AP PA Headlines 5/24/20

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — State health officials say civil penalties totaling more than $93,000 have been assessed against nursing care facilities in Pennsylvania amid hundreds of complaint investigations during the coronavirus pandemic. The Pennsylvania Department of Health said Saturday that nursing home surveyors have conducted more than 1,470 inspections of nursing homes since the beginning of February. Officials said more than 5,000 deaths in the commonwealth are now associated with the coronavirus. State health officials also reported that more than 700 more people testing positive for the coronavirus, bringing

YARDLEY, Pa. (AP) — Authorities say the deaths of two men at a luxury apartment complex in the Philadelphia area are believed to have been a murder-suicide. Police in Lower Makefield Township were called to The Edge at Yardley at about 12:30 p.m. Friday and found a man lying on the ground outside with multiple gunshot wounds. A witness told police that the shooter had entered a downstairs apartment, and police evacuated about 50 people and told others to shelter in place. Hours later, police said, Bucks County SWAT Team members entered and found the man dead with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Police say a man in a north Philadelphia hospital for drug detoxification barricaded himself in a room in the emergency department and set fire to bed sheets, but no one was injured. Police said the 30- to 40-year-old man was searched by security at Temple University Hospital’s Episcopal  Campus at about 2:40 p.m. Saturday and placed in a room. Police said he barricaded himself inside and turned on oxygen tanks, then lit the bed sheets on fire. Police said a maintenance man broke a window and the man climbed out and fought with security, but police arrived and arrested him.

GREENSBURG, Pa. (AP) — Two men have been charged with firing nearly a dozen shots at three Pittsburgh-area police officers who were following them in February. Court documents indicate that 19-year-old Ezra Michael Grant of Greensburg and 18-year-old J’Lamar Jeremiah Washington of Pittsburgh face charges including attempted homicide and assault on a law enforcement officer in the Feb. 4 shooting. The Tribune-Review reports that no one was seriously hurt. Detectives said Grant denied shooting at the van. Court documents don’t list defense attorneys and listed numbers for them couldn’t be found Saturday.

Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved

 

Features

(AP) —  Millions of Americans are set to emerge from coronavirus lockdowns and venture outdoors to celebrate Memorial Day weekend at beaches, cookouts and family outings. But public health officials have deep concerns that large gatherings could cause outbreaks to come roaring back. Medical experts warn the virus won’t take a holiday for the unofficial start of summer. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends staying home, avoiding crowds and connecting with family by phone or video chat. Specialists advise those who celebrate to maintain social distancing, wear masks and avoid sharing food and drinks.

Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved

 

Sports

(AP) —  Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are getting ready for another made-for-TV match, this time with friends from the NFL. Woods and Peyton Manning take on Mickelson and Tom Brady in what’s being billed as “The Match: Champions for Charity.” It will be the second straight Sunday live golf is on TV. The purpose is to raise $10 million for COVID-19 relief efforts and to provide entertainment. Another big appeal is seeing golf’s biggest star on TV again. Woods was last seen on Feb. 16 at Riviera when he shot weekend rounds of 76 and 77 and finished last at the Genesis Invitational.

METAIRIE, La. (AP) — Linebacker Anthony Chickillo has agreed to a contract with the New Orleans Saints after playing the last five seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The deal was announced Saturday by Saints general manager Mickey Loomis. The 6-foot-3, 255-pound Chickillo is changing teams for the first time. He was drafted in the sixth round by Pittsburgh in 2015. He played in 11 games for the Steelers last season.

UNDATED (AP) — The NBA is in talks with The Walt Disney Company on a single-site scenario for a resumption of play in Central Florida in late July. It’s the clearest sign yet that the NBA believes the season can continue amid the coronavirus pandemic. Games would be held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, a massive campus on the Disney property near Orlando. NBA spokesman Mike Bass said the conversations were still “exploratory,” and that the site would be used for practices and housing as well.

PALM DESERT, Calif. (AP) — Former NFL quarterback Ryan Leaf was arrested in Southern California on Friday. The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department said the second player taken in the 1998 draft was taken into custody on a domestic battery charge in Palm Desert, about 110 miles southeast of Los Angeles. Leaf was being held on $5,000 bail at the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility. Leaf finished third in Heisman Trophy voting in 1997 and led Washington State to the Rose Bowl. Drafted by the Chargers, he won just four of 18 games as a starter in three seasons with the team.

UNDATED (AP) — The Washington Nationals have changed their plans for a virtual World Series ring ceremony after players decided they would rather wait until they could reunite in person to receive their new jewelry. The Nationals previously announced they were going to give out the rings during a show broadcast on television and online. They still plan to unveil the design of the ring Sunday, the anniversary of the date they began their turnaround from a 19-31 record to World Series champs.

