Category: News

California sheriff: Gunman ‘very intent’ on killing police

California sheriff: Gunman ‘very intent’ on killing police
By MARTHA MENDOZA and STEFANIE DAZIO Associated Press
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (AP) — An Air Force sergeant and leader in an elite military security force was armed with homemade bombs, an AR-15 rifle and other weapons and had a desire to harm police when he launched a deadly attack on unsuspecting officers. Staff Sgt. Steven Carrillo has been arrested on suspicion of fatally shooting a Santa Cruz sheriff’s sergeant and wounding two other officers. The FBI also is investigating if Carrillo has any links to the shooting death of a federal officer outside the U.S. courthouse in Oakland more than a week ago. Both involved shooters in a van.

Amid US tension, Iran builds fake aircraft carrier to attack

Amid US tension, Iran builds fake aircraft carrier to attack
By JON GAMBRELL Associated Press
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran appears to have constructed a new mock-up of an aircraft carrier off its southern coast for potential live-fire drills. This comes as tensions remain high between the U.S. and the Islamic Republic. The target is seen in satellite photographs that were obtained on Tuesday by The Associated Press. It resembles the Nimitz-class carriers that the U.S. Navy routinely sails into the Persian Gulf from the Strait of Hormuz. The ship’s appearance also comes as Iran announced it will execute a man authorities accuse of sharing details on the movements of a top Iranian Revolutionary Guard general whom the U.S. killed in a January drone strike in Baghdad.

McDONALD’S RESTAURANTS IN BEAVER COUNTY OPEN 100+ NEW POSITIONS FOR IMMEDIATE HIRE

Beaver, PA (June 8, 2020)…McDonald’s restaurants in Beaver County are offering  more than 100 new employment opportunities for displaced workers.

Beginning on Monday, June 8, all seven local restaurants will begin a quick-hire initiative to provide immediate crew and manager positions for local residents who are facing financial hardship.

“We are in a very difficult and uncertain time,” said Owner/Operator Meghan Sweeney. “Because the local economy has taken a major hit, we are announcing this initiative to immediately provide work for those who need it most.”

She noted that because McDonald’s restaurants are both essential and popular among local residents, they provide stable, full- and part-time employment opportunities.

“We offer flexible scheduling, competitive pay and terrific scholarships for all employees who want to continue their education,” she said. “In fact, in the first quarter of this year, McDonald’s awarded more than $24,000 in scholarships to employees at the Beaver County locations.”

To apply, go to www.mcdonalds.com/careers.

Key Democrats spurn push to defund police amid Trump attacks

Key Democrats spurn push to defund police amid Trump attacks
By STEVE PEOPLES, ALAN FRAM and JONATHAN LEMIRE Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — Key Democrats, including presumptive presidential nominee Joe Biden, are rejecting liberal calls to “defund the police” as President Donald Trump and his allies point to the movement as a dangerous example of Democratic overreach. The Republican president is struggling under the weight of mounting national crises that threaten his reelection. Supporters of the “defund the police” push say it’s a symbolic commitment to end systemic racism and shift policing priorities rather than an actual plan to eliminate law enforcement agencies. But confusion over the proposal has created a badly needed opportunity for Trump, who has struggled to navigate the delicate debate over racial justice.

