February 8, 2021 2:44 am
PITTSBURGH (WPXI) — More than 36,000 UPMC patients may have had some of their personal data “inappropriately accessed” after a data breach at a company providing billing-related legal services. A news release said officials with Charles J. Hilton & Associates noted suspicious activity affecting its employee email system in June last year. In late July, the investigation found a number of staff email accounts had been logged into by hackers from April 1 to June 25. Computer forensics investigators took over, confirming to UPMC in December that some patient information may have been accessed during the information security breach. The information accessed includes Social Security numbers, dates of birth, bank or financial account numbers, driver’s license or state identification card numbers, electronic signatures, medical record numbers, patient account numbers, patient control numbers, visit numbers, trip numbers, Medicare or Medicaid identification numbers, individual health insurance or subscriber numbers, group health insurance or subscriber numbers, medical benefits and entitlement information, disability access and accommodation data, and information related to occupational health, diagnoses, symptoms, treatment, prescription or medications, drug tests, billing or claims and/or disabilities.
February 7, 2021 7:52 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is telling California that it can’t bar indoor church services because of the coronavirus pandemic, but it can keep for now a ban on singing and chanting indoors. The high court issued orders late Friday in two cases where churches had sued over coronavirus-related restrictions in the state. The high court said that for now, California can’t ban indoor worship as it had in almost all of the states because virus cases are high. The justices said the state can cap indoor services at 25% of a building’s capacity. The justices also declined to stop California from enforcing a ban put in place last summer on indoor singing and chanting. California had put the restrictions in place because the virus is more easily transmitted indoors and singing releases tiny droplets that can carry the disease. The justices were acting on emergency requests to halt the restrictions from South Bay United Pentecostal Church in Chula Vista and Pasadena-based Harvest Rock Church and Harvest International Ministry, which has more than 160 churches across the state. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that “federal courts owe significant deference to politically accountable officials” when it comes to public health restrictions, but he said deference “has its limits.”
February 7, 2021 7:50 am
CAIRO (AP) — Egyptian authorities on Saturday freed an Al-Jazeera journalist after more than four years in detention, his family lawyer said. Mahmoud Hussein walked free from a police station Saturday afternoon, a few days after a court ordered his conditional release pending investigations into charges of publishing false information and belonging to a banned group, lawyer Gamal Eid said. The lawyer said Hussein will have to report to a nearby police station twice a week. The journalist’s daughter, el-Zahraa Hussein, confirmed the news in a Facebook post, saying her father had arrived home. Al-Jazeera also reported his release. Hussein, an Egyptian working for the Qatar-based satellite network, was detained at the Cairo airport in December 2016, when he arrived on a family vacation from Doha, the network said. Since the 2013 ouster of Muslim Brotherhood President Mohamed Morsi, Egyptian authorities and pro-government media have portrayed the Al-Jazeera network as Egypt’s national enemy for its sympathy toward Islamists, especially the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group.
February 7, 2021 7:49 am
RAWLINS, Wyo. (AP) — The Wyoming Republican Party voted overwhelmingly Saturday to censure U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney for voting to impeach President Donald Trump for his role in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. Only eight of the 74-member state GOP’s central committee stood to oppose censure in a vote that didn’t proceed to a formal count. The censure document accused Cheney of voting to impeach even though the U.S. House didn’t offer Trump “formal hearing or due process.” “We need to honor President Trump. All President Trump did was call for a peaceful assembly and protest for a fair and audited election,” said Darin Smith, a Cheyenne attorney who lost to Cheney in the Republican U.S. House primary in 2016. “The Republican Party needs to put her on notice.” Added Joey Correnti, GOP chairman in Carbon County where the censure vote was held: “Does the voice of the people matter and if it does, does it only matter at the ballot box?” Cheney has said repeatedly she voted her conscience in backing impeachment for the riot, which followed a rally where Trump encouraged supporters to get rid of lawmakers who “aren’t any good, the Liz Cheneys of the world.”
February 7, 2021 7:47 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is withdrawing the U.S. from agreements with three Central American countries that restricted the ability of people to seek asylum at the southwest border, part of a broad effort to undo the the immigration policies of President Donald Trump Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Saturday the administration had notified El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras that it had started the formal process of terminating agreements that had been part of Trump’s effort to restrict asylum. The agreements, which had been on hold since early in the coronavirus pandemic, required many people seeking asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border to go instead to one of the three Central American countries and pursue their claims there. “The Biden administration believes there are more suitable ways to work with our partner governments to manage migration across the region,” Blinken said in a statement announcing the immediate suspension of the agreements and their eventual termination. The secretary of state said the administration intends to work with the Central American nations to reduce some of the insecurity and poverty that cause people to flee in the first place while maintaining the security of the U.S. border.
