Three dead in Katugastota Fire; Cause for fire & deaths remain unknown

Today we are reporting 13,475 community cases, 764 hospitalisations and 17 deaths.

PHILADELPHIA - The Philadelphia Board of Education will announce Friday which of its three finalists will be the next superintendent of Philadelphia's public schools. Following a six-month search, the School District of Philadelphia narrowed its candidates to John L. Davis Jr., Krish Mohip, and Tony B. Watlington Sr.

CAMDEN - If you’ve driven anywhere in 2022 you may have noticed that the price you’re paying at the pump, is a far cry from what it was just a year ago.In New Jersey, where prices are sometimes less than Pennsylvania, some are reporting gas stations price gouging customers.The division of Consumer Affairs reports that they received more complaints in one month then they've received in the past two years."High prices alone may not constitute a violation, but we encourage consumers who suspect excessive price increases at the pump or any other form of consumer abuse, to file an online complaint," Division of Consumer Affairs Public Information Officer Gema de las Heras said. As of Thursday, the price for a gallon of regular fuel in New Jersey sat around $4.19 which is a tick below the national average of $4.22, per AAA.According to AAA, the average price of a gallon of regular fuel in Pennsylvania was $4.42 on Monday. Driver in New Jersey paid $4.33 per gallon, and Delaware's gas prices sat at $4.21 on average.  "We try to carpool, we try to just keep things local a little bit and just do our best to save from making extra trips," one New Jersey small business worker said. President Biden announced actions today to help Americans at the pump by ordering gas companies to use idle wells or face a fine from the government. "Right now, oil and gas industries are sitting on nearly 9000 unused but approved permits for production on federal lands are more than a million unused acres they have a right to pump on, families can't afford that company sit on their hands," President Biden said.A more immediate step he announced is the releasing of one million barrels of oil from the strategic petroleum reserve.

RELATED: Study: Wildfires from Washington, other states produced up to half of pollution in western U.S."As cardiologists, we are used to thinking about many traditional risk factors such as smoking, hypertension or diabetes," Moreyra said in a news release. "This study and others suggest maybe we should start thinking about air pollution and noise pollution as additional risk factors for cardiovascular disease."The study is one of the first to look at the link between noise and heart disease in America, but researchers said it aligns with other studies done in Europe. Moreyra said other dense urban areas would likely see a similar pattern.The study didn’t examine the biology behind the link, but noise can cause chronic stress, sleep loss, anxiety and depression, all of which can impact heart health, Moreyra said.

Saskatchewan officials say 1,196 new COVID-19 cases were confirmed by laboratory tests last week.The province also reported 20 new deaths, about 39% lower than in the previous week of 33 deaths. COVID-19: 895 cases in Saskatchewan reported, deaths increase Of the newly reported deaths, seven were in the Saskatoon zone.

BENSALEM, Pa. - A Philadelphia man is facing charges after investigators say he stabbed a former co-worker over 50 times and ran him over before dumping his body at a Bucks County train station. Dominique Harris, 30, was taken into custody Thursday morning by officers from the Philadelphia Police Department after his vehicle was spotted near Broad Street and Hunting Park Avenue. He has been charged with criminal homicide and possession of an instrument of crime. It's alleged that Harris ambushed 54-year-old Michael Pickens as he ws taking out the trash at a Bensalem Wendy's early Wednesday morning.

COVID-19 have died as hospitals admitted 111 new patients with the virus last week.The latest COVID-19 data comes both from a COVID-19 bulletin emailed to media and a weekly COVID-19 update from the province, posted online Thursday mornings which cover the previous week. Removal of Manitoba COVID-19 data portal alarms epidemiologist Thursday’s online report includes data from March 20-26.While the online data shows eight people died during the week covered by the report, the bulletin,  which the province says will be the last scheduled bulletin from health officials, listed three further deaths.The latest victims of the virus include five women and six men aged between 50 and 80 plus.Six of the deaths come from the Winnipeg Health region, two were reported in the Prairie Mountain Health region, and one each were reported from the Northern, Southern, and Interlake-Eastern Health regions.

