court: Some employers can refuse to offer free birth control
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld Trump administration rules allowing some employers to decline to provide contraceptive coverage on religious or moral grounds, which could leave more than 70,000 women without cost-free birth control. The high court ruled 7-2 for the administration, which made a policy change to...
Allegheny County reports 230 new covid-19 cases, 2 new deaths
Allegheny County health officials reported 230 new covid-19 cases, two additional deaths and eight more hospitalizations on Wednesday. This brings the total number of coronavirus cases in Allegheny County to 4,209. Of those, 4,028 are confirmed and 181 are probable. Wednesday’s numbers are the product of 1,997 test results, health...
As time ticks down on eviction ban in Pennsylvania, crush of court cases expected
A flood of landlord-tenant complaints could be on the way in courts across Pennsylvania as a moratorium on evictions for nonpayment of rent is set to be lifted Friday. Jobs have been lost or hours cut during statewide shutdowns related to the coronavirus pandemic, leaving some renters in a precarious...
In risky bid, Trump stokes racial rancor to motivate voters
NEW YORK — President Donald Trump is wielding America’s racial tensions as a reelection weapon, fiercely denouncing the racial justice movement on a near-daily basis with language stoking white resentment and aiming to drive his supporters to the polls. The incendiary discourse is alarming many in his own party and...
Trump pushes state, local leaders to reopen schools in fall
President Donald Trump launched an all-out effort pressing state and local officials to reopen schools this fall, arguing that some are keeping schools closed not because of the risks from the coronavirus pandemic but for political reasons. “They think it’s going to be good for them politically, so they keep...
Man identified who was killed in early-morning shooting in North Versailles
A 29-year-old man found dead after a shooting at a North Versailles apartment complex early Wednesday morning has been identified. Jamey Green of West Mifflin died around 2 a.m. after being shot along the 500 block of East Pittsburgh-McKeesport Boulevard, Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s office reported. Officers with the county...
$600 weekly unemployment federal check runs out at end of July
While Dylan Altemara finishes his master’s degree in human resources and looks for a job, the $600 unemployment weekly benefit boost from the federal government has been a lifesaver. “The additional stimulus money makes everybody whole,” Altemara, 27, of Belle Vernon said of the check he receives under the federal...
Chief Justice Roberts was hospitalized overnight after head injury in June
WASHINGTON — Chief Justice John Roberts was hospitalized overnight last month for an injury he suffered to his forehead after falling while walking for exercise, a U.S. Supreme Court spokeswoman said. Roberts’ doctors believe the fall was because of lightheadedness caused by dehydration and have ruled out a seizure, spokeswoman...
