Officials want to warn against an unsafe New Year’s Eve tradition. On Thursday, the City of Pittsburgh released a statement on how there will be an increased police presence for First Night festivities. They also wanted to remind people that firing a gun into the air to celebrate is illegal. The release also said anyone caught discharging a firearm in public will be arrested.
Flu season is in full swing, and according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health, no area has been hit harder than Western Pa. Health department officials said there are more than 3,000 confirmed flu cases since late September in Allegheny County alone – nearly four times than the next hardest hit county (Beaver: 772 cases).Next is Westmoreland County, with 692 cases. According to officials, laboratory-confirmed flu cases jumped 53% in the seven-county Pittsburgh area from Dec. 14 to Dec. 21. Flu cases increased from just over 3,600 to more than 5,500, the health department said.So far this year, there have been seven deaths in Pennsylvania connected to the flu, with all but one impacting a senior citizen. The state’s total of confirmed cases increased 61% in one week. The health department considers the flu “widespread” throughout the state, it’s highest level on the scale.
Drivers will once again be paying more to travel the Pennsylvania Turnpike. A 6% toll increase goes into effect on Jan. 5. The rate for E-ZPass customers will go up from $1.40 to $1.50 and from $2.30 to $2.50 for drivers using cash. To go from one border to the other, west to east, costs about $50 if using cash. Turnpike officials said the increases will not go into effect in January on the Beaver Valley Expressway, the Greensburg Bypass and the Gateway tolling point. Those locations saw increases back in October. Tolls have gone up each year since 2009 and will continue to increase until 2040. Turnpike officials said a large portion of the money raised from tolls goes back to the state to fix roads and bridges.
A 70-year-old man was arrested in connection with a double shooting overnight Wednesday in Big Beaver. State police were called to a home on Fairlane Boulevard where two people were shot. State police said 70-year-old Rickey Neal of Koppel was arrested. He has been charged with two counts of aggravated assault, six counts of recklessly endangering another person and one count of possessing a firearm when he is not permitted to do so. He is being held in the Beaver County Jail on $200,000 bail. The conditions of the shooting victims are unknown at this time.
UNDATED (AP) — A fire at a North Versailles apartment complex has left two people injured and displaced more than a dozen residents. The blaze broke out early Friday at the Versailles Castle Apartments in North Versailles, causing thick smoke to pour out of windows and doorways. It caused heavy damage to one building, and at least two people were briefly trapped on a back porch there before emergency responders were able to rescue them. Both are expected to survive. The fire displaced about 15 people overall, and many of them were receiving help from the American Red Cross. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
WEATHER FORECAST FOR FRIDAY, DECEMBER 27TH, 2019
TODAY – A FEW SHOWERS THIS MORNING WITH OVERCAST
SKIES DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS. HIGH – 56.
TONIGHT – A FEW CLOUDS. LOW – 31.
SATURDAY – MOSTLY CLOUDY. HIGH – 47.
SUNDAY – RAIN LIKELY. HIGH – 55.
Bloomberg axes company using prisoners for campaign calls
By ALEXANDRA JAFFE Associated Press
Democratic presidential contender Michael Bloomberg has cut ties with a contractor that used prisoners to make calls for his presidential campaign. The online news site The Intercept reported Tuesday that Bloomberg’s campaign contracted a New Jersey-based call center company that, in at least one instance, used Oklahoma inmates to make calls on behalf of the billionaire’s campaign. The former New York mayor says he was unaware of the arrangement until it a reporter raised it. Bloomberg says in a statement that the campaign is making sure its vendors more properly vet subcontractors in the future.
NEW YORK (AP) — More people did their shopping online this year in one of the shortest holiday shopping seasons in years and that pushed overall sales higher. Early data from Mastercard SpendingPulse shows that retail sales in the US rose 3.4% between Nov. 1 and Dec. 24 compared with last year. However, that’s slower growth than in the previous year, when sales grew 5.1%. Online sales rose at a faster pace, up 18.8% from last year.
RIO RANCHO, N.M. (AP) — Police in New Mexico are investigating the shooting of four people who were found dead on Christmas Day in a home in an Albuquerque suburb. Police in Rio Rancho have not identified the dead. They didn’t say whether they have a suspect or suspects, but issued a statement that they did not believe there was an ongoing threat to the public. A woman told KRQE-TV she’s related to the people who lived in the home, and her mother and brother found the bodies. They went to the home because they were concerned that they had not heard from the family.
NEW YORK (AP) — New York City police say they’ve located a 14-year-old boy suspected of fatally stabbing a Barnard College freshman in a park near the school’s Manhattan campus. Chief of Detectives Rodney Harrison tweeted Thursday that the boy had been found, but gave no other details. He is one of three youths police believe were involved in the stabbing of 18-year-old Tessa Majors on Dec. 11 at Morningside Park. Police tracked him down after taking the unusual step last Friday of releasing photographs of him but not his name or any other identifying information. Of the two other suspects, only one has been charged.