Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1503
Biddle’s Escape coffee shop owner sues WESA-FM, alleging defamation
The owner of a Wilkinsburg coffee shop is suing a Pittsburgh radio station over a story last year that contained allegations of sexual misconduct. Joseph Davis, owner of Biddle’s Escape, a popular indie coffee joint in the Regent Square neighborhood, claims in a lawsuit that the story was defamatory and...
Allegheny County reports 37 new covid-19 cases, 6 new hospitalizations
Allegheny County health officials reported 37 new covid-19 cases, six new hospitalizations and no new deaths on Thursday. Covid-19 cases have been rising locally this week. The county on Wednesday reported 45 new cases, matching the number of new cases reported on Monday. The 45 cases reported Monday and Wednesday...
Carnegie Science Center reopening, extending Mummies of the World exhibit
Carnegie Science Center is extending its popular Mummies of the World exhibition as the museum reopens after closing March 14 in the coronavirus shutdown. Mummies of the World had been scheduled to end in April. The show, presented in the center’s PPG Science Pavilion, displays 125 mummies and related artifacts...
Pa. man runs 218 miles to nursing home of virus-stricken ‘Nana’Video
SCRANTON — Endurance athlete Corey Cappelloni once ran six days through the Sahara Desert in what’s considered the most grueling foot race on Earth. But a 218-mile run to grandma after she was sickened with covid-19 turned out to be the longest, toughest and most rewarding of his life. Cappelloni...
‘Coming back and biting us’: U.S. sees virus resurgence
HOUSTON — A coronavirus resurgence is wiping out two months of progress in the U.S. and sending infections to dire new levels across the South and West, with hospital administrators and health experts warning Wednesday that politicians and a tired-of-being-cooped-up public are letting a disaster unfold. The U.S. recorded a...
State police association supports reform legislation passed by Pa. House, Senate
The Pennsylvania State Troopers Association on Wednesday issued a statement supporting police-reform legislation passed by the state House and Senate. “As troopers, we believe our Call of Honor is nothing less than a sacred oath. Every trooper must memorize it. In particular, it includes this line: ‘It is my duty...
New alert system designed to save Pittsburgh firefighters time, stress
A new alert system installed across Pittsburgh’s firehouses will streamline responses and cut down on stress that wears on firefighters from listening to every call every moment they’re in the station, Public Safety officials said in introducing the system on Wednesday. Dispatches are only heard by the station or stations...
‘Beautiful ride’: Irwin family, friends celebrate adoption of two brothersVideo
The anticipation was getting to be too much for 6-year-old Ryan Salany. “Mommy, how many minutes?” he asked again. Minutes turned into seconds and soon enough his long-awaited adoption hearing had arrived. At his adoptive parents’ Irwin dining room table, Ryan and his 2-year-old brother, Caleb, officially became new members...
Protesters: Pittsburgh bar has dress code that discriminates against Black peopleVideo
More than 100 protesters gathered outside a Downtown Pittsburgh bar Wednesday, protesting a dress code they say discriminates against Black individuals and Black members of the LGBTQ+ community. An incident happened over the weekend at 941 Saloon on Liberty Avenue, that sparked the protest, according to Devar Ferguson, a leader...
Food banks still operating in ’emergency mode,’ seeing increased demand in Western Pa.
While mile-long lines of cars outside the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank are not the norm these days, the need to provide food to struggling families in Southwestern Pennsylvania remains. “We’ve been in response mode to the crisis for the last three months, and we continue to see a higher...
Police: Oakmont family charged with death of 3-year-old girl
A third person wanted in connection with the death of a 3-year-old girl in Oakmont turned herself into Allegheny County Police headquarters Thursday morning. Police had issued a warrant for Alexis Herrera, 20, after charging her, along with the victim’s father, Jose Salazar-Ortiz Sr., 29, and stepmother, Laura Ramriez, 27,...
Trafford councilman criticized for transphobic joke about state health secretary
A Trafford councilman is under fire for making a comment he deemed a joke about Pennsylvania Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine’s gender on Gov. Tom Wolf’s Facebook page. Wolf on his Facebook page Sunday wished a happy Father’s Day to all Pennsylvania dads. Zack Cole, a Republican councilman who chairs...
