May 8, 2021 9:12 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Paul Van Doren, co-founder of the Vans company whose iconic Southern California sneakers were beloved by skateboarders and became an international success, has died. He was 90. The company, based in Costa Mesa, announced Van Doren’s death on social media Friday but didn’t provide any details. Van Doren, his brother and two business partners opened their first store in Orange County in 1966, making and selling their own shoes. The shoes caught on with skateboarders and business also soared after Sean Penn wore a pair in the 1982 movie “Fast Times at Ridgemont High.”
May 8, 2021 3:31 am
WHITE OAK, Pa. (AP) – Authorities say a western Pennsylvania couple forced their children to sleep in locked basement rooms, physically abused them and handcuffed them. Thirty-seven-year-old Richard Hayes, of Mount Oliver, and his 26-year-old girlfriend, Natosha Bell, of Rankin, both face more than a dozen charges involving three children who lived in their home. It wasn’t known Friday if either one has retained an attorney. Authorities say White Oak police responded to an elementary school Wednesday after the eldest child refused to get into the couple’s vehicle during a school pick up. Witnesses say the 11-year-old boy clung to a school employee and said he didn’t want to be handcuffed again. Two other handcuffed boys were then found in the vehicle’s backseat.(Photo Credit WPXI)
May 8, 2021 3:25 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Republicans in Pennsylvania’s GOP-controlled Legislature are advancing legislation to reinstate work-search requirements for people claiming unemployment benefits. The bill cleared the House Labor and Industry Committee on a party-line vote Tuesday. The sponsor, Rep. Jim Cox of Berks County, said many employers are having trouble finding workers. Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, has waived the requirement for now. Still, Wolf’s office said certain industries may have difficulty hiring workers because, for instance, some parents have children learning at home or some people are waiting for a second vaccine dose. Others may have chosen to change careers during the pandemic. Wolf’s office also suggested that employers need to pay more.
May 8, 2021 3:23 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration is solidifying its intention to begin imposing a price on greenhouse gas emissions from power plants next year, over the protests of coal- and gas-region lawmakers and elements of the energy industry. Wolf’s administration issued a final rule for the regulatory plan Tuesday with the same timeline and same goals for reductions in carbon dioxide. The rule must still go through two state regulatory boards. Wolf, a Democrat, in 2019 ordered his administration to start drafting regulations for the plan. If Wolf is successful, Pennsylvania would become the first major fossil fuel state to adopt a carbon pricing policy.
May 8, 2021 3:13 am
(WPXI) – A Bentleyville man already charged in connection with the riots at the U.S. Capitol in January has now been indicted by a federal grand jury for attacking an officer and stealing documents during the attack. Dale Shalvey, 36, who owns a woodworking business, was indicted on April 30, according to federal documents made available this week. Shalvey, who was originally arrested on March 9, was initially charged with obstructing an official proceeding, entering a restricted building, disrupting business, entering the Senate floor without permission and causing a disruption in the U.S. Capitol building. He’s accused of rifling through Electoral College vote certification paperwork from a desk on the Senate floor, and now faces additional charges of having “physical contact” with a police officer and stealing a letter from Sen. Mitt Romney to former Vice President Mike Pence.
May 7, 2021 4:45 pm
The COVID-19 death toll rose by one in Washington County for a total of 294. The county also added 40 new infections for a total of 17,162 confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19. Allegheny County added 191 new cases for a total of 98,723 confirmed and probable infections. The county’s death toll rose by six for a total of 1,896. Greene County added eight new COVID cases, bringing the countywide total to 3,180 confirmed and probable cases. The county’s death toll remains at 39. To date, fifty-one-point-six-percent of Pennsylvania residents have received at least one dose of the COVID vaccine and forty-three-point-four-percent of residents have been fully vaccinated. Governor Tom Wolf, earlier this week, announced that COVID restrictions would be lifted on Memorial Day, but the mask mandate would stay in place until seventy-percent of the state’s population was fully vaccinated.
May 7, 2021 1:52 pm
(AP) – The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is calling for Washington to immediately stop paying out-of-work Americans an extra $300 a week in unemployment benefits, saying the boost in government aid is giving some recipients less incentive to look for work. áThe business group said Friday that the supplemental unemployment benefit, part of the Biden administration’s efforts to support the pandemic-ravaged economy, results in about one in four recipients taking home more in unemployment pay than they earned when they were employed. The statement follows the release of a report showing the U.S. economy added far fewer jobs than expected in April.
May 7, 2021 4:19 am
ST. CLOUD, Minn. (AP) – A standoff between Minnesota police and an alleged hostage-taker continued into the evening despite the release of four bank employees. Three women and a man were released from a Wells Fargo Bank branch in St. Cloud on Thursday. The first woman ran from the bank toward members of a SWAT team with her hands up. After being searched, she was escorted to safety. Two women and a man were later emerged and were led to safety. It wasn’t immediately clear if other bank employees were being held against their will. Police said negotiations were continuing and that there were no reports of injuries.
May 7, 2021 4:18 am
BOISE, Idaho (AP) – Authorities say a sixth-grade girl brought a gun to her Idaho middle school, shot two students and a custodian and then was disarmed by a teacher. Officials said at a news conference Thursday that the three victims are expected to survive their injuries. Jefferson County Sheriff Steve Anderson says the girl pulled a handgun from her backpack and fired multiple rounds inside and outside Rigby Middle School. A female teacher disarmed the girl and held her until law enforcement arrived and took her into custody. All three victims were shot in their extremities. Authorities say they’re investigating the motive for the attack and where the girl got the gun.
May 7, 2021 4:16 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – America’s employers added just 266,000 jobs last month, sharply lower than in March and a sign that some businesses are struggling to find enough workers as the economic recovery strengthens. With viral cases declining and states and localities easing restrictions, businesses have added jobs for four straight months. Still, the unemployment rate ticked up to 6.1% from 6% in March. Optimism about the economic recovery is growing. Many Americans are flush with cash after having received $1,400 federal relief checks, along with savings they have built up after cutting back on travel, entertainment and dining out over the past year.
