September 5, 2021 7:57 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Top U.S. national security officials will see how the failed war in Afghanistan may be reshaping America’s relationships in the Middle East as they meet with key allies in the Persian Gulf and Europe this week. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin are traveling to the Gulf separately, leaving Sunday. They will talk with leaders who are central to U.S. efforts to prevent a resurgence of extremist threats in Afghanistan, some of whom were partners in the 20-year fight against the Taliban. Together, the Austin and Blinken trips are meant to reassure Gulf allies that President Joe Biden’s decision to end the U.S. war in Afghanistan in order to focus more on other security challenges like China and Russia does not foretell an abandonment of U.S. partners in the Middle East. The U.S. military has had a presence in the Gulf for decades, including the Navy’s 5th Fleet headquarters in Bahrain. Biden has not suggested ending that presence, but he — like the Trump administration before him — has called China the No. 1 security priority, along with strategic challenges from Russia.
September 5, 2021 7:54 am
HEMPFIELD TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Westmoreland County Coroner, Kenneth A. Bacha, has released the following information on a motorcycle fatality that occurred in Hempfield Township. Tanner B. Van Woundenberg was driving a 2008 Yamaha motorcycle while traveling north on Mount Pleasant Road. According to a release, Woundenberg missed a curve in the road, hit a fence, and landed in a driveway. Deputy Coroner John A. Ackerman pronounced Woundenberg dead at the scene. Woudenberg was not wearing a helmet at the time of the incident. Toxicology results will not be available for several weeks. Pennsylvania State Police Greensburg Barracks also investigated.
September 5, 2021 4:48 am
A 51 year-old Butler man died after a crash on Interstate 70 Friday afternoon. Kenneth Sentgeorge lost control of his vehicle on I-70 eastbound. He struck a guardrail near the Jefferson Avenue exit. Sentgeorge was transported to Washington Hospital where Washington County Coroner Tim Warco pronounced him dead at 1:48 p.m. The Crash is under investigation by the Pennsylvania State Police.
September 5, 2021 1:38 am
Longtime Steelers broadcaster and former player Tunch Ilkin died on Saturday, our news partner WPXI confirmed with three sources. A two-time Pro Bowl offensive tackle, Ilkin was diagnosed with ALS, commonly called Lou Gehrig’s disease, in October 2020. ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease which attacks motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord, resulting in the wasting away of muscle and loss of movement. He spent 14 seasons in the NFL and had been a radio broadcaster for 23 years. (photo courtesy of WPXI)
September 4, 2021 4:57 am
PA. Governor Tom Wolf has weighed in on the new Texas Abortion law, saying in a statement that the measure “defies all understanding of modern individual healthcare” and magnifies the disparities within healthcare for minority populations. State Republicans could try to create a similar law in Pennsylvania, but Wolf vows to veto any measure that crosses his desk. The Texas law forbids abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected, and allows any citizen to report a woman who gets an abortion and file suit against anyone to assists access to an abortion.
September 4, 2021 4:56 am
(WPXI) – Two new studies from the University of Pittsburgh reveal this flu season could be particularly bad. “There was a dramatic decrease in the number of influenza cases last season because of all protection measures we did to prevent COVID-19 and that has the potential to dramatically increase the cases this coming season,” said Pitt scientist Dr. Mark Roberts. Last year, the flu was almost non-existent. According to the Allegheny County Health Department, there were about 300 cases, one hospitalization and one death from the flu. For comparison, there were more than 13,000 cases, 177 hospitalizations and 15 deaths the year before. “This is a real problem. This is the potential for the ‘twin-demic,’ the pandemic of both the increase in COVID-19 from the delta variant and the potential dramatic increase in influenza,” Roberts said. The studies are hopeful, however. The research showed that if there’s a 20% to 50% increase in people getting the flu shot, it can help keep them out of the hospital.
September 4, 2021 4:55 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Centrist Sen. Joe Manchin says Congress should hit a “strategic pause” on more spending. The West Virginia Democrat said Thursday he does not support President Joe Biden’s plans for a sweeping $3.5 trillion effort to rebuild the economy. Manchin’s comments, in an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, would deny his party a crucial vote in the evenly split Senate. His remarks come as lawmakers are laboring behind the scenes to draft the legislation ahead of this month’s deadlines. He cited inflation, national security and other concerns in suggesting they hit pause “instead of rushing to spend trillions on new government programs.”
September 4, 2021 4:53 am
UNDATED (AP) – The Republican leader of the state Senate and a group of parents have filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the Wolf administration’s new mask mandate for Pennsylvania schools. The suit was filed Friday in Commonwealth Court. It asserts that Acting Health Secretary Alison Beam failed to comply with state law when she ordered masks to be worn in all Pennsylvania public and private schools, as well as child care facilities. That order is scheduled to take effect Tuesday. Wolf’s spokesperson dismissed what she called the GOP’s “effort at undermining public heath.”
September 4, 2021 4:50 am
WASHINGTON, Pa. — (WPXI) – A Washington County woman pleaded guilty Thursday to keeping her developmentally disabled adult sister in a wooden cage with a dirty mattress and little to no medical care. Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro’s Office said Leona Biser was sentenced to up to 23 months in prison followed by two years probation. Biser’s sister, Loretta Lancaster, was found by agents in November 2019 locked in a “small, dirty wooden cage in the living room of the family home.” When confronted about her sister’s condition, Biser said she was her primary caretaker since the death of their mother in 2018. Biser was wanted at one point for failing to show up to a court hearing last year.
September 4, 2021 4:50 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – The most sought-after endorsement in Pennsylvania’s wide-open Republican primary for U.S. Senate went early to Sean Parnell. But the backing of former President Donald Trump isn’t clearing the field for Parnell and it’s yet to be seen whether Trump will campaign for or help him raise money. Trump’s endorsement, issued Wednesday afternoon, came early in the race, nearly nine months before next May’s primary in what is expected to be one of the nation’s most competitive Senate contests next year. No poll shows Parnell has established substantial name recognition with voters. Polling shows no clear leader and Parnell’s fundraising numbers through June 30 were uninspiring.
