AP PA Headlines 5/29/20
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A no-new-taxes $25.8 billion budget is before Gov. Tom Wolf after winning speedy approval in the Republican-controlled Pennsylvania Legislature. Also sent to the Democratic governor Thursday was legislation to distribute about $2.6 billion in federal coronavirus aid. Wolf is expected to sign both. The budget bill carries full-year money for public schools and state-supported universities. But it funds much of the rest of the state’s operating budget lines only through Nov. 30. About half of the $2.6 billion in federal emergency aid will go to counties, nursing homes and other programs for older adults.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Some county and state officials are warning that a flood of mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania will create problems in Tuesday’s primary election that must be fixed before November’s presidential election. For one, they are warning that there will be no way to produce timely election results in November unless the law changes. Even in Tuesday’s relatively low turnout primary election, election-night results might be unlikely in closely contested races. Of more immediate concern is the question of whether voters can mail their ballots back to county election offices in time to be counted in Tuesday’s primary election.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A state lawmaker’s decision to keep his COVID-19 diagnosis a secret is dividing the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Democrats say the Republican legislator needlessly put people’s health at risk. The fight spilled onto the House floor on Thursday as Democrats denounced how it was handled by the lawmaker and the majority Republican leadership. Republicans defeated a Democratic effort to end the legislative session so there would be time to change policies on disclosing illnesses. And the state attorney general declined requests by fellow Democrats to criminally investigate how the diagnosis was handled. He urged lawmakers to “demonstrate common decency.”
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania state officials say they’re making progress, but acknowledge more needs to be done to whittle down an unemployment compensation claims backlog that has persisted for more than two months. Jammed phone lines, balky computer systems and unreturned emails remain an issue despite a near doubling of staff at the agency that processes claims. More than 2.3 million people in Pennsylvania, including self-employed and gig workers, have filed for unemployment since mid-March. Meanwhile, state officials announced that all state park beaches and most pools will be open next month.
UNDATED (AP) — Former Penn Stater and Miami Dolphins tight end Mike Gesicki says the recent pass-and-catch video he posted that went viral was inspired by boredom during the coronavirus lockdown. The video shows Gesicki lobbing a football over a multi-story beach house, running through the garage and making the catch on the other side while on the run as he heads into the street. Gesicki says he did it because he was at his girlfriend’s beach house and “just super bored.” He says he saw something similar on the Internet and decided to try.
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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is escalating his war on social media companies, signing an executive order challenging the liability protections that have served as a bedrock for unfettered speech on the internet. He declared he was “fed up” with what he considers bias as prepared to sign the order on Thursday. Still, the move appears to be more about politics than substance, as the president aims to rally supporters after he lashed out at Twitter for applying fact checks to two of his tweets. Legal experts have expressed doubts Trump can do much by himself, without an act of Congress. And the order is certain to face legal challenges.
DALLAS (AP) — Officials say a woman in a Texas jail surprised corrections officers this month by giving birth to a child in her cell without their knowledge. Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Jennifer Gabbert says the woman was alone in a Fort Worth jail cell on May 17 when she delivered the baby. Gabbert says the woman “did not immediately disclose the birth, but the baby was soon discovered by a corrections officer.” Both were taken to a hospital. She declined to identify the mother or say how she could have gone into labor without it coming to the guards’ attention.
WILBRAHAM, Mass. (AP) — A 103-year-old Massachusetts woman has defied the odds and survived a bout with the coronavirus. Shelley Gunn is Jennie Stejna’s granddaughter. She describes her grandmother as feisty. Three weeks ago, Stejna was the first person at her Wilbraham nursing home to test positive for coronavirus. The outlook was grim. Gunn, her husband, Adam, and 4-year-old daughter, Violet, called to say what they thought were their final goodbyes. But on May 13, Gunn got the news that Stejna had recovered. To celebrate, Stejna enjoyed one of her favorite beverages — an ice cold beer.
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