Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1541
Troopers accuse 4 in $100K ‘Gator’ UTV thefts
The state police auto theft task force used surveillance videos this week to track stolen UTVs for 7 miles — from the lot of a John Deere dealership in Salem to a rural home in Loyalhanna, near Saltsburg. Police said they eventually recovered five recently stolen vehicles, valued at $100,000,...
Pennsylvania coronavirus death toll tops 4,000
The coronavirus death toll in Pennsylvania surpassed 4,000 on Thursday, a day before more than a dozen new counties were set to ease restrictions and resume some semblance of everyday life. State health officials reported 275 more covid-19 deaths and 938 newly identified cases of the virus. The Department of...
Pandemic put $1 billion hole in Pennsylvania’s transportation budget
PennDOT is delaying new construction and downgrading resurfacing to patching and sealing as state highway workers return to work after a seven-week coronavirus pandemic shutdown. Acting Secretary of Transportation Yassmin Gramian said the shutdown that halted driver’s license renewals and triggered a dramatic reduction in travel and a corresponding loss...
Allegheny County reports no new coronavirus deaths, adds 6 cases
Allegheny County reported no new coronavirus deaths Thursday, holding the countywide death toll at 139. This comes after officials on Wednesday reported 12 more deaths and 19 additional cases of covid-19. That was among the highest number of deaths reported in a single day; however, those deaths could have occurred...
What you need to know as Southwestern Pennsylvania enters yellow phase
Most of Southwestern Pennsylvania, including Allegheny and Westmoreland counties, will move from the red phase to the yellow phase of the state’s tiered reopening plan Friday. Some restrictions put in place to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus will be eased or lifted. Here’s what you need to know: Do...
10 quarantine habits to keep after shutdown endsVideo
We breathe a tentative sigh of relief as much of Western Pennsylvania approaches the yellow phase in the gradual easing of coronavirus-related restrictions, beginning Friday. There are a few things we won’t miss when we emerge from the covid-19 quarantine — things like social distancing that keep us apart from...
36 million have sought U.S. unemployment aid since coronavirus hitVideo
WASHINGTON — Nearly 3 million laid-off workers applied for U.S. unemployment benefits last week as the viral outbreak forced more companies to slash jobs even though most states have begun to let some businesses reopen. Roughly 36 million people have now sought jobless aid in just the two months since...
Fayette County driver dies after hitting deer
A Fayette County woman was killed Wednesday when her car hit a deer, state police said. Virginia L. Sexton, 72, of Hopwood, hit the deer just after midnight while traveling south on Route 119 near McClure Road in Upper Tyrone Township, not far from the Westmoreland County border, according to...
‘A pressure cooker’: Gov. Wolf aims to contain GOP revolt in Pennsylvania
HARRISBURG — By many accounts, Gov. Tom Wolf has helped mitigate Pennsylvania’s coronavirus outbreak and avoided the full-blown disasters seen elsewhere. His success in the next challenge — containing the growing resistance to his efforts — is to be determined. The Democrat at the helm in one of the premier...
New Kensington mother arrested after 3-year-old dies of suspected child abuse
The mother of a 3-year-old who died of suspected abuse last month was arrested Wednesday, according to court documents. Teresa Fetterman, 23, of New Kensington is charged with involuntary manslaughter, aggravated assault, recklessly endangering another person and others after her son died April 24, after spending almost a month at...
16-year-old killed in Wilkinsburg shooting
A teenager died after a shooting Wednesday night in Wilkinsburg, according to Allegheny County Police. The county Medical Examiner’s office identified the victim as Marcus Wells Jr., 16, of Pittsburgh. Officers responded to Laketon Road and Robinson Boulevard shortly after 9 p.m. for reports of a shooting. On scene, police...
Duquesne University plans to open on schedule this fall with 3 scenarios in place
Duquesne University plans on opening as scheduled this fall, according to a letter from the school president, but the semester may look far from traditional. In a letter sent to parents, university President Ken Gormley said the fall semester will begin as scheduled Aug. 24. However, he also laid out...