February 7, 2021 7:46 am
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — An avalanche killed four skiers and injured four others Saturday in a popular recreation area, making it one of the deadliest avalanches in Utah history, authorities said. The Unified Police Department told local media that it was alerted to the avalanche about 11:40 a.m. after receiving a faint distress call from an avalanche beacon in Millcreek Canyon. The skier-triggered avalanche swept up eight people in their early twenties to late thirties who were in two groups touring the backcountry, Unified Police Sgt. Melody Cutler told the Salt Lake Tribune. The avalanche took place at an elevation of 9,800 feet (2,987 meters). It had a depth of 2.5 feet (0.7 meters) and a width of 250 feet (76 meters). All eight skiers had avalanche beacons, the department told the KSTU TV station. The survivors were able to dig themselves out of the snow and ice, but their medical conditions are unknown, the department said. The survivors were able to find and dig out the other four, but they had already died, the department added. Search and rescue teams from several agencies are working to recover the bodies. The victims’ names have not yet been released.
February 7, 2021 7:39 am
PITTSBURGH, Pa. (WPXI) — The home of the Pittsburgh Pirates was converted into a vaccination clinic where 2,500 people turned out to get their COVID-19 vaccine. Ann Heller is 89 and was overjoyed to get the Pfizer vaccine. “Everyone was so nice and kind and took care of you,” she said. “One after the other. It’s really amazing what they did.” The vaccination clinic was specifically for high-risk patients 75 years and older. Allegheny Health Network notified eligible patients to make an appointment to get the vaccine. “Our limitation has been the availability of the vaccine doses. As more vaccines are available, we plan on doing similar events in collaboration with the Pirates, AHN and Highmark,” said Chief Medical Officer Dr. Imran Qadeer. Saturday’s event was a trial run of sorts. The logistics were challenging, but there were no backups and everything ran smoothly. The partnership hopes to hold larger clinics in the future.
February 7, 2021 7:36 am
WASHINGTON COUNTY, Pa. (WPXI) — Interstate 70 eastbound at the Speers Bridge was closed to traffic after a multiple-vehicle crash Saturday morning. Washington County 911 said emergency personnel responded to the scene at 6:44 a.m. Rostraver Central Fire Department said the incident included entrapment with one person confined and freed using the Jaws of Life. Three patients were transported by EMS, two by medical helicopters from LifeFlight and STAT MedEvac, the department said. Charleroi Fire Department and Belle Vernon Vol Fire Company assisted on scene with North Belle Vernon FD Station 80 at the landing zone. I-70 eastbound was closed to all traffic while police investigate, but the scene was cleared as of 10 a.m. (Photo: WPXI)
February 7, 2021 4:45 am
Roman Catholic parishioners will be receiving ashes on Ash Wednesday differently this year. The pandemic has changed the way parishioners will receive ashes. Instead of the traditional sign of the cross on the forehead, priests will sprinkle ashes on the tops of the head. According to Diocesan Associate General Secretary and Vicar for Canonical Services, Fr. Tom Kunz, this practice will help priests and deacons avoid having direct contact with large amounts of people. “This method of receiving ashes is common in other countries.” The Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh also announced the schedule of Masses to be celebrated by Bishop David Zubik on Ash Wednesday. Zubik will be at the Divine Mercy Parish, St. Mary of Mercy Church in downtown Pittsburgh at noon. At 6:00 PM he will celebrate Mass at St. Paul Cathedral in Oakland. Masses can be viewed via live stream through the diocesan website.
February 6, 2021 10:42 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The executions at the end of Donald Trump’s presidency, completed in short windows over a few weeks, likely acted as a superspreader event. That’s according to records reviewed by The Associated Press. It was something health experts had warned could happen when the Justice Department insisted on resuming executions during a pandemic. By the end of 2020, 70% of death row inmates were sick with COVID-19. Guards were ill. Traveling prisons staff on the execution team had the virus. So did media witnesses, who may have unknowingly infected others when they returned home because they were never told about the spreading cases.
