Story by Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano

(Midland, Pa.) Midland Police requested that state police  assume the  investigation into an attempted homicide that occurred   early Monday morning.  The .  victim is identified as

Cyberattack hobbles major hospital chain’s US facilities
By FRANK BAJAK and RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. computer networks of a major hospital chain have been knocked offline in a cyberattack. Universal Health Services, which has more than 250 facilities in the U.S., acknowledged the outage Monday but would not confirm whether ransomware was responsible. Doctors and nurses at affected hospitals and clinics had to resort to paper records and described chaotic conditions, with lab work backed up. The company says no patient or employee data appears to have been accessed. The company also has hospitals in the United Kingdom, but a spokeswoman says its operations in that country were not affected.

Pennsylvania counties push for changes to mail ballot law
By MARC LEVY Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s counties are pressing lawmakers and Gov. Tom Wolf to allow them to process mail-in ballots before Election Day in the battleground state as they consider the prospect of waiting until polls open to dig into 3 million envelopes. Allowing counties time to process mail-in ballots before Election Day remained stuck Tuesday in a wider partisan dispute between the Democratic governor and the Republican-controlled Legislature. County officials say processing mail-in ballots before Election Day will speed up vote counting amid concerns that a presidential election result will hang in limbo for days on Pennsylvania’s vote count. Meanwhile, Philadelphia on Tuesday opened seven satellite election offices.

Rally brings gun rights advocates to Pennsylvania Capitol
By MARK SCOLFORO Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A few hundred people brought their support for gun rights to the steps of the Pennsylvania Capitol building for what is an annual rally. Tuesday’s gathering constituted a pep rally, provided an update on the gun lobby’s legislative efforts and opposition, and gave participants an opportunity to target Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf and other political opponents.  Organizers said rainy weather and the pandemic may have kept down attendance. Cease Fire PA, which advocates to reduce the harm done by firearms, says about 1,600 people have been killed by guns in Pennsylvania in the past year.

Matzie: House unanimously adopts ‘Rail Safety Week’ resolution

Seeks to raise awareness as pedestrian trespass casualties increase

HARRISBURG, Sept. 29 – The House today unanimously adopted state Rep. Rob Matzie’s resolution to raise awareness about the high toll of deaths and injuries from train collisions.

Matzie, D-Beaver/Allegheny, said he introduced H.B. 1002 – designating Sept. 21-27 as “Rail Safety Week” in Pennsylvania – to call attention to a preventable hazard that kills and injures too many motorists and pedestrians each year.

“Unfortunately, Pennsylvania again this year made the top 15 list of states with the greatest number of highway-rail grade crossing collisions and pedestrian trespassing casualties,” Matzie said. “Perhaps most disturbing, the commonwealth ranks fourth in the nation when it comes to pedestrian trespass deaths and injuries, with 29 deaths and 23 injuries in 2019. That’s an increase from the year before.

“People who are walking at night or distracted while on their cell phones may easily fail to appreciate the degree of danger near tracks. For example, pedestrians may not realize that trains overhang tracks by at least three feet in all directions, with loose straps from rail cars extending even further so even if pedestrians are in the right-of-way next to the tracks, they can still be hit.

“It’s also important to remember that it can take a mile or more for a train to stop, so that by the time a locomotive engineer sees someone on the tracks, it will likely be too late to stop.

“I’m encouraged that the House unanimously adopted my resolution today. There is no need for any pedestrian or motorist to die in a rail collision, and the more we can get the word out, the better our chances of eliminating these tragic, preventable incidents.”

Matzie said additional safety tips and statistics involving rail casualties in Pennsylvania and nationwide are available through the Operation Lifesaver website here.

Earlier this month, the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency and the Office of the State Fire Commissioner joined first responders in the United States and Canada for “Operation Clear Track,” the largest rail-safety initiative in North America. More information about the initiative is available here.

In the United States, a person or vehicle is hit by a train about every three hours.

LAMB, FITZPATRICK AND CISNEROS INTRODUCE BIPARTISAN LEGISLATION TO EXTEND GI BILL BENEFITS FOR VETERANS

(WASHINGTON, DC) –  Today Representative Conor Lamb (PA-17), who serves as Vice Chair of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, was joined by Representatives Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-1) and Gil Cisneros (CA-39) to introduce the Protecting Apprenticeship Training for Veterans Act, which would extend GI Bill benefits for veterans whose registered apprenticeships were cut short due to COVID-19.  This legislation builds on the bipartisan efforts of Lamb and Fitzpatrick who have been advocating for the needs of the nation’s veterans, transitioning service members, and their families in the next COVID-19 legislative response package.

Currently, veterans must meet a minimum number of apprenticeship hours to receive their full Monthly Housing Allowance.  However, due to the Coronavirus pandemic, many registered apprenticeships have ended or been cut short – resulting in veterans facing a reduction or suspension in their stipend.  The legislation introduced today would pause GI benefit time limits for those impacted and would allow veteran apprentices who were laid off to roll over excess hours from a previous month to meet the hourly requirement.  This bill also provides COVID-19 pandemic relief assistance to veterans who are nontraditional students in Registered Apprenticeship and On-the-Job Training programs.

“Veterans should not lose the benefits they’ve earned through their service due to circumstances out of their control,” said Lamb.  “Extending the GI bill benefits to ensure veterans receive the support they need for good-paying jobs is critical.”

“Our veterans put their lives on the line for our country, and they deserve all the support we can provide them.  Veterans contribute so much to our workforce, and registered apprenticeships are critical in securing good-paying jobs,” said Fitzpatrick. “COVID-19 shut down many job training and apprenticeship programs, and it is not fair for our veterans participating in these programs to lose the benefits they have earned. I’m proud to partner with Rep. Lamb on this bipartisan bill to protect our veterans.”

“This pandemic has put a strain on our nation’s veterans—ending their apprenticeship programs and jeopardizing the benefits they have earned.  As a Navy Veteran, I’m proud to work on a bipartisan basis with Reps. Fitzpatrick and Lamb to help our veterans and extend their GI Bill benefits.  I’ll continue to fight for those who have served our country and ensure they have the support they need during this difficult time,” said Cisneros.

This legislation is supported by the Union Veterans Council.

“I commend the bipartisan leadership Rep. Lamb, Rep. Fitzpatrick and Rep. Cisneros have shown in introducing this bill,” said Will Attig, Executive Director of the Union Veterans Council.  “Apprenticeship and on-the-job programs like this changed my life and are instrumental in helping veterans like me across the country.  However, these non-traditional education paths aren’t always as well-supported in our veterans’ legislation as traditional education paths.  This bill makes great strides towards closing that gap and supporting these great programs that we know are effective.”