November 21, 2020 4:21 am
WAUWATOSA, Wis. (AP) – Police searched Friday evening for the suspect in a shooting at a suburban Milwaukee mall that left seven adults and a teenager injured. Wauwatosa Police Chief Barry Weber gave no motive for the attack at Mayfair Mall in a brief update about three hours after the 2:50 p.m. attack. He said the extent of the eight victims’ injuries was unknown, but all were alive. He said the shooter was “no longer at the scene.” when authorities arrived. Based on statements from witnesses, Weber said police were seeking a white man in his 20s or 30s and were working to identify him.
November 21, 2020 4:09 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Motorists who register an electric vehicle in Pennsylvania would have to pay an annual fee, under lame-duck session legislation approved by the state’s Republican-controlled House of Representatives. The bill now goes to the Senate for approval. Opponents say it’s a bad idea to impose costs on people who own electric vehicles during the fight against climate change. The fee varies depending on the type of vehicle but would be $75 for a hybrid gas-electric vehicle. Backers of the bill say the fee is only fair since people who fuel their cars with gasoline are paying taxes that build and repair roads. The money would go toward the state’s highway maintenance fund.
November 21, 2020 2:50 am
Pfizer is set to ask U.S. regulators to allow emergency use of its COVID-19 vaccine, starting a process that could bring first shots as early as next month. Friday’s step comes days after Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech announced its vaccine appears 95% protective in a large but not yet finished study. Over the next few weeks, the Food and Drug Administration and its scientific advisers will have to decide if there’s really enough evidence to allow emergency vaccinations. If so, first supplies will be scarce and rationed. Experts warn it likely will be spring before there’s enough for everyone.
November 21, 2020 2:47 am
City of Washington Mayor Scott Putnam announced Friday that due to the rapid spread of the coronavirus, all city facilities will be closed to the public until further notice, beginning on Monday, November 23rd. “We’re seeing cases spread faster now than we did in the spring so the responsible thing to do to protect the public, our employees and mitigate the spread of the virus is to close our buildings for the time being” the Mayor said. Putnam stressed however that there will be no interruption to services to the public. “Our personnel will continue to report for work and handle all city business and we encourage all city residents and anyone who has to conduct business with city government to use our phone system and we will accommodate everyone as best we can,” Putnam stated. For general inquiries, dye tests and building permits, citizens are asked to call 724-223-4200 and follow the prompts. For police inquiries, accident reports, vehicle release forms, and incident verification reports citizens are asked to call 724-223-4226. Closures include city hall, police headquarters, and the park office. The city fire department has been closed to the general public since March and remains closed.
November 21, 2020 2:39 am
One person was taken into custody Friday morning, after a high-speed chase on Interstate 79 ended in a two vehicle crash. State Police say the chase began in Robinson Township in Allegheny County after the car the driver was in was reported stolen. The accident shut down the north and southbound lanes of the interstate near the Houston Exit, causing major traffic back-ups. Parts of the interstate were reopened shortly before noon. The vehicle police were chasing crashed into another car around ten-thirty. The driver of that vehicle was taken to an area hospital while the driver of the stolen car was taken into custody. (Photo: WPXI)
November 21, 2020 2:38 am
Officials in the Canon-McMillan School District announced on Friday that the district will move to remote learning for all students beginning Tuesday, December 1, 2020, through and including January 4, 2021. They say the amendment to the Return to School Health & Safety Plan is necessitated by the impacts on staffing caused by the increase in community transmission, new Commonwealth’s requirements on self-quarantining/testing of persons traveling across state lines, and other COVID-related issues. They say they will monitor staffing issues and other conditions and may further amend the district’s Return to School Health & Safety Plan as circumstances dictate.
November 21, 2020 2:34 am
NEW YORK (AP) – The nation’s top public health agency is pleading with Americans not to travel for Thanksgiving, or to spend the holiday with people with whom they are not currently living. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the recommendations Thursday, one week before the traditional family gathering celebration – and at a time when diagnosed coronavirus infections, hospitalizations, and deaths are skyrocketing across the country. If families do decide to include returning college students, military service members, or others in a gathering, the CDC is recommending that hosting families take added precautions. Gatherings should be outdoors, if possible, with people keeping 6 feet apart, wearing masks, and having just one person serve the food.
November 21, 2020 1:55 am
Officials in the Trinity School District announced on Friday that all students (K-12) will temporarily move to online learning from December 1st through December 23rd because of limited staffing availability and recent recommendations from the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Officials say the limited staffing situation has come about because of mandatory quarantining. They say that on Thursday, 48 staff members were unable to work and the district was only able to get substitutes for 23 of the vacant positions. Officials say they are also not able to maintain the number of buses and vans needed on a daily basis because the number of available drivers is decreasing daily. In addition, officials say the state’s Department of Education and the Department of Health have both recommended that all students move to full remote instruction based on the surge of coronavirus cases in Washington County. District officials say that the contract tracing that has been done among students has shown that all infections are being traced back to a party, gathering or event outside of the school district.
November 21, 2020 1:16 am
WASHINGTON (WPXI) – Pittsburgh FBI agents are searching for a man wanted in connection with a drug trafficking organization primarily operating in Washington, Allegheny and Fayette counties. Patrick Ellis, 47, of Washington, Pa., is being charged along with 21 others who have been indicted by a federal grand jury for trafficking significant quantities of cocaine, heroin and fentanyl. Seventeen of the defendants were arrested yesterday as part of “FBI Operation Skyfall,” an investigation that spanned seven months and involved federal wiretaps of ten phones. Four other defendants were already in custody and Ellis is the only one at-large. Those charged brought the drugs from New Jersey to Western Pennsylvania from April through October of this year, according to the FBI.
November 20, 2020 4:15 am
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) – President-elect Joe Biden is criticizing President Donald Trump’s unprecedented attempt to block the peaceful transition of power at the White House, saying it has hindered the flow of information about programs to fast-track a coronavirus vaccine. Biden told the National Governors Association’s leadership group on Thursday that his incoming team “hasn’t been able to get everything we need” from the Trump administration. Biden says Trump is likely to go down as the nation’s most irresponsible president – not just for his four years in office but also for his refusal to concede the election and cooperate in the transition.