Man, 19, in stable condition after being shot in Duquesne
A 19-year-old man was reported hospitalized in stable condition after being shot in Duquesne early Wednesday night, Allegheny County Police said. The teenager was shot in the 100 block of Apricot Alley at about 6:50 p.m., and ran to the 200 block of Hamilton Avenue, where he was found. County...
Southwest Greensburg Council member resigns after allegedly using racial slurVideo
Several members of the Southwest Greensburg community showed their frustration Wednesday during a borough council meeting that followed an incident last month where a council member allegedly directed a racial slur at another man during an investigation about a dog fight. The council member, David Thomas, submitted his resignation after...
Recovered from covid-19, Rep. Mike Kelly donates plasma to help sick patients get better fasterVideo
U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly is grateful that he beat covid-19 without getting so sick or short of breath that he had to be hospitalized. But the affliction was not like any flu or illness the Butler Republican he’d experienced before. For weeks, Kelly, 72, felt debilitatingly exhausted. He had persistent...
Coronavirus physical distancing also helped stop flu in Allegheny County, officials say
Physical distancing measures put in place to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus also likely helped to knock out flu season in Allegheny County, data from the Allegheny County Health Department show. The number of lab-confirmed flu cases in the county dropped off by late March, decreasing from about 300...
Trump presses for schools to reopen, makes dig at Dr. FauciVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump called on governors across the nation Wednesday to work to reopen schools in their states, pointedly taking issue with Dr. Anthony Fauci’s caution against moving too quickly in sending students back to class. The president accused Fauci of wanting “to play all sides of the...
Man who died in Kiski Township lake identified
The Armstrong County coroner said the man whose body was recovered Wednesday evening from a lake at the Apollo-Spring Church Sportsmen’s Club in Kiski Township died from a heart attack. County Coroner Brian K. Myers said Timothy W. Brueggeman, 56, of Apollo died from a cardiac event while on the...
Online group plans Harrisburg protest over continued covid closures
A private Facebook group that has gained more than 90,000 members in the past month is planning a protest Friday in Harrisburg against Pennsylvania’s quarantine measures to help slow the spread of the coronavirus. ReOpen PA, described as a non-partisan group “for residents of Pennsylvania to organize and work towards...
Convicted felon obsessed with Nazis pleads guilty to having guns, including AR-15 style
A convicted felon who authorities say has an obsession with Nazis and mass shootings has pleaded guilty to having guns when he wasn’t allowed to, federal officials said. Dennis Alan Riggs, 51, of Pittsburgh’s Troy Hill neighborhood, pleaded guilty to one count of possession of firearms and ammunition by a...
Details emerge of how police charged Fox Chapel man with 2nd homicide in 3 months
Lured to his friend’s house to play video games and smoke marijuana, Christian Moore-Rouse didn’t even make it up the long driveway leading to Adam Rosenberg’s place in Fox Chapel. Instead, he was shot in the back of his head and dragged into a ditch, lifeless — and left to...
North Huntingdon man survives ‘battle’ with covid-19, cheered by Excela hospital staffVideo
With a wave, a few tears and a honk of the horn, Mark Nicholas was finally heading home. Wednesday marked the first time in seven weeks that the North Huntingdon man and his wife, Karyl Nicholas, were able to touch each other. Mark, 62, tested positive for the coronavirus in...
Police: Penn Hills man accused of stealing $19,500 outside Kennedy ATM
A Penn Hills man was arrested Wednesday morning on charges of stealing $19,500 on Dec. 30 in Kennedy from a vehicle parked by an automated teller machine, police said. Luis Carde, 48, is accused of smashing a window of the vehicle and stealing the cash. The vehicle belonged to a...
Peduto backs controversial sand dumping in Pittsburgh skateboard park
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto said Wednesday that he still supports the decision to dump sand into a neighborhood skateboard park despite the negative backlash that followed. The controversy began after Public Works Director Mike Gable ordered a crew to dump sand in the West Penn Skate Park in Polish Hill...
Whistleblower: U.S. could face coronavirus rebound ‘darkest winter’
WASHINGTON — America faces the “darkest winter in modern history” unless leaders act decisively to prevent a rebound of the coronavirus, says a government whistleblower who alleges he was ousted from his job for warning the Trump administration to prepare for the pandemic. Immunologist Dr. Rick Bright makes his sobering...
