September 13, 2021 4:24 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – A Democratic senator vital to the fate of President Joe Biden’s $3.5 trillion plan for social and environmental spending says he won’t support even half that amount or the ambitious timetable envisioned for passing it. The stand taken by Sen. Joe Manchin is described as unacceptable by the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, Sen. Bernie Sanders, who’s helping craft the measure. Manchin also says there’s is “no way” Congress can meet the goal of passing the bill by late this month. Democrats have no votes to spare if they want to enact Biden’s massive “Build Back Better” agenda.
September 13, 2021 4:21 am
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) – President Joe Biden will promote his administration’s use of the Defense Production Act to aid in wildfire preparedness during a western swing in which he’ll survey wildfire damage in Idaho and California. Biden is aiming to drum up support for his massive $3.5 trillion spending plan by linking it to wildfires and social programs while visiting those two states and Colorado. Biden’s trek on Monday and Tuesday also coincides with the recall election of California Gov. Gavin Newsom. The president is set to appear with Newsom on the eve of Tuesday’s vote.
September 13, 2021 4:20 am
MIAMI (AP) – Tropical Storm Nicholas is strengthening early Monday as it travels up the western Gulf Coast. Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center in Miami say coastal areas of Texas, Mexico and Louisiana could see heavy rain and flooding. Nicholas has top winds around 60 mph. Tropical storm warnings have been issued for coastal Texas. Nicholas is expected to produce storm total rainfall of up to 10 inches across portions of coastal Texas into southwest Louisiana through midweek. Rainfall amounts of 2 to 5 inches were expected through Monday over the eastern portions of the Mexican state of Tamaulipas.
September 13, 2021 4:18 am
Pennsylvania health officials say some physicians are offering stock “doctor’s notes” for use by parents wishing to have their children exempted from wearing masks in school. The Health Department says it has referred these doctors for possible disciplinary action. A statewide, universal mask mandate for Pennsylvania schools went into effect Tuesday. The order contains a medical exemption, but parents have complained it’s been difficult to find a physician who will sign off. The Health Department says some doctors are pushing stock exemptions that are available to anyone, regardless of medical necessity.
September 13, 2021 4:17 am
BEAVER COUNTY, Pa. — (WPXI)- Beaver Area School District officials said they are dealing with a “previously unimaginable number of COVID-19 positive students” at the high school and Dutch Ridge Elementary. According to a message on the district’s website, the number of students and staff members in those two buildings who have tested positive over the past two weeks is now above the threshold at which the Pennsylvania Department of Health recommends closing. As a result, only the high school and the elementary school will move to remote instruction starting Monday. Students will return to class in-person Monday, Sept. 20. District leaders are asking parents to monitor their children for any symptoms and to keep them home if they don’t feel well. While it’s not clear how many students have tested positive at the high school and elementary school, school officials posted that there are currently 60 students and seven staff members who are COVID-19 positive throughout the district.
September 13, 2021 4:14 am
NORTH VERSAILLES — One teen died and another one was injured after a shooting at the opening night of the Haunted Hills Hayride along Route 48 in North Versailles shortly before 8:30 p.m. Saturday. According to investigators, one of the teens was shot in the shoulder and was listed in stable condition at last check. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the deceased teen as Steven Eason of Wilmerding (pictured). Eason was a student at Pittsburgh’s Central Catholic High School. Both teens were 15 years old. Police said Eason went to the attraction with a group of friends. While there, the group witnessed the second victim get into an argument with the suspect. They knew the second victim casually and went to help. That’s when police said the suspect drew a handgun and fire three times, hitting Eason and the other victim. The suspect then fled. He is believed to be between the ages of 15 and 17 and he was wearing dark clothing. Police said the incident occurred behind the ticket booth, near the entrance to get on the hayride and there was an estimated 50 to 100 people in the immediate area when the shooting started. (PHOTO: WPXI)
September 13, 2021 3:53 am
WASHINGTON COUNTY, Pa. (WPXI) — The Canon-McMillan school district is facing another legal challenge. A lawsuit filed on Friday alleges the rights of students were violated when they were asked for personal and medical information as part of the district’s COVID-19 contact tracing efforts. “This lawsuit isn’t about vaccines, it’s not about masks, it’s about following the law,” said attorney Lane Turturice. According to documents filed in court, parents claim their children were required to divulge personal medical information and undergo medical examinations in front of other students, all of which happened without parental consent. “They have formulated a policy and allowed it to be implemented in a way that has drastically infringed on the individual rights in privacy of students and parents,” Turturice said. “We are asking a judge to put the school district’s policies and practices under a microscope and determine whether or not those policies and procedures are in conformity with the law.” This latest suit comes just weeks after a judge struck down another lawsuit filed by parents who were seeking mandatory masking for the Canon-McMillan school district.
September 12, 2021 8:07 am
CASTIAC, Calif. (AP) — A wildfire near Castaic Saturday has led to the closure of a part of a major freeway in Southern California, officials told local media. The fire, known as the Route Fire, reached 392 acres, or a little more than half a square mile, as of 6:28 p.m. and forced the shutdown of a section of Interstate 5, the Angeles National Forest told KTLA-TV. KTLA reported that the Route Fire is threatening structures, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Santa Clarita Valley station. The fire was uncontained as of 6:30 p.m., authorities said. Elsewhere in California, thunderstorms that dropped light rain gave some breathing room to crews struggling to quench the state’s massive wildfires but lightning sparked several new blazes in the drought-stricken north, fire officials said.
September 12, 2021 8:05 am
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran agreed Sunday to allow international inspectors to install new memory cards into surveillance cameras at its sensitive nuclear sites and to continue filming there, potentially averting a diplomatic showdown this week. The announcement by Mohammad Eslami of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran after a meeting he held with the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, in Tehran still leaves the watchdog in the same position it has faced since February, however. Tehran holds all recordings at its sites as negotiations over the U.S. and Iran returning to the 2015 nuclear deal remain stalled in Vienna. Meanwhile, Iran is now enriching small amounts of uranium to its closest-ever levels to weapons-grade purity as its stockpile continues to grow.
September 12, 2021 8:04 am
BEIJING (AP) — A city in southern China that is trying to contain a coronavirus outbreak told the public Sunday not to leave town, suspended bus and train service and closed cinemas, bars and other facilities. Anyone who needs to leave Putian, a city of 2.9 million people in Fujian province south of Shanghai, for an essential trip must have proof of a negative coronavirus test within the past 48 hours, the city government announced. China declared the coronavirus under control in early 2020 but has suffered outbreaks of the more contagious delta variant. Authorities say most cases are traced to travelers arriving from Russia, Myanmar and other countries. In Putian, 19 new infections that were believed to have been acquired locally were reported in the 24 hours through midnight Saturday, according to the National Health Commission. One was reported in Quanzhou, also in Fujian.
