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.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. government says the number of Americans thrown out of work since the coronavirus crisis struck two months ago has climbed to nearly 39 million. More than 2.4 million people applied for U.S. unemployment benefits last week in the latest wave of layoffs from the outbreak that triggered coast-to-coast business shutdowns and brought the economy to its knees, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That brings the running total to 38.6 million.

(AP)- Court papers show actress Lori Loughlin and her fashion designer husband, Mossimo Giannulli, have agreed to plead guilty to charges that will include prison time in the college admissions bribery case. Loughlin has agreed to serve two months behind bars and Giannulli has agreed to serve five months under the deal that must be approved by the judge. They will plead guilty to conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud. Prosecutors agreed to dismiss charges of money laundering and federal programs bribery that were added after the case was filed. An attorney for the couple declined to comment. Loughlin and Giannulli are accused of paying $500,000 in bribes to get their daughters into the University of Southern California as crew team recruits.

The hiring of a new school board member and budget approval were among the main topics of last night’s Aliquippa School Board meeting. Beaver County Radio news correspondent Sandy Giordano has details:

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pennsylvania’s highest court must now decide whether a woman shot eight years ago in the western Pennsylvania psychiatric clinic where she worked can sue a university and a physicians group over the assailant’s treatment. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that the state Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday on dismissal of the lawsuit. A graduate student diagnosed with schizophrenia killed one employee and wounded six others during the March 2012 rampage inside Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic in Pittsburgh before he was killed. The justices are to decide if doctors can be sued after taking steps to have a patient committed involuntarily but not completing the process.