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.
May 7, 2021 4:15 am
NEW DELHI (AP) – With coronavirus cases surging to record levels, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is facing growing pressure to impose a harsh nationwide lockdown amid a debate whether restrictions imposed by individual states are enough. Many medical experts, opposition leaders and some of the Supreme Court judges have suggested the lockdown seems to be the only option with the virus raging in cities and towns. Hospitals are forced to turn patients away while relatives scramble to find oxygen. Crematoriums and burial grounds are struggling to handle the dead. On Friday, India recorded a new record of 414,188 confirmed cases in the past 24 hours, Its tally has risen to more than 21.4 million since the pandemic began with faint hopes of the curve going down quickly.
May 7, 2021 4:12 am
A jackpot-winning Pennsylvania Lottery Cash 5 ticket sold for the Thursday drawing matched all five balls drawn. The winning numbers were 1, 2, 33, 41 and 43. The jackpot was for $275,000 and the Sunoco at 800 Main St. in Bentleyville will earn a $500 bonus for selling the winning ticket. Winners can be identified only after prizes are claimed and tickets validated and winners have one year to claim the prize.
May 7, 2021 3:52 am
(WPXI) – As COVID-19 vaccines become more readily available, Giant Eagle is no longer requiring an appointment to get one. The announcement came during a news conference Friday with all three Pittsburgh professional sports teams as they urged people to continue to get vaccinated. Starting Monday, anyone 16 and older can walk into a Pittsburgh-area Giant Eagle to get a COVID-19 vaccine, without an appointment. Giant Eagle hosted a few mass vaccination clinics at Heinz Field before eligibility opened up to everyone in April.
May 7, 2021 3:26 am
The Pennsylvania Trolley Museum broke ground on its latest expansion project on Thursday afternoon. As part of the museum’s “On Track for the Future” campaign for expansion, museum officials, volunteers and local government officials put shovels in the ground to celebrate the 21,000 square foot Welcome and Education Center. Museum Executive Director and CEO Scott Becker stated that the expansion will increase visitor capacity from its current 30,000 people per year to over 50,000 people. The center will have interactive and expanded educational aspects to attract local students as well as tourists. Ray Betler, Campaign Chair and retired Wabtec CEO thanked all of the corporations, foundations and individuals for their support, raising over $14 million for the project. The projected opening for the Welcome and Education Center is in the second half of 2022.
May 6, 2021 3:39 pm
(WPXI) – Two children were found handcuffed inside a man’s car outside Francis McClure Elementary School in White Oak after another child refused to get into the vehicle. Investigators were called Wednesday at about 1:30 p.m. to the school on Longvue Drive. An 11-year-old boy was refusing to get in the car after being dismissed from school. School officials looking inside the father’s vehicle found a seven and ten-year-old child handcuffed in the back seat. The eleven and ten-year-old are Hayes’ children. The seven-year-old is not related to him or Bell but is a sibling of one of the other children. A man and woman, Richard Hayes, 37, of Mt. Oliver, and his girlfriend, Natosha Bell, 26, of Rankin, were both in the vehicle. Hayes was found in possession of a loaded handgun. Police interviewed the three children, who said they were physically abused by Hayes and Bell. Detectives found “corroborating evidence” at Hayes’ home in Mt. Oliver. Both Hayes and Bell were arrested and charged with multiple felonies, including aggravated assault, false imprisonment and endangering the welfare of children. They were taken to the Allegheny County Jail.
