Thursday, November 18, 2021 at 7:49 AM
By JOSH BOAK Associated Press
The Biden administration is helping to distribute several billion dollars in aid for winter heating and utility bills. It’s an unprecedented sum that comes largely from the administration’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package. The relief package provides an additional $4.5 billion for the government’s Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which typically has funding of $3 billion to $4 billion annually. Aid for renters can also cover utility costs. The White House is hosting a call Thursday for governors’ offices to help release the aid to vulnerable households. Speakers on the call will include the Energy and Health and Human Services secretaries and the governors of Connecticut, Maine and Michigan.

One person was killed in a Three Vehicle Accident on I-79 in Butler County.

A 2014 Chevy Silverado pickup truck that was being driving southbound, by 58-year-old James Dapper of Zelienople, near the Portersville exit crossed the median into the northbound lanes and crashed head on into a 2004 Chevy Trailblazer that was being driven by 58-year-old Harry Hibbard of Greenville, Pa. The impact then caused the two trucks to hit a third unidentified vehicle being driven by 43-year-old Yucheng Weng of Brooklyn, New York.
Dapper was air-lifted to Allegheny General Hospital in serious condition. His passenger 25-year-old Damian Altman of Beaver Falls was transported to a local hospital for suspected injury.

Hibbard died at the scene and Weng was transported to a local hospital for his injuries.

No other information was available as State Police continue to investigate.

Thursday, November 18, 2021 at 6:49 AM
By MATT O’BRIEN AP Technology Writer
Apple is letting some iPhone users fix their own phones, a sharp turnaround for a company that has long prohibited anyone except Apple-approved technicians from fiddling with its proprietary parts and software. The company said Wednesday it will enable users of two of the newest iPhone models and later some Mac computers to get access to genuine Apple parts and tools to be able to repair them. The shift reflects a strengthening “right to repair” movement embraced by President Joe Biden and affecting everything from smartphones to tractors. It’s a reaction to growing numbers of manufacturers who have made their products  increasingly difficult to repair.

Thursday, November 18, 2021 at 6:46 AM
By MIKE STOBBE AP Medical Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. health officials say an estimated 100,000 Americans died of drug overdoses in one year. That’s a total the nation has never seen. Experts say it’s tied to the COVID-19 pandemic and a more dangerous drug supply. Overdose deaths have been rising for more than two decades. But they accelerated dramatically in the past two years — jumping nearly 30% in the last year alone. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the new figures Wednesday. The numbers for the period from May 2020 to April 2021 aren’t yet final.

(File Photo)
Story by Frank Sparks, News/Program director
Thursday, November 18, 2021
(Harmony, Pa.) One person is dead after a crash around 5 PM yesterday on Interstate 79 in Butler County northbound around mile marker 96. The crash had all lanes of Interstate 79 closed for hours from the Harmony Exit to the Portersville Exit.
There’s no word on how many vehicles were involved or if there are other injuries.
No other details on the crash can be released at this time.

Update:
One person was killed and two were hurt in a wrong-way crash on I-79 in Butler County.
A pickup truck was driving south when it crossed the median into the northbound lanes and crashed into another truck head-on.
As a result of that crash, those trucks then hit a third vehicle around the Portersville exit.
The driver of the first truck was flown to the hospital and his passenger was taken to the hospital via ambulance. The driver of the truck heading northbound, 58-year-old Harry Hibbard died at the scene.
Those inside the third vehicle only suffered mild injuries.

(File Photo)

Story by Frank Sparks, News/Program Director

Thursday, November 18, 2021 at 6:04 AM

(Raccoon Twp., Pa.) Pa State Police in Beaver reported yesterday that they were called to the scene of a one vehicle accident at 5:54 AM on November 9, 2021 on Franfort Road in Raccoon Township.

Upon arriving on the scene and investigating Troopers learned a 2011 Chevrolet Caprice that was driven by an unknown person hit an embankment when the driver lost control of the vehicle. the vehicle then traveled up the embankment, hit a traffic sign, and struck a tree before returning to the roadway and becoming disabled. The unknown driver fled the scene prior to State Police arriving. The air bag of the vehicle was deployed and the vehicle was towed from the scene as Police continue to investigate the accident.

Thursday, November 18,2021 at 5:47 AM
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The state House of Representatives is aiming to increase penalties for motorists who have multiple DUI convictions. Lawmakers want to end what critics have called Pennsylvania’s “revolving door” for the most serious drunk drivers. The bill passed Wednesday 168-32. It next goes to the Senate for consideration. Under the bill, penalties would rise for those who receive multiple driving-under-the-influence convictions with higher blood-alcohol content levels. The bill was inspired by the death of Deana Eckman, a 45-year-old Delaware County woman killed in 2019 by a five-time drunk driver. He had been freed from state prison a few months earlier.

Police: Driver hit by train was trying to cross tracks
ROYALTON, Vt. (AP) — Police in Vermont say a driver who died after being hit by an Amtrak train had crossed the tracks, backed into a driveway to turn around, and was attempting to cross back when he was hit. The crash happened at about 11:30 a.m. Tuesday in the town of Royalton as the sports utility vehicle was crossing the tracks at an intersection not marked with gates. The driver, the only occupant of the vehicle, was identified as 23-year-old Thomas Fennell, a Vermont Law School student from Pittsburgh. Anyone with further knowledge of the crash is asked to call Royalton Police.

State officials, lawmakers and judges get big 2022 pay raise
By MARC LEVY Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Inflation will drive a big salary increase for Pennsylvania state lawmakers, judges and top executive branch officials in 2022. For many of the positions, it is the biggest increase in three decades. Salaries will rise 5.6%, a figure tied by state law to the year-over-year change in the consumer price index for the mid-Atlantic region. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says it’s the largest year-over-year increase since 1991. The increase applies to more than 1,000 positions, including governor, Cabinet members, three statewide elected officers, all 253 lawmakers and state and county judges. It takes effect Dec. 1 for lawmakers and Jan. 1 for judicial and executive branch officials.