July 9, 2022 4:54 am
YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. (AP) — Officials say part of Yosemite National Park has been closed and hundreds of people evacuated nearby as a wildfire rages near a grove of California’s famed giant sequoia trees. On Friday, the growing fire forced park officials to close Mariposa Grove. It is the largest sequoia grove in Yosemite and features more than 500 mature giant sequoias. A campground and the community of Wawona were ordered evacuated. Firefighters are trying to contain the blaze from the ground and the air. Although sequoias are threatened by the flames, there have been no reports of severe damage to the grove’s giant named sequoias.
July 9, 2022 4:53 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has signed an executive order to protect access to abortion, delivering impassioned remarks condemning the Supreme Court decision that ended that constitutional right. He said it’s now up to Congress to fully restore the right, and he implored Americans to “vote, vote, vote, vote” in November to elect sympathetic candidates. Biden on Friday formalized instructions to the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services to push back on efforts to limit the ability of women to access federally approved abortion medication or to travel across state lines to access clinical abortion services.
July 9, 2022 4:52 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The actor who played mobster Paulie Walnuts on “The Sopranos” and other tough-guy roles in movies has died. Tony Sirico’s longtime manager says the 79-year-old actor died Friday at an assisted living facility in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The cause of death wasn’t immediately released. Sirico was born in 1942 in New York City. He told the Los Angeles Times in 1990 that he became interested in acting in prison in the 1970s after he saw a performance by a group of ex-convicts. Among his other film credits are Woody Allen’s “Bullets over Broadway” and “Mighty Aphrodite.” Sirico appeared on TV series including “Miami Vice” and voiced roles on “Family Guy” and “American Dad!”
July 9, 2022 4:50 am
Elon Musk announced Friday that he will abandon his tumultuous $44 billion offer to buy Twitter after the company failed to provide enough information about the number of fake accounts. Twitter immediately fired back, saying it would sue the Tesla CEO to uphold the deal. The likely unraveling of the acquisition was just the latest twist in a saga between the world’s richest man and one of the most influential social media platforms, and it may portend a titanic legal battle ahead. The chair of Twitter’s board, Bret Taylor, tweeted that the board is committed to closing the transaction.
July 9, 2022 4:49 am
PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona’s governor has signed a law that restricts how the public can video police at a time when there’s growing pressure around the country for greater law enforcement transparency. Gov. Doug Ducey approved a measure that makes it illegal to knowingly film police officers 8 feet or closer without an officer’s permission. Civil rights and media groups say the law is unconstitutional and simply cannot be applied in real-world scenarios. The bill’s advocates say the law allows for filming while keeping everyone safe. The move comes nearly a year after the U.S. Department of Justice launched a probe into the Phoenix police force. Similar investigations are ongoing in Minneapolis and Louisville.
July 9, 2022 4:42 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. — In a 28-22 vote, Pennsylvania senators advanced a motion that would amend the state constitution. The amendment would allow language to say the state constitution does not guarantee the right to an abortion or to taxpayer-funded abortions. The house passed the approval late Friday night after hours of debate. “This amendment does not ban abortion,” said Sen. Kim Ward (R-Westmoreland County). “This is just us giving the people of Pennsylvania the ability to put their voice into the laws of Pennsylvania.” State Sen. Jay Costa (D-Allegheny) called the measure “disturbing,” and said he would continue to fight for women to have the right to choose what they do with their bodies. Sen. Costa says this amendment, which cannot be vetoed by the governor, could be on the ballot for voters to decide as early as May of 2023.
July 9, 2022 4:37 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf has vetoed bills passed by the Legislature regarding transgender athletes in school sports, out-of-county poll watchers and how human services are provided. The vetoes made Friday complicate the state budget package. The Democratic governor had said he would strike down the effort to ban transgender athletes from competing in sports that align with their gender identity. He’s also striking down a bill sponsored by Franklin County Sen. Doug Mastriano, the Republican nominee for governor, that would have permitted all registered voters of Pennsylvania to be poll watchers in any precinct in the state.
July 9, 2022 1:47 am
The annual Whiskey Rebellion Festival is underway at the Community pavilion on South Main Street in downtown Washington. Festival goers will enjoy music, food and re-enactments. Saturday is the big day with plenty of food, music and live theater. The action Saturday kicks off with a parade along South Main Street starting at 10:30 a.m. There will also be activities at the Bradford House on South Main Street and the LeMoyne House on Maiden Street. Tours of the Washington County Courthouse will also be available. The main musical act this year is Jakob Ferry Stragglers. Music at the Main Stage starts at 12:30 p.m.
July 9, 2022 1:17 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – State lawmakers are overwhelmingly approving the main Pennsylvania state budget bill more than a week after it was due. The plan sent to Gov. Tom Wolf on Friday was fattened by federal stimulus cash and unusually robust state tax collections. Big winners include public schools, environmental programs and long-term care facilities. But the budget is also leaving some $5 billion in the state’s rainy day fund and is projected to create a multibillion-dollar cushion for next year. There’s also a cut in the tax on corporate net income. A spokesperson for the Democratic governor says he’ll sign it.
July 8, 2022 2:57 pm
LOS ANGELES (AP) – An actor best known for the 1960s TV Western spoof “F Troop” has died. Larry Storch, who played Corporal Agarn, died early Friday. His manager says the actor died of natural causes. “F Troop” lasted only two seasons on ABC, from 1965 to 1967, but it became a cult favorite in reruns. While “F Troop” brought him lasting fame, Storch appeared in scores of films and TV shows before and after the series. He also enjoyed a long career in theater and as a comic at resorts in New York State’s Catskill Mountains area. Larry Storch was 99.
