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COVID cases rising among vaccinated in Pennsylvania

The proportion of COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations among vaccinated Pennsylvania residents rose sharply last month, reflecting the fact that a higher percentage of the population has now gotten the shot but also likely that protection has waned somewhat, state health officials said Friday. The latest Department of Health data on so-called “breakthrough” infections shows that between Sept. 5 and Oct. 4, vaccinated people represented just over a quarter — 26% — of more than 135,000 new infections and nearly 5,000 hospital admissions across the state. Death statistics for ...

Postal worker fatally shot in Western Pa.

COLLIER TOWNSHIP (AP) — A former neighbor of a U.S. Postal Service worker in Pennsylvania confessed to authorities that he fatally shot him because he believed the mail carrier previously poisoned him and his family with cyanide, a federal official said. Eric Kortz, 53, turned himself in Thursday for the shooting death of Louis Vignone while Vignone was on his route in Collier Township, acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania Stephen Kaufman said in a statement. Vignone was shot around 10 a.m. Thursday while he was delivering mail, news outlets reported. ...

4 northeastern states team up to share gun crime information

HARRISBURG (AP) — The governors of four northeastern states agreed Thursday to share information about firearms purchases to help detect and investigate straw buyers and other gun crimes. Chief executives in Connecticut, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania signed a 10-page agreement to exchange gun crime data for use only by law enforcement, with provisions governing security and mandated notice if the information is misused or improperly accessed. The four Democratic governors said the initiative will help target gun networks that cross state lines. “Despite our best gun ...

Prosecutor takes leave to address rape charges

SOMERSET (AP) — Officials in a rural western Pennsylvania county say the elected prosecutor’s access to his office and the courthouse has been restricted after he was charged last month with violently raping a woman he knew through work. Somerset County District Attorney Jeffrey Lynn Thomas, 36, was accused last month of having attacked the woman in her Windber home. He was charged with rape, indecent and simple assault, strangulation and criminal trespassing. County Solicitor Michael Barbera told The (Johnstown) Tribune Democrat that Thomas can no longer use a remote “key ...

Gas pipeline developer charged over systematic contamination of water

The corporate developer of a multi-billion-dollar pipeline system that takes natural gas liquids from the Marcellus Shale gas field to an export terminal near Philadelphia was charged criminally on Tuesday after a grand jury concluded that it flouted Pennsylvania environmental laws and fouled waterways and residential water supplies across hundreds of miles. Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced the sprawling case at a news conference at Marsh Creek State Park in Downingtown, where Sunoco Pipeline LP spilled thousands of gallons of drilling fluid last year. The spill, during ...

Senate cuts voting bill hearing short, Wolf administration snub

HARRISBURG (AP) — A Pennsylvania Senate hearing designed to gather input from the Department of State about potential changes to election law was over quickly on Tuesday because the Wolf administration decided not to participate in person. The topic was a bill introduced last month by the Republican chair and ranking Democrat on the State Government Committee, a proposal that would address ballot tabulation deadlines, the use of ballot drop boxes and clearing dead voters from the rolls. Chairman Dave Argall, R-Schuylkill, said he could not comprehend why Acting Secretary of State ...