January 26, 2022 4:56 pm
(AP) – A requirement to get vaccinated against COVID-19 kicks in Thursday for millions of health care workers in about half the states. The mandate is starting first in states that didn’t challenge the rule from the Biden administration. It will take effect later in February for 25 other states that had filed lawsuits. The U.S. Supreme Court earlier this month lifted injunctions that had put the vaccine mandate on hold, The federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services says it won’t immediately resort to penalties for health facilities that have a plan to try to achieve full compliance by their staff. (Photo: AP)
January 26, 2022 3:50 pm
DETROIT (AP) – Nissan is recalling more than 793,000 small SUVs in the U.S. and Canada because water can get into wiring and in rare cases could start a fire. The recall covers Nissan Rogue SUVs from the 2014 through 2016 model years. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says in documents that water and salt can enter a wiring connector in the driver’s foot well, causing corrosion. The corrosion can increase the risk of a fire. Nissan says it’s working on a fix and expects to have one in the spring.
January 26, 2022 2:51 pm
PITTSBURGH (AP) – A man has been charged with aggravated assault and other crimes in a shooting in a Pittsburgh mall parking lot last month. Twenty-one-year-old John Hayden is also charged with child endangerment, reckless endangerment and weapons offenses in the Dec. 14 gunfire at The Waterworks mall near the borough of Aspinwall. Authorities allege that an argument inside the Walmart store was followed by gunfire in the parking lot. No one was injured. A vehicle was damaged and the store was evacuated. Court documents don’t list a defense attorney and a listed number for Hayden couldn’t be found Wednesday.
January 26, 2022 12:39 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) – Two sources tell The Associated Press that liberal Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer is retiring, giving President Joe Biden an opening he has pledged to fill by naming the first Black woman to the high court. Breyer has been a pragmatic force on a court that has grown increasingly conservative in recent years, trying to forge majorities with more moderate justices right and left of center. Breyer’s departure won’t change the 6-3 conservative advantage on the court, since his replacement will be nominated and almost certainly confirmed by a Senate where Democrats have the slimmest majority. It also makes conservative Justice Clarence Thomas the oldest member of the court at 73. (Photo: ABC News)
January 26, 2022 12:11 pm
An Amwell Township man faces trial on multiple charges for threatening to bring a gun to a local state representative’s office. Authorities arrested 47-year-old Anthony Burnworth las month following two phone calls that were place to Democrat Pam Snyder’s office in Carmichaels in Greene County. The calls were related to issues he was having with his unemployment benefits. Burnworth is free on fifty-thousand-dollars bond until his formal arraignment, which is scheduled for February 28th. Burnworth’s attorney says they plan to seek an amicable resolution to what he called, “An unfortunate misunderstanding.”
January 26, 2022 4:16 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden’s effort to rally support ahead of a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine is the latest big test of his ability to bridge ideological gaps and balance competing interests to build effective coalitions. His record so far as president suggests it’s no sure thing. Biden is trying to pull off the kind of alliance on the international front that has eluded him on his domestic agenda as he faces defeats on voting rights and his signature domestic and climate spending bill. The pileup of difficult moments goes to the twin pillars of Biden’s 2020 candidacy: that he could get things done competently at home and restore America’s standing in the world.
January 26, 2022 4:12 am
BEIJING (AP) – Repeated COVID-19 testing of millions of Beijing residents is starting to test the patience of some as the city clamps down on the virus ahead of the coming Winter Olympics. A third round of mass testing for the 2 million residents of Fengtai district got underway Wednesday. Residents bundled up against the wind as they waited in line with the daytime high hovering around the freezing point. An official announcement of the testing on social media late Tuesday drew dozens of critical comments. The Chinese capital has stepped up the country’s already strict pandemic response measures ahead of the Olympics, which open Feb. 4.
January 26, 2022 4:10 am
TORONTO (AP) – Canadian officials say hackers launched a cyberattack on the country’s Global Affairs Department last week. The Canadian government is not saying who it suspects was behind the Jan. 19 attack, which has left some diplomats without access to some online services almost a week later. But the attack came one day before the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security urged companies to bolster protections against the potential for Russian-backed attacks. That comes amid escalating tensions over a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine.
January 26, 2022 4:09 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Wild volatility in the stock market this week has put heightened scrutiny on the Federal Reserve’s meeting Wednesday and whether the Fed will clarify just how fast it plans to tighten credit and potentially slow the economy. With high inflation squeezing consumers and businesses, the Fed is expected to signal that it will raise its benchmark short-term interest rate in March in a sharp reversal from the ultra-low rate policies it imposed after he pandemic recession erupted two years ago. To further tighten credit, the Fed plans to end its monthly bond purchases in May. And later this year, it may start reducing its huge stockpile of Treasury and mortgage bonds.
January 26, 2022 4:05 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania’s state Senate is fast-tracking legislation to spend $225 million to help hospitals struggling to keep staff on board as the coronavirus packs hospitals with unvaccinated patients. The bill passed Tuesday has backing from Gov. Tom Wolf. The money is from federal pandemic relief. Under the bill, $100 million will be distributed to acute-care hospitals on a per-bed basis. Another $110 million will be distributed to hospitals that serve poorer and rural areas, hospitals with high proportions of Medicaid patients and facilities that provide inpatient behavioral health services. The other $15 million will go to pay off the student loans for nurses.