Gov Wolf backs off demand for weekly testing in nursing homes

Wolf backs off demand for weekly testing in nursing homes
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The administration of Gov. Tom Wolf is backing off its demand that nursing homes test all residents and staff for the new coronavirus weekly. It instead ordered them Monday to complete a single baseline test. Last month, Wolf had vowed that weekly testing would start June 1. He said his administration had a plan in place to accomplish it. Health experts were skeptical and cited logistical, operational and financial hurdles. The state health secretary also ordered nursing homes and other facilities that care for older adults to test all residents and staff “at least once” by July 24.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The administration of Gov. Tom Wolf on Monday backed off its demand that nursing homes test all residents and staff for the new coronavirus weekly, instead ordering them to complete a single baseline test.
Wolf had vowed last month that weekly testing would start June 1, saying his administration had a plan in place to accomplish it. Health experts were skeptical, citing logistical, operational and financial hurdles to an ambitious testing regime that would have involved well over 100,000 people in long-term care homes statewide.
Dr. Rachel Levine, the state health secretary, on Monday ordered nursing homes to conduct a baseline test of all residents and staff by July 24. The Health Department also issued revised testing guidance that recommends universal testing only if a facility has a new confirmed infection.
In that case, testing of all residents and staff should continue once a week until the home has gone 14 days without a positive test, the guidance says.
“Our goal with implementing this testing in nursing homes is to rapidly detect asymptomatic positive residents and staff in order to manage their care and prevent further transmission of COVID-19, ” Levine said at a news conference.
More than 75 nursing homes have widely tested residents and staff. But other facilities have lacked the capability, and officials acknowledged that routine weekly testing at all homes statewide was too ambitious.
“As we have worked with and heard concerns from facilities, we realized that testing in that amount of time may not be feasible,” Levine’s spokesman, Nate Wardle, said Monday.
Care homes struggled for months to contain the virus, with many lacking the trained staff, testing supplies and personal protective equipment in the early going that could have helped them slow the spread, public health experts say.
Residents of long-term care homes account for more than two-thirds of the statewide death toll of about 6,000, a higher proportion that in most other states. Infections and deaths at nursing homes peaked in late April and have been trending down ever since.
In other coronavirus-related developments Monday:
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SMALL BUSINESS GRANTS
Wolf announced details of a $225 million grant program for small businesses affected by COVID-19.
The money will come from Pennsylvania’s share of the $2 trillion coronavirus relief package passed by Congress in late March. State lawmakers approved the grant program last month.
The grants will be administered by 17 community-based lenders, and may be used to cover a businesses’s operating expenses during the pandemic, as well as for technical assistance.
Eligible businesses will include those that had a loss as a result of Wolf’s closure of all “non-life-sustaining” businesses, for whom $100 million has been set aside. Another $100 million was designated for minority-owned businesses that likewise sustained losses during the pandemic. The remaining $25 million will be used to shore up community-based lenders and allow them to offer forbearance to struggling businesses.
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NEW CASES TRACED TO BEACH
A dozen new coronavirus cases in the Philadelphia area have been traced to someone who attended gatherings at beach houses at the Jersey Shore, according to the health department in suburban Bucks County.
The department said 11 cases reported Saturday were linked to a New Jersey resident who was at gatherings in the past two weeks. One case reported Friday also was traced to the same person.
“There are likely to be additional infections among family members of the new cases,” said Dr. David Damsker, the health director in Bucks County.
He did not disclose further details, including exactly where the gatherings were.
“This is exactly why we can’t let our guard down now, even if it feels safe to be at the beach,” Damsker said. “One unlucky exposure can lead to a large cascade of cases down the line.”
It is important to wear face coverings when attending small gatherings of people who are not members of the same household, Damsker said.
Nearly 5,000 residents of Bucks County, which borders Philadelphia to the south and New Jersey to the east, have tested positive for the coronavirus.
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MASKS ON TRANSIT
Passengers on mass transit in the Philadelphia region Monday once again had to don masks on the system serving 4 million people in five counties to help contain the virus.
The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority reinstated a policy requiring riders to put on masks or other face coverings on buses, trains and trolleys as the region transitions to the middle “yellow” phase of Pennsylvania’s plan to reopen as the pandemic eases.
SEPTA had eased the requirement to a recommendation in April after police removed a rider who tried to board a bus without a mask. Employees will now engage riders to remind them about the requirement, SEPTA said.
“Riders have made it clear that requiring everyone to wear face coverings would help make them feel safe returning to transit,” said SEPTA general manager Leslie Richards.
Customers can use any type of cloth material that covers the mouth and nose, SEPTA said.
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CASES
The Pennsylvania Department of Health on Monday reported 10 additional deaths linked to COVID-19, raising the statewide total to 5,953.
State health officials also reported that 351 more people have tested positive.
Since early March, infections have been confirmed in about 76,000 people in Pennsylvania.
The number of infections is thought to be far higher than the confirmed case count because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected without feeling sick.
For most people, the virus causes mild or moderate symptoms that clear up in a couple of weeks. Older adults and people with existing health problems are at higher risk of more severe illness, including pneumonia, or death.
___ This story has been corrected to show that Bucks County borders Philadelphia to the south, not to the north.