Anna Maria Tolomello, 48 (Bucks County District Attorney's Office)PHILADELPHIA - The owner of a Bucks County pizzeria has been charged with murder after authorities say she shot and killed her longtime partner earlier this month. Anna Maria Tolomello, 48, is accused of fatally shooting Giovanni Gallina, 65, inside a home they shared in the Chalfont section of Hilltown Township. The two also owned Pina’s Pizza in New Britain. She faces several charges including criminal homicide, abuse of corpse, and related offenses. Authorities say their investigation began when Gallina’s son informed them that he had not heard from his father since March 16.

COVID-19 pandemic, the province reported 12 new deaths and an uptick in hospital numbers Thursday.Hospitalizations related to the disease stood at 1,238, an increase of 38. In the last day, 151 people were admitted while 113 were discharged.The number of intensive care unit cases was also on the rise with six more patients, for a total of 66.The province logged 3,319 new novel coronavirus infections.

Tom Parker's health reportedly "deteriorated rapidly" in the days before his death.

COVID on Thursday for the first time since earlier this month. There are 807 people hospitalized with 166 in intensive care.This is up by 29 for hospitalizations and up by one in ICUs since the previous day.

COLOMBO (News 1st); When God gives rainfall and the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation gives fuel, electricity will be supplied, says the Chairman of the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB), M.M.C. Ferdinando.Speaking at a press conference today (31), the CEB Chairman stated that when the country receives a diesel ship, the power plants can be soon activated, which will reduce the duration of power cuts. A heated situation also arose when a journalist proceeded to question the Minister of Power, Pavithra Wannaarachchi with regard to the plan of the Government in the near future regarding the power crisis, to which the Minister responded saying she does not know when it will rain.However, the journalist responded, saying that if he wanted to know of the next time when it will rain, he would inquire the Meteorology Department, and not the Minister, she still proceeded to say that she has no knowledge of the next time when it will rain, and alleged that just because there is no power, the media should not attempt to strike fear into the general public with regard to the matter.What really is the status of the power sector in Sri Lanka?The CEB Chairman M.M.C.

COLOMBO (News 1st); Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna Member of Parliament Premalal Jayasekara alias ‘Choka Malli’ and two others who were convicted and sentenced to death, were acquitted and released by the Court of Appeal on Thursday (31).The order was made by Court of Appeal Justices Nissanka Bandula Karunaratne and R. Gurusinghe.Appeals were filed by Premalal Jayasekera, Ex-Provincial Council Member Nilantha Jayasinghe and Ex-Kahawatte Pradeshiya Sabha Chairman Vajira Darshan requesting that the death sentences imposed on them by the Ratnapura High Court be made null, and they be released and acquitted from all the indictments.On the 31st of July 2020, the trio was sentenced to death by the Ratnapura High Court on the indictments of shooting dead one person and injuring two others during the run-up to the 2015 Presidential Election in Kahawatte, Ratnapura.They were convicted of causing damage to an election propaganda campaign and shooting dead a person identified as Shantha Dodangoda.They file appeals challenging the death sentence noting that the verdict by the Ratnapura High Court was flawed.Premalal Jayasekera and the other two convicted men had filed petitions with the Court of Appeal citing that the manner in which the death sentence was imposed was in violation of the law, and they be acquitted and released.

Download the App to get 14 days of unlimited access to Mint Premium absolutely free!

Rules surrounding free universal testing will be changing from Friday, April 1 and will see a lot of people being forced to pay for lateral flow tests. It comes as Health Secretary Sajid Javid announced that Covid will be treated like any other respiratory infection such as the common cold or influenza.

HOLLYWOOD, CA - March 27, 2022. Chris Rock and Will Smith onstage during the show at the 94th Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 27, 2022. (Myung Chun / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) PHILADELPHIA - Will Smith’s hometown has been added to the list of stops along Chris Rock’s ‘Ego Death World Tour’ after the ‘Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’ actor slapped him in the face at Sunday’s Academy Awards ceremony. Rock, 57, will be in Philadelphia performing at The Met on North Broad Street on Friday Sept.

