Briefs
Biden sends medical teams to 6 states, promises more free COVID tests and masks
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden announced Thursday that the federal government will deploy military medical units to six states to assist hospitals overwhelmed with the recent spike of the omicron coronavirus variant. Starting next week, more than 120 medical personnel — the beginning of a deployment of 1,000 service members — will go to hospitals […]
David McCormick enters crowded Pa. U.S. Senate race; will seek Republican nomination
Whoever fills the seat will replace retiring GOP U.S. Sen Pat Toomey, and the race could determine which party controls the upper chamber in Washington.
Pa. Insurance Dept. hits UPMC with $250K penalty for Affordable Care Act violations
The UPMC review, one of five insurance company reviews conducted by PID, and which covered the time period between Jan. 1, 2015, to March 31, 2016, found that, among other violations, the company denied claims that should have been paid, miscalculated maximum out-of-pocket costs, and issued “unclear communications.”
Allegheny Co.’s fine against U.S. Steel for air quality violations is too small, environmentalists say
By Jordana Rosenfeld PITTSBURGH — Last week, the Allegheny County Health Department issued a civil penalty to U.S. Steel for allowing the emission of hundreds of pounds of air pollutants following an equipment breakdown this past summer at Clairton Coke Works in Pittsburgh’s Mon Valley. The Health Department fined U.S. Steel $5,500: $2,500 for the one-day […]
Wolf administration focused on coordinating federal COVID-19 relief, not a statewide mandate
The state Health Department expects Pennsylvania will see a peak in hospitalizations in early February, citing a two-week lag between cases and hospitalizations.
‘The stakes are high’: Pa. health officials urge COVID-19 vaccines among new, expecting parents
Pregnant people who contract the coronavirus are at higher risk for having severe COVID-19, as well as for having a preterm birth.
Pa. court declines request to quash Senate GOP election investigation subpoena, needs more time for review
Most of the requested information is publicly available. State law, however, prohibits the public release of someone’s driver’s license number and Social Security number.
Wolf vetoes GOP effort to block carbon fee on Pa. power plants
*This story was updated at 6:25 p.m. 1/10/25 with comment from Senate Republicans Gov. Tom Wolf has vetoed an attempt by the Pennsylvania General Assembly to block his administration from implementing a carbon fee on the commonwealth’s 58 fossil fuel-burning power plants. Wolf, a Democrat, announced in 2019 he was bringing Pennsylvania into the Regional […]
Pa. says it’s investigating ‘aggressive and sophisticated’ unemployment fraud efforts
The Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry says it’s investigating “increasingly aggressive and sophisticated” efforts to steal unemployment compensation benefits. And the agency is urging employers and workers to report any suspicious activity. Fraudsters, both foreign and domestic, have been “exploiting unprecedented demand on the nation’s unemployment compensation systems,” since the start of the COVID-19 […]
The Syringe in the Stone | Editorial Cartoon
What will it take to convince skeptics to finally get vaccinated? Who will get us there?
Pa. Health Department, PEMA coordinate COVID-19 regional support sites, Wolf says
The plan includes adding hospital beds at each regional site to increase capacity for 60 days, beginning in February, and staffing them with physicians, respiratory therapists, and nurses.
Here’s what’s happening in D.C. on the Jan. 6 anniversary
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden will deliver a speech Thursday in the heart of the U.S. Capitol to mark the first anniversary of the insurrection there. One year ago, former President Donald Trump incited a mob of his supporters, and encouraged them to storm the Capitol in an attempt to stop Congress from certifying the electoral […]