April 12, 2021 4:10 am
FERNDALE, Pa. (AP) – Authorities say four teenage girls ranging in age from 12 to 14 are accused of setting a fire that destroyed an unoccupied western Pennsylvania house earlier this month, sending a police officer and a firefighter to the hospital. Police in the suburban Johnstown borough of Ferndale say a 12-year-old and three 14-year-olds face multiple charges of felony arson as well as causing catastrophe, trespassing and endangering another person. Chief John Blake says they told police that they set the fire because “they were bored.” The girls were released to their parents’ custody and their case will be heard in juvenile court.
April 12, 2021 4:07 am
SOMERSET Co. — (WPXI)- Two spectators were injured after a skier lost control and went into a crowd during Seven Springs annual end of the season event Saturday. The two spectators were taken to the hospital. Their conditions are unknown. “At our annual end of season pond skim event, our last skier of the day lost control and skied off the course, broke through a fence and hit 2 spectators. Our ski patrol swiftly attended to them. The spectators were taken to local hospitals,” resort officials said in a statement. “Our entire Seven Springs family extends our thoughts, prayers and support to all those involved.”
April 11, 2021 7:56 am
LONDON (AP) — Britain’s Prince Charles offered a heartfelt tribute to his “dear Papa” on Saturday as Buckingham Palace offered the broad outlines of a royal funeral that will be attended by the family and broadcast to the world. As Queen Elizabeth II and other relatives mourned, Charles offered a personal video message saying the royal family was “deeply grateful” for the outpouring of support they’ve received following the death Friday of his 99-year-old father, Prince Philip. The heir to the throne said he was touched by the number of people around the world who have shared his family’s loss and sorrow. Philip’s royal ceremonial funeral will take place April 17 at Windsor Castle — a slimmed-down service amid the COVID-19 pandemic that will be entirely closed to the public. The palace insisted the royals would strictly adhere to national virus guidelines, measures that in theory would entail mask wearing in an enclosed space and social distancing. The palace declined to comment on specifics.
April 11, 2021 7:54 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Prosecutors hope to preserve a July trial date for Ghislaine Maxwell by defending a late-hour expansion of charges against her, saying they developed when a woman spoke after Maxwell’s arrest about her abuse at the hands of Jeffrey Epstein in the early 2000s. The rewritten indictment lodged against the 59-year-old British socialite on March 29 added sex trafficking charges to allegations that Maxwell recruited three teenage girls from 1994 to 1997 for then-boyfriend Jeffrey Epstein to sexually abuse. New charges stretched the conspiracy to 2004. Two days after the superseding indictment was returned in Manhattan federal court, defense attorney Bobbi Sternheim called it “shocking, unfair, and an abuse of power,” saying the charges were based on evidence prosecutors had in their possession for years.
April 11, 2021 7:51 am
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A sixth person has died following a shooting earlier this week at the hands of a former NFL player who also killed four members of a South Carolina family, local officials said Saturday. Robert Shook, 38, an air conditioning technician from Cherryville, North Carolina, has died from injuries sustained in the Wednesday shooting while he was working at the home, according to York County Coroner Sabrina Gast. Authorities say Phillip Adams killed Rock Hill physician Robert Lesslie; his wife, Barbara; two of their grandchildren, 9-year-old Adah Lesslie and 5-year-old Noah Lesslie; and another air conditioning technician, James Lewis, who had been working with Shook at the Lesslie home. Adams later shot himself to death. His brain is now being examined for possible degenerative disease that has been shown to cause violent mood swings and other cognitive disorders in some athletes and members of the military. Adams, 32, played in 78 NFL games over six seasons for six teams. He joined the 49ers in 2010 as a seventh-round draft pick out of South Carolina State, and though he rarely started, he went on to play for New England, Seattle, Oakland and the New York Jets before finishing his career with the Atlanta Falcons in 2015.
