Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1598
New Kensington police say officer killed suspect after he aimed shotgun at officers
Westmoreland County detectives continue to investigate the circumstances that led New Kensington police to fatally shoot a man Friday. Detective John Clark said the county district attorney’s office investigators are still interviewing witnesses and following up on information regarding the incident. Officers responded to multiple calls reporting a man with...
‘You’re in for it’: Western Pa. restaurants brace for coronavirus slowdown
Kevin Joyce said it’s “white knuckle” time for Pittsburgh’s hospitality industry. The owner of The Carlton Restaurant and Eadie’s Kitchen and Market, both Downtown, said food and beverage establishments across the city are feeling the impact of coronavirus. He said his restaurant was booked for Friday night with a Celine...
District leaders lament ‘very poor planning’ in Gov. Wolf’s decision to close schools
It had taken all day, but finally, the New Kensington-Arnold School District had a plan. Schools would be closed to students Monday, just Monday, so teachers and administrators could prepare for a potential transition to online learning — a growing possibility as the number of confirmed coronavirus infections in the...
Mayor Peduto bans gatherings of 250 or more in city; Allegheny County encourages sameVideo
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto declared a state of emergency in the city Friday evening and prohibited all public gatherings of more than 250 people. The ban on gatherings goes into effect at 9 a.m. Monday and is subject to City Council ratification. The emergency declaration is in effect for seven...
Washington County hit with 1st Western Pa. coronavirus case
Washington County is the first in Western Pennsylvania to have a presumed positive case of the novel coronavirus, according to state officials. The case was added to the growing list of Pennsylvania cases during a 5 p.m. update by the state Department of Health. Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine...
Trump declares coronavirus pandemic a national emergency
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump announced Friday that he is declaring the coronavirus pandemic a national emergency, as Washington struggles with providing Americans with relief and officials race to slow the spread of the outbreak. Speaking from the Rose Garden, Trump said, “I am officially declaring a national emergency.” He...
U.S. hospitals brace for ‘tremendous strain’ from new virus
U.S. hospitals are setting up circus-like triage tents, calling doctors out of retirement, guarding their supplies of face masks and making plans to cancel elective surgery as they brace for an expected onslaught of coronavirus patients. Depending on how bad the crisis gets, the sick could find themselves waiting on...
Gov. Tom Wolf orders all Pa. schools shut down for 10 days
Schools across Pennsylvania will close for at least 10 business days amid efforts to stem the spread of coronavirus, state officials said Friday. Gov. Tom Wolf said in a statement that officials will re-evaluate after 10 days to decide whether schools should remain closed. The order – for 10 school...
Trump preparing to invoke emergency powers over coronavirus
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is preparing to invoke emergency powers as the country struggles to contain the coronavirus outbreak, according to two people familiar with the planning who spoke on condition of anonymity. It was still unclear Friday, however, precisely what mechanism Trump would use to free up additional...
PennDOT warns of month-long lane, shoulder restrictions on I-579 through Pittsburgh
Lane and shoulder restrictions on I-579 in Pittsburgh will begin Monday night as part of the construction of a “cap” over the highway linking Downtown to the Lower Hill District, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation reported on Friday. Drivers should expect restrictions in both directions, but not simultaneously, from 8...
It’s a double dill win for Picklesburgh
Picklesburgh did it again. For the second year in a row, Pittsburgh’s pickle-everything festival was voted America’s No. 1 Specialty Food Festival in USA Today’s 10Best Readers’ Poll. This will be the sixth year for the championship event, scheduled for July. Picklesburgh has been so popular that it expanded last...
Stocks surge on new coronavirus measures; Dow up 1,985 points
NEW YORK — Wall Street roared back from its worst day in 30 years Friday with a broad rally that sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average nearly 2,000 points higher — its biggest point gain ever — after President Donald Trump declared the coronavirus pandemic a national emergency. The Dow’s...
Fox Chapel man charged in Baldwin man’s death pleads not guiltyVideo
A Fox Chapel man facing charges in the death of a Baldwin man will get his day in court following a not guilty plea Friday. Adam Rosenberg, 21, has been charged with criminal homicide, robbery, tampering with evidence and firearms violations in connection to the homicide of Jeremy Dentel, 28....
