CHICAGO (AP) — From Hawaii to Pennsylvania, states are scrambling to curb the impact of a new Trump administration rule that could cause nearly 700,000 people to lose food stamp benefits. They’ve filed a multi-state lawsuit, expanded publicly-funded job training, created pilot programs and doubled down on efforts to reach vulnerable communities, including the homeless, rural residents and people of color. Social service agencies say they won’t be able to keep up with the growing need, making increased homelessness and more hospital visits the biggest concerns. Experts say they’ve already seen troubling signs in states that have voluntarily made similar changes.

UNDATED (AP) — Scientists say they have used the gene editing tool CRISPR inside someone’s body for the first time. It’s a new frontier for efforts to operate on DNA, the chemical code of life, to treat diseases. The company that makes the treatment said Wednesday a patient recently had it done at the Casey Eye Institute at Oregon Health & Science University for an inherited form of blindness. It may take up to a month to see if it worked. The treatment uses CRISPR to delete a mutation that is preventing a gene from making a protein that’s needed for sight.

(Photos of Aliquippa house damaged by fire, taken by Sandy Giordano)

Crews were called to the scene of a house fire this morning…just one block away from Aliquippa High School. Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano was there. Click on ‘play’ to hear Sandy’s report…

The Hopewell School District is moving forward with a renovation and consolidation project that’s expected to have a hefty price tag…and as Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano reports, it could also result in higher taxes for residents in the district.  Click on ‘play’ to hear Sandy’s report…

St. Patrick’s Day is right around the corner, but there’s an extra reason to celebrate in Pittsburgh. According to WalletHub.com, Pittsburgh ranked fourth out of 200 U.S. cities in a report on the best places to celebrate the holiday. The report looked at holiday traditions in each city, as well as holiday costs, safety and the weather. Chicago took the top spot for the second straight year, with Boston and Philadelphia finishing ahead of Pittsburgh. Tampa rounded out the top 5 with Brownsville, Texas coming in at 200. Pittsburgh’s St. Patrick’s Day parade will be Saturday, March 14.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The leader of Pennsylvania’s system of 14 state-owned universities told lawmakers that it is urgent they act to help the schools in the face of sinking enrollment, rising student debt and a lagging commitment of public tax dollars to higher education. The system’s chancellor urged the House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday to approve a package of legislation that would deliver cash and greater authority to the system over how it spends money and administers the schools. The chancellor has rejected calls to close struggling schools in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education and says Pennsylvania needs to greatly increase the number of adults with degrees for its economy.

A statewide program to protect crews in work zones from drivers breaking the speed limit goes into effect today. Drivers caught speeding will get a warning for speeding and if they continue to violate the speed limit, the penalties will go up from there. The “Automated Work Zone Speed Enforcement” program was a collaborative effort between the Turnpike Commission, PennDOT, and Pennsylvania State Police. It uses systems mounted to vehicles that can detect and record a driver’s speed. It will only operate in active works zones. The goal isn’t to just get people to slow down but to change drivers’ habits and make it safer for workers. If caught speeding, drivers will first get a warning letter. If they continue to violate the speed limit, a second offense is a $75 fine and third is a $150 fine. The enforcement begins today in the eastern part of Pennsylvania but is expected to come to the Pittsburgh area.

The Allegheny County Airport Authority said it has intensified its cleaning operations at Pittsburgh International Airport but said that any decision on flight or travel restrictions are up to the federal government or individual airlines. Pittsburgh International Airport doesn’t have any nonstop flights to China, Italy, South Korea or Iran, countries the virus has heavily impacted. Federal authorities are screening all passengers who have traveled to those countries in one of several airports before they travel on to Pittsburgh International Airport. In a statement Monday, the airport said it was coordinating with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention along with state and local health authorities under previously assembled plans.

FAWN, Pa. (AP) — Authorities say a dispute between two teenage boys on a school bus in western Pennsylvania ended in a street brawl involving a crowbar that left one teen critically injured. The two Highlands School District students, ages 14 and 17, were arguing on the bus Tuesday when the older teen opened the emergency exit and ran out when the bus stopped on a road in Fawn. Authorities say the younger boy followed, grabbing a crowbar that was mounted near the bus driver. The older teen eventually got control of the crowbar and repeatedly hit the younger boy in the stomach and head, causing several skull fractures and other injuries.

WEATHER FORECAST FOR WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4TH, 2020

 

 

TODAY – CLOUDY WITH PERIODS OF RAIN THIS
AFTERNOON. HIGH NEAR 50.

TONIGHT – A FEW CLOUDS. A FEW FLURRIES OR SNOW
SHOWERS POSSIBLE. LOW – 27.

THURSDAY – PARTLY SUNNY SKIES. HIGH – 51.