October 7, 2021 4:08 am
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – A federal judge has ordered Texas to suspend a new law that has banned most abortions in the state since September. The order Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman freezes for now the strict abortion law known as Senate Bill 8. It bans abortions once cardiac activity is detected, which is usually around six weeks. That is before some women even know they’re pregnant. The decision is the first legal blow to the Texas law since the U.S. Supreme Court allowed it to take effect last month. Abortion providers in Texas say the restrictions have backlogged clinics hundreds of miles away as women now leave state borders to seek care. Texas officials were expected to seek a swift appeal.
October 7, 2021 4:07 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Senate leaders have announced an agreement to extend the government’s borrowing authority into December, temporarily averting an unprecedented default that experts say would have decimated the economy. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer made the announcement as he opened the Senate on Thursday. He said he hoped the Senate could vote later in the day. Republican leader Mitch McConnell made the offer of a short term extension Wednesday. President Joe Biden and business leaders have ramped up their concerns over what an unprecedented federal default would mean for the nation’s economy.
October 7, 2021 4:04 am
SOMERSET, Pa. (AP) – Officials in a rural western Pennsylvania county say the prosecutor’s access to his office and the courthouse are restricted after he was charged last month with violently raping a woman he knew through work. Somerset County District Attorney Jeffrey Lynn Thomas is charged with rape in an alleged attack on the woman in her Windber home. County Solicitor Michael Barbera says Thomas can no longer enter the building through side doors or after hours and no longer has access to a law enforcement database. The 36-year-old Republican said last week he plans a leave of absence to focus on his case. His lawyer says Thomas denies the allegations.
October 7, 2021 2:56 am
A person of interest is in custody after shots fired led to a SWAT situation near the campus of California University. University officials say campus and borough police cordoned off a two-block area near Third and Union streets Wednesday afternoon. An alert went out Wednesday morning saying that police were investigating shots fired near the corner of those streets around 9:20 a.m. There were no injuries reported and University officials tell WJPA classes were never interrupted and no students were involved. California Borough Police and the Washington County District Attorney’s office are continuing to investigate. According to Washington County District Attorney Jason Walsh, the suspect went into an apartment building nearby and wouldn’t come out so officers from multiple agencies and the SWAT team were called in. The SWAT situation went on for hours and eventually the man surrendered to police. The identity of the suspect hasn’t been released, nor the charges he’ll face. The DA says there weren’t any warrants out for his arrest.
October 7, 2021 2:21 am
(WPXI) – A large gas leak had emergency crews prepared to evacuate homes Thursday morning in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood, officials said. The leak happened when a construction crew hit a gas line at the intersection of Zulema Street and Coltart Avenue, which is next to UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital, which is not affected. “UPMC is aware of a gas leak near the Boulevard of the Allies in Oakland. This is not impacting UPMC Magee operations. The hospital is open, safe and able to provide care for all,” a UPMC spokesperson said in a statement. The process of starting to evacuate homes was stopped after firefighters conducted readings in the area and determined it was not necessary, according to Pittsburgh Public Safety.
October 6, 2021 11:56 am
A long-time community leader in Washington County has died. Andy Uram passed away Sunday at the age of 100. Uram was active in many areas of the community, including the Washington Symphony Orchestra, Citizens Library, The Washington County Chamber of Commerce and the United Way. Uram was also heavily involved in the Rotary Club of Washington. Visitation will be held at the Warco-Falvo Funeral Home in Washington on Thursday and funeral services will be held Friday morning at ten at Immaculate Conception Church in Washington.
October 6, 2021 11:51 am
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) – Police in Texas have arrested a student suspected of opening fire during a fight at his Dallas-area high school, leaving four people injured. Police say 18-year-old Timothy George Simpkins fled from Timberview High School in Arlington and drove away in a 2018 silver Dodge Charger after the Wednesday morning shooting. They say two people were shot and two others received unspecified injuries. At least three of the four are students. The school has about 1,900 students in grades nine through 12.
October 6, 2021 4:15 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – While accusing the giant social network of pursuing profits over safety, a former Facebook data scientist told Congress she believes stricter government oversight could alleviate the dangers the company poses, from harming children to inciting political violence to fueling misinformation. Frances Haugen, testifying to the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, presented a wide-ranging condemnation of Facebook. She accused the company of failing to make changes to Instagram after internal research showed apparent harm to some teens. But she also offered thoughtful ideas about how Facebook’s social media platforms could be made safer.
October 6, 2021 4:12 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden says Democrats are considering a change to the Senate’s filibuster rules in order to quickly approve lifting the nation’s debt limit. Biden told reporters late Tuesday at the White House, “It’s a real possibility.” The president off-the-cuff remarks interject a new urgency to an increasingly uncertain situation. Days before an Oct. 18 deadline to act, the Senate is tangled in an dangerous partisan standoff over a vote that’s needed to allow the federal government to continue borrowing or risk defaulting on its already accrued debt load. Republicans are putting up hurdles to the vote.
October 6, 2021 4:11 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden’s and congressional Democrats’ push for a 10-year, $3.5 trillion package of social and environmental initiatives has reached a turning point. Biden has been repeatedly conceding that the measure will be much smaller. Democrats say he’s recently discussed a $1.9 trillion to $2.3 trillion price tag. That represents an effort by Biden to push his party beyond months of stalemate and refocus bargainers on nailing down the policy and fiscal decisions that will be needed to succeed. There’s been no agreement on a final figure and plenty of other unanswered questions remain, along with the possibility of failure.
