By JOSEPH PISANI AP Retail Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon is seeking to hire 75,000 people in a tight job market and is offering bonuses to attract workers, including $100 for new hires who are already vaccinated for COVID-19. The jobs are for delivery and warehouse workers, who pack and ship online orders. Amazon, which already pays at least $15 an hour, gave out raises for some of its workers last month, and the company said Thursday that new hires will make an average of $17 an hour. Amazon didn’t say if it is having trouble finding workers, but other companies have said they are as Americans start traveling and going out again. In many parts of the country, Seattle-based Amazon said it will offer a $1,000 sign-on bonus to new hires.

By VICTORIA MILKO AP Science Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) — Experts say it could be 2023 or later before COVID-19 vaccines are widely available in some countries. The United States and Israel are among the nations where about half or more of the population has gotten at least one shot. But less than 1% of people have been vaccinated in countries such as Pakistan and Venezuela. The differences reflect factors including purchasing power and domestic production capacity. COVAX, a coalition working to ensure global vaccine access, is behind schedule due partly to export bans and stockpiling by some countries. In April, Duke University researchers said many countries would not be able to reach 60% coverage until 2023 or later.

By RUSS BYNUM Associated Press
BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) — A Georgia judge is resuming a hearing on legal motions in the murder case of three men facing a fall trial in the slaying of Ahmaud Arbery. Superior Court Judge Timothy Walmsley planned Thursday to revisit defense attorneys’ push for permission to show the trial jury evidence involving Arbery’s mental health. They argue mental illness could have played a role in the Feb. 23, 2020, slaying. Prosecutors object, saying it’s a ploy by defense lawyers to blame Arbery for his own death. Travis McMichael and his father, Greg McMichael, armed themselves and pursued the 25-year-old Black man in a pickup truck as he ran past their home just outside the port city of Brunswick. A neighbor, William “Roddie” Bryan, is also charged.

By MICHAEL CASEY and CEDAR ATTANASIO Associated Press
BOSTON (AP) — A year after the pandemic canceled most proms, school districts around the country are considering whether they can once again hold the formal dance for seniors. Striking a balance between safety and fun, districts are requiring masks and booking outdoor venues like baseball stadiums or setting up tents. Some are requiring a negative test while others are encouraging attendees to get vaccinated. Still, there are plenty of districts that concluded proms remain too risky. School districts in Miami and El Paso cancelled their proms. In response, some parents and students are forging ahead anyways and organizing their own dances.

By MARC LEVY Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania will take a unique place among states where Republican lawmakers across the country have tried to roll back the emergency powers that governors wielded during the COVID-19 pandemic, as they ordered businesses and schools shut and mask-wearing in public. On Tuesday, Pennsylvania’s GOP-controlled Legislature is taking its case to voters, in twin constitutional amendments on the primary ballot that would give lawmakers much more power over disaster declarations, whether another pandemic or a natural disaster. It’s the only way Republicans have of reeling in the authority of Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf. Wolf calls the proposals a threat to a functioning society.

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell last week to 473,000, a new pandemic low and the latest evidence that fewer employers are cutting jobs as consumers ramp up spending and more businesses reopen. Applications declined 34,000 from a revised 507,000 a week earlier. The number of weekly jobless claims — a rough measure of the pace of layoffs — has fallen significantly from a peak of 900,000 in January. Instead of cutting jobs, many employers are struggling to attract enough applicants for open positions.

The Aliquippa School Board approved their preliminary budget of $26,291,175 from a vote of 6-3 during Wednesday night’s work session. A 1 mills increase on buildings, bumping them up to 4.5 mills. A 3.5 mills increase on land will bring it up to 261.5 mills. Adoption of the final budget will begin June 16th, or later.

Superintendent, Peter M. Carbone, announced at the school board meeting on Wednesday May 12th, that they will receive a $9,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture. The grant will be used to place a garden at the Aliquippa Elementary School. This idea was first brought to the attention of the Aliquippa Food Department, as Aliquippa is considered a “food desert”. Dr. Carbone also stated that he would like to have the teachers involved.

2 planes collide above Denver, land with no one injured
By PATTY NIEBERG Associated Press
DENVER (AP) — Federal officials say two airplanes collided in the air near Denver and were able to land without injuries. Authorities say the collision between a twin-engine Fairchild Metroliner and a single-engine Cirrus SR22 happened Wednesday as both planes were preparing to land at a small regional airport in a Denver suburb. Key Lime Air says its Metroliner’s tail section was substantially damaged, but the pilot was able to land safely at Centennial Airport. Authorities say a pilot and one passenger were on the other plane, a single-engine Cirrus SR22, which unleashed a red and white parachute and drifted safely down to a field.

DENVER (AP) — Two small airplanes collided in the air near Denver, leaving one aircraft nearly ripped in half and forcing the other’s pilot to deploy a parachute. Remarkably, both planes landed safely and no one was injured, officials said.
Both planes were getting ready to land at a small regional airport in a Denver suburb on Wednesday when they collided, according to the National Transportation Safety Board and South Metro Fire Rescue.
“Every one of these pilots needs to go buy a lottery ticket right now,” Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Deputy John Bartmann said. “I don’t remember anything like this — especially everybody walking away. I mean that’s the amazing part of this.”
June Cvelbar told the KUSA TV station that she witnessed the collision while walking in Cherry Creek State Park.
“I saw two planes in the sky. I saw a larger green plane, which I thought was a tow plane, along with what I thought was a glider being towed by it. I heard a noise but didn’t realize that the two planes had collided,’ she told KUSA in an email.
Cvelbar said she saw the green plane fly off and shortly after saw the smaller plane deploy its parachute. She said she initially thought it was a training exercise.
“When I realized that the small plane was going down I ran toward it. The pilot and his passenger were up and about,” Cvelbar said.
The pilot was the only person aboard a twin-engine Fairchild Metroliner that landed at Centennial Airport despite suffering major damage to its tail section. The plane is owned by a Colorado-based company, Key Lime Air, that operates cargo aircraft.
A pilot and one passenger were on the other plane, a single-engine Cirrus SR22, which unleashed a red and white parachute and drifted down to a safe landing in a field near homes in Cherry Creek State Park, Bartmann said.
It was not immediately known who owned the Cirrus, he said.
The National Transportation Safety Board tweeted that it was sending staff to investigate. Key Lime Air will cooperate with the investigation, the company said in a statement.