April 28, 2020 4:10 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Partisanship as well as uncertain scheduling may hamper if not halt work on a new coronavirus relief package. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says it might be time to consider a “guaranteed income” for Americans and insists that the next bill must provide aid to state and local governments to pay police, fire and other front-line “heroes.” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell counters that his priority is to shield business owners from onerous laws. Leaders announced Congress will return May 4, but some lawmakers are being warned that full operations may not be able to resume for a year.
April 28, 2020 4:08 am
Peters Township Council received an updated report from Fire Chief and Emergency Management Coordinator Michael McLaughlin. In McLaughlin’s report he provided council the PA Department of Health’s newest numbers on Covid-19 cases identified by zip code. The report indicated that the 15317 zip remained steady at 22 cases and the 15367 zip code remained at 6. It is important to note that the 15317 zip code also encompasses North Strabane Twp., Canonsburg and parts of Cecil Twp. Supply stock is good. The township received a shipment of supplies from the county and McLaughlin is comfortable with his supplies stock. When asked by councilwoman Monica Merrell about the future should a second wave of the corona virus emerge, McLaughlin described conservation methods being used by first responders and the continuation of supplies orders to keep ppe in stock. McLaughlin described his fire department as an organization of programs. He went on to describe virtual programs for the installation of child car seats and fire drills that school students can run at their homes should an emergency like that occur. McLaughlin also congratulated the “Neighbors Helping Neighbors” campaign that started last week. The program is a cooperation of the fire department, Peters Township Meals on Wheels and the Peters Township Rotary Club. It assists residents that are susceptible to Covid-19 with obtaining prescriptions or grocery shopping. If a resident is food insecure, the Meals on Wheels program can step in and supply non perishable food items. The program is managed by the Peters Township Emergency Management Team and volunteers from the Rotary Club do the legwork for the program. Information on the program is available on the Peters Township website.
April 28, 2020 4:06 am
PITTSBURGH — State leaders brought in 1,000 new workers, took employees from other departments and even asked retirees to come back to work. But the problems with the state’s unemployment system are still happening. “I’ll sit there for at least a half-hour while I’m watching the news and it continues to redial and nothing,” said James Hairston. Hairston is from Castle Shannon. He’s in the state’s unemployment system and even received a check before the pandemic happened. He said it’s been no money and no answer, though, since early March. “They instructed me to go to to the site and file one time to see if reactivates. I’ve been doing that for the last eight weeks,” he said. Hairston is just one of the 1.7 million Pennsylvanians filing unemployment claims. It’s led to an email backlog of nearly a month. “If someone hasn’t filed a claim yet because they can’t get a hold of them, we will still take them,” said Susan Dickinson, director of unemployment benefits. Dickinson said people who haven’t received an unemployment PIN number after three weeks to contact the office. A wrong address or other inaccurate information could be causing the delay. About $3.5 billion has already been paid out in unemployment compensation.
April 28, 2020 4:02 am
WASHINGTON — (WPXI) – Several people have been taken to the hospital after a ceiling collapsed at a senior living facility. The collapse was reported around 9:30 p.m. at the Grove at Washington, which was previously called Kade’s Nursing Home. It is along W. Wylie Avenue in Canton Township. According to reports, four people were in the room when the collapse happened. All were rescued by firefighters and taken to the hospital for evaluation. They were said to be conscious and alert but there is no word on their conditions.
April 28, 2020 2:51 am
SAINT PETERSBURG, Pa. (AP) – Authorities in western Pennsylvania say the shooting deaths of a young couple over the weekend are being investigated as an apparent murder-suicide. The Butler Eagle reports that police in western Clarion County believe that 19-year-old Lexis Walker and 22-year-old Jeremiah Heller died early Sunday evening. Family members reported finding the couple dead with gunshot wounds in their Saint Petersburg apartment. Police said they believe they know who the shooter was, but declined to elaborate. Walker was a senior at Allegheny-Clarion Valley High School. The district superintendent called it “is truly devastating news” and said grief counselors would be available.
April 27, 2020 2:58 pm
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Meat isn’t going to disappear from supermarkets because of outbreaks of the coronavirus among workers at U.S. slaughterhouses. But as the meat plants struggle to remain open, consumers could face less selection and slightly higher prices. Industry leaders acknowledge that the U.S. food chain has rarely been so stressed and that no one is sure about the future, even as they try to dispel concerns about shortages. On Sunday, the meat processing giant Tyson Foods ran a full-page advertisement in the New York Times and other newspapers outlining the difficulty of producing meat while keeping more than 100,000 workers safe and shutting some plants.
April 27, 2020 9:42 am
NEW YORK (AP) – New York has canceled its Democratic presidential primary that was scheduled for June 23 amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Democratic members of the State’s Board of Elections voted Monday to nix the primary. New York will still hold its congressional and state-level primaries on June 23. The decision comes as Gov. Andrew Cuomo said stay-at-home restrictions could be eased in mid-May for parts of the state where the coronavirus outbreak is less severe. Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Monday that New York City-run health clinics will soon use a procedure that lets people collect samples themselves at a health care worker’s direction. He said the “self-swab” tests would allow for more and easier testing, and make it safer for test-seekers and health care workers.
April 27, 2020 4:08 am
CAMARILLO, Calif. (AP) – The average U.S. price of regular-grade gasoline fell 9 cents over the past two weeks, to $1.93 per gallon. Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg of the Lundberg Survey says prices at the pump have dropped 61 cents over the past nine weeks and 80 cents since mid-October. She says prices are expected to continue their slide as demand declines amid widespread stay-at-home orders during the coronavirus pandemic. The highest average price in the nation for regular-grade gas is $3.13 per gallon in Honolulu. The lowest average is $1.30 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. áThe average price of diesel is $2.62, down 7 cents.
April 27, 2020 4:07 am
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) – Police say a shooting in the Louisiana capital of Baton Rouge has left a police officer dead and a second officer wounded and fighting for his life. Baton Rouge Police Chief Murphy Paul told media outlets the two áwere shot Sunday while investigating reports of gunfire. The chief said a suspect was taken into custody after an hours-long standoff at a house in which shots were fired at a SWAT team and SWAT members returned fire. No one was reported hurt during the standoff. Paul identified the suspect as 36-year-old Ronnie Kato. The chief didn’t immediately say what charges Kato might face.
April 27, 2020 4:06 am
EL PASO, Teas (AP) – A hospital official says that a man shot in the Aug. 3 attack targeting Latinos in an El Paso Walmart has died after months in the hospital. Guillermo ‘Memo’ Garcia was fundraising for his daughter’s soccer team in front of the Walmart when he was shot nine months ago. His death raises the toll from the attack to 23. Garcia is survived by his family including his wife Jessica, who escaped the attack after being shot in the leg. Twenty-one-year-old Patrick Crusius, remains jailed and is awaiting trial. State prosecutors have charged him with murder and are pursuing the death penalty. Federal prosecutors charged him with hate crimes.
