August 18, 2021 4:08 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan says the Taliban have agreed to allow safe passage for civilians trying to leave Afghanistan. Sullivan says a timetable for completing the evacuation of Americans, Afghan allies and others has yet to be worked out with the country’s new rulers. Pentagon officials say that after interruptions Monday, the airlift is back on track and being accelerated amid regular communication with Taliban leaders. Additional U.S. troops have arrived and more are on the way. The White House says 13 flights Tuesday airlifted 1,100 U.S. citizens, permanent residents and their families from the Kabul airport.
August 18, 2021 4:05 am
North Strabane Supervisors set out their agenda for next week’s voting meeting on Tuesday night. One of the main actions that will be considered is how to spend funding from the American Rescue Plan. Those funds are appropriated from the federal government to help ease the financial strain put on municipalities by the Covid-19 pandemic. North Strabane is in line to receive more than $1.5 million in funding that will be distributed over two years. Two of the items under consideration are an appropriation of $200,000 to the North Strabane Township Municipal Authority and the balance to be spent on construction projects, particularly the new public safety building. During the public comment period, supervisors were met with push back on an agenda item that would have a recreation designation taken away from a plot of ground on Demar Blvd. That piece of ground known locally as the Borland Manor Parkette was supported by nine nearby residents. They called it a jewel in the neighborhood. Supervisors and the township solicitor were presented with a deed from 1947 conveying the land to the township with covenants and restrictions for use of the land as a park. Township Solicitor Gary Sweat will review the document before any action will be taken by the township.
August 18, 2021 4:02 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – An appeals court says a Pennsylvania federal judge shouldn’t have thrown out a legal challenge to township zoning rules that restricted operations at a gun range near Pittsburgh and limited “sportsman’s clubs” to nonprofit entities. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday reinstated the case and directed the district judge to gather evidence. The three-judge panel says Second Amendment rights require a closer examination of the facts than had occurred in the case. The decision concerns William Drummond’s plans to revive the dormant gun range and operate the Greater Pittsburgh Gun Club on a 265-acre property in suburban Robinson Township.
August 18, 2021 3:25 am
UNDATED (AP) – Former Purdue Pharma president and chair Richard Sackler says he, his family and the company do not have any responsibility for the opioid crisis in the United States. Sackler is a member of the family that owns the company. He testified Wednesday in a hearing to determine whether the company’s plan to restructure and settle thousands of lawsuits over the toll of its drug OxyContin and other opioids. Sackler is often seen a prime villain by anti-opioid activists over his role in the company and past statements. At the hearing, he answered many questions about the company’s activities by saying he did not recall.
August 18, 2021 2:51 am
(WPXI) – Leaders with the Allegheny-Fayette Central Labor Council and local officials on Wednesday announced that Pittsburgh’s popular Labor Day Parade will be canceled for the second year. The groups gathered at the City-County Building, Downtown, to make the announcement. The parade was canceled in 2020 as cases of Covid-19 spread through the area. Leaders said the decision to cancel again this year was based on high transmission levels of the Delta variant and concerns for the safety of parade participants and spectators. A particular concern mentioned Wednesday was that the parade normally features more than 1,000 local teachers, and leaders said they could not in good conscience have that many teachers in a crowd of thousands and then send them back into classrooms, where children under the age of 12 are not eligible to be vaccinated.
August 17, 2021 3:52 pm
FIREBAUGH, Calif. (AP) – A deepening drought threatens California’s $6 billion almond industry, which produces about 80% of the world’s almonds. As water becomes scarce and expensive, some growers have stopped irrigating their orchards and plan to tear them out years earlier than planned. After decades of expansion in California’s agricultural Central Valley, almond production is expected to decline. That ácould lead to higher prices for consumers who have embraced the popular nut. As the drought drains reservoirs and forces restrictions on water use, critics say the thirsty crop isn’t sustainable at current levels in California. The state is becoming hotter and drier because of climate change.
August 17, 2021 4:32 am
UNDATED (AP) – State Fairs in the Midwest are offering COVID-19 vaccinations. In Iowa, a vaccination booth nestled among corn dog and funnel cake stands vaccinated 150 people in the first four days of the fair in a state where only half of the population is fully vaccinated. All but three of Iowa’s 99 counties are experiencing a substantial or high rate of spread. Public health officials recommend getting vaccinated or wearing a mask in crowds. The fair is on track to attract an estimated 1 million visitors. At the Indiana State Fair, 304 vaccines have been administered since July 30. And at the Wisconsin State Fair in Milwaukee, 608 people were vaccinated over 11 days, perhaps enticed by the promise of a free cream puff pastry.
August 17, 2021 4:30 am
QUINCY, Calif. (AP) – Firefighters battling flames in Northern California forests are girding for new bouts of windy weather, and a utility has warned thousands of customers it might cut their electricity to prevent new fires from igniting if gusts damage power lines. Conditions that suppressed the huge Dixie Fire overnight gave way Monday afternoon to gusty winds that prompted an evacuation order for the small mountain community of Janesville. Forecasts call for similar winds through Thursday. Meanwhile, Pacific Gas & Electric says winds predicted for Tuesday night may force public safety power shutoffs to 39,000 customers in parts of 16 counties.
August 17, 2021 4:29 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has announced that he and husband Chasten have become parents. Buttigieg, the first openly gay Cabinet secretary confirmed by the Senate, posted the news Tuesday on Twitter. He says he and Chasten are “overjoyed” and that had wanted to grow their family for some time. He says the process isn’t done yet and that they would share more details soon. Buttigieg has talked publicly about his desire to become a father since his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020. Buttigieg and Chasten got married in June 2018, and Buttigieg’s own father died six months later.
August 17, 2021 4:28 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – U.S. experts are expected to recommend COVID-19 vaccine boosters for all Americans, regardless of age, eight months after they received their second dose of the shot. The goal is to ensure lasting protection against the coronavirus as the delta variant spreads across the country. That’s according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. An announcement was expected as soon as this week, with doses beginning to be administered widely once the Food and Drug Administration formally approves the vaccines. U.S. health officials recommended boosters last week for some with weakened immune systems.
