May 10, 2021 4:12 am
For those interested in applying for a mail-in ballot for the May 18 primary, you must do so by 5 p.m. on May 11. This is one week before the election. Acting Secretary of State Veronica W. Degraffenreid urged voters who are voting by mail to submit their application as soon as possible, to allow sufficient time for their ballot to be mailed to them and then returned to the county by 8 p.m. May 18, Election Day. “Pennsylvanians still have time to apply online for a mail ballot or to apply in person at their county election office,” Secretary Degraffenreid said. “They can also vote early in person by applying for a mail ballot at their county election office, filling it out and returning it all in the same visit until 5 p.m. May 11.” So far, more than 706,900 Pennsylvania voters have applied for a mail-in ballot and more than 47,000 voters have applied for an absentee ballot. For more information on voting in Pennsylvania call the Department of State’s toll-free hotline at 1-877-VOTESPA (1-877-868-3772) or visit votesPA.com.
May 9, 2021 8:06 am
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — States asked the federal government this week to withhold staggering amounts of COVID-19 vaccine amid plummeting demand for the shots, contributing to a growing U.S. stockpile of doses. From South Carolina to Washington, states are requesting the Biden administration send them only a fraction of what’s been allocated to them. The turned-down vaccines amount to hundreds of thousands of doses this week alone, providing a stark illustration of the problem of vaccine hesitancy in the U.S. More than 150 million Americans — about 57% of the adult population — have received at least one dose of vaccine, but government leaders from the Biden administration down to the city and county level are doing everything they can to persuade the rest of the country to get inoculated. U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said Friday that the federal government has dedicated $250 million for community organizations to promote vaccinations, make appointments and provide transportation.
May 9, 2021 8:04 am
BEIJING (AP) — China’s space agency said a core segment of its biggest rocket reentered Earth’s atmosphere above the Maldives in the Indian Ocean and that most of it burned up early Sunday. Harvard astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell, who tracked the tumbling rocket part, said on Twitter, “An ocean reentry was always statistically the most likely. It appears China won its gamble… But it was still reckless.” People in Jordan, Oman and Saudi Arabia reported sightings of the Chinese rocket debris on social media, with scores of users posting footage of the debris piercing the early dawn skies over the Middle East. Usually, discarded rocket stages reenter the atmosphere soon after liftoff, normally over water, and don’t go into orbit. China’s official Xinhua News Agency later clarified that reentry occurred Sunday at 10:24 a.m. Beijing time. “The vast majority of items were burned beyond recognition during the reentry process,” the report said.
May 9, 2021 8:03 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal government is working with the Georgia-based company that shut down a major pipeline transporting fuel across the East Coast after a ransomware attack, the White House says. The government is planning for various scenarios and working with state and local authorities on measures to mitigate any potential supply issues, officials said Saturday. The attack is unlikely to affect gasoline supply and prices unless it leads to a prolonged shutdown, experts said. Colonial Pipeline did not say what was demanded or who made the demand. Ransomware attacks are typically carried out by criminal hackers who scramble data, paralyzing victim networks, and demand a large payment to decrypt it. Colonial Pipeline did not say what was demanded or who made the demand. Ransomware attacks are typically carried out by criminal hackers who scramble data, paralyzing victim networks, and demand a large payment to decrypt it.
May 9, 2021 8:00 am
BENGALURU, India (AP) — Since India opened vaccinations to all adults this month, hoping to tame a disastrous coronavirus surge sweeping across the country, the pace of administering the shots has dropped with states saying they only have limited stock to give out. Cases meanwhile are still rising at record pace in the world’s second-most populous nation. Alongside a slowdown in vaccinations, states have gone to court over oxygen shortages as hospitals struggle to treat a running line of COVID-19 patients. On Sunday, India reported 403,738 confirmed cases, including 4,092 deaths. Overall, India has over 22 million confirmed infections and 240,000 deaths. Experts say both figures are undercounts. India’s Supreme Court said Saturday it would set up a national task force consisting of top experts and doctors to conduct an “oxygen audit” to determine whether supplies from the federal government were reaching states.
May 9, 2021 7:54 am
PITTSBURGH — Across the country, a controversial topic is being discussed in many communities, no-knock warrants. In less than two weeks, Pittsburgh voters will choose if they should be banned within city limits. Some believe from the early morning hours to late at night, police officers should not have to break down doors unannounced. In Pennsylvania, according to the Attorney General’s office they do not execute no-knock warrants. The law governing execution of search warrants provides only a limited exception for exigent circumstances including where occupants remain silent after repeated knocking and announcing, where police are virtually certain that occupants of premises already know their purpose, where police have reason to believe that an announcement prior to entry would imperil their safety and where police have reason to believe that evidence is about to be destroyed.
May 9, 2021 4:57 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania is doing away with its own map of vaccine providers and says people looking for a COVID-19 shot should go to the federal government’s provider map. The state Health Department said Friday it will use vaccines.gov as its mapping source effective immediately. That map allows people to search for COVID-19 vaccine by brand name and see which providers have vaccine in stock. Information from the site also shows up in Apple Maps and Google Maps. The map was developed by Boston Children’s Hospital, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
May 9, 2021 4:37 am
PITTSBURGH-(WPXI) — A Pittsburgh-area doctor is facing federal charges, accused of unlawfully distributing opioids and performing unnecessary injections for profit. According to the indictment, Dr. John Keun Sang Lee, 78, of Peters Township, spent years prescribing oxycodone, fentanyl and other painkillers “not for a legitimate medical purpose.” He is also accused of performing “repetitive and medically unnecessary injections on patients, in many cases for several years and, at times, directly against the patient’s express wishes, in order to increase revenue.” The federal documents further allege he defrauded Medicare and Medicaid. Dr. Lee is the owner of Jefferson Pain and Rehabilitation Center, which has a main office on Clairton Boulevard in Whitehall. A biography on his website states he is also a staff member at Jefferson Hospital and UPMC McKeesport. A UPMC spokesperson stated that Dr. Lee is not employed by UPMC and does not work at any of its sites. Dr. Lee has entered a “not guilty” plea and was released on a $20,000 unsecured bond. Despite the objection from federal prosecutors, a judge is reportedly allowing Dr. Lee to continue practicing and prescribing until May 28, providing time for his patients to transition to another practice, officials said. During that time, Dr. Lee is required to report to the U.S. Attorney’s Office on a weekly basis, before surrendering his DEA license on May 28.
May 9, 2021 3:28 am
Pennsylvania officials are encouraging hundreds of thousands of college students to get their shots before they go home for summer. Gov. Tom Wolf appeared in State College on Wednesday with the president and head football coach at Penn State University to pitch younger people on the benefits of getting inoculated against the coronavirus. Penn State President Eric Barron calls it “the most important effort of our lifetime.” He says he calls on “all Penn Staters to lead now.” Statewide, vaccine demand is starting to wane. The Health Department says that vaccine supply exceeded demand for the first time last week.
May 8, 2021 9:28 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Trump Justice Department secretly seized the phone records of three Washington Post reporters who covered the federal investigation into ties between Russia and Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. That’s according to a report from the newspaper on Friday. The disclosure sets up a new clash between the federal government and news organizations and advocates for press freedom. The secret subpoena was presumably aimed at identifying the reporters’ sources in national security stories published in the early months of President Trump’s administration, as federal investigators scrutinized whether his 2016 campaign had coordinated with the Kremlin to sway the election.
