By MARC LEVY and MARK SCOLFORO Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Gov. Tom Wolf’s eighth and final budget proposal would push state spending well past $43 billion for the first time, as the Democrat asks lawmakers for the biggest-ever increase in aid for public schools, plus more money for direct care workers, higher-education institutions and college scholarships. Wolf delivered the $43.7 billion proposal to lawmakers Tuesday before he was to address them in a joint session of the House and Senate. An economy juiced with federal pandemic subsidies is expected to deliver a multibillion-dollar surplus. Given the state’s big cash cushion, Wolf is proposing no change to state income or sales taxes.

Biden threatens: No gas pipeline if Russia invades Ukraine
By AAMER MADHANI, SYLVIE CORBET and VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — In a flurry of diplomacy across two continents, Presidents Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin have met separately for hours with the leaders of Germany and France. They are trying to resolve the crisis in Ukraine, where Russia has massed thousands of troops at the border. The results: no resolution but at least no invasion for now. The biggest news Monday: Biden’s vow that Russia’s Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in Europe will be blocked if Russia further invades Ukraine. Putin objected anew that the U.S. and NATO won’t guarantee to keep Ukraine out of the alliance, which he sees as a threat to Russia.

(Graphic provide by Red Cross)

PITTSBURGH, PA (Feb. 8, 2022) — As severe winter storms continue to move through the country, the American Red Cross asks members of the community to schedule the
earliest-available blood or platelet donation appointments in their area once it is safe to give.
Dangerous snow and ice conditions have contributed to over 600 blood drive cancellations since the beginning of the year, resulting in about 17,500 uncollected blood and platelet donations.
Since the Red Cross issued its first-ever blood crisis in January, thousands of generous donors have come forward to give, but patient care remains at risk. The threat of winter weather continues − as well as ongoing complications posed by the omicron variant – and could further complicate efforts to rebuild the blood supply.
More donors are needed to make appointments now for the weeks ahead to help ensure accident victims, cancer patients and new mothers experiencing complicated childbirths have access to lifesaving blood product transfusions without delay. Make an appointment to give blood or platelets by using the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting RedCrossBlood.org or calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).
All who come to give blood or platelets Feb. 1-28, 2022, will receive an Amazon.com Gift Card by email, thanks to Amazon.*

Health insights for donors at a time when health information has never been more important, the Red Cross is screening all blood, platelet and plasma donations from self-identified African American donors for the sickle cell trait. This additional screening will provide Black donors with an additional health insight and help the Red Cross identify compatible blood types more quickly to help patients
with sickle cell disease. Blood transfusion is an essential treatment for those with sickle cell disease, and blood donations from individuals of the same race, ethnicity and blood type have a unique ability to help patients fighting sickle cell disease.
Donors can expect to receive sickle cell trait screening results, if applicable, within one to two weeks through the Red Cross Blood Donor App and the online donor portal at
RedCrossBlood.org.

Blood drive safety

Each Red Cross blood drive and donation center follows the highest standards of safety and infection control, and additional precautions – including face masks for donors and staff, regardless of vaccination status – have been implemented to help protect the health of all those in attendance. Donors are asked to schedule an appointment prior to arriving at the drive.

How to donate blood
Simply download the American Red Cross Blood Donor App, visit RedCrossBlood.org, call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or enable the Blood Donor Skill on any Alexa Echo device to make an appointment or for more information. All blood types are needed to ensure a reliable supply for patients. A blood donor card or driver’s license or two other forms of identification are required at check-in. Individuals who are 17 years of age in most states (16 with parental consent where allowed by state law), weigh at least 110 pounds and are in generally good health may be eligible to donate blood. High school students and other donors 18 years of age and younger also have to meet certain height and weight requirements.
Blood and platelet donors can save time at their next donation by using RapidPass ® to complete their pre-donation reading and health history questionnaire online, on the day of their donation, before arriving at the blood drive. To get started, follow the instructions at RedCrossBlood.org/RapidPass or use the Blood Donor App.

(File Photo)

(Warrendale, Pa.) Pa State Police in Gibsonia are reporting that they were called to the scene of a one vehicle accident on the Pennsylvania Turnpike at the Warrendale Toll Plaza Monday morning, February, 8, 2022 at 8:05 AM.
Upon arriving on the scene and investigating it was learned that 41-year-old Devon Swope of Pittsburgh was driving a 2018 International Harvester Box truck east bound on the turnpike when according to an unnamed witness he missed the split for the EZ-Pass high speed lane and the toll plaza and struck the attenuator that protects the jersey barrier that splits the lanes. Troopers said according to the witness Swope’s vehicle hit the attenuator head on and crushed it. The vehicle’s right front axle then climbed up on the jersey barrier causing the truck to come to a final stop on top of the jersey barrier. Troopers said the witness helped Swope from the vehicle after the accident. Swope was transported to UPMC Cranberry with possible unknown injuries. he was charged by State Police with not driving properly on roadways laned for traffic.

