Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1600
Pitt, Duquesne, Carnegie Mellon, Penn State among colleges nationwide canceling face-to-face classes over virus fears
Colleges across the country are extending spring breaks, shuttering classrooms and transitioning to online formats as fears of coronavirus spread. Unprecedented, sweeping changes have reached from the halls of the oldest Ivy League institutions to sprawling land grant institutions and the tiniest community colleges, said Brad Farnsworth, vice president for...
Police: New Kensington man beat up woman who is 5 months pregnant
A New Kensington man is accused of beating up a pregnant woman so severely she had to be taken to a Pittsburgh hospital, police said. Arnold police said the woman came to the door of the police department shortly before 3 a.m. Wednesday, crying with multiple bruises on both sides...
Quarantine is effective but stressful tool against coronavirus
For Jennifer England, one of the worst parts of being quarantined is not knowing if she has the coronavirus. The 51-year-old Pittsburgh resident’s symptoms resemble those of coronavirus — dry cough, fever, body aches. But they were not enough to qualify for a test, as she had not traveled internationally....
Officials: Man found dead near Fox Chapel murder suspect’s home died of gunshot to head
A Verona man whose body was found last week in a wooded area in Fox Chapel died of a gunshot to the head, the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office said Wednesday. The Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the death of Christian Moore-Rouse, 22, a homicide. Moore-Rouse had been missing since December....
Dow tumbles into bear market as coronavirus fears intensify
NEW YORK — Stocks careened lower Wednesday, with the Dow Jones industrials sinking more than 1,400 points, as investors became more fearful that the Trump administration and other global governments won’t be able to prevent the coronavirus outbreak from doing significant damage to the worldwide economy. The Dow’s loss dragged...
Highlands student to stand trial in school bus crowbar attack in Fawn
A Highlands School District student crossed a line between self-defense and attempted homicide when he didn’t stop after disarming a younger aggressor of a crowbar, but instead used it to beat his assailant, a prosecutor argued at the student’s preliminary hearing Wednesday. Assistant District Attorney Hillary Weaver said that’s why...
Lawsuit: UPMC urine test sparked child abuse investigation
A woman alleged Wednesday that staff at UPMC took a urine sample while she gave birth and drug-tested it without her knowledge, leading to a false positive, according to the lawsuit filed against the hospital system. Cherell Harrington, the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit, was admitted to Magee-Womens Hospital in...
WHO officially declares coronavirus outbreak is now a pandemic
ROME — Expressing alarm both about mounting infections and slow government responses, the World Health Organization declared Wednesday that the global coronavirus crisis is now a pandemic but also said it’s not too late for countries to act. By reversing course and using the charged word “pandemic” that it had...
Pittsburgh’s St. Patrick’s Day parade canceled, bars warned about occupancy
A St. Patrick’s Day party will go on in Pittsburgh on Saturday without a parade, but the city is asking bar owners to voluntarily reduce the number of patrons allowed inside and said they would strictly enforce occupancy limits. The spreading coronavirus that causes covid-19 prompted city officials to cancel...
Bucks County confirms 1st cases of coronavirus, bumping Pennsylvania total to 16
Cases of the new coronavirus crept into a new county in Pennsylvania as Penn State, the University of Pennsylvania and at least a dozen other schools are moving classes online and St. Patrick’s Day parades in Philadelphia, Scranton and Pittsburgh were canceled. Bucks County, in suburban Philadelphia, confirmed its first...
Penn State moves to online-only classes over coronavirus concerns
Penn State, along with several other Pennsylvania universities, will cancel in-person classes and move to online instruction over concerns about the spread of the coronavirus that causes covid-19. Officials announced Wednesday that Penn State will start remote learning for all classes at every campus location beginning March 16 through April...
Allegheny Health Network limits visitation at hospitals
Allegheny Health Network is making changes to its visitation policy at area hospitals in response to the rising cases of the novel coronavirus across the United States. The temporary restrictions were announced Wednesday and limit the number of visitors for a patient to one person at a time in the...
Celine Dion postpones Pittsburgh show because of cold
Singer Celine Dion postponed her Friday show in Pittsburgh to November after a doctor diagnosed her with a common cold, according to a statement. The Courage World Tour stop, originally set for Friday, will instead be held Nov. 18 at PPG Paints Arena. Dion also rescheduled her Wednesday date in...
