Megan Guza stories, Page 25

The Pennsylvania Department of Health has amended its mask mandate, updating guidance for fully vaccinated residents to fall in line with federal guidelines, officials said Monday. A previous state order went into effect that loosened mask restrictions in certain circumstances. “The vaccines that are currently available across the state and...

Court documents paint a chaotic scene inside a Downtown Pittsburgh fast food restaurant over the weekend where a man is accused of stabbing a child in the neck seemingly at random. The incident happened Saturday afternoon at the McDonald’s on Liberty Avenue, where the 12-year-old boy and his family had...

The covid-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of Anthrocon, the annual furry convention, for the second year, according to the group’s official Facebook page. “We had high hopes but, at this point, it looks like we will not be able to safely hold the convention,” Anthrocon staff wrote in a Facebook...

Police say a Butler County man became so enraged when his pregnant girlfriend could not find him a cigarette that he choked and beat the woman, causing her to miscarry and ultimately killing the child. Damien Large, 19, was charged earlier this week with the Christmas Day assault on the...

The Pittsburgh Zoo is working toward accreditation by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, a process that will bring it back in line with the terms of its lease agreement with the city of Pittsburgh, according to a letter sent Friday to Mayor Bill Peduto. It came to light last...

Pennsylvania gun owners received another extension on license-to-carry permits, the sixth extension Gov. Tom Wolf has issued since the covid-19 pandemic began. The previous extension, issued late last year, was set to expire at the end of the month. Wolf has issued extensions every few months for a year now...

Health and social services officials hope a data-driven approach — one focused not on equality, but equity – will help begin to move the life-expectancy needle higher in some of Pennsylvania’s most disparate areas. The goal of the region-based coalitions, called Regional Accountable Health Councils, is in essence to lift...

A Massachusetts man accused of killing his father in Beaver County’s New Sewickley Township told authorities he did so to spare his father humiliation over being duped in a Publishers Clearing House scam, court records show. Michael Miklaucic, 57, of Plymouth, Mass., is charged with homicide in the death of...

Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald on Tuesday vetoed the paid sick leave legislation passed last week by county council, saying it did not follow the correct process laid out by county law. Council on March 10 voted 10 to 4 to approve the legislation, which orders businesses in the county...

A jitney driver is accused of stabbing another man outside the Waterfront Giant Eagle, leaving the man with eight wounds, including one stab wound to his head, according to court documents. Homestead Police responded to the grocery store about 9:30 a.m. Friday for a report of a fight followed by...

A pinky fingerprint led Allegheny County detectives to a second suspect in a botched November burglary that ended with a North Braddock man shot to death in front of his 6-year-old son, according to police. Juwaun Austin, 17, is charged with homicide in connection with the Nov. 7 death of...

Pittsburgh Public Safety officials on Thursday urged caution in weekend St. Patrick’s Day parties as warm weather moves in and the covid-19 vaccines offer a hope that gatherings and celebrations could return soon along with a sense of normalcy. “Now is not the time to let down our guard,” Public...

The state Department of Health continues to try and meet the demand for covid-19 vaccines, particularly first doses, an ongoing struggle when requests from providers outnumber the state’s total allocation by nearly 200,000, a health official said Wednesday. The federal government sent 254,150 dedicated first-shot doses to Pennsylvania’s health department...

St. Clair Hospital officials say they haven’t received a shipment of first-dose covid-19 vaccines in three weeks, leading to hundreds of canceled appointments and clinics. In addition to the individual appointments, the hospital has also canceled three clinics at senior-living centers: Twin Towers, Dormont Place and Carnegie Retirement Residence, hospital...

Giant Eagle will offer a two-day covid-19 vaccination clinic for Pittsburgh Public School employees at Heinz Field this week, Giant Eagle and school officials said Wednesday. Officials said there will be enough vaccine for as many as 3,000 PPS employees at the Thursday and Friday clinics on Pittsburgh’s North Shore....

Pennsylvanians can now apply for food assistance via phone, state officials said Tuesday. Applications to the state’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) are now taken on 1-866-550-4355, in addition to the established methods of mailing in a paper form or going online. The state has seen an uptick in applications...

Gov. Tom Wolf on Monday nominated a Meadville doctor to serve as the state’s physician general — a potential permanent replacement for Dr. Rachel Levine, who previously served in both that role and as the state’s secretary of health. Dr. Denise Johnson, most recently chief medical officer at Meadville Medical...

Transportation Security Administration officers caught another gun at the Pittsburgh International Airport checkpoint over the weekend — the eighth this year, officials said. A Verona woman was stopped at the checkpoint just before 7 a.m. Saturday when TSA officers spotted the gun in the woman’s carry-on bags on the X-ray...

An organization representing landlords in the region is suing Pittsburgh City Council over its passing of an eviction moratorium to protect renters from eviction amid the ongoing covid-19 pandemic. The lawsuit, filed by the North Huntingdon-based Landlord Services Bureau, claims the ordinance passed by council earlier this week goes beyond...

An appellate court upheld a federal judge’s decision to dismiss a lawsuit brought by a former BNY Mellon employee who alleged racial discrimination after she was fired for writing on social media that a man should have driven a bus through a group of protesters in Pittsburgh. Lisa Ellis, of...

Pittsburgh Public Safety officials held ceremonies Thursday to promote and swear in a number of men and women in the bureaus of fire and EMS. The ceremonies were held at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, a venue necessary to allow for social distancing. Promotions included four to the rank...

At least one vaccination site in each of Pennsylvania’s educational regions will be available to teachers and school staff, state officials said Thursday. The clinics could be up and running as early as next week. Child care workers who are not associated with one of the state’s 29 Intermediate Units...

Educators in Pennsylvania will be able to receive the Johnson & Johnson covid-19 vaccine when it becomes available, and shipments should start arriving in the state this week, state officials said Tuesday. “We have an unusual opportunity with (the Johnson & Johnson vaccine) because it’s a one-dose,” Gov. Tom Wolf...