Legislators commandeer House to demand action on policing

Legislators commandeer House to demand action on policing
By MARK SCOLFORO Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Black Democrats in the Pennsylvania House preempted the day’s business in an effort to force action on changes to police. They commandeered the podium for about 90 minutes at the start of voting session Monday. They hung a Black Lives Matter banner from the speaker’s dais. Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta took the podium to ask for police reform. The protest was paused if not halted after the Republican speaker said he would meet with leaders of both parties and supported holding a special session on police reform.

AAA: Western PA Gas Prices Steady; National Average Slowly Rising

AAA: Western PA Gas Prices Steady; National Average Slowly Rising
The average price of gasoline across Western Pennsylvania is stable this week at $2.345 per gallon, according to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report.

The Mid-Atlantic and Northeast region continues to see the lowest pump price volatility. While gas prices increased across the region on the week, they only pushed more expensive by a few pennies (Pennsylvania, +2 cents). Delaware (+5 cents) and Maine (+7 cents) saw the largest increases.

Gas prices in the region range from $1.76 to $2.25, with motorists able to fill up for $1.99 or less at 63% of stations in the region.

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports regional gasoline stocks increased by 500,000 barrels to push total levels to 74.2 million. Motorists can expect pump prices to continue to trend more expensive, but with increases of only a few cents.

This week’s average prices: Western Pennsylvania Average                  $2.345
Average price during the week of June 1, 2020                                         $2.343
Average price during the week of June 10, 2019                                       $2.925

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

$2.356      Altoona
$2.347      Beaver
$2.350      Bradford
$2.359      Brookville
$2.312      Butler
$2.337      Clarion
$2.328      Du Bois
$2.336      Erie
$2.347      Greensburg
$2.352      Indiana
$2.366      Jeannette
$2.370      Kittanning
$2.349      Latrobe
$2.348      Meadville
$2.370      Mercer
$2.248      New Castle
$2.348      New Kensington
$2.359      Oil City
$2.338      Pittsburgh
$2.359      Sharon
$2.347      Uniontown
$2.359      Warren
$2.345      Washington

On the National Front
For 66 days, the national gas price average held below the $2/gallon mark, pushing as cheap as $1.76. In the past week, the average has inched up to $2.03. Despite the consistent increases at the pump, gas prices are still significantly cheaper year-over-year, and haven’t been this cheap at the beginning of June since 2004. In fact, during the first week of June the past five years, gas prices have typically averaged $2.81.

U.S. gasoline demand continues to show increasing strength. The EIA’s latest reading shows a 4% weekly increase at 7.5 million b/d. That is the highest demand level since states began issuing stay-at-home orders in mid-March.

At the end of Friday’s formal trading session, West Texas Intermediate increased by $2.14 to settle at $39.55 per barrel. At the end of last week, crude prices increased amid market optimism that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other major crude exporters, including Russia, would extend their 9.7 million b/d production reduction agreement for May and June 2020 into July. Over the weekend, the cartel and its partners agreed to extend the deal for July, which is expected to reduce global crude supplies by nearly 10 percent while global crude oil demand remains low due to COVID-19. Crude prices will likely increase this week in reaction to OPEC’s announcement.

Additionally, approximately one third of crude oil and natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico has been halted, as Tropical Depression Cristobal makes landfall in Louisiana. The storm is expected to bring tropical-storm force winds and potential storm surge and flooding to the state’s coastal areas. There is no estimate for when the facilities will resume operations. Any impact on domestic crude prices will depend on how long production remains shuttered and the extent of damage caused by the storm.