UNDATED (AP) — Canada’s NHL teams have offered season ticket-holders rebate or refund options in acknowledgment that no more 2019-20 regular-season games will be played in front of fans in their respective buildings. The Canadian Press says all seven teams contacted their season ticket bases last week with options and/or deadlines to make a decision. Leagues and teams around the world are either playing in empty stadiums or trying to figure out a way to just resume play during the COVID-19 pandemic.

STERLING, Va. (AP) — President Donald Trump played golf Saturday for the first time since he declared the coronavirus pandemic a national emergency more than two months ago. The golf outing came a day after Trump said houses of worship are “essential” and he demanded that governors allow them to reopen during the holiday weekend. Photographs that appeared on Twitter showed him swinging a golf club and driving alone in a cart on the course at his private Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia.

Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved

AP PA Headlines 5/24/20

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — State health officials say civil penalties totaling more than $93,000 have been assessed against nursing care facilities in Pennsylvania amid hundreds of complaint investigations during the coronavirus pandemic. The Pennsylvania Department of Health said Saturday that nursing home surveyors have conducted more than 1,470 inspections of nursing homes since the beginning of February. Officials said more than 5,000 deaths in the commonwealth are now associated with the coronavirus. State health officials also reported that more than 700 more people testing positive for the coronavirus, bringing

YARDLEY, Pa. (AP) — Authorities say the deaths of two men at a luxury apartment complex in the Philadelphia area are believed to have been a murder-suicide. Police in Lower Makefield Township were called to The Edge at Yardley at about 12:30 p.m. Friday and found a man lying on the ground outside with multiple gunshot wounds. A witness told police that the shooter had entered a downstairs apartment, and police evacuated about 50 people and told others to shelter in place. Hours later, police said, Bucks County SWAT Team members entered and found the man dead with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Police say a man in a north Philadelphia hospital for drug detoxification barricaded himself in a room in the emergency department and set fire to bed sheets, but no one was injured. Police said the 30- to 40-year-old man was searched by security at Temple University Hospital’s Episcopal  Campus at about 2:40 p.m. Saturday and placed in a room. Police said he barricaded himself inside and turned on oxygen tanks, then lit the bed sheets on fire. Police said a maintenance man broke a window and the man climbed out and fought with security, but police arrived and arrested him.

GREENSBURG, Pa. (AP) — Two men have been charged with firing nearly a dozen shots at three Pittsburgh-area police officers who were following them in February. Court documents indicate that 19-year-old Ezra Michael Grant of Greensburg and 18-year-old J’Lamar Jeremiah Washington of Pittsburgh face charges including attempted homicide and assault on a law enforcement officer in the Feb. 4 shooting. The Tribune-Review reports that no one was seriously hurt. Detectives said Grant denied shooting at the van. Court documents don’t list defense attorneys and listed numbers for them couldn’t be found Saturday.

Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved

 

Features

(AP) —  Millions of Americans are set to emerge from coronavirus lockdowns and venture outdoors to celebrate Memorial Day weekend at beaches, cookouts and family outings. But public health officials have deep concerns that large gatherings could cause outbreaks to come roaring back. Medical experts warn the virus won’t take a holiday for the unofficial start of summer. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends staying home, avoiding crowds and connecting with family by phone or video chat. Specialists advise those who celebrate to maintain social distancing, wear masks and avoid sharing food and drinks.

Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved

 

Sports

(AP) —  Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are getting ready for another made-for-TV match, this time with friends from the NFL. Woods and Peyton Manning take on Mickelson and Tom Brady in what’s being billed as “The Match: Champions for Charity.” It will be the second straight Sunday live golf is on TV. The purpose is to raise $10 million for COVID-19 relief efforts and to provide entertainment. Another big appeal is seeing golf’s biggest star on TV again. Woods was last seen on Feb. 16 at Riviera when he shot weekend rounds of 76 and 77 and finished last at the Genesis Invitational.

METAIRIE, La. (AP) — Linebacker Anthony Chickillo has agreed to a contract with the New Orleans Saints after playing the last five seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The deal was announced Saturday by Saints general manager Mickey Loomis. The 6-foot-3, 255-pound Chickillo is changing teams for the first time. He was drafted in the sixth round by Pittsburgh in 2015. He played in 11 games for the Steelers last season.

UNDATED (AP) — The NBA is in talks with The Walt Disney Company on a single-site scenario for a resumption of play in Central Florida in late July. It’s the clearest sign yet that the NBA believes the season can continue amid the coronavirus pandemic. Games would be held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, a massive campus on the Disney property near Orlando. NBA spokesman Mike Bass said the conversations were still “exploratory,” and that the site would be used for practices and housing as well.

