Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1501
Trib Total Media receives national award for Tree of Life documentary
Trib Total Media earned a prestigious national award from the national Society of Professional Journalists for a video documentary marking one year since the Tree of Life attack in Squirrel Hill. SPJ announced Friday that “Tree of Life: One Year Later” won the digital video category in the 2019 Sigma...
‘I’m just so angry’: Residents welcome grand jury report slamming Pa. oversight of fracking industry
Breathing problems, unexplained illness, constant noise, light and smell of chemicals — all problems caused to residents by the oil and gas industry, a statewide grand jury found. None of it sounded new to those who have been living near well pads and pipelines for years. Since the Marcellus shale...
Police: Wilkinsburg man charged in 2013 shooting death of 1-year-old Marcus White Jr.
A Wilkinsburg man has been charged in connection to a 2013 triple shooting at a picnic that killed 15-month-old Marcus White, Jr. in Pittsburgh’s East Hills neighborhood. Gregory Parker, 22, is charged with criminal homicide, criminal conspiracy, four counts of aggravated assault and gun charges, Pittsburgh Public Safety spokesman Chris...
Experts: Covid-19 surges hit cities that reopened early, not those with big protests
The United States may be seeing the most compelling evidence yet that the best way to stop the coronavirus is also the most disruptive and difficult: Stay home and avoid other people. At first glance, the evidence seems conflicting. States in the South and West that reopened their economies early...
Editorial: Food banks need your help
Getting back to normal doesn’t mean being back to normal. Being there is a goal. Getting there is a process. There may be no better example of that than food banks. During earlier days of the coronavirus pandemic, nonprofits that provided nutritional assistance were overwhelmed as some people were thrown...
Florida reports 9,585 new coronavirus cases, setting another daily record in statewide surgeVideo
MIAMI — Florida’s Department of Health on Saturday confirmed 9,585 additional cases of COVID-19, surpassing Friday’s record-breaking 8,942 cases. The new cases brings the state total of confirmed cases to 132,545. There were also 24 new deaths announced Saturday, bringing the statewide death toll to 3,390. In just over a...
Pittsburgh zoo welcomes new cheetahs, hosting naming contest
The Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium has five new cheetah cubs and there’s a contest to name them. The zoo announced Friday it had welcomed the five female cubs and their mother, Naya, from the Metro Richmond Zoo. The cubs are about eight months old. The zoo is hosting a...
Finleyville man dies in ATV crash with SUV
A Finleyville man died when the ATV he was driving crashed with an SUV early Saturday morning, according to Washington County officials. The victim was identified as 21-year-old Tyler James Gereshenski. According to the coroner’s report, Gereshenski was in the ATV in the southbound lanes of Route 43 (the Mon–Fayette...
621 new coronavirus cases, 24 deaths reported in Pa.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health on Saturday reported 621 new coronavirus cases and 24 new deaths. That bring the statewide total to 84,991 cases and 6,603 deaths. The state considers 633 patients as probable cases, but they are not confirmed. Pa. coronavirus by dayInfogram More than half of coronavirus cases...
State issues new guidance for reopening long-term care facilities
The state has laid out a three-phased plan to reopening long-term care facilities, some of the hardest hit areas during the coronavirus pandemic. Guidance issued Saturday by Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Rachel Levine states that in order for facilities to begin the process of reopening, they must first meet criteria...
Allegheny County reports 90 new coronavirus cases, the highest daily total for county
Allegheny County has experienced its highest single-day coronavirus case jump after health officials reported 90 new cases Saturday. No new deaths were reported and the county’s death toll remained at 186. The new cases bring the grand total of cases in Allegheny County to 2,472. The previous high was 76,...
Pitt researchers find 4 coronavirus mutations arrived early in Pittsburgh, say pandemic could have been much worse in region
University of Pittsburgh researchers are studying tiny genetic differences in coronavirus samples to determine how the virus got to Pittsburgh and the region along with how it’s spreading — and they’ve found the early weeks of the pandemic in Southwestern Pennsylvania could have been much worse. “Why I think this...
