January 1, 2022 4:09 am
PITTSBURGH (WPXI) — Thousands gathered in downtown Pittsburgh to ring in 2022 with the return of Highmark First Night Pittsburgh. Live music, art, fireworks and the raising of “The Future of Pittsburgh Ball” were part of the festivities. Last year, COVID-19 prompted organizers to shift the celebrations online. Safety was at the forefront of planning for the in-person event, according to Sarah Aziz, director of festival management at the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. “We’ve got 14 blocks of the Cultural District. There’s a lot of space. Plenty of room to social distance.” Those who attended the indoor events, with reduced capacity, were required to show proof of vaccination and wear a mask. (Photo: WPXI)
January 1, 2022 1:45 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Actress Betty White, whose saucy, up-for-anything charm made her a television mainstay for more than 60 years, has died. She was 99. People and the Washington Post reported White’s death. Her witty style gave life to a roster of quirky characters over more than a half-century. They included the oddball Rose Nylund in “The Golden Girls” and the outspoken caretaker on “Hot In Cleveland.” She also drew laughs in the 2009 comedy “The Proposal” and the horror spoof “Lake Placid.” By popular demand, she hosted “Saturday Night Live” in 2011. White once said her character Sue Ann Nivens in “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” could be “icky-sweet” but was “really a piranha type.” That role brought her two Emmys.
January 1, 2022 1:25 am
For a second time in a week, residents at the Thomas Campbell Apartments in South Strabane were evacuated from their apartments, but, less than twenty-four hours later, were allowed to return. Residents were evacuated Wednesday after a sensor connected to an elevator in the building failed an inspection. Officials say the state inspector found that the elevator would still function even during an emergency when it is supposed to return to the ground floor. As they did following last week’s fire, residents were transported to an extended stay facility. Arthur Keys, the President of the Board of Directors at the complex says 55 residents were moved. He says repairs were made Wednesday evening and a follow-up inspection Thursday morning showed that everything was in working order and residents could return to their apartments. Residents living on the ground floor were able to stay since they do not require the elevator. Residents in more than fifty units were displaced by the fire that sent six people to area hospitals. One resident, a 78 year old woman, died this past weekend at a Pittsburgh hospital. Keys says repair work on the damaged units has already begun, but he declined to say when they would be ready to be occupied again.
December 31, 2021 4:57 pm
CANTON, Ohio (AP) – An Ohio high school football player who says coaches forced him to eat a pizza covered with pepperoni grease in violation of his religious beliefs is suing his former district and ousted coaches. The athlete says in the federal civil rights suit filed this week that Canton coaches ordered the athlete to eat the pizza as punishment for missing an offseason workout despite being told he doesn’t eat pork or pork residue as a member of the Hebrew Israelite religious faith. The coaches say that he chose to remove pepperoni and eat the pizza rather than an alternative food and that they weren’t aware it violated his religious beliefs.
December 31, 2021 4:24 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol says the Supreme Court should let stand an appeals court ruling that the National Archives turn over documents from former President Donald Trump that might shed light on the events. In a filing Thursday with the court, lawyers for the committee argue that it is within its jurisdiction to seek the information. Earlier this month Trump’s lawyers asked the court to hear arguments on his claim that executive privilege prevents the release of the documents, describing the committee as engaged in “meandering fishing expeditions.”
December 31, 2021 4:23 am
SUPERIOR, Colo. (AP) – Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle says Friday at least 500 homes were likely destroyed and there were no known deaths in a wind-fueled wildfire outside Denver. Tens of thousands of Coloradans driven from their neighborhoods by wind-whipped wildfires are anxiously waiting to learn what’s left standing of their lives after the flames burned homes, a hotel and a shopping center. The fires erupted Thursday outside Denver, following an extremely dry fall and a winter so far nearly devoid of snow. At least one first responder and six other people have been injured, and the sheriff says there could be more hurt – or dead.
December 31, 2021 4:20 am
SEATTLE (AP) – The omicron-fueled surge that is sending COVID-19 cases rocketing in the U.S. is putting children in the hospital in record numbers. And experts lament that most of the youngsters are not vaccinated. Dr. Paul Offit of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia says it’s “heartbreaking” knowing that there’s a way prevent such cases. During the week of Dec. 22-28, an average of 378 children with the coronavirus were admitted per day to hospitals, a 66% increase from the week before. That’s according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
December 31, 2021 4:17 am
NEW YORK (AP) – New York City has revived its annual New Year’s Eve celebration in Times Square, as an uneasy nation tries to muster optimism that the worst days of the pandemic are now behind it. The city said it would limit the number of people to witness a 6-ton, crystal-encrusted ball descend above a crowd of about 15,000 in-person spectators. The expected crowd is far fewer than the 50,000 revelers initially envisioned by organizers. Doubts swirled whether the city would have to cancel this year’s bash, as the city posted record numbers of COVID cases in the days leading to it, even as some cities like Atlanta had decided to cancel their own celebrations.
December 31, 2021 4:15 am
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) – President Joe Biden has warned Russia’s Vladimir Putin that the U.S. could impose new sanctions against Russia if it takes further military action against Ukraine. Putin has responded that such a U.S. move could lead to a complete rupture of ties between the nations. The two leaders spoke frankly for nearly an hour amid growing alarm over Russia’s troop buildup near Ukraine. Putin’s foreign affairs adviser says further U.S. sanctions “would be a colossal mistake that would entail grave consequences.” The White House says Biden made clear that the U.S. and its allies “will respond decisively if Russia further invades Ukraine.”
December 31, 2021 4:12 am
PENN HILLS, Pa. (AP) – The parents of a 13-year-old accused of fatally shooting his 5-year-old brother with their father’s unsecured handgun last month have each been charged with four counts of child endangerment, Authorities say 35-year-old Thomas Wolfe and 37-year-old Sara Gerwig turned themselves in Wednesday, two days after Allegheny County police issued warrants for their arrests. They were released later that day, and it wasn’t known Thursday if either one has retained an attorney. Authorities have said the teen boy shot and killed his younger brother at the family’s home in Penn Hills on Nov. 22. They say the teen was trying to scare his brother and thought the safety was on when he pulled the trigger.