PALM DESERT, Calif. (AP) — Former NFL quarterback Ryan Leaf was arrested in Southern California on Friday. The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department said the second player taken in the 1998 draft was taken into custody on a domestic battery charge in Palm Desert, about 110 miles southeast of Los Angeles. Leaf was being held on $5,000 bail at the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility. Leaf finished third in Heisman Trophy voting in 1997 and led Washington State to the Rose Bowl. Drafted by the Chargers, he won just four of 18 games as a starter in three seasons with the team.

UNDATED (AP) — The Washington Nationals have changed their plans for a virtual World Series ring ceremony after players decided they would rather wait until they could reunite in person to receive their new jewelry. The Nationals previously announced they were going to give out the rings during a show broadcast on television and online. They still plan to unveil the design of the ring Sunday, the anniversary of the date they began their turnaround from a 19-31 record to World Series champs.

UNDATED (AP) — Canada’s NHL teams have offered season ticket-holders rebate or refund options in acknowledgment that no more 2019-20 regular-season games will be played in front of fans in their respective buildings. The Canadian Press says all seven teams contacted their season ticket bases last week with options and/or deadlines to make a decision. Leagues and teams around the world are either playing in empty stadiums or trying to figure out a way to just resume play during the COVID-19 pandemic.

STERLING, Va. (AP) — President Donald Trump played golf Saturday for the first time since he declared the coronavirus pandemic a national emergency more than two months ago. The golf outing came a day after Trump said houses of worship are “essential” and he demanded that governors allow them to reopen during the holiday weekend. Photographs that appeared on Twitter showed him swinging a golf club and driving alone in a cart on the course at his private Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia.

Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved

A former Penn State football player has filed a federal lawsuit alleging he was harassed and hazed by other team members and subjected to retaliation by the coaching staff after reporting the conduct.

Attorney Steven Marino filed the lawsuit on Monday in U.S. Middle District Court of Pennsylvania on behalf of former Nittany Lion defensive back Isaiah Humphries against the university, coach James Franklin and defensive tackle Damion Barber. Marino also represents former Penn State team doctor Scott Lynch in a separate lawsuit against Franklin and the university.

Humphries, who enrolled at Penn State in January 2018 on a football scholarship, alleges that Barber, along with teammates Micah Parsons, Jesse Luketa and Yetur Gross-Matos led “a campaign to harass and haze lower classmen members of the Penn State football team,” as a form of initiation. Parsons, Luketa and Gross-Matos are not named as defendants.

They would wrestle teammates to the ground, Humphries claims, and simulate sexual acts, as well as place their genitals on or near the alleged victims. The incidents occurred in the Lasch Football Building locker room and showers, campus dorms and other locations, according to the lawsuit.

They also allegedly stated that they intended to make lower classmen “their bitch because this is prison,” and threatened “I am going to Sandusky you,” a reference to former Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky, who was convicted of child sexual abuse.

Police received a report last spring of indecent assaults by a student in the Lasch Building. In December, WJAC-TV reported that a lengthy investigation resulted from one former player’s claim of being hazed by other players. Numerous team members denied the allegations and police and the Centre County District Attorney’s Office did not file charges. One player took and passed a lie detector test according to WJAC. 

Humphries, who left the program at the end of his freshman season in 2018, claims that members of the coaching staff observed the alleged conduct on multiple occasions. He also says he reported it to the coaching staff and that his father, former Penn State player Leonard Humphries, reported it directly to Franklin, who did not take any action.

Instead, the lawsuit claims, Franklin and the coaching staff retaliated against Humphries, who says he “was scorned and punished.”

Humphries alleges he was required to participate in athletic drills designed to ensure he would fail, and that performance was used to deny him playing opportunities. He also says the team’s academic advisor subjected him “to irrational and inappropriate censure.”

The lawsuit claims Humphries was denied medical accommodations for diagnosed anxiety and narcolepsy and that the coaching staff tried to get him to leave the team by offering a medical retirement option.

When he decided to transfer, Humphries says, the staff provided negative reviews to other college programs. He ultimately transferred to the University of California.

Before leaving though, he claims he was ostracized and shunned by other players in retaliation for reporting the alleged hazing, and that Luketa threatened him with physical harm.

Last spring, Penn State’s Office of Sexual Misconduct Prevention and Response received an anonymous complaint of harassment and hazing by football team members. After a formal investigation, Barber was charged with violating the student code of conduct and sanctioned by the Office of Student Conduct, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit claims negligence in violation of Pennsylvania’s anti-hazing law and infliction of emotional distress by each defendant. It also includes counts of assault and battery and civil conspiracy against Barber.

Humphries is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages. 

Barber, Parsons and Luketa are current members of the Penn State football team. Gross-Matos declared for the NFL Draft following the 2019 season.

A Penn State spokesperson has not yet responded to request for comment.

Former Penn State football and NFL player Harry Hamilton is facing felony and misdemeanor charges after an alleged altercation with his son and another person in early March.

