April 18, 2022 4:15 am
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) – Multiple explosions believed to be caused by missiles have struck the western city of Lviv as Ukraine braces for an all-out Russian assault in the east. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy vowed to “fight absolutely to the end” in strategically vital Mariupol, where resisters and civilians are holed up in a sprawling steel plant laced with tunnels. AP staff witnessed the explosions in Lviv, which has been a relative haven from the fighting elsewhere in the country. Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi said five missiles struck the city and that emergency services were responding. Capturing the port city of Mariupol would free Russian troops for a new offensive in the east and fully secure them a land corridor to the Crimean Peninsula.
April 18, 2022 4:12 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania’s Labor and Industry secretary says the state “continues to rebound strongly” from the COVID-19 pandemic with unemployment dropping by two-tenths of a point in March. The latest figure of 4.9% released Friday is another indication the state’s jobs picture continues to strengthen. The decrease mirrored the national picture, as U.S. joblessness fell by the same fraction, to 3.6%. Increases were seen widely across employment categories. Pennsylvania unemployment is now 2.2 percentage points below where it was one year ago.
April 18, 2022 4:10 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – An ad by one of three people seeking the Democratic nomination for Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor this year is drawing a complaint from the party’s presumed nominee for governor. Attorney General Josh Shapiro’s campaign says state Rep. Brian Sims is running an ad that falsely implies Shapiro has endorsed Sims. Shapiro is the only Democrat seeking the nomination for governor in the May primary. He’s endorsed state Rep. Austin Davis as lieutenant governor. Sims’ ad ends saying in block letters “endorsed Josh Shapiro.” Shapiro’s lawyers object, saying that makes it sound like Shapiro has endorsed Sims, when he hasn’t. Nine Republicans are also running in the May 17 primary for lieutenant governor.
April 18, 2022 4:09 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Several businesses and residents have filed suit in state court in Pennsylvania seeking to overturn Philadelphia’s renewed indoor mask mandate scheduled to be enforced beginning Monday amid a surge in COVID-19 infections. Philadelphia earlier this week became the first major U.S. city to reinstate its indoor mask mandate after reporting a sharp increase in coronavirus infections. Attorney Thomas W. King III said the city’s emergency order went against Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations and “imposed a renegade standard.” The Philadelphia mayor’s office declined comment but said courts have ruled that the city “has both the legal authority and requisite flexibility” to take steps to control COVID-19 spread.
April 18, 2022 4:08 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Authorities say shots fired at a house party in Pittsburgh left two 17-year-olds dead and at least eight more people wounded. The shooting happened at around 12:30 a.m. Sunday as hundreds of people had gathered at a short-term rental home. Pittsburgh Police Chief Scott Schubert says the “vast majority” of them were underage. Two male gunshot victims died and eight others were wounded by gunfire. Others were hurt trying to flee, including two who broke bones while jumping out the building’s windows. No arrests were immediately reported. Schubert said there was gunfire both inside and outside the rental home, “and potentially back and forth.”
April 18, 2022 2:17 am
A long time local television reporter has died. Stuart Emry who reported for WTAE-TV and KDKA-TV for a span of more than 30 years died peacefully surrounded by family at the age of 88. Emry covered many high profile stories from chemical spills and train derailments to political scandals and high profile murders. His interviews included ordinary citizens and U.S. presidents. He won several awards including one for his coverage of the Three Mile Island disaster. Emry married his wife Susan in 1960, she preceded him in death in 2016. Emry was the father to daughters Betsy and Jennifer and the late Michael. Friends will be received at the John F. Slater Funeral Home, Inc. 4201 Brownsville Road. Brentwood, PA 15227 on April 18 from 2-4 and 6-8 p.m. A Memorial Gathering will be held on Tuesday at 12:00 p.m. at The Whitehall House. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the American Cancer Society, 320 Bilmar Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15205.
April 17, 2022 7:28 am
BOSTON (AP) — For many U.S. Christians, this weekend marks the first time since 2019 that they will gather in person on Easter Sunday, a welcome chance to celebrate one of the year’s holiest days side by side with fellow congregants. The pandemic erupted in the country in March 2020, just ahead of Easter, forcing many churches to resort to online or televised worship. Many continued to hold virtual services last spring after a deadly winter wave of the coronavirus and as vaccination campaigns were still ramping up. But this year more churches are opening their doors for Easter services with few COVID-19 restrictions, in line with broader societal trends. Among them are Catholic parishes in the Archdiocese of Boston, which since last June has once again required most churchgoers to attend Mass in person — though those with health risks may still watch remotely, and pastors have been asked to make space for social distancing in churches. MC Sullivan, chief health care ethicist for the archdiocese, said celebrating Mass communally is important to how Catholics profess their faith. Church attendance has been trending upward, and parishioners are excited to gather again to commemorate Christ’s resurrection.
April 17, 2022 7:27 am
PITTSBURGH, Pa. (WPXI) — At least 11 people were shot and two juveniles were killed in a mass shooting early Easter Sunday in the East Allegheny neighborhood of the North Side. Pittsburgh Police say they received multiple ShotSpotter alerts just after 12:30 a.m. in the 800 block of Suismon Street. When police arrived in the area, more shots were being fired and several young people were running on foot and leaving in cars from an Airbnb property at Suismon Street and Madison Avenue. Police say a large party was happening at the Airbnb with as many as 200 people in attendance. Police say many of the attendees were underage. As many as 50 shots were fired inside the house and around 50 more shots were fired outside the house, police say. Many people who jumped from windows suffered broken bones, cuts, and other minor injuries. Several shooting victims arrived at various hospitals inside and outside the city by private means, police say. So far, at least 11 people were confirmed shot and two male juveniles have died. Police say there are least eight different crime scenes related to this incident. Officials are asking people to avoid the area of East Ohio Street from Madison Avenue to Cedar Avenue while the investigation is underway.
April 17, 2022 1:49 am
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is investigating Lucky Charms cereal after dozens of consumers complained of illness after eating it. The FDA said Saturday it has received more than 100 complaints related to Lucky Charms so far this year. Several hundred people have also posted on a food safety website, iwaspoisoned.com, complaining of nausea, diarrhea and vomiting after eating Lucky Charms. General Mills Inc., the Minneapolis-based company that makes Lucky Charms and other cereals, said it’s taking those reports seriously. But the company said its own investigation has not found evidence of consumer illness related to Lucky Charms.
April 17, 2022 1:48 am
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) – Russia has resumed scattered attacks on Kyiv, western Ukraine and beyond after warning that it planned to step up missile strikes on the capital. Saturday’s strikes are a reminder to Ukrainians and their Western supporters that the whole country remains under threat despite a pivot toward a new offensive in the east. Moscow says the renewed attacks targeted Ukrainian military sites. But each day brings more civilian victims of a war that has shattered European security. As Russia prepared for the anticipated offensive, a mother wept over her 15-year-old son’s body. The teenager and at least eight other people died after rockets hit a residential area of the northeast city of Kharkiv.