Pitt police: Man sought after stabbing in Oakland
A man was stabbed Friday evening in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood and city and University of Pittsburgh police are investigating. The man was stabbed shortly after 7 p.m. Friday along the 500 block of Oak Hill Drive, University of Pittsburgh police said. The suspect fled in a black vehicle toward Eckstein...
Vandergrift man accused of throwing water bottle at Pittsburgh police arrested
A Vandergrift man accused of throwing a bottle of water at police during a June 1 protest in Pittsburgh’s East Liberty neighborhood has been arrested. Investigators with the Damage Assessment and Accountability Task Force, with assistance from Westmoreland County Sheriff’s Office and the Vandergrift Police Department, arrested Benjamin Reynolds, 28,...
Robinson Rent-A-Center manager says she lost her job for obeying stay-at-home order
A former Rent-A-Center employee who worked in Robinson has started legal proceedings against the company, saying she lost her job for refusing to come into work during Pennsylvania’s coronavirus lockdown. Tiffany Sager this week filed an arbitration demand seeking lost wages and punitive damages against the company. Sager worked as...
County health department issues consumer warning for a Ross market
A consumer alert has been issued by the Allegheny Health Department for the Oriental Market on McKnight Road in Ross. Eight crates of sliced fish were found Thursday sitting directly outdoors under no protection in the parking lot during an inspection, the department said. Flies were also observed on the...
Memorial Mass set for Pittsburgh Catholics who died during covid-19 pandemic
Bishop David A. Zubik will offer a memorial Mass Sunday morning for all Catholics in the Pittsburgh Diocese who have died during the covid-19 pandemic. The Mass will be livestreamed at 10 a.m. and can be viewed online. Many who died during the spread of the virus did not have...
Former Springdale police chief shoots dog belonging to Allegheny Valley Regional police chief
A former Alle-Kiski Valley police chief shot and killed a dog belonging to a current Valley police chief after the 1-year-old Dutch German shepherd broke free from an electric containment fence Friday morning in Fawn, according to the dog’s owner. “It’s a sad incident,” said Allegheny Valley Regional Police Chief...
Universities to advocate for international students amid visa restrictions
Leaders in higher education, including at local instititutions, are concerned over President Trump’s executive order Monday that suspends new visas for many international workers. The order, passed Monday and put into effect immediately, denies entry into the U.S. to four visa categories: H-1B, L, J and H-2B. These visas apply...
Westmoreland County wants to shutter 2 district court offices
The Westmoreland County Court of Common Pleas plans to close district courts in Mt. Pleasant and Penn townships by next year. This decision was made due to dwindling population and caseloads, according to the county’s new Magisterial District Court Redistricting Plan, released Friday. The move would save the county an...
DA seeks stiffer sentence for Pittsburgh rare book thieves
The Allegheny County District Attorney is asking a judge to reconsider sentencing for two men who stole rare books from the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, arguing they should go to jail instead of serving home confinement. District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr.’s office on Friday filed a motion with Allegheny...
Police charge McKees Rocks man with homicide in Robinson motel shooting
Allegheny County Police have arrested a McKees Rocks man in the fatal shooting of a Beaver County man Friday morning at the Pittsburgh Motel on Steubenville Pike in Robinson. Jaquay Murray, 25, is charged with criminal homicide in the death of Christopher Langham, 48, of Hookstown. Police and medics were...
Wildlife Works fundraiser benefits fawns in needVideo
The eight whitetail fawns Morgan Barron and Ella Lawrence have been taking care of know when it’s time to eat. They’ll run to the door of their Mt. Pleasant Township enclosure or make noises. But that’s the only time the small herd wants to be around people. “Which is good...
Pittsburgh convention center food service provider laying off 203 employees
The food and beverage provider for the David L. Lawrence Convention Center is laying off 203 employees effective Aug. 1 because of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a notice provided to the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry. Labor and Industry reported it received notification from Chicago-based Levy Premium Foodservice...
North Park Lounge in McCandless closes after employee tests positive for coronavirus
A restaurant employee in McCandless has tested positive for covid-19, prompting the business to temporarily close. North Park Lounge owner Mark Baranowski posted a letter to the restaurant’s Facebook page Friday, stating an employee tested positive Thursday. He said the last day the employee worked was Saturday, June 20. In...
