July 2, 2021 4:11 am
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) – U.S. officials say the U.S. military has left Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan after nearly 20 years. The facility was the epicenter of the war to oust the Taliban and hunt down the al-Qaida perpetrators of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on America. Two officials say the airfield was handed over to the Afghan National Security and Defense Force in its entirety. They spoke on condition they not be identified because they were not authorized to disclose the handover to the media. One of the officials also said the U.S. top commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Austin S. Miller, “still retains all the capabilities and authorities to protect the forces.”
July 2, 2021 4:10 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pension contribution rates for tens of thousands of public school employees in Pennsylvania are rising, amid a federal investigation into some pension system actions and calls for resignations. The increases took effect Thursday for about 94,000 school employees, all hired in 2011 or after. Most will see their contribution rate rise by 0.5% of their salary, while a smaller number of them will see their contribution rate rise by 0.75% of their salary. The board of the $64 billion Public School Employees’ Retirement System voted in April to increase the contribution rates, after it had originally certified them at lower rates in December.
July 2, 2021 3:51 am
Washington County, for the second time this week, has reported a new COVID-19 death, bringing the county’s death toll to 307. The county’s number of new infections though, continues to be very low, with just one new coronavirus case added over the past twenty-four hours. Greene County which had one new fatality this week, added just one new case but no new deaths. In Allegheny County, there were eleven new cases. Vaccinations across Pennsylvania continue to remain stagnant. Fully vaccinated adults account for just sixty-point-one-percent of the population, while sixty-two-point-seven-percent of the entire population have received at least one dose of a COVID vaccine.
July 1, 2021 2:51 pm
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – College athletes in Pennsylvania can now start earning money based on their fame and celebrity without fear of sanctions from their school or athletic association. Gov. Tom Wolf on Wednesday signed legislation paving the way for athletes to make money from royalties and hire agents, the same day the NCAA changed its policy. Pennsylvania’s new law still put limits on what college athletes can do. For instance, college athletes in Pennsylvania can’t earn compensation in connection with adult entertainment, alcohol, casinos, gambling, betting, tobacco, vaping, prescription drugs or illegal drugs. Pennsylvania’s law also allows schools to limit the activities from which an athlete can get earn compensation.
July 1, 2021 2:45 pm
NEW YORK (AP) – Lawyers for Donald Trump’s company pleaded not guilty to tax crime charges Thursday, along with the Trump Organization’s longtime finance chief. It is the first criminal case arising from a two-year investigation into the former president’s company. Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg was arraigned a day after a grand jury returned an indictment charging him and Trump’s company with tax crimes. Trump himself was not charged. The case against Weisselberg and the Trump Organization involves fringe benefits given to employees, like the use of apartments, cars and school tuition. Weisselberg’s lawyers say he will fight the charges, and there’s no indication he is willing to cooperate.
July 1, 2021 12:17 pm
SURFSIDE, Fla. (AP) – President Joe Biden is offering comfort to the grieving and federal support for the efforts to search for the missing and rebuild after last week’s collapse of a high-rise condo building along the Florida coastline. Biden was to survey the devastation Thursday and meet with first responders hunting for survivors among the rubble in Surfside. But underscoring the dangers still present in the search, work was halted before Biden arrived due to concerns about the stability of the section still standing. Biden and his wife Jill arrived in Florida a week after the collapse of the 12-story Champlain Towers South beachfront condominium killed at least 18 people and left 145 missing.
July 1, 2021 9:44 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The number of Americans applying for unemployment aid fell again last week to the lowest level since the pandemic struck last year, further evidence that the job market and the broader economy are rebounding rapidly from the coronavirus recession. Jobless claims dropped by 51,000 to 364,000. Applications for unemployment benefits have fallen more or less steadily since the year began. The rollout of vaccines has sharply reduced new COVID-19 cases, giving consumers the confidence to shop, travel, eat out and attend public events as the economy recovers.
July 1, 2021 4:18 am
LONDON (AP) – Princes William and Harry have unveiled a statue of their mother, Princess Diana, on what would have been her 60th birthday in a small – and brief – ceremony at London’s Kensington Palace.. Diana’s family joined the two brothers for Thursday’s ceremony at the palace’s Sunken Garden, a place in which the princess once found solace. It was the first time the brothers have appeared in public together since the funeral of their grandfather, Prince Philip. The brothers later issued a joint statement in which they described their mother’s strength and character as “qualities that made her a force for good around the world.”
July 1, 2021 4:14 am
SURFSIDE, Fla. (AP) – As more human remains emerge from the rubble of the collapsed Florida condo tower, the dead now include the first children. That announcement came Wednesday from the Miami-Dade mayor, who called the loss “too great to bear.” Authorities identified the children as 10-year-old Lucia Guara and 4-year-old Emma Guara. Their parents also perished in the collapse. Searchers found the remains of six people Wednesday, bringing the number of confirmed dead to 18. It was the highest one-day toll since the building fell nearly a week ago. The number of residents unaccounted for stands at 145.
July 1, 2021 4:12 am
SALEM, Ore. (AP) – Hundreds of deaths in Canada, Oregon and Washington may have been caused by the historic heat wave that baked the Pacific Northwest and shattered all-time temperature records in usually temperate cities. Oregon health officials said late Wednesday more than 60 deaths have been tied to the heat, with the state’s largest county, Multnomah, blaming the weather for 45 deaths since the heat wave began Friday. British Columbia’s chief coroner said her office received reports of at least 486 “sudden and unexpected deaths” between Friday and 1 p.m. Wednesday. Normally, she said about 165 people would die in the province over a five-day period.
