December 16, 2021 4:38 pm
(AP) – U.S. health advisors are recommending that most Americans get the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines instead of the Johnson & Johnson shot. Thursday’s recommendation came after government advisers reviewed new safety data about rare but potentially life-threatening blood clots linked to J&J’s shot. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines don’t come with this risk and are widely available. Of the 200 million fully vaccinated Americans, only a small fraction – about 16 million – got the J&J option. Now the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must decide whether to accept the unusual recommendation. (Photo: AP)
December 16, 2021 12:41 pm
(WPXI) – More than 50,000 Harbor Breeze and Honeywell ceiling fans are being recalled because the fan blades can come off while in use and can cause damage or injury. Hong Kong China Electric Appliance Manufacture Company announced the recall for 77,900 Harbor Breeze 52-inch Belleisle Bay and Honeywell 52-inch Rio ceiling fans. The company has received 60 reports of the blades detaching from the fan, and three reports of damage to drywall as a result. There have been no reports of injuries. The fans were sold online at Lowes.com, Amazon.com, Wayfair.com, Overstock.com, Hayneedle.com, Houzz.com, eAcces.com and Build.com between February 2018 and August 2021 for about $150. Anyone with these fans should stop using them immediately and contact the company. You will be asked to disconnect the fan, provide pictures of it, and then you will be mailed a replacement, Consumer Reports reported.
December 16, 2021 8:58 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose last week despite signs that the U.S. labor market is rebounding from last year’s coronavirus recession. Jobless claims were up by 18,000 to a 206,000, still low by historical standards. The four-week average, which smooths out week-to-week volatility, fell by 16,000 to less than 204,000, the lowest level since mid-November 1969. Altogether, 1.8 million Americans were receiving traditional jobless benefits the week that ended Dec. 4, down by 154,000 from the previous week.
December 16, 2021 4:23 am
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) – The remaining members of a U.S.-based missionary group who were kidnapped two months ago have been freed. That’s according to the group and to Haitian police. The spokesman for Haiti’s National Police confirmed to The Associated Press on Thursday that the remaining hostages had been released, but did not immediately provide additional details. Ohio-based Christian Aid Ministries issued a statement saying that the 12 remaining hostages “are FREE!” The missionaries were kidnapped by the 400 Mawozo gang on Oct. 16. There are five children in the group of 16 U.S. citizens and one Canadian, including an 8-month-old. Their Haitian driver also was abducted.
December 16, 2021 4:21 am
DAWSON SPRINGS, Ky. (AP) – President Joe Biden is pledging to do “whatever it takes, as long as it takes” to help Kentucky and other states recover and rebuild after a series of deadly tornadoes that he says left a trail of unimaginable devastation. During a stop Wednesday in Dawson Springs, the president said “the scope and scale of this destruction is almost beyond belief.” Biden also spoke of the stress felt by victims of natural disasters such as the weekend storms that swept across eight states. He said it was urgent that people be moved from emergency shelters in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
December 16, 2021 4:20 am
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – A powerful storm system is blowing through the Great Plains and Midwest, combining with unusually warm temperatures to close highways and prompt numerous tornado warnings. The winds gusting up to 80 mph hit parts of Nebraska, Kansas and Iowa. The winds caused dust storms that closed down a section of Interstate 70 and many state highways in western Kansas. The National Weather Service said there have been 13 tornado reports in the Plains states. The agency issued a high wind warning from New Mexico to upper Michigan, including Wisconsin and Illinois. Fires were reported in Kansas Wednesday afternoon, prompting evacuations but no immediate reports of damage to buildings.
December 16, 2021 4:17 am
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Prosecutors have rested their case against Kim Potter, the Minnesota police officer charged in the shooting death of Black motorist Daunte Wright. Prosecutors wrapped up their weeklong case against the former Brooklyn Center officer on Thursday. It’s now the defense’s turn, and Potter’s attorneys have said she will take the stand. Potter has said she meant to draw her Taser instead of her handgun while attempting to stop Wright from trying to drive away while officers sought to arrest him. She shot him once and it was recorded by officers’ body cameras. Prosecutors have portrayed Potter as an experienced officer who had been trained to a Taser, including the danger of confusing it with a handgun. (Photo: AP)
December 16, 2021 4:09 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – The Legislative Reapportionment Commission is advancing new preliminary Pennsylvania state House and Senate maps over objections from the state House’s Republican leader. The Legislative Reapportionment Commission voted 5-0 for the Senate map and 3-2 for the House map on Thursday. A vote on the final maps is likely a month or more away. The approval on Thursday is a key step in the once-in-a-decade process that will reverberate politically for years to come. There are about two months left before candidates are scheduled to begin circulating nominating petitions to get on the May 17 primary ballot.
December 16, 2021 4:02 am
Wednesday evening brought about a change in the Ringgold School District. School Directors voted to amend the health and safety plan and require masks to be worn by students and staff immediately. This comes after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court threw out on Friday, the mandatory mask requirement implemented by the Wolf administration back in August. A last minute addition to the agenda passed by a 5-4 vote. Public comment on the new agenda item was split evenly with support for and against the wearing of masks by students. A roll call vote determined the change in policy by the same 5-4 margin. Superintendent Randall Skrinjorich pointed to several issues as reason for the change. A large increase in positive cases and quarantine of students after the holiday drew attention to the issue. Had masks not been returned for use, Skrinjorich indicated that following state guidelines, not wearing masks would increase the number of close contacts with infected individuals and cause increases quarantines. Finally Skrinjorich indicated that the safety of students and staff are of utmost concern. The district does not want to be in a position where students would not be able to learn because of a lack of teachers or support staff and buildings would have to close. In other district business, the board accepted the resignation of Rachel Roberts. She is the teacher that allegedly assaulted a student in her classroom. The district had no comment on the resignation stating that they do not comment on employee matters.
December 15, 2021 1:58 pm
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania is asking the federal government to send health care workers to bolster hospitals and nursing homes that are increasingly under strain from persistent staffing shortages and the latest COVID-19 surge. The Wolf administration asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency on Wednesday to send strike teams to hospitals, skilled nursing facilities and ambulance companies in the hardest-hit areas of the state. Pennsylvania is also requesting that the federal government send 1 million rapid at-home coronavirus tests and increase the state’s allocation of monoclonal antibody treatments. Statewide, hospitalizations are up by two-thirds since last month.