(File Photo)
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Gov. Tom Wolf’s eighth and last budget proposal is expected to push state spending well past $40 billion for the first time, as the Democrat will ask Republicans for another substantial increase in state aid for public schools. Wolf will address a joint session of the House and Senate at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday. The Democrat began his time in office trying to wipe out deep funding disparities between the poorest and wealthiest public schools, and he is expected to try again to persuade lawmakers to “fully fund” districts that get less than their share of aid under Pennsylvania’s current funding formula.

(AP Photo)
By JOSH BOAK Associated Press
The Biden administration is kicking off an outreach campaign to get millions of families to file their taxes so they can receive the second half of payments from the expanded child tax credit. Vice President Kamala Harris, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and White House senior adviser Gene Sperling are hosting a virtual event Tuesday to encourage people to send their tax forms to the IRS. Administration officials estimate $193 billion would go to 58 million eligible households that file taxes. This means families would receive credits on their taxes or refunds averaging $3,330 from this provision.

(AP Photo)
By JENNIFER PELTZ and MICHAEL BALSAMO Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — The Justice Department is signaling it might be open to allowing so-called safe injection sites, or safe havens for people to use heroin and other narcotics with protections against fatal overdoses. The department’s stance comes a year after federal prosecutors won a major court ruling that found the sites would violate federal law. The Justice Department tells The Associated Press it is talking to regulators about “appropriate guardrails” for the sites. The first officially authorized safe injection sites opened in New York City in November. Advocates have hailed the safe havens as a way to curb the scourge of overdose deaths.

(File Photo)
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A  new report shows a decline in the annual spending by the Pennsylvania Legislature and that lawmakers’ cash reserves are at a record high. The Legislative Audit Advisory Commission found that the General Assembly’s costs dropped by some $12 million in the year that ended in June. Lawmakers’ cash reserves rose to $233 million, breaking a record set in 2006. The budget reserve had also grown, by $28 million, during the 2019-20 year. Spending last year on legislative personnel, by far the General Assembly’s largest category, declined by $7.5 million to nearly $321 million. Pennsylvania has one of the country’s largest legislative staffs.

(File Photo)
Gas prices are 11 cents higher in Western Pennsylvania this week at $3.598 per gallon, according to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report.

This week’s average prices: Western Pennsylvania Average                $3.598
Average price during the week of January 31, 2022                               $3.481
Average price during the week of February 8, 2021                               $2.774

The average price of unleaded self-serve gasoline in various areas:      

$3.596      Altoona
$3.592      Beaver
$3.635      Bradford
$3.588      Brookville
$3.589      Butler
$3.620      Clarion
$3.512      DuBois
$3.639      Erie
$3.550      Greensburg
$3.606      Indiana
$3.595      Jeannette
$3.571      Kittanning
$3.543      Latrobe
$3.648      Meadville
$3.644      Mercer
$3.525      New Castle
$3.586      New Kensington
$3.699      Oil City
$3.574      Pittsburgh
$3.614      Sharon
$3.610      Uniontown
$3.675      Warren
$3.541      Washington

Trend Analysis:

Blustery winter weather and geopolitical tensions are helping to drive the price of oil higher, which is in the low-$90s per barrel, nearly $30 more than in August. The recent cold weather in the U.S increased the demand for heating oil. Meanwhile, the concern that Russia will react to potential western sanctions by withholding crude oil from the already tight global market puts heavy upward pressure on prices. The national average for a gallon of gas has surged to $3.44, eight cents more than a week ago. Gas was last this expensive in 2014.

According to new data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), total domestic gasoline stocks grew by 2.1 million barrels to 250 million barrels last week. However, gasoline demand dropped from 8.51 million barrels per day to 8.23 million barrels per day. Usually, an increase in total stocks and a decrease in demand puts downward pressure on pump prices, but the rising cost of oil continues to push prices higher. If crude prices continue to climb, pump prices will likely follow suit.

At the close of Friday’s formal trading session, West Texas Intermediate increased by $2.04 to settle at $92.31. Additionally, EIA reported that total domestic crude stocks decreased by 1.1 million barrels to 415.1 million barrels. The current stock level is approximately 13 percent lower than at the end of January 2021, contributing to pressure on domestic crude prices.
Motorists can find current gas prices nationwide, statewide, and countywide at GasPrices.AAA.com.

AAA East Central is a not-for-profit association with 72 local offices in Kentucky, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia serving 2.7 million members.  News releases are available at news.eastcentral.aaa.com.  Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.