OCEAN CITY, Md. - A U.S. Navy aircraft with three people aboard crashed in waters near the Eastern Shore boundary of Virginia and Maryland on Wednesday evening, killing one, authorities said.Download the FOX 5 DC News App for Local Breaking News and WeatherLt.

The chief executive of the UK Health Security Agency, Dame Henny Harries, has warned Covid-19 infections are at "a very high level" but are not translation into hospital admission and deaths. She appeared on BBC Radio 4' Today program to warn of the increasing levels of infections of the virus all across the UK.

ORLANDO, Fla. - The family who took Tyre Sampson to ICON Park the night he died spoke exclusively to FOX 35 News about the tragedy. "Even though it wasn’t my brother, it still feels that way. I still experienced it that way. That experience, that’s never going to go away.

new coronavirus infections reported in a day, India's infection tally rose to 4,30,24,440, while the active cases dipped to 14,307, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated today.

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, Calif. - Firefighters with the U.S. Forest Service and Orange County Fire Authority are continuing to knock down a 530-acre blaze that sparked in the morning of March 2 in the Cleveland National Forest in the Holy Jim trail area near Corona.As of Wednesday, March 30, the fire has been 100% contained.The blaze was reported at 11:20 a.m.

Covid-19 cases, India on Thursday recorded 1,225 new cases in the last 24 hours, according to Union Health Ministry data. Additionally, India's Covid-19 deaths witnessed a steep decline in cases with 28 deaths recorded in the last 24 hours, the updated data revealed. The active caseload on Thursday stood at 14,307, as per Health Ministry data.

PHILADELPHIA - Three people were injured during a fire Thursday night at a property in Southwest Philadelphia, according to officials. Firefighters were called to a three-story home on the 1100 block of South 52nd Street just before 5 p.m. and found a heavy fire on the first floor.The fire struck a second alarm shortly after firefighters responded, according to the Philadelphia Fire Department. The department tweeted around 5:30 p.m.

Today we are reporting 15,250 community cases, 830 hospitalisations and 22 deaths.

Alberta Health Minister Jason Copping says both positivity rates from PCR tests and wastewater data are showing initial signs of increased COVID-19 transmission.

After rising for 2 weeks, global cases declined again, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in its latest weekly snapshot of the pandemic, but it urged caution about interpreting trends, due to reduced testing in a number of countries.

Steven Bertolino filed a motion to dismiss a civil lawsuit from the parents and stepparents of slain travel blogger Gabby Petito Wednesday.Bertolino filed his 20-page motion on Wednesday asking a Florida judge to drop the lawsuit with prejudice, arguing that there are no facts to support their claims of "intentional infliction of emotional distress." He further asked that the judge prevent the Petito-Schmidt families from filing an amended lawsuit should his dismissal request be granted. Clients Chris and Roberta Laundrie were exercising their constitutional right to remain silent, Bertolino wrote. "The gravamen of the claimed wrongdoing is that the Laundries exercised their constitutional rights and essentially made no statements to Plaintiffs or law enforcement," the motion states.

Tom Parker of The Wanted visits SiriusXM Studios on May 31, 2013, in New York City. (Robin Marchant/Getty Images) Tom Parker of the band The Wanted has died.

NEW DELHI :

SAN ANTONIO - Country music star Eric Church is canceling his San Antonio show on Saturday to attend the Final Four game between UNC and Duke.The "Drink In My Hand" singer had been scheduled to perform at the AT&T Center on Saturday night, according to KSAT, but he said he will instead be at the game to cheer on the North Carolina Tar Heels. UNC takes on Duke just before 8 p.m.

#COVID19 virus variant emerges. Against this new threat, people’s protection against severe disease and death, either from prior vaccination or infection, will wane rapidly"-@DrTedros

SeQuoya Bacon-Jones, 9, was shot and killed in Trenton on March 25.  (Family photo)TRENTON, N.J. - Authorities in Mercer County announced an arrest in connection to the death of a Trenton 9-year-old who was shot and killed on March 25. Police responded to reports of gunfire at 7:27 p.m. after arguments and fights broke out amongst a large group, officials say. When police arrived, SeQuoya Bacon-Jones was found suffering from gunshot wounds, according to police. Authorities say several people and Bacon-Jones' mother were around her providing aid. RELATED: Trenton community mourns 9-year-old girl killed in shootingMedics transported Bacon-Jones to Capital Health Regional Medical Center where she was stabilized in surgery.

