The Pennsylvania Department of Health added 351 new coronavirus cases on Monday. that is the smallest reported increase since March 25th. It brings the state's overall total to 75,943. Ten more deaths were reported Monday, bringing Pennsylvania's death toll to 5953.
Gov. Tom Wolf is providing details on the new grants for Pennsylvania's small businesses. "I'm proud to announce a new program that was developed in partnership with the legislature that will provide $225 million for grants to small businesses. Businesses will be able to use the grants to cover operating expenses during the shutdown and to help them in their transition to reopening," Wolf says. The money comes from the federal CARES Act, which was created to help business owners recover from the coronavirus shutdown.
Gov. Tom Wolf's administration has issued a universal testing order requiring all nursing homes to complete initial baseline testing by July 24th. "For our priority facilities in which there are a lot of cases and need a lot of help certainly those tests could be done at our state laboratory in Exton. Other facilities might be working with health care systems or hospitals in their local areas and then others will be working with commerical laboratories such as Quest or Lab Corp or others to get the testing done," says Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine.
Northampton County's president judge is postponing all jury trials for at least a month due to the requirement that everyone wear a face mask during court. President Judge Michael Koury says if witnesses must wear a mask then jurors can't see their facial expressions and judge their credibility. The problem was brought up by prosecutors and defense attorneys for a case that was resolved without trial, but other cases would've had issues with witnesses wearing masks. All juror trials slated for June will now take place after July 3rd, while other court proceedings may continue through video or in-person.
It appears partying at the Jersey Shore has left a group of people sick. Health officials in Bucks Couinty say at least 11 new coronavirus cases have been linked to the tourist zone. Contact tracing reveals the group of people all attended multiple house parties at the shore recently. Health experts remind people to safely social distance when they're out having fun.
Comcast is donating $100 million to fight against racism. On the Comcast Twitter page, it said "racism, hate and inequality have no place in our company or society." The media giant says they'll focus on social justice, their employees, awareness and education, digital equity and small business. Comcast says the money will be put into those causes over the span of three years.
The death of an Easton man is being investigated in Lehigh County. The body of 45-year-old Maurice Dennis was found by a passing driver early Sunday morning at the intersection of Route 145 and Clearview Road in North Whitehall Township. The Lehigh County coroner's office says Dennis was shot to death and has ruled his death a homicide. However, police say there's no immediate danger to the public.
A 25-year-old man is charged with shooting a gun into a home in Macungie on June 3rd. Police say Jordan Arndt fired into a home in the 100 block of Brookfield Drive, leading to a two-hour standoff. Police say Arndt was under the influence when the incident happened and has admitted to accidentally firing a shot into the home.
The Pennsylvania Coalition of Public Charter Schools' board of trustees is cutting ties with its leader after she made racist comments on Facebook. The board says after discussions over the weekend, they are cutting ties with Ana Meyers after she took to Facebook to say that the civil rights protests disgust her. Meyers' comments were critical about the protests against racism, police brutality and the death of George Floyd while in Minneapolis police custody. She led the state's largest charter school organization for about three years.
Harrisburg city officials say about 100 people showed up for a postponed Second Amendment rally Monday. The group demonstrated for about an hour on the Capitol steps.
New Jersey's attorney general's office released the video of a confrontation between an unarmed motorist and a New Jersey trooper that led to the motorist's death. In the video from the May 23rd incident on the Garden State Parkway, the trooper, identified as Sergeant Randell Wetzel, is seen struggling with the motorist, a 28-year-old black man named Maurice Gordon. Gordon was pulled over after troopers say he was driving faster than 110 miles an hour. Troopers say Gordon and Wetzel became involved in a confrontation and Gordon was sprayed by pepper spray. As the fight continued, Gordon was shot six times by Wetzel and died. A grand jury will investigate the incident.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and New Jersey Transit CEO Kevin Corbett have outlined a ten-year strategic plan for the transit system. Murphy says the plan will improve the system's reliability and also develop a more inclusive culture within New Jersey Transit. The plan's goals include achieving 95 percent on-time performance in three years. Buses returned to normal schedules Monday and trains are still operating on modified schedules.
A humpback whale ended an excursion by two occupants of a small boat off Seaside Park on the Jersey Shore Monday. Witnesses say the whale breached the small boat several times, tipping it over. Both people made it to shore safely. Marine officials say whales are looking for food this time of year and don't always pay attention when they're searching.
One member of the Philadelphia Eagles isn't accepting Drew Brees' apology over comments he made in regards to kneeling. Eagles defensive lineman Malik Jackson says he lost his respect for Brees and that Brees doesn't understand where Jackson and other black athletes are coming from. Brees was critical of players who kneeled during the anthem but has since apologized several times. Jackson says he isn't buying it and says he's "excited" to play Brees this season.