Motorists can find current gas prices nationwide, statewide, and countywide at GasPrices.AAA.com.

AAA East Central is a not-for-profit association with 78 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.

Wolf Administration Selects Health Care Emergency Preparedness Vendor to Assist in Preparations for Fall Resurgence of COVID-19

Wolf Administration Selects Health Care Emergency Preparedness Vendor to Assist in Preparations for Fall Resurgence of COVID-19

Harrisburg, PA- The Wolf Administration today announced it has selected Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC) of Philadelphia as its health care emergency preparedness vendor, effective July 8, 2020.

“PHMC is well positioned to help move the commonwealth forward in its preparation efforts for future emergencies, including preparations in the case that coronavirus resurges in the fall or winter,” Pennsylvania Department of Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine said. “We are looking forward to the opportunity to expand our existing hospital preparedness program, as well as creating an inclusive environment for all members of our health care system through our health care coalitions.”

This agreement is part of the department’s annual federal health preparedness grant.

Health care coalitions (HCC) are a formal collaboration among health care organizations and public and private partners that are organized to prepare for, respond to and recover from an emergency, mass casualty or catastrophic event. The key components include comprehensive health care membership; regional presence developed within states/territories to cover larger geographic areas; and preparedness capability operationalization through plans, exercises, trainings, response, and after-action reports.

The hospital preparedness program (HPP) is a cooperative agreement program administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that establishes a foundation for national health care preparedness.

PHMC is a nonprofit public health institute that builds healthier communities through partnerships with government, foundations, businesses and community-based organizations. It fulfills its mission to improve the health of the community by providing outreach, health promotion, education, research, planning, technical assistance and direct services.

The Wolf Administration stresses the role Pennsylvanians play in helping to reduce the spread of COVID-19:

  • Wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or use hand sanitizer if soap and water are not available.
  • Cover any coughs or sneezes with your elbow, not your hands.
  • Clean surfaces frequently.
  • Stay home to avoid spreading COVID-19, especially if you are  unwell.
  • If you must go out for a life-sustaining reason, please wear a mask.

Updated Coronavirus Links: Press Releases, State Lab Photos, Graphics

All Pennsylvania residents are encouraged to sign up for AlertPA, a text notification system for health, weather, and other important alerts like COVID-19 updates from commonwealth agencies. Residents can sign up online at www.ready.pa.gov/BeInformed/Signup-For-Alerts.

For more information on other public health related issues, including  ticks and Lyme disease, or on mosquitoes and West Nile virus, visit the Department of Health website at www.health.pa.gov or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Rivers and Meadows Casino’s to Re-open Today

 (Pittsburgh, Pa) The Rivers Casino and the Meadows Casino’s will reopen today. the Casino’s will be open from 9 AM to 4 AM. The down time will be used to disinfect the facilities. The Rivers will reopen this morning for the first time in months a 9 am and the Meadow’s will open around noon. Both Casino’s will require staff and Patrons to wear a mask and will be limited to 50 percent capacity. Some areas will not be open to the public at this time including their valet parking service, the poker room, and the event center. To keep track of capacity, the casino staff will have customer counters at their entrances.

They will also have markers on the floor and disable certain slot machines.

Pitt slams lawsuit from ex-officer seeking reinstatement

Pitt slams lawsuit from ex-officer seeking reinstatement
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The University of Pittsburgh police department says it has no plans to rehire a former university police officer later acquitted in the shooting death of an unarmed black teenager. The university police department said in a Twitter post Sunday that the university is “vigorously opposing” the federal suit filed in January by 32-year-old Michael Rosfeld, who alleged that he was forced from position in January 2018 in retaliation after he arrested a university official’s son outside a bar in December 2017. Rosfeld was acquitted last year of homicide in the June 2018 shooting death of 17-year-old Antwon Rose II while he was an East Pittsburgh officer.