COVID-19 as hospitalizations jumped Wednesday.The number of hospitalizations rounded out at 1,200, a rise of 47. This comes after 148 patients were admitted, while 101 left in the last day.Officials say 60 people were being treated for the disease in intensive care units, a drop of three.The province’s daily tally included 3,067 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus, though this isn’t representative of the situation since PCR testing is only open to select groups.

A further 9,610 cases of coronavirus have been reported in Scotland – with the nation's virus death toll increasing by 34.

ORLANDO, Fla. - New cell phone video shows the moments before a 14-year-old boy died after falling from the Orlando FreeFall ride at ICON Park.A side angle shows Tyre Sampson in his seat on the drop tower ride. Sampson's harness appears to be much higher compared to other riders.The state's accident report says the ride was coming down the tower and when the magnets engaged, Sampson fell out of his seat, but the harness was still in a down and locked position when the ride stopped.RELATED: Orlando FreeFall death: Ride safety experts say teen's harness was not properly securedFox 35 showed the videos to two different experts and their opinions were similar. "I see a patron in an amusement ride and that over the shoulder restraint system is not properly affixed."RELATED: GoFundMe pulls down fake accounts for Tyre Sampson's family created by scammers"It should have been a closed circuit.

COVID on Wednesday, with 165 in intensive care.This is down by 12 for hospitalizations and unchanged in ICUs since the previous day. Hospitalizations are almost at 800 for the second straight day as some experts have said Ontario and Canada are entering a sixth wave.Last Wednesday, there were 611 hospitalizations with 174 in ICU.Of the 778 people in hospital with COVID-19, 50 per cent of them were admitted because of the virus, while 50 per cent were admitted for other reasons but tested positive for COVID-19.Of the 165 people in ICUs with the virus, 73 per cent were admitted because of COVID, while 26 per cent were admitted for other reasons.

GENEVA - The number of people killed by the coronavirus surged by more than 40% last week, likely due to changes in how COVID-19 deaths were reported across the Americas and by newly adjusted figures from India, according to a World Health Organization report released Wednesday.In its latest weekly report on the pandemic, the U.N. health agency said the number of new coronavirus cases fell everywhere, including in WHO's Western Pacific region, where they had been rising since December.About 10 million new COVID-19 infections and more than 45,000 deaths were reported worldwide over the past week, following a 23% drop in fatalities the week before.The jump in reported deaths, up from 33,000 last week, was due mainly to an accounting change; WHO noted that countries including Chile and the United States altered how they define COVID-19 deaths.In addition, more than 4,000 deaths from Maharashtra state in India that initially weren't included among the COVID-19 death toll were added last week, according to WHO.WHO has said repeatedly that COVID-19 case counts are likely a vast underestimate of the coronavirus’ prevalence.

Orlando, Fla. - Tyre Sampson's death is still being investigated, and local attorneys are weighing in on the topic.A big question: if negligence is proven in Sampson's death, could there be criminal charges? Larry Gonzalez an attorney with Morgan & Morgan, who is not involved in the case, said it's up to the state attorney's office"Typically negligence doesn’t rise to the level of a criminal standard of manslaughter unless it’s what’s called grossly negligent, that's a reckless standard, but that’s up to the state’s office if they want to do that based on their own investigation," said Gonzales.Tyre Sampson, 14, is pictured in a provided family photo.  The attorney said typically it would have to rise above the level of ordinary negligence.RELATED: Fence put up around Orlando drop tower ride where teen fell to his death"A lot of times what the courts want to see is what's called intentional misconduct. Maybe you didn’t intend to kill anyone but your conduct was so reckless that that was going to be the likely result," said Gonzales.Tyre Sampson fell out of his seat and to his death on the Orlando FreeFall ride at Icon Park last week.