Hamilton, 55, was a defensive back for Penn State from 1981 to 1983 and was twice named an Academic All-American. He played for eight seasons in the NFL with the New York Jets and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

According to a criminal complaint, State College Police responded to a domestic dispute at about 11:30 p.m. on March 3 at a Southgate Drive residence. Hamilton’s son told police that he could hear loud banging noises coming from the front door and when he came downstairs saw Hamilton standing inside the house.

Police said Hamilton accused his son of using drugs then put him in a headlock. Hamilton allegedly banged the son’s head off of the stairs then punched him several times in the head and neck before throwing him to the ground. The son reportedly had bruises on his neck and scratches on his forearms.

A second person came downstairs and got in between Hamilton and the son, according to the complaint. Police said that after Hamilton and the second person went outside, they began to argue and Hamilton allegedly picked him up and threw him to the ground, causing cuts and scratches to his elbow.

Hamilton then re-entered the house, exited through the back door and left the area on foot, according to the complaint.

Police said that further investigation determined the front door had been locked and the lock and door frame were damaged when Hamilton entered. A picture frame also was damaged during the altercation and the rear screen door was damaged when Hamilton left the residence.

Hamilton was charged with felony counts of burglary and criminal trespass, a misdemeanor count of simple assault and two summary offenses of harassment. He was arraigned before District Judge Thomas Jordan and released on $25,000 unsecured bail.

A preliminary hearing originally scheduled for Wednesday was continued to next week.

Hamilton, an attorney, made headlines in 2014 when he opted out of a settlement of a class-action lawsuit with the NFL over concussions and filed his own $5 million lawsuit against the league. The most recent action in that case was in May 2017, according to federal court records.

A minor league baseball player for a Pennsylvania team has been fired after a video was released showing him beating his then-girlfriend inside a Texas baseball stadium in 2016.

Outfielder Danry Vasquez, 24, was released from the Lancaster (Pennsylvania) Barnstormers this week when management was made aware of the video, according to a team statement released Wednesday. 

The assault happened in August 2016 inside a stairwell at Whataburger Stadium in Corpus Christi, Texas. Vasquez was playing for the Corpus Christi Hooks at the time.

In the video, released this week to comply with an open records request made by NBC affiliate KRIS-TV, Vasquez can be seen striking a woman in the head four times and pulling her hair — forcing her to slip down the stairs.

The woman, Vasquez’s longtime girlfriend, was hit so hard her glasses were sent flying off her face several times.

Vasquez was later arrested and charged with assault of a family member, a misdemeanor, according to court records. He entered a pre-trial diversion program, which he completed successfully, his attorney Les Cassidy told NBC10.

Cassidy said Vasquez was remorseful for the beating because it was “shameful.” The victim and Vasquez had dated since they were teens and came to the United States together when he was recruited by Major League Baseball.

In the statement, Lancaster Barnstormers manager Ross Peeples said there was no choice but to release Vasquez. The Barnstormers are part of an independent league and not affiliated with any Major League teams.

“There is no choice but to sever the relationship,” Peeples said. “Neither I, nor the Barnstormers’ organization as a whole, can condone or associate with that behavior.”

Vasquez is believed to have returned to his native Venezuela.

A Penn State rugby player reportedly admitted that he bought alcohol for three high school students who were in town for the university’s winter rugby clinic last weekend.

According to a criminal complaint, State College Police detectives were conducting surveillance at about 8 p.m. on Friday when they observed a man, later identified as Ryan S. Cornell, leave Beer Belly’s distributor with three cases of beer and place them in a vehicle. He then went into the Fine Wine and Good Spirits store and came back out with a bag believed to contain alcohol.

Police were conducting the surveillance as part of the Alcohol Source Investigation Project (SIP) aimed at off-campus drinking parties.

Cornell got in the passenger side of the vehicle and police followed it to North Gill Street, where Cornell exited with only one case of beer and the bag from the liquor store, according to the complaint.

After Cornell exited the vehicle, the driver started to drive away and police initiated a stop. The driver, a 19-year-old Penn State rugby player and counselor for the team’s winter clinic, said he and the other three people still in the vehicle were under 21 and that there were two cases of beer in the back, police said.

The driver reportedly said Cornell purchased the two cases of beer for them and had bought one case of beer and a bottle of liquor for himself.

Police then went back to Cornell’s residence where he immediately confessed to buying the two cases of beer for the four minors in the car after they gave him money to purchase it, according to the complaint.

The other three minors in the vehicle were each 17-years-old and had come to University Park for the winter rugby clinic taking place on Saturday and Sunday, police said.

Cornell, a junior lock on the rugby team, was charged with four counts of furnishing alcohol to minors and four liquor code violations. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 21.

A Penn State athletic department spokesperson has not yet confirmed whether Cornell remains with the team. He is currently listed on the team roster.