December 22, 2021 1:54 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Biden administration is extending a student loan moratorium that has allowed millions of Americans to put off debt payments during the pandemic. Under the action Wednesday, payments on federal student loans will remain paused through May 1. Interest rates will remain at 0% during that period, and debt collection efforts will be suspended. Those measures have been in place since early in the pandemic but were set to expire Jan. 31. This is the second extension from the administration. President Joe Biden says the administration understands that borrowers are still coping with the impact of the pandemic.
December 22, 2021 1:26 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) – The U.S. has authorized the first pill against COVID-19, a Pfizer drug that Americans can take at home to reduce the risk of hospitalization and death. The Food and Drug Administration announcement comes as the U.S. braces for a wave of new infections from the omicron variant that is threatening already-strained hospitals. Pfizer’s prescription pill is the first U.S. medication that doesn’t require an injection or an IV, a long-awaited milestone in the battle against the virus. But initial supplies will be extremely limited with just enough to treat tens of thousands of people. The drug was authorized for high-risk patients who are most likely to get severe illness.
December 22, 2021 9:33 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The U.S. economy grew at a 2.3% rate in the third quarter according to a third and final estimate of the nation’s economic growth for that period. áBut prospects for a solid rebound going forward are being clouded by the rapid spread of the latest variant of the coronavirus. The Commerce Department said Wednesday that the nation’s total output of goods and services, was higher than last month’s estimate of 2.1% growth in the third quarter. The new-found strength came from primarily from stronger consumer spending than previously thought and a stronger performance by businesses in rebuilding their inventories.
December 22, 2021 9:30 am
A train derailed Wednesday morning in Clairton, shutting down a street in the area. The derailment happened in the area of State Street and Blair Avenue. Three empty train cars derailed, Allegheny County tweeted shortly after 8:30 a.m. State Street/Route 837 is closed in both directions between Maple Avenue and Walnut Street. No injuries have been reported. Emergency dispatchers said police and fire crews were called to the scene.
December 22, 2021 4:16 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden has announced plans to deliver 500 million free COVID-19 tests to Americans, increase support for hospitals and expand the availability of vaccines to confront a winter surge of coronavirus cases driven by the fast-spreading omicron variant. Biden said in a speech to the nation Tuesday that it’s Americans’ “patriotic duty,” as well as a wise medical step, to get vaccinated. The world is facing a second straight holiday season with COVID-19, but scientists say vaccination should offer strong protections against severe illness and death. Biden’s top medical adviser, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said Biden was delivering “a stark warning of what the winter will look like” for unvaccinated Americans.
December 22, 2021 4:13 am
The U.S. Secret Service says nearly $100 billion has been stolen from COVID-19 relief programs set up to help businesses and people who lost their jobs due to the pandemic. The staggering sum represents but a small percentage, less than 3%, of pandemic benefits program funds. The estimate is based on Secret Service cases and data from the Labor Department and the Small Business Administration. It doesn’t include cases handled by the Justice Department. Roy Dotson is the national pandemic fraud recovery coordinator for the Secret Service. He says his agency has more than 900 active criminal investigations into pandemic fraud.
December 22, 2021 4:12 am
CHICAGO (AP) – Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot says the nation’s third-largest city will require proof of coronavirus vaccination at restaurants, bars, gyms and other indoor venues. Lightfoot said Tuesday that the requirement will take effect Jan. 3. It comes as the rapidly spreading omicron variant has led to a spike in COVID-19 infections. Lightfoot says she hasn’t been as concerned about COVID-19 as she is now since the early days of the pandemic in 2020. On Monday, Illinois reported about 12,330 new COVID-19 cases, which is the highest daily total in more than a year. Chicago is seeing an average of 1,700 cases per day, up from about 300 per day just weeks ago. Much of that increase has been driven by the omicron variant, prompting fears of a winter surge.
December 22, 2021 4:11 am
NEW YORK (AP) – U.S. health officials say 2021 is shaping up to be even deadlier than last year. It’s too early to say for sure, since all the death reports for November and December won’t be in for many weeks. But based on available information, it seems likely 2021 will surpass last year’s record number of deaths by at least 15,000. That’s according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Last year was the most lethal in U.S. history, due largely to the COVID-19 pandemic. A CDC report being released Wednesday shows 2020 was actually even worse than it previously reported, with more than 3.3 million U.S. deaths.
December 22, 2021 4:08 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania’s highest court is putting a final nail into the coffin of a proposed victims’ rights constitutional amendment that state voters supported by a large margin more than two years ago but which has never gone into effect. The justices ruled Tuesday by a 6 to 1 vote that the sprawling proposal violated the Pennsylvania Constitution’s requirement that amendments address a single topic to prevent lawmakers from bundling together items that might not pass on their own individual merits. Unofficial tallies indicate the so-called “Marsy’s Law” amendment question passed by a ratio of 3 to 1 in 2019.
December 22, 2021 4:07 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Republican lawmakers aiming to expand what they call a “forensic investigation” of Pennsylvania’s 2020 election into the inspection of voting machines must wait until next month. A Commonwealth Court judge said Tuesday that Fulton County must first work out an agreement with the state. Judge Mary Hannah Leavitt gave them until Jan. 10. State lawyers last week discovered that Fulton County commissioners had voted to allow a contractor hired by Senate Republicans to inspect voting systems it used in last year’s presidential election. Wolf’s administration says such access by someone who isn’t federally accredited to inspect voting systems posed a risk of damaging or altering their software or data.
