April 21, 2021 5:20 pm
UNDATED (AP) – Health officials have released more evidence that COVID-19 infections in fully vaccinated people are uncommon. The latest study looked at recent infections in about 75 Chicago skilled nursing facilities. Nearly 8,000 residents and nearly 7,000 staff received two doses of vaccine at the facilities. In those who were fully vaccinated, health officials detected 22 breakthrough infections. Most experienced no symptoms, but two were hospitalized and one died. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention posted the study online. Some studies have suggested vaccine effectiveness can be lower in nursing homes.
April 21, 2021 12:41 pm
UNDATED (AP) – Pennsylvania plans to greatly expand its network of COVID-19 vaccine providers as demand for the life-saving shots begins to slow and existing vaccinators order fewer doses. Acting Health Secretary Alison Beam said Tuesday that with supply finally catching up to demand, she expects more providers will begin receiving shipments over the next two to three weeks. Pennsylvania had slashed the number of providers receiving vaccine by more than two-thirds in an effort to speed up the state’s vaccine rollout. Smaller vaccine providers who were cut out say that decision hurt some of the state’s most vulnerable residents.
April 21, 2021 4:14 am
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Police have shot and killed a teenage girl in Columbus. The shooting was reported Tuesday afternoon just as the verdict was being announced in the trial for the killing of George Floyd. Police showed bodycam footage Tuesday night at a news conference of the officer shooting the girl as she appeared to attempt to stab two people with a knife. A black-handled blade resembling a kitchen knife or steak knife appeared to be lying on the sidewalk next to her immediately after she fell. Police say the girl was taken to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Nobody else was injured.
April 21, 2021 4:12 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden has announced new employer tax credits and other steps to encourage people reluctant to be inoculated to get the COVID-19 vaccine. His administration is trying to overcome diminishing demand for the shots as Biden celebrates reaching his latest goal of administering 200 million coronavirus doses in his first 100 days in office. He says in a White House speech that “vaccines can save your own life, but they can also save your grandmother’s life, your co-worker’s life, the grocery store clerk or the delivery person helping you and your neighbors get through the crisis. That’s why you should get vaccinated.”
April 21, 2021 4:11 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden says the conviction of former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin in the killing of George Floyd “can be a giant step forward” for the nation in the fight against systemic racism. Biden spoke from the White House alongside Vice President Kamala Harris, with the pair calling for Congress to act swiftly to address policing reform. “It’s not enough,” Biden said of the verdict. “We can’t stop here.” Harris said, “A measure of justice isn’t the same as equal justice.” Biden spoke after telephoning Floyd’s family, telling them, “We’re all so relieved.”
April 21, 2021 4:09 am
Crowds nationwide have reacted with jubilation but also with deep awareness of the progress left to be made after a jury convicted former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin of murder in the killing of George Floyd. Cheers erupted from Floyd’s family members as the judge read the verdict Tuesday, and a vigil at the site of Floyd’s death last May gave way to celebration. But the elation was tinged with wariness and worry that while justice was done for one Black person on this day, it would not be enough by itself.
April 21, 2021 3:18 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – For the first time, prominent Republican state senators are putting their support behind legislation in Pennsylvania to change the law to allow now-adult victims of child sexual abuse to sue their perpetrators or institutions that didn’t prevent it. Wednesday’s vote, 11-3, in the Senate Judiciary Committee comes after years of damning investigations into child sexual abuse by clergy in Pennsylvania’s Roman Catholic dioceses. It also signals that the legislation may have enough Republican support to pass the full state Senate. Similar legislation passed the House earlier this month. Many childhood victims of sexual assault lost the right to sue in Pennsylvania when they turned 18 or were young adults.
April 21, 2021 2:11 am
A Peters Township man pleaded guilty to his role in harassing a state representative and her office staff back in 2020. Christopher Allan Frank of Peters Township and also of Kentucky was sentenced to 1 year of probation on four separate cases of harassment toward republican state representative Natalie Mihalek. Frank was not pleased with the outcome of the 2020 presidential election and took part in harassing Mihalek and her staff with phone calls and emails and soaping the windows of her district office. Frank was said to disagree with the way local politics were being handled. Peters Township police stopped Frank’s car and found a bar of soap and a firearm in his car. All four incidents to which Frank pleaded guilty require a sentence of one year of probation. All four sentences will be served concurrently. Frank is not to have contact with Mihalek.
April 21, 2021 2:05 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – The Pennsylvania state House is giving its approval to a Republican-sponsored bill to let many retail stores remain open during a declared state of disaster emergency. Backers say it would safely prevent smaller businesses from going broke. The chamber voted 117-84 Wednesday to allow retailers to be open if they restrict operations to a single employee and a single customer, or can fulfill drive-up sales that limit contact. Six Democrats joined the unanimous Republican caucus in voting for the legislation. The proposal was sent to the state Senate, where a similar bill died last year.
April 20, 2021 5:23 pm
WEST HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. (AP) – Police say an employee shot three workers inside an office at a Long Island grocery store Tuesday, killing a manager. The man suspected in the shooting was arrested hours after fleeing the scene. Nassau County Executive Laura Curran tweeted around 3:15 p.m. Tuesday that Gabriel DeWitt Wilson was in police custody. The shooting happened upstairs from the shopping floor. The name of the victims have not been made public. The man who was killed was a 49-year-old store employee. The two wounded were hospitalized and were conscious and alert. It’s unclear whether Wilson has a lawyer to comment.