Unity OKs liquor license for Walmart alcohol sales; store remodeling planned
Unity is one step closer to being home to the second Walmart location in Pennsylvania to sell beer and wine. Township supervisors have approved a restaurant liquor license transfer for the Colony Lane store off Route 30, which now must be greenlighted by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board. Walmart hopes...
Latest on coronavirus: Gov. Wolf explains measures taken in Pa.; state cases rise to 41
Over the course of just a few hours Friday, cases of the novel coronavirus in Pennsylvania jumped from 33 to 41 — including the first patient to test presumptive positive from Western Pennsylvania. The Washington County case was announced during a 5 p.m. update by the state Department of Health....
Carving out new purposes for golf courses, country clubsVideo
Mike Smetak recalls learning to play golf at Timber Ridge Golf Club in East Huntingdon, before it closed in 2016. In years prior, the site off Route 31 was known as the Mulberry Hill Golf Course. Smetak says he finds it “a little surreal” that he and his wife, Lindsay,...
Pa. state prisons suspend all visits amid covid-19 concerns
State prisons in Pennsylvania have suspended all visits for at least two weeks, the Department of Corrections announced late Thursday. Corrections Secretary John Wetzel also said enhanced screenings of staff, vendors, chaplains and other contractors will begin at all state correctional institutions. Wetzel had announced Wednesday that only SCI-Phoenix, which...
Holy Cross Academy in Ross closed Friday over fear of coronavirus exposure
Holy Cross Academy in Ross is closed Friday after officials learned that a student may have been exposed to the coronavirus, the Pittsburgh Catholic Diocese announced this morning. Officials said the student was possibly exposed to the virus from a relative outside the school. They stressed that nobody in the...
Spain orders 1st mandatory lockdown for 60,000 amid coronavirus pandemic
The Latest on the world’s coronavirus pandemic: Spain’s has ordered its first mandatory lockdown, confining over 60,000 people to four towns as infections for the new coronavirus increase sharply. The rise is straining health services and putting more pressure on the government to act faster to fight the pandemic. The...
3 Alle-Kiski Valley districts on 2-hour delay so staff can prep for possible closings due to coronavirus
Students in the Leechburg Area, Allegheny Valley and Riverview will be on a two-hour delay Friday so staff can develop plans to continue educating students if a decision is made to shut down school buildings to curb the spread of the coronavirus, district officials announced. The delay is for students...
Reba show at PPG Paints Arena rescheduled over coronavirus concerns
Reba McEntire’s March 26 show at PPG Paints Arena has been postponed as coronavirus concerns continue to stretch across the country, the singer/songwriter announced Thursday night. She will now be coming to Pittsburgh July 16. All tickets purchased for the March 26 show will be honored. The nationwide arena tour,...
Fox Chapel schools closed after student’s ill parent raises concerns about coronavirus exposure
The Fox Chapel Area School District will close all schools Friday after officials learned that the parent of a high school student is ill and concerned about potential exposure to coronavirus. While the student’s parent has not traveled to any areas known to have the virus, the district said it...
How a Trib reporter is coping with inability to visit mother during coronavirus uncertainty
My darkest fear is the Pittsburgh-area personal care home where my mom is living will be a death trap if the coronavirus finds its way in. My second fear — which has arrived — is that I won’t be able to visit her. Is the reality that she is simply...
Trudeau’s wife tests positive for new coronavirus
TORONTO — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s wife has tested positive for the new coronavirus, his office announced Thursday night. It said Sophie Grégoire Trudeau was felling well and would remain in isolation. “The Prime Minister is in good health with no symptoms. As a precautionary measure and following the...
Coronavirus brings entertainment world to a standstill
NEW YORK — The entertainment industry prepared Thursday for an unprecedented shutdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus, canceling upcoming movies, suspending all Broadway performances and scuttling concert tours until it’s safe to welcome crowds back. To accommodate calls for social distancing, Hollywood moved to pause the normal hum...
