November 22, 2021 12:36 pm
HUNTINGTON, N.Y. (AP) – Add Christmas trees to the list of items facing shortages and higher prices this year. Several factors are driving the trend, Newsday reported. These include over-the-top sales last year during the first Christmas during the COVID-19 pandemic and supply chain issues this year. Experts said tree buyers should expect to pay between 10% and 30% more for both live trees and artificial trees this year and also have a smaller selection to choose from. Several factors are at work. Farmers struggling after the economic recession in 2009 planted fewer trees for several years, and demand has been rising in the last several years, experts told Newsday.
November 22, 2021 10:20 am
A video call between Olympic officials and Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai was meant to reassure the world that she was safe – but instead has raised more questions. Concern grew in the last week for the former No. 1-ranked doubles player who hadn’t been seen since accusing a senior Chinese official of sexual assault on Nov. 2. Tennis stars and fans alike demanded to know where she was and the head of the Women’s Tennis Association threatened to pull events from China. On Sunday, the International Olympic Committee said Peng spoke to officials in a 30-minute video call. According to the organization’s statement, she reassured them that she was well. The IOC posted a photo showing the call but did not release video of the call.
November 22, 2021 10:18 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Target will no longer open its stores on Thanksgiving Day, making permanent a shift to the unofficial start of the holiday season that was suspended during the pandemic. To limit crowds in stores, retailers last year were forced to turn what had become a weekend shopping blitz into an extended event with holiday sales beginning as early as October. That forced shift turned out to be a good move. U.S. holiday sales in November and December rose 8.2% from the previous year, and the National Retail Federation predicts that this year could shatter that record, growing between 8.5% and 10.5%.
November 22, 2021 10:16 am
PITTSBURGH – (WPXI) – A 4-year-old boy died after he apparently accidentally shot himself in the face Monday morning in Pittsburgh’s East Liberty neighborhood, police said. The incident happened shortly after 8 a.m. at a home on North Negley Avenue. The boy was taken to UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, where he died, police said. Investigators said the boy was home with one caregiver. (Photo; WPXI)
November 22, 2021 7:53 am
A fire late Sunday night caused extensive damage to the bar area of Jimmy G’s along S. Central Avenue in Canonsburg. The blaze broke out around 11 p.m. Fire Chief Tim Solobay tells WJPA that the blaze was accidental. According to Solobay, they reviewed video from inside the bar that showed the bartender smoke several cigarettes while preparing to close up for the night. Those cigarettes were put out in an ash tray on the bar. A short time later, the bartender is seen tossing the contents of the ashtray into a garbage can at the bar. The video then shows that garbage can catch fire a short time later. No injuries resulted.
November 22, 2021 4:29 am
POINT BREEZE — (WPXI) – A teenager died and a another was charged after a shooting in the 100 block of North Linden Avenue in Pittsburgh’s Point Breeze neighborhood. When first responders arrived around 8:15 p.m., they found a female teenager with a gunshot wound to the head. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the teen as Aliah Johnson, 17, of Wilkinsburg. Medics pronounced Johnson deceased in the upper level of the home. Police detained one man from the scene. According to court paperwork, the suspect was identified as Emeka Moye-King, 16, of Pittsburgh. The document states that Moye-King and his girlfriend, Johnson, were hanging out in a second floor bedroom watching TV. Moye-King’s mother was there and told police she could hear the two laughing and joking around, then she heard a loud bang. Holly King stated a few seconds later her son came running downstairs, yelling that he had just shot Johnson. The complaint said she was shot in the face and died minutes later. Police immediately took the Moye-King into custody. Moye-King is charged with criminal homicide and possession of a firearm by a minor.
November 22, 2021 4:26 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Republicans in the Pennsylvania Senate will pay up to $270,000 over the next six months to have a consulting firm examine the 2020 election with an eye toward developing changes to state election law. The “forensic investigation” is being launched in response to pressure from Republican supporters of former President Donald Trump upset over his 80,000-vote loss in the state. Dubuque, Iowa-based Envoy Sage will be paid out of the Senate Republican leader’s taxpayer-funded leadership account. Democrats say the had no role in picking Envoy Sage and call the review political, unnecessary and costly.
November 22, 2021 4:24 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Police say a pregnant woman unloading presents from her own baby shower in northeast Philadelphia was confronted by someone who shot and killed her and her unborn child. Police said the 32-year-old woman, who was seven months pregnant, was hit in the head and stomach Saturday night in the Lawncrest neighborhood. She was pronounced dead at a hospital shortly afterward and her unborn child was pronounced dead Sunday ámorning. WPVI-TV reports that Deputy Commissioner Christine Coulter called the shooting “cowardly” and said it appeared the victim was targeted. Mayor Jim Kenney called it “deeply upsetting and heartbreaking” and said the city is offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.
November 22, 2021 4:22 am
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) – Two of 17 members of a missionary group who were kidnapped more than a month ago are safe and “in good spirits” after being freed in Haiti. Ohio-based Christian Aid Ministries issued a statement Sunday saying it could not give the names of those released, why they were freed or other information. “While we rejoice at this release, our hearts are with the 15 people who are still being held,” the group said. 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.
November 22, 2021 4:21 am
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) – Democracy is deteriorating across the world, with countries notably taking undemocratic and unnecessary actions to contain the coronavirus pandemic, an intergovernmental body said in its new report Monday. International IDEA says that as of August 2021, 64% of countries have taken an action to curb the pandemic that it considers “disproportionate, unnecessary or illegal.” Meanwhile, the situation is also getting worse in countries that are not democratic. Autocratic regimes have become “even more brazen in their repression,” free speech has been restricted and the rule of law has been weakened, it says. It said the number of backsliding democracies has doubled in the past decade, and mentioned in particular the United States, Hungary, Poland and Slovenia.
