Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1497
U.S. adds 4.8 million jobs as unemployment falls to 11.1%Video
WASHINGTON — U.S. employers added a substantial 4.8 million jobs in June, and the unemployment rate fell to 11.1%, as the job market improved for a second straight month yet still remained far short of regaining the colossal losses it suffered this spring. The nation has now recovered roughly one-third...
Closing bars to stop coronavirus spread is backed by scienceVideo
Authorities are closing bars, honky tonks and other drinking establishments in some parts of the country to stem the surge of covid-19 infections — a move backed by sound science about risk factors that go beyond wearing or not wearing masks. In the words of one study, it comes down...
Pittsburgh SWAT team assists police in standoff with man barricaded in apartment
Pittsburgh police called a SWAT team for assistance Wednesday evening as they negotiated the surrender of a man who barricaded himself in his apartment and threatened to harm himself. Police responded just after 6 p.m. to the apartment in the 400 block of South Fairmount Street in the city’s Friendship...
Organizers cancel Fort Ligonier Days, plan virtual version of festival
The Fort Ligonier Days Board canceled its traditional fall festival, but plans are underway to hold a virtual version. The annual festival, which was scheduled for Oct. 9-11, typically brings thousands of visitors to Ligonier to view a parade, enjoy food and music, browse among vendors and attend battle re-enactments...
Trump, top officials defend response to Russia bounty threatVideo
WASHINGTON — Criticized for inaction, President Donald Trump and top officials on Wednesday stepped up their defense of the administration’s response to intelligence assessments that Russia offered bounties for killing U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Trump’s national security adviser said he had prepared a list of retaliatory options if the intelligence...
‘Ask a Black Doctor About Covid-19’ Facebook event set for Thursday
Every other week an informal online chat known as “Ask a Black Doctor about Covid-19” attracts more than 24,000 views. But as covid-19 cases reach record highs in Allegheny County, a session scheduled for Thursday evening is expected to exceed previous viewership numbers. Presented by 1Hood Media and the Gateway...
Allegheny County officials say coronavirus is infecting more young people
More young people continue to test positive for covid-19, Allegheny County officials said Wednesday. Hospitalizations also have started to “creep up,” county Health Director Debra Bogen said, with 31 since June 20. Of the newly hospitalized, seven patients are in their 20s and 30s, she said. She expects to see...
Family of Brighton Rehab employee sues over covid-19 death; federal lawsuit dropped
The family of a longtime employee at Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center in Beaver County is suing the facility over her death from covid-19. Elizabeth A. Wiles, of Rochester, Beaver County, worked as a Brighton housekeeper for nearly 30 years. She died May 10 at age 69 after a covid-19...
Pennsylvania high court turns down lawmakers’ bid to end shutdown
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s high court on Wednesday ruled against an effort by Republican state lawmakers to end Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf’s pandemic shutdown orders. A divided court ruled that a resolution passed with mostly GOP votes was a “legal nullity” because it was not sent to Wolf to sign or...
Pittsburgh council poised to create LGBTQ commission, address racial divide
Pittsburgh City Council on Wednesday advanced separate bills that would require an increased effort to rebuild business districts in minority-populated neighborhoods and create a commission to help resolve problems faced by the city’s LGBTQIA+ residents and visitors. Councilmen Ricky Burgess and R. Daniel Lavelle, the city’s only two Black council...
Another West Mifflin-based Port Authority driver diagnosed with covid-19
Another Port Authority of Allegheny County employee who works out of the authority’s West Mifflin garage has tested positive for covid-19, the authority said Wednesday. It is the 17th case involving a Port Authority employee. The employee has been in a medically directed self-quarantine since March 19, but they tested...
Pennsylvania makes masks mandatory — even outdoors
Face masks are now mandatory in Pennsylvania in public places and outside when social distancing is not possible, according to an order intended to slow the spread of covid-19. Gov. Tom Wolf said the mandate expands an order signed in April that requires the wearing of masks in businesses. The...
Diocese of Greensburg Catholic schools receives largest recorded donation, offering $4.1 million in tuition assistanceVideo
Diocese of Greensburg Catholic schools could see an uptick of about 250 students in the coming year thanks to $4.1 million in tuition assistance now available. The funds were made possible after the diocese received the single largest donation by a family, amounting to $2.4 million, along with smaller donations...