Donora woman charged with nearly 1,400 counts of animal cruelty
A Washington County woman has been charged with nearly 1,400 counts of animal cruelty in connection with the rescue of about 150 dogs, cats, kittens and chickens from properties in Monessen and Donora in late October. Christie Dee Harr, 41, of Donora was charged Tuesday with 1,376 animal cruelty charges...
Part of Route 910 in Harmar shut down after truck ruptures gas line
A section of Route 910 in Harmar was shut down early Wednesday morning after a vehicle struck a gas line, according to authorities. The incident occurred at about 2:15 a.m. near the intersection of Locust Hill and Rich roads, according to emergency dispatchers. The line ruptured when a PennDOT truck...
1 person hurt in fire near marina along Ohio River
A man was taken to the hospital for treatment of serious burns after a fire broke out in a trailer near a marina Wednesday morning in the city’s Chateau neighborhood. The fire erupted in a trailer in the 900 block of Beaver Avenue near the Newport Marina along the Ohio...
Trump endorses opponent of Jeff Sessions in Alabama Senate race
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump endorsed the opponent of his former attorney general, Jeff Sessions, in the runoff for the Republican U.S. Senate nomination in Alabama. Tommy Tuberville, Trump tweeted Tuesday night, “was a terrific head football coach at Auburn University. He is a REAL LEADER who will never let...
Joe Biden wins hard-fought Michigan, deals major blow to Bernie SandersVideo
WASHINGTON — Joe Biden decisively won Michigan’s Democratic primary on Tuesday, seizing a key battleground state that helped propel Bernie Sanders’ insurgent candidacy four years ago. The former vice president’s victory there, as well as in Missouri and Mississippi, dealt a serious blow to Sanders and substantially widened Biden’s path...
Coachella postponed over coronavirus concerns
Coachella has been postponed, the festival announced Tuesday. The music and arts festival held in Indio, Calif., tweeted a statement saying that it, along with the Stagecoach festival, would be rescheduled to October. pic.twitter.com/ppPdu7WX9b— Coachella (@coachella) March 10, 2020 Coachella, headlined by Rage Against the Machine, Travis Scott and Frank...
Western Pennsylvania nursing homes restrict access amid coronavirus fears
Visitor access to at least two nursing homes in the Pittsburgh region has been restricted as a precaution against the potential spread of the coronavirus, officials said Tuesday. Wexford Healthcare Center in McCandless and Baldwin Health Center also are taking the temperatures of visitors who enter the home. A fever...
Western Pennsylvania school districts prepare for coronavirus
Western Pennsylvania school districts are making plans to continue instruction in the event schools close temporarily because of the spreading covid-19 coronavirus. “We are not in a position at this point to say that there’s a need to send kids home,” said Jenny Webb, spokeswoman for South Butler County School...
Pennsylvania reports 9 new flu deaths
The number of flu-related deaths in Pennsylvania this season has reached 83, up by nine in the past week, according to data the state Department of Health released Tuesday. Most of the deaths, 56, were in those age 65 and older. Six of the new deaths were in that age...
Police: Washington Township man wanted for raping unconscious 13-year-old
A Washington Township man is accused of raping an unconscious 13-year-old girl last summer, according to police. Police said Jarod David Altman, 18, gave the girl vodka and sexually assaulted her after she lost consciousness, according to a criminal complaint filed in the case. Police filed charges against Altman on...
Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden cancel Ohio rallies over coronavirus concerns
WASHINGTON — Democratic presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden abruptly canceled scheduled rallies Tuesday night in Cleveland amid concerns over the spread of the new coronavirus — as public health fears began transforming the 2020 race. Sanders had been planning to speak at a convention center in Cleveland as...
Former Best Buy in Frazer to be divided into multiple stores
The former Best Buy store at the Village At Pittsburgh Mills in Frazer could be divided to accommodate three or four new businesses, township officials said. Supervisor Lori Ziencik identified one of the potential tenants as America’s Best Contacts & Eyeglasses. The township received a building permit application from Columbus,...
