HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate skyrocketed in April at the height of the state’s pandemic-driven shutdown to its highest rate in over four decades of record-keeping, the state Department of Labor and Industry said Friday. Meanwhile, payrolls fell by more than 1 million to the lowest level in at least three decades. Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate more than doubled to 15.1% in April, up from 5.8% in March, the department said. The national rate was 14.7% in April. Pennsylvania’s highest unemployment rate was 12.7% in 1983, according to online federal data that keeps track back to 1976. Meanwhile, 1.9 million Pennsylvanians have sought unemployment benefits since mid-March, almost one-third of the labor force.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — For the first time in nearly a decade, U.S. astronauts are about to blast into orbit aboard an American rocket from American soil. And for the first time in the history of human spaceflight, a private company is running the show. The curtain rises next Wednesday with the scheduled liftoff of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon crew capsule, with two NASA astronauts bound for the International Space Station. The drama will unfold at the exact spot at Kennedy Space Center in Florida where men flew to the moon and the last space shuttle soared.

Today is the day where every neighborhood can be their own tribute to Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. Sandy Giordano has more in this report:

LOWER BURRELL, Pa. (AP) — A fast-moving fire destroyed the third floor of an apartment building in western Pennsylvania, causing no injuries but displacing more than 25 people. Fire officials said the blaze at the Cedar Crest Apartments in Lower Burrell started in the building’s attic and burned for a while before becoming more intense and gutting the third floor on Thursday afternoon. The building’s first two floors had smoke and water damage. Authorities say the cause of the fire remains under investigation but is not considered suspicious. It wasn’t clear how many residents were home when the fire broke out.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has been lashing out at scientists whose conclusions he doesn’t like as he pushes to reopen the country during the coronavirus crisis. Twice this week, Trump has not only dismissed studies’ findings but suggested — without evidence — that their authors were motivated by politics to undermine his efforts to roll back coronavirus restrictions. Public health experts warn that undermining Americans’ trust in scientists is especially dangerous during a pandemic, when the public is relying on its leaders to develop policies based on the best available information. Trump has long been skeptical of mainstream science.

With Memorial Day approaching, many people are considering going out to the beaches or generally outdoors for the holiday weekend. But Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine spoke at a press conference Thursday, echoing the governor’s ideals of staying away from public beaches this weekend. Levine advised that going outside in the immediate area of one’s residence is fine.

The statement from Dr. Levine, courtesy of Commonwealth Media Services, can be heard here:

Department of Health Provides Update on COVID-19, 980 Positives Bring Statewide Total to 65,392

Harrisburg, PA – The Pennsylvania Department of Health today confirmed as of 12:00 a.m., May 21, that there are 980 additional positive cases of COVID-19, bringing the statewide total to 65,392. All 67 counties in Pennsylvania have cases of COVID-19.

There are 4,869 total deaths attributed to COVID-19, an increase of 102 new deaths. County-specific information and a statewide map are available here.

“As counties move from red to yellow, we need all Pennsylvanians to continue to follow the social distancing and mitigation efforts in place,” Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said. “We must continue to protect our most vulnerable Pennsylvanians, which includes our seniors, those with underlying health issues, our healthcare workers and our first responders. I am proud of the work that Pennsylvanians have done so far, but we cannot stop now, we must continue to take the necessary steps to protect ourselves from COVID-19.”

Locally in Beaver County we remain at 539 positive cases of COVID-19. 2,897 people have tested Negative, and the county reports 71 deaths, an increase of 1 death from yesterday.

There are 303,514 patients who have tested negative to date statewide. Of the patients who have tested positive to date the age breakdown is as follows:

• Nearly 1% are ages 0-4;
• Nearly 1% are ages 5-12;
• Nearly 2% are ages 13-18;
• Nearly 6% are ages 19-24;
• Nearly 37% are ages 25-49;
• Nearly 26% are ages 50-64; and
• Nearly 29% are ages 65 or older.

Most of the patients hospitalized are ages 65 or older, and most of the deaths have occurred in patients 65 or older. More data is available here.

In nursing and personal care homes, there are 14,113 resident cases of COVID-19, and 2,306 cases among employees, for a total of 16,419 at 570 distinct facilities in 44 counties. Out of our total deaths, 3,234 have occurred in residents from nursing or personal care facilities. A county breakdown can be found here.

Approximately 4,871 of our total cases are in health care workers.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is notifying international partners that it is pulling out of a treaty that permits 30-plus nations to conduct unarmed, observation flights over each other’s territory — overflights set up decades ago to promote trust and avert conflict. The administration says it wants out of the Open Skies Treaty because Russia is violating the pact and imagery collected during the flights can be obtained quickly at less cost from U.S. or commercial satellites. But exiting the treaty is expected to strain relations with Moscow and upset European allies and some members of Congress.