Jordan Brown sues for wrongful conviction after childhood in prison
A former Lawrence County man is suing a handful of retired state police investigators and officials alleging malicious prosecution after he spent most of his childhood in prison for the shotgun killing of his father’s pregnant fiance before the state Supreme Court overturned his conviction. Jordan Brown was 11 years...
Pennsylvania finishes year $3B behind because of pandemic
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania state government finished its fiscal year about 9% short of its initial revenue estimate, a result of the state’s coronavirus-related shutdowns and delayed tax-filing deadlines, the Department of Revenue said Wednesday. The state collected $32.3 billion for the 12 months through Tuesday. That was about $3.2 billion...
Stocks rise as Wall Street heads for a 3rd straight gain
Communication companies helped lift U.S. stock indexes mostly higher Wednesday afternoon, placing the market on track for its third gain in a row. The S&P 500 was up 0.6%, coming off the heels of a whiplash start to the year where its worst quarterly performance since 2008 gave way to...
Hot, dry weather hitting Western Pennsylvania for holiday weekend
At Harbison Nursery in Harrison, keeping plants alive is the main concern during these hot July days. Andrew Scarborough tends to the nursery’s plants. With the weather forecast calling for more scorchers, he said it’s important to care for plants correctly. High temperatures will peak in the low 90s from...
$175M available soon to Pa. renters, mortgage holders struggling with payments
Applications will be accepted starting Monday for $175 million in assistance for Pennsylvania mortgage holders and renters who are struggling to make payments during the coronavirus pandemic as an end to a moratorium on evictions looms. Residents who have lost a job or saw at least a 30% decrease in...
38 new covid-19 deaths, 636 additional cases reported in Pennsylvania
There were 38 new covid-19 deaths and 636 additional cases reported statewide by the Pennsylvania Department of Health on Wednesday. The state total is now 87,242 cases with 6,687 deaths; about 633 patients are considered probable cases. According to the Department of Health, the most severe cases are seen in...
Petition drive calls for dropping derogatory ‘squaw’ from Fox Chapel, O’Hara parks, roads
Three women — including a member of Fox Chapel council — are leading an effort to drop the word “squaw” from local parks, roads and waterways because it is considered an ethnic and sexual slur against women of Native American descent. It’s not the first time one of the women,...
Pittsburgh officials to enforce fireworks laws, restrict large gatherings during July 4th weekend
Pittsburgh’s public safety agencies are taking a different approach to monitoring gatherings to mark Independence Day because of the coronavirus pandemic. “We all know that these are uncertain and trying times,” Public Safety Director Wendell Hissrich said in a statement. “But if we can pull together as a city and...
110 new coronavirus cases reported in Allegheny County, 1 death
Allegheny County health officials reported 110 new cases of covid-19 Wednesday, along with four hospitalizations and one death. Wednesday’s update brings the county to 2,870 total cases of the virus, 397 hospitalizations and 187 deaths. There have been around 56,000 tests administered in the county since the start of the...
Row House Cinema’s online video festival is the cat’s meowVideo
It’s “purr-fect, a-meow-zing and totally fur-tastic.” It’s the Quarantine Cat Film Fest, a 70-minute compilation reel available for online viewing courtesy of Row House Cinema in Lawrenceville. Row House is no stranger to cute cat videos, having previously screened the national CatVideoFest and its own Pittsburgh Pretty Kitties festival, a...
Alcohol ban protest organizer’s West Deer bar reports positive covid-19 test in employee
The sports bar owner who was organizing a protest against Allegheny County’s covid-19 restrictions closed his West Deer business Tuesday night after an employee tested positive for the virus, according to a post on the bar’s Facebook page. Xtra Innings Sports Bar and Grille on Saxonburg Boulevard is owned by...
Penn State planning to equip all police officers with body cams at all 22 campuses
Penn State plans to equip all campus police officers with body cams within the next year to “be more transparent and accountable,” according to a news release by the university. Penn State announced Tuesday morning that, after extensive research, it will purchase body cams for every officer — about 150...
