>>Governor Asks FEMA for 'Strike Teams' for Hospitals
(Harrisburg, PA) -- Governor Tom Wolf has asked the federal government to step in and help with staffing issues due to the lack of health care workers during this most recent COVID surge. The Wolf administration has requested Federal Emergency Management Agency "strike teams" for hospitals and nursing homes also because of persistent staff shortages. Hospitals across the state reporting exceedingly long emergency-room wait times, while staffing shortages in nursing homes are forcing some to not accept new residents. Officials say that the nursing home situation is in turn preventing jam-packed hospitals from discharging those who require lower levels of care.
>>Midstate Hospitals Remain Full
(Harrisburg, PA) -- State health officials say they're concerned, but not yet panicking, about the high level of hospitalizations for COVID patients in central Pennsylvania. Dr. John Goldman, infectious disease specialist with UPMC, says state ICUs are close to their capacities, but not yet over them. He maintains that the best way to protect yourself against COVID, including the delta or Omicron strains, is to get vaccinated. And Goldman adds that if you've been vaccinated, it's important to get your booster shots so you'll have the highest possible levels of antibodies for protection.
>>Acting Physician General Urges More People to Get COVID Vaccinations
(Harrisburg, PA) -- As COVID cases surge in Pennsylvania, the acting physician general is pushing more people to get vaccinated. Dr. Denise Johnson says every new vaccination is critical. She's especially pushing residents to consider getting the shots before holiday celebrations and says everyone who is eligible needs to be vaccinated. Dr. Johnson admits the constant pandemic talk is exhausting, but with state hospitals being overrun, she says it's not the time to relax or let your guard down.
>>Judge Agrees to Let Sexual Assault Perp Wait Until After Christmas to Serve Sentence
(Harrisburg, PA) -- A 57-year-old Landisville man won't be starting his prison term for sexual assault until two days after Christmas. Thomas Wilton was sentenced Wednesday to two and a half to five years in prison by a Dauphin County Judge for sexually assaulting a woman he met on a dating app. In addition to the prison sentence, the judge also fined Wilton two-thousand-dollars and ordered him to serve five years on probation after his prison term. The judge agreed to allow Wilton to spend Christmas with family and told him to start serving his jail sentence on December 27.
>>Beer Bandit Arrested In Cumberland County
(Cumberland Co., PA) -- A man who has been accused of stealing cases of beer on several occasions in Cumberland County has been arrested. Police say Andy Vera-Borrero of Harrisburg has been identified for the crimes with the help of surveillance footage. Police say he stole the beer over a three-month period from a Sheetz store on Cedar Cliff Drive and at other stores in the area. The value of the beer stolen amounted to several thousand dollars.
>> No Classes Thursday for Mt. Joy's Donegal School District Due to Threat
(Mt. Joy, PA) -- Mount Joy will not be holding classes Thursday. School officials say they've opted to cancel class because of a reported threat. A voicemail that went out to parents Wednesday night said that the school was mentioned in an anonymous threat and will close today to allow police to investigate. Schools will re-open on Friday with an enhanced police presence.
>>Lancaster Man Accused Of Beheading, Dismembering His Father Will Stand Trial For Murder
(Lancaster, PA) -- A Lancaster man accused of killing and dismembering his father has been bound over for trial. At a preliminary hearing Tuesday, it was determined there was enough evidence for Donald Meshey Junior to face charges of homicide, abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence. Meshey is accused of killing his father, Donald Meshey Senior inside their West Strawberry Street apartment. Police officers were sent to the home in August after a family member reported that Meshey Jr. had told her there was a body in one of the beds and a head in the freezer. Court records show Meshey is being held without bail in Lancaster County Prison.
>>Man Gets 10 Years for Trafficking Meth, Cocaine Mixture
(Lancaster, PA) -- Prosecutors say a Lancaster County man will spend a decade behind bars for trafficking methamphetamine and cocaine laced with hydrochloride. The state's attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania says Dillion Scott Schaffner, who's 28 and from Elizabethtown, has been sentenced for conspiracy to distribute as well as possession with intent to deliver the substances over a period of three years in York and Lancaster Counties. The arrests came after an investigation by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Pennsylvania State Police.
>>Arguments on Legalizing Fireworks Heard in House, Senate Committees
(Harrisburg, PA) -- City leaders and representatives from police and firefighters' groups have gotten their chance to tell state legislators about what legalizing consumer fireworks has meant for their work loads. They say also that part of the law that gives local governments the latitude to exercise control over fireworks is not enforceable and only makes things worse for emergency responders. In Reading alone, city police said they responded to 215 fireworks-related incidents this past year. Shooting off consumer fireworks was made legal in Pennsylvania four years ago - and many think the law needs to be changed again. Sen. Judy Schwank of Reading has authored a bill to repeal legalization of personal fireworks.
>>Three More Pennsylvania 'Proud Boys' Charged in Capitol Rioting
(Philadelphia, PA) -- Federal prosecutors have unsealed charges against three more Pennsylvania Proud Boys related to the January 6th riots at the U.S. Capitol. The move comes after agents uncovered photos of the men flashing hate symbols inside a U.S. senator's office and posing on the steps of the Capitol during the riot. The three, Isaiah Giddings of Philadelphia; Brian Healion of Upper Darby; and Freedom Vy, of Philadelphia, were arrested Friday. They have been charged in federal court in D.C. with unlawful entry on restricted buildings or grounds and violent entry and disorderly conduct on the Capitol grounds.
>>Four Victims of I-78 Crashes identified
(Hamburg Township, PA) -- Four people are dead following a crash on Interstate-78 Tuesday night and a subsequent chain-reaction collision. Police say the first crash happened in Tilden Township when the driver of an empty school bus failed to stop for traffic that had been stopped by construction work. According to reports, the bus hit the rear of a car and continued forward with the vehicle lodged under its front end, crashing into a third vehicle, which was then pushed into the rear of a fourth. The bus driver, Brenda Brownfield of Georgia was not hurt. August D. Schwartz of South Whitehall Township was killed as was Thalia Jackson of Easton. The second crash happened in Upper Tulpehocken Township, as traffic was being detoured because of the earlier crash investigation. Two people were pronounced dead at the scene: Jonny L. Young of Loyalsock Township and Yalibet Lopez-Perez of Reading. Deputies are asking people who witnessed either crash to contact them.
>>Faulty Coil Blamed for More Damage at Williamsport City Hall
(Williamsport, PA) -- The already water-damaged city hall building has been further damaged by a broken heating-system coil. Mayor Derek Slaughter says city firefighters responded to an alarm early Tuesday morning to find that a coil had broken within the heating system above the second-floor ceiling. A news release relays that caused the plumbing to burst and release very hot water in the building. The mayor says the first and second floors sustained significant damage. The building is being examined for structural integrity. City hall is currently empty after water and subsequent mold issues caused relocation to offices in the Trade and Transit Centre earlier this year.
>>Police Make Arrests in Connection to Armed Robberies
(Philadelphia, PA) -- Multiple people are in police custody for their connection to a series of armed robberies. It's been going on over the past few days in Center City and Old City when robbers have been targeting people with Rolex watches and making off with their property. Last night, officers tracked down a car and arrested multiple people for their role in the robberies. At least three-people were taken into custody.