WHO highlighted that during the week of 21 through 27 March 2022, the number of new cases declined again with a 14% decrease as compared to the previous week. On the other hand, during the same period, the number of new weekly deaths has increased by 43%, driven by changes in the definition of COVID-19 deaths in countries in the Region of the Americas (Chile and the United States of America) and retrospective adjustments reported from India in the South-East Asia Region.

coronavirus surged by more than 40 per cent last week, likely due to changes in how COVID-19 deaths were reported across the Americas and by newly adjusted figures from India, according to a World Health Organization report released Wednesday.In its latest weekly report on the pandemic, the U.N. health agency said the number of new coronavirus cases fell everywhere, including in WHO’s Western Pacific region, where they had been rising since December.About 10 million new COVID-19 infections and more than 45,000 deaths were reported worldwide over the past week, following a 23% drop in fatalities the week before.The jump in reported deaths, up from 33,000 last week, was due mainly to an accounting change; WHO noted that countries including Chile and the United States altered how they define COVID-19 deaths.

LEVITTOWN, Pa. - Firefighters in Bucks County responded to a two-alarm fire at Levittown Lanes on Wednesday morning. Firefighters responded to a fire at Levittown Lanes on Wednesday morning.SKYFOX is over the scene of the fire just around 6 a.m. before the flames increased. Multiple fire engines can be seen attempting to put the fire out as it continues to grow. On Wednesday morning, firefighters responded to a growing fire at Levittown Lanes.This is a developing story.

coronavirus tests will only be available to certain people from this week.Universal testing is set to come to an end on Friday (1 April).This means people will have to pay if they want to get a lateral flow test.The measure comes as part of the UK government's 'Living with Covid' plan, with the virus being treated like other respiratory infections.However, according to the new plans, which were revealed on Tuesday (29 March), free symptomatic testing will be provided for certain people, such as patient-facing NHS workers. Under these proposals, asymptomatic lateral flow tests will also continue next month for certain settings where the possibility of coronavirus spreading quickly is at a high level.

PEORIA, Ariz. - The Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) says an investigation into a group trafficking large amounts of meth and illegal weapons to Mexico has ended in the arrest of four suspects.In February of this year, Bart Graves, a DPS spokesperson, says detectives with the DPS's Border Strike Force Bureau and the Pinal County Investigations Unit began an investigation into the coordination between the suspects, saying drugs and high-powered rifles were believed to be headed from Arizona to Mexico.By mid-March, detectives and SWAT conducted an operation that led to the arrest of the four suspects, one of them being a 17-year-old boy. Graves says five guns and 127 pounds of meth were seized."As the suspects were being arrested, detectives discovered one of the suspects had his one and a half year-old infant with him, with firearms in the vehicle next to the child.

Today we are reporting 15,918 community cases, 817 hospitalisations and 14 deaths.

A stressed police response officer who has seen five dead bodies in the past four weeks has spoken out about the grim reality of the job - after an application for two days off "for a break from it all" was rejected.

Fire officials are urging Ontarians to practice better fire safety in the wake of a fatal house fire in Brampton. Caryn Lieberman reports.

CHESTER, Pa. - Authorities in Chester are investigating the discovery of human remains in a wooded area of a park.Chester police responded to Deshong Park shortly after 7 p.m.

Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins of Foo Fighters perform during day one of Lollapalooza Chile 2022 at Parque Bicentenario Cerrillos on March 18, 2022 in Santiago, Chile. (Photo by Marcelo Hernandez/Getty Images) LOS ANGELES - Foo Fighters have canceled all upcoming concert dates following the death of the band's drummer, Taylor Hawkins.The rockers had been scheduled to play at the Grammy Awards in Las Vegas on Sunday as well as spring dates at the Beale Street Music Festival; the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival; Columbia, Maryland; Raleigh, North Carolina; Daytona Beach; Charlotte, North Carolina; the Boston Calling Music Festival; and summer dates in Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, France and the UK."It is with great sadness that Foo Fighters confirm the cancellation of all upcoming tour dates in light of the staggering loss of our brother," the band said in a statement Tuesday.Hawkins died Friday during a South American tour with the rock band.