December 15, 2020 3:00 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – The Pennsylvania Department of Health says the state will receive an initial shipment of more than 110,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. The health department said Monday that nearly 90 hospitals across the state will receive an initial 97,500 doses directly from Pfizer. The first shots will be given to health workers, first responders and residents and staff in nursing homes and other congregate settings. UPMC, which was among the first to get a shipment, said it began administering the shots on Monday
December 15, 2020 2:56 am
Peters Township Council adopted its 2021 budget on Monday evening. As anticipated, no tax increase was needed to approve the $33,794,462 spending plan. The budget is based on $20,000,000 in revenues and the balance will be paid in bond issues that the township has floated and now will be spent. The biggest ticket items in the budget are $12,000,000 being allocated to parks and recreation for the further development of Rolling Hills Park and the initial development of an aquatic center. Road maintenance comes in at $1.7 million for paving and storm drain upkeep. Money is set aside for the design of a new fire station to be built in Venetia. The actual construction of the new facility is planned for 2022. Township Manager Paul Lauer was pleased that no tax hike is necessary in 2021, but he did caution that the township took on an additional $300,000 in spending in 2020. He said that he anticipates some sort of tax hike in 2022.
December 14, 2020 3:39 pm
CARROLL TOWNSHIP, Pa) On Dec. 14, Monongahela Valley Hospital was among the first health systems in Western Pennsylvania to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. “In order to receive the vaccine in the first shipment, we met all of the qualifications mandated by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,” explained Margaret Brown, PharmD., director of Pharmacy at Monongahela Valley Hospital. “We have the ability to maintain the vaccine at the temperatures required and the capabilities to vaccinate the number of people stipulated within the designated time frame.” “We are thrilled that Monongahela Valley Hospital is at the forefront of helping to put a stop to the spread of this virus,” said Louis J. Panza Jr., the Hospital’s president and CEO. “Since the pandemic began, we have been vigilant to provide our staff with the proper personal protective equipment and to maintain a clean and safe environment. Having the ability to immunize our staff and physicians is another key action in keeping our community safe.” MVH received the Pfizer vaccine which is administered in two doses approximately 21 days apart. The Pfizer vaccine is 50% effective after the first dose and 95% effective after the second dose. (Photo courtesy of MVH. Douglas Prentice, Monongahela Valley Hospital’s storeroom manager, (L) takes delivery of one of Western Pennsylvania’s first shipments of COVID-19 vaccine from UPS personnel Bryan Johnson (C) and Stephen Burdelski (R).
December 14, 2020 8:41 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Google users in the U.S., Europe, India and other parts of the world were briefly unable to access their Gmail accounts, watch YouTube videos or get to their online documents during an outage Monday. Thousands of complaints popped up around 7 a.m. Eastern along the East Coast of the U.S. The company said it’s aware of the problem on its dashboard page. That was followed by another message that said service has been restored for some users. and a a resolution for all users was expected in the near future. There were similar updates for Google’s many other services, such as Docs, Hangouts and Chat. The company did not reply immediately to a request for comment.
December 14, 2020 4:25 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Presidential electors are meeting across the United States on Monday to formally choose Joe Biden as the nation’s next president. Monday is the day set by law for the meeting of the Electoral College. In reality, electors meet in all 50 states and the District of Columbia to cast their ballots. The results will be sent to Washington, and tallied in a Jan. 6 joint session of Congress over which Vice President Mike Pence will preside. The electors’ votes have drawn more attention than usual this year because President Donald Trump has refused to concede the election and continued to make baseless allegations of fraud.
December 14, 2020 4:23 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Hackers broke into the networks of the Treasury and Commerce departments as part of a global cyber-espionage campaign revealed just days after a leading cybersecurity firm said it had been breached in an attack that industry experts said bore the hallmarks of Russian tradecraft. The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security’s cybersecurity arm were investigating what experts and former officials said appeared to be a large-scale penetration of U.S. government agencies – apparently the same monthslong cyberespionage campaign that also afflicted the prominent cybersecurity firm FireEye.
December 14, 2020 4:22 am
TORONTO (AP) – The first of many freezer-packed COVID-19 vaccine vials have arrived in Canada. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted a picture of them being taken off a plane. Canada’s health regulator approved the vaccine made by U.S. rugmaker Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech last Wednesday. The vaccines are bound for 14 distribution sites across the country. Quebec is expected to be the first province to administer the vaccine, saying it’s prepared to start inoculating residents of two long-term care homes as early as Monday.
December 14, 2020 4:21 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump says he’s reversing an administration directive to vaccinate top government officials against COVID-19 while public distribution of the shot is limited to front-line health workers and people in nursing homes and long-term care facilities. Trump made the announcement in a tweet Sunday night, hours after his administration confirmed that senior U.S. officials, including some White House aides who work in close proximity to Trump and Vice President Mike Pence, would be offered coronavirus vaccines as soon as this week under federal continuity of government plans. It was not immediately clear what effect Trump’s tweet would have on the government’s efforts to protect top leadership.
December 14, 2020 4:20 am
The largest vaccination campaign in U.S. history is underway with health workers getting the first shots. “Relieved” is the reaction of one of the first health workers to get the shot Monday. Hospitals are rolling out the first small shipments, as boxes of precious frozen vials arrive at locations around the country. The injections begin what will be the largest vaccination campaign in U.S. history to try to beat back the coronavirus – a day of hope amid grief as the nation’s death roll nears a staggering 300,000. How well initial vaccinations go will help reassure a wary public when it’s their turn sometime next year.
December 14, 2020 4:17 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Two years ago, the U.S. attorney in Philadelphia joined the long line of ambitious prosecutors investigating the Roman Catholic church’s handling of priest-abuse complaints. The Justice Department had never brought a conspiracy case against the church. U.S. Attorney William McSwain sent subpoenas to dioceses across Pennsylvania asking them to turn over their files and submit to grand jury testimony if asked. The dioceses pledged to comply. But as McSwain’s tenure likely nears its end with President-elect Joe Biden set to office next month, there’s no sign that any sweeping church indictment is afoot. One defrocked priest has been charged with lying to the FBI.
