June 9, 2021 4:03 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – A bill to ban abortions prompted by a prenatal Down syndrome diagnosis is headed to the Pennsylvania Senate after passage in the House. State representatives voted 120 to 83 on Tuesday for the bill, which provides criminal penalties for doctors who violate it. The bill passed with Republican support. Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf has vowed to veto it if it makes it to his desk. If it becomes law, the proposal will require a doctor who performs an abortion to provide a written statement that it was not motivated in any way by a prenatal diagnosis or test indicating Down syndrome.
June 9, 2021 4:02 am
NEW YORK (AP) – A Pennsylvania man has been charged with creating fake online identities for ex-President Donald Trump’s brother and son to dupe hundreds of people nationwide into donating to his phony political organization. Joshua Hall was arrested Tuesday. The 22-year-old Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, resident was released on $25,000 bail after appearing in Harrisburg federal court. Charges of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft were lodged against him after prosecutors said he spent contributions on personal expenses. A message seeking comment was sent to his lawyer. Prosecutors say he impersonated Trump’s brother Robert. After Robert Trump died in August, he moved to Barron Trump.
June 9, 2021 4:01 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – A vote by the Pennsylvania House of Representatives makes the governor’s pandemic disaster emergency closer to ending. The Republican-controlled House voted on party lines Tuesday to put a halt to the disaster declaration. It goes to the Senate, where passage would be the last word. Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf has no role in the resolution. State regulations that have been suspended or waived will be put back into effect, although that process in some cases may take months. The resolution may affect Pennsylvanians’ ability to get additional food subsidies.
June 9, 2021 3:21 am
The Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry Acting Secretary Jennifer Berrier announced that on Tuesday the new unemployment benefits system is now on line and accepting claims. The new system replaces a 40 year old outdated mainframe that made filing for benefits complicated and processing claims cumbersome. The new system will make filing easier and faster. Staff will need less time to process claims. A soft launch took place at 3 a.m. with more than 41,000 individuals filing claims by 10:40 a.m. Feedback from individuals indicated that direct deposit client accounts show payment type as debit card. The issue is a display issue and will not affect payment type. A small percentage of users experienced issues logging in with their Keystone ID. A fix for that is underway. Filers may make claims at benefits.uc.pa.gov.
June 8, 2021 5:55 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) – Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin says he wasn’t swayed by civil rights leaders who implored him to back his party’s sweeping voting rights bill. The West Virginia moderate says that Tuesday’s meeting was “excellent” but that nobody “changed positions.” A participant said Manchin was “fairly well dug in.” Manchin’s opposition has effectively doomed a key Democratic priority in the Senate. Senate Democrats have said they are open to changes to try to address Manchin’s concerns. But it’s unclear whether that will be enough. Republicans are staunchly opposed to the bill and vow to block it in the Senate.
June 8, 2021 5:52 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden has ended talks with a group of Republican senators on a big infrastructure package. The president is walking away from talks with lead Republican negotiator Sen. Shelley Moore Capito after the two spoke Tuesday, according to an administration official granted anonymity to discuss the private thinking. Biden has started reaching out to senators from both parties as he strives to build bipartisan compromise. Republicans offered a $928 billion proposal, which included about $330 billion in new spending. Biden was seeking a $1.7 trillion investment in roads, bridges and other infrastructure.
June 8, 2021 6:48 am
The Washington County Controller says they found ‘areas of deficiencies and/or non-compliance that we feel must be addressed’ in the Register of Wills Office. It follows the annual audit of the department. Controller Michael Namie says he believes a ‘lack of institutional knowledge’ within the office contributed to the problems especially during a time when the office was undergoing staff changes. James Roman was elected Register of Wills in November of 2019. Among the Controller’s concerns; bank account reconciliations were not always performed and the staff member who prepared deposits and took them to the bank was also responsible for processing transactions leading to a lack of oversight. It also found ‘untimely’ payments to the state and county in regards to inheritance tax and monthly Register of Wills and Orphans Court revenue payments to the Commonwealth.
June 8, 2021 4:14 am
UNDATED (AP) – Federal regulators have approved the first new drug for Alzheimer’s disease in nearly 20 years, leaving patients waiting to see how insurers will handle the pricey new treatment. Health care experts expect broad coverage of the drug, which was approved Monday. But but what that means for patients will vary widely depending on their health insurance plan. In some cases, that could mean coming up with several thousand dollars to pay for what the insurer doesn’t cover. Insurers also are expected to require pre-approval of both the drug and brain scans needed to monitor patients before they agree to coverage.
June 8, 2021 4:12 am
SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) – A Southern California couple could face a murder charge over a road rage shooting that killed a 6-year-old boy last month on a freeway. Marcus Eriz and Wynne Lee are facing arraignment Tuesday, two days after they were arrested in Costa Mesa, southeast of Los Angeles. Orange County prosecutors are considering murder or other charges over the May 21 shooting of Aiden Leos. The boy was killed as his mother drove him to kindergarten. About $500,000 in reward money was offered for information leading to arrests. Authorities say they believe they have the car and gun used in the killing.
June 8, 2021 4:12 am
TORONTO (AP) – Police in London, Ontario, say a driver plowed a pickup truck into a family of five, killing four of them and seriously injuring the other in a deliberate attack that targeted the victims because they were Muslims. Authorities say a young man was arrested in the parking lot of a nearby mall after the incident Sunday night. Police say the dead were a 74-year-old woman, a 46-year-old man, a 44-year-old woman and a 15-year-old girl. A 9-year-old boy was reported in serious condition. Twenty-year-old Nathaniel Veltman is in custody facing four counts of first-degree murder. The city’s mayor says the incident “was an act of mass murder perpetuated against Muslims.”