Allegheny County health officials warn of coronavirus spread in younger people
Allegheny County officials said there has been a community spread of covid-19 among young people, which could be detrimental to those most vulnerable to the virus. The county on Wednesday reported 45 new covid-19 cases, matching the number of new cases reported on Monday. The 45 cases reported Monday and...
Penn Hills man gets life in prison for 2017 Jeannette murder
An Allegheny County man was sentenced Wednesday to serve life in prison without parole for a 2017 fatal shooting in Jeannette. Darrelle Tolbert-McGhee, 31, of Penn Hills, was convicted in January of first-degree murder for the April 13, 2017, daylight shooting of Michael Wilson on Clay Avenue. Police said Wilson,...
Pittsburgh Council split on hiring consultant for review of police actions during protests
Pittsburgh City Council members were evenly split Wednesday over a Citizen Police Review Board request to hire a consulting company for a review of police actions during recent protests. The CPRB had requested $25,000 to hire Texas-based Densus Group to assess police use of force during protests Downtown and in...
Indiana County man charged in robbery, shooting on same day
Police charged an Indiana man with involvement in a drive-by shooting in the borough and an armed robbery in neighboring White Township, both occurring on Tuesday. State police said Thomas Edward Lindsay, 20, was taken into custody without incident Wednesday at a residence in the township. He is charged with...
GNC files for bankruptcy, plans to close up to 1,200 stores
Pittsburgh-based health and wellness retailer GNC Corp. filed for bankruptcy and plans to close 800 to 1,200 stores, including several in Western Pennsylvania, unless it finds a buyer willing to pay at least $760 million under an agreement with lenders. Saying the covid-19 pandemic “had a dramatic negative impact on...
Teen killed, others injured in South Fayette train crash
A teenage girl was killed and two others were hurt Wednesday, after they were struck by a train in South Fayette. The crash happened near the intersection of Wabash Avenue and Millers Run Road, according to a news release from Allegheny County police. The teenagers were walking across an elevated...
Police: Mental health patient stabbed nurse in Greensburg with pen
A registered nurse was hospitalized late Tuesday after Greensburg police said a mental health patient stabbed her with a pen, according to court papers. Susan Barkley, 41, is being held in the Westmoreland County Prison without bail. She is charged with aggravated assault, simple assault, escape and resisting arrest. Officers...
UPMC: Coronavirus patient outcomes are improving
While parts of the nation are dealing with an increase in covid-19 cases, local patient outcomes are actually improving, UPMC officials said Wednesday. Dr. Donald Yealy, UPMC’s chair of emergency medicine, said the health system is seeing the lowest number of hospitalized covid-19 patients since a spike in early April....
Uniontown woman held for court on baseball bat assault allegations
A former Scottdale woman was left with a serious eye injury last year after she was attacked by two people she didn’t know, according to testimony. Shyanne Hawk, 20, of Derry had a baseball bat to protect herself during the fight Jan. 8, 2019, outside her Scottdale home, but testified...
New Kensington-Arnold to lay off 28 teachers, projects up to 600 students won’t return to school in fall
New Kensington-Arnold School Board voted Tuesday to lay off 28 teachers because the district said research projects up to 600 students won’t be returning to its schools in the fall. Even with the layoffs and a 3-mill tax increase, also approved Tuesday, the district plans to spend $1.1 million more...
11 new coronavirus cases reported in Westmoreland County – Jun. 24, 2020
The Pennsylvania Department of Health on Wednesday reported 11 new covid-19 cases and no additional deaths in Westmoreland County. This brings the case total to 563, with deaths remaining at 38 in the county. This marked the third time in four days that the county saw double-digit increases in cases...
Pennsylvania officials report 54 new covid-19 deaths statewide
The Pennsylvania Department of Health on Wednesday reported 54 new covid-19 deaths and 495 new cases in the state. The statewide total is now 83,191 cases, including 632 probable cases, and 6,515 deaths. According to the Department of Health, the most severe cases are seen in patients over the age...
Allegheny County reports 45 new covid-19 cases, matching highest total in nearly 2 months
Allegheny County on Wednesday reported 45 new covid-19 cases, matching the number of new cases reported on Monday, and five new deaths. On Tuesday, the county reported 19 new covid-19 cases. The 45 cases reported Monday and Wednesday were the highest daily totals reported in nearly two months. During a...
