October 16, 2021 2:21 am
After years of preparation and construction, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission has opened the Southern Beltway. The $800 million project links with the already operating Findlay Connector at this point, which will give Washington County residents and others a direct shot to Pittsburgh International Airport and other points north from Southpointe. The opening happened in phases Friday, with the entire highway now completely drivable. Some ramps at the Interstate 79 Interchange are still closed as work continues in that area. Drivers will encounter three toll points along the route, where two-axle vehicles will pay $1.30 with an EZ Pass, or $2.60 via the state’s toll-by-plate system. This means it will cost regular cars just under $4.00 to take the whole highway with an EZ Pass, and just under $8.00 without one. Construction will continue on Interstate 79 at the Southern Beltway ramps between Bridgeville and Southpointe until work is completed on that highway around Memorial Day of 2022.
October 16, 2021 1:53 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – A panel of U.S. health advisers has endorsed booster doses of Johnson & Johnson’s single-shot COVID-19 vaccine. The Food and Drug Administration panel said Friday that the booster should be offered at least two months after immunization but didn’t suggest a firm time. The FDA isn’t bound by the vote but its ultimate decision could help expand the nation’s booster campaign. Booster doses of Pfizer’s vaccine began last month for people at high risk of COVID-19, and the FDA advisory panel has recommended the same approach for Moderna.
October 16, 2021 1:21 am
ORANGE, Calif. (AP) – Bill Clinton is recovering from a urological infection in a Southern California hospital. An aide said Friday the former president was in an intensive care section of the hospital, though not receiving “ICU care.” The aide, who would not allow his name to be used, did not elaborate on the reason Clinton was in the ICU. He said Clinton had a urological infection that spread to his bloodstream, but is on the mend and never went into septic shock, a potentially life-threatening condition. Hillary Clinton was with him in the hospital, though not his daughter, Chelsea Clinton. There was no immediate word on any timeline for Clinton’s release.
October 15, 2021 4:13 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – A congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection has set a vote to recommend criminal contempt charges against former White House aide Steve Bannon after he defied the panel’s subpoena. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said that the panel will vote Tuesday to recommend the charges. That would send the recommendation to the full House for a vote. If the House votes to recommend the contempt charges against Bannon, the Justice Department will ultimately decide whether to prosecute. The committee had demanded documents and testimony from Bannon, who was in touch with President Donald Trump ahead of the violent attack.
October 15, 2021 4:11 am
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – A federal appeals court is once again allowing Texas to continue banning most abortions. The decision Thursday night keeps the law known as Senate Bill 8 in place as the Justice Department tries to halt the law. The Biden administration is suing Texas over the restrictions that ban abortions once cardiac activity is detected, usually around six weeks. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has now allowed the law to proceed three times since August. The Texas law allows private citizens to collect at least $10,000 in damages if they bring a successful lawsuit against an abortion provider who violates the restrictions.
October 15, 2021 4:09 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden has signed into law a bill raising the nation’s debt limit until early December, delaying the prospect of an unprecedented federal default that would cause economic disaster. The House passed the $480 billion increase in the country’s borrowing ceiling on Tuesday after the Senate approved it on a party-line vote last week. Senate Republicans had derailed initial Democratic efforts to raise the debt limit, but a handful of Republicans eventually joined Democrats and allowed the bill to come to the floor for a vote. Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell has said Republicans will offer no support for another increase in December.
October 15, 2021 4:08 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Average long-term mortgage rates jumped this week, with the benchmark 30-year loan again breaching 3%. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac says the average rate for a 30-year mortgage rose to 3.05% from 2.99% last week. That is its highest level since April, when it peaked at 3.18%. The rate for a 15-year loan rose to 2.30% from 2.23% last week. The increase in mortgage rates came amid continued inflation pressures. The government reported Wednesday that retail inflation rose 0.4% in September, with its consumer price index up 5.4% over the past 12 months – matching the fastest pace since 2008.
October 15, 2021 4:07 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – A judge is refusing to seal records and proceedings in the ongoing custody battle involving Sean Parnell, a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania. The judge, in his Thursday ruling, also rejected Parnell’s request to bar his wife from talking about past restraining orders she had sought against him. Parnell had made the requests after a rival for the Republican nomination, Jeff Bartos, and an associated super PAC attacked Parnell over the matter, calling him “unelectable.” Parnell’s campaign has disputed the notion that the restraining orders sought by Laurie Parnell in the contentious divorce case were evidence of any wrongdoing. Neither lasted more than a matter of days.
October 14, 2021 5:53 pm
(AP) – Stocks rallied on Wall Street Thursday as the market shook off several days of wobbly trading. The S&P 500 jumped 1.7%, its biggest gain since March. The wave of buying built on momentum from a day earlier, when the market broke a three-day losing streak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.6%, while the Nasdaq rose 1.7%. Health care stocks did especially well, led by a 4.2% gain in UnitedHealth Group after the leading health insurer easily beat analysts’ earnings forecasts and raised its outlook. Apple and Microsoft each rose more than 2%. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 1.52%.
October 14, 2021 10:44 am
Two Charleroi residents have been arrested in a large-scale drug bust in the Mon Valley. Washington County District Attorney Jason Walsh says 41 year old Danielle Rainey and 51 year old Derrick Price face charges of Possession with Intent to Deliver, Simple Possession and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Walsh says Charleroi Police were dispatched to assist Washington County Adult Probation on Wednesday and observed Rainey drinking on her porch in violation of her probation. A sweep of the house for officer safety revealed crack in plain view. A search warrant was executed on the home and turned up approximately 57 bricks of heroin and over $8,000 in U.S. currency.