April 11, 2021 7:49 am
BEIJING (AP) — In a rare admission of the weakness of Chinese coronavirus vaccines, the country’s top disease control official says their effectiveness is low and the government is considering mixing them to get a boost. Chinese vaccines “don’t have very high protection rates,” said the director of the China Centers for Disease Control, Gao Fu, at a conference Saturday in the southwestern city of Chengdu. Beijing has distributed hundreds of millions of doses abroad while trying to promote doubt about the effectiveness of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine made using the previously experimental messenger RNA, or mRNA, process.
April 11, 2021 7:44 am
HARRISBURG (WPXI)-The Pennsylvania Department of Health announced Saturday that 36% of the population has received a first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. The state ranks 20th for first-dose vaccinations and 6th among all 50 states for total doses administered. More than 6.2 million vaccinations have been given to date, with 2,299,256 people being fully vaccinated.
April 11, 2021 7:40 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. — The Pennsylvania Game Commission is now allowing hunters and trappers to carry electronic licenses in the field as an alternative to a physical paper license. Harvest tags will still be issued in physical form and hunters will be required to carry them. For other hunting and trapping opportunities, eLicenses will now be permitted. Hunters and trappers will still be mailed all paper license panels. The Game Commission also announced Saturday that hunters will be allowed to harvest antlered and antlerless deer throughout the duration of gun season across the entire state. Last year, the commission approved it for Wildlife Management Units where Chronic Wasting Disease had been detected in free-ranging deer. Officials said this move gives hunters more opportunities to harvest antlerless deer and removes confusion in figuring out which areas are open to hunting. Additionally, there is no longer a three-license limit for antlerless licenses statewide.
April 11, 2021 4:23 am
WEST MIFFLIN, Pa. (WPXI) — There are a number of changes you need to know if you’re planning to visit Kennywood this summer. Park officials said some attractions are closed for the 2021 season until further notice due to the pandemic: Skycoaster, Noah’s Ark, 4D Theater, Thomas Town Big Adventures Play Zone, Steelers Experience Building. Park guests and employees will be required to wear face coverings according to the CDC’s guidelines. Everyone wishing to enter the park will be required to have a temperature screening before entering. Anyone with a temperature of 100.4 degrees or higher or with symptoms of COVID-19 will be denied entry. Automatic hand sanitizer dispensers have been added at the park entrance and at various locations throughout. Markers will be placed on the ground to achieve six feet of social distance between people. The markers will be on the ground for all lines and waiting areas. Plexiglass barriers will be installed in areas where social distancing cannot be achieved. Guests on water rides must not wear masks due to the possibility of getting splashed. Additionally, park officials said state regulations still call for attendance to be capped at 50%. There will be efforts made to update guests via the park’s website and social media platforms on dates with large numbers of people or when capacity is expected to be limited. Guaranteed entrance will be given to guests with date-specific tickets and those visiting as part of a school or group outing. “While we cannot guarantee admittance in the event we have reached capacity, we will constantly monitor in-park attendance and admit new guests as others leave the park,” officials said on Kennywood’s website. There will no longer be self-serve condiments and topping stations. Pre-portioned condiments and toppings will be handed out to guests upon request with their food order. Self-serve soda fountain stations will also not be used. Kennywood is scheduled to open on May 8.
April 11, 2021 2:35 am
Allegheny County saw nearly 600 new COVID-19 cases Friday and 10 additional deaths as vaccination efforts ramp up across the area. In the last 24 hours, the county reported 593 new coronavirus cases, which includes 433 confirmed cases and 160 probable ones. The new cases involve people age seven months to 96 years old. The increases come as several COVID-19 vaccination clinics are being held Friday. Officials with Allegheny Health Network said there are thousands of vaccines still available for two clinics, and no appointment is needed for the one on Friday. In addition to everyone eligible in phases 1A and 1B, the state has granted AHN permission to open up eligibility to everyone in Phase 1C. COVID cases are up in Washington and Greene counties as well. On Friday, there were 94 new COVID cases reported in Washington County and 30 in Greene County. Neither county, though, saw any new deaths.
