June 27, 2021 8:01 am
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Oregon’s largest city broke its all-time heat record on Saturday. It could beat the new mark on Sunday. Forecasters say many Pacific Northwest communities may sweat through the hottest days in their histories as temperatures soar during a heat wave that has sent residents scrambling for relief. Stores sold out of portable air conditioners and fans, hospitals canceled outdoor vaccination clinics, cities opened cooling centers, baseball teams canceled or moved up weekend games, and utilities braced for possible power outages. Portland, Oregon, reached 108 degrees Fahrenheit (42.2 degrees Celsius) Saturday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service. The previous heat record for Oregon’s largest city was 107 F (41.7 C), a mark hit in 1965 and 1981. Seattle reached 101 F (38.3 C) Saturday, making it the hottest June day on record and only the fourth time in recorded history the usually temperate city had topped 100 degrees. The forecast was for even hotter temperatures on Sunday and Monday. Many all-time heat records could be broken. In Seattle, the highest temperature ever measured was 103 F (39.4 C), in 2009.
June 27, 2021 8:00 am
BANGKOK (AP) — Faced with a sharp rise in coronavirus cases, the Thai capital on Sunday announced a ban on indoor dining and gatherings of more than 20 people, in addition to the closure of construction sites and the sealing off of workers’ quarters in Bangkok and nine other provinces. The measures will remain for 30 days. Thailand reported 3,995 confirmed cases and 42 dead in the last 24 hours. The numbers have doubled recently, and health officials blame a lack of cooperation from migrant workers employed in construction and in factories. The situation has become critical as the number of hospital beds in Bangkok for seriously ill COVID-19 patients is running short despite the creation of several field hospitals. Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said Friday that a proposal for a seven-day curfew for all of Bangkok has been rejected for the time being. Under the new restrictions, construction workers will be isolated in camps in Bangkok and five neighboring provinces, and in the country’s four southernmost provinces, all virus hotspots.
June 27, 2021 7:58 am
WELLINGTON, Ohio (AP) — Former President Donald Trump reprised his election grievances and baseless claims of fraud as he returned to the rally stage Saturday, holding his first campaign-style event since leaving the White House. The event was held to support Max Miller, a former White House aide who is challenging Republican Rep. Anthony Gonzalez for his congressional seat. Gonzalez was one of 10 GOP House members who voted to impeach Trump for his role in inciting the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol building. Trump has vowed to back those who run against them. And while he praised Miller as an “incredible patriot” and a ”great guy” who “loves the people of Ohio,” Trump spent much of the rally fixating on the 2020 election, which he insists he won, even though top state and local election officials, his own attorney general and numerous judges, including some he appointed, have said there is no evidence of the mass voter fraud he alleges took place. Trump has been consumed with ongoing efforts to overturn the results in various states, and has even publicly entertained the idea that he could somehow be reinstated into office, even though no legal or constitutional basis for doing so exists.
June 27, 2021 7:57 am
SURFSIDE, Fla. (AP) — Families around the world remained stuck between waning hopes and widening fears Saturday, two days after the stunning collapse of a 12-story condominium near Miami. At least five people were killed and more than 150 people remained unaccounted for as rescuers continued to dig through the rubble of the Champlain Towers South in Surfside. The building was home to an international mix of foreign retirees, South American immigrants and Orthodox Jews, all with anxious loved ones across the globe. The Miami-Dade Police Department identified for the first time four of the five deceased people late Saturday and the apartments where they were at the moment at the collapse. Their names were Stacie Dawn Fang, 54; Antonio, 83, and Gladys Lozano, 79; and Manuel LaFont, 54.
June 27, 2021 7:53 am
MIAMI, Fl. — A former Pittsburgh woman and her husband are among those missing in the Surfside condo collapse. At least five people died and 158 others were unaccounted for Friday, after a 12-story condominium building partially collapsed early Thursday in Surfside, Fla., authorities said. Nicole Doran-Manshirov and Ruslan Manashirov are listed among the missing. Nicole is a former resident of Brentwood. The couple was recently married in May and just were beginning their lives together as a married couple.
June 27, 2021 7:51 am
PITTSBURGH — A body found in the Ohio River earlier this week was identified Friday as a man who went missing in Pittsburgh’s South Side in January. William Casale, 62, was pronounced dead at 6:35 p.m. Monday in Kilbuck, the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office reports. His body was pulled from the water at the 300 block of East Beaver Street near the Kilbuck Township Fish and Boat Commission Boat Ramp just south of Route 65. The medical examiner did not release a cause nor manner of death as of late Friday. Casale had gone missing in early January, prompting his family and police to ask the public for help finding him, on January 7th.
June 27, 2021 2:54 am
The Pennsylvania Department of Health announced Friday that the commonwealth’s mask order requiring universal face coverings will be lifted statewide at 12:01 a.m. on Monday, June 28th. “We are continuing to make progress toward stopping the spread of COVID-19 throughout the commonwealth, as many Pennsylvanians have taken responsibility for their own health and the health of their communities by getting vaccinated,” Acting Secretary of Health Alison Beam said. “Even though the universal masking order will be lifted in a few days, businesses, organizations, health care providers and other entities maintain the option of requiring employees, guests or customers to wear a mask, regardless of their vaccination status.” According to the CDC vaccine tracker, as of Friday morning, June 25, 74.9 percent of Pennsylvanians age 18 and older have received their first dose, while 59.4 percent are fully vaccinated.
June 26, 2021 9:22 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Former President Donald Trump will return to the rally stage this weekend. He’s holding his first campaign-style event since leaving the White House as he makes good on his pledge to exact revenge on those who voted for his historic second impeachment. Trump’s event, at the Lorain County Fairgrounds not far from Cleveland, will be held Saturday to support Max Miller. The former White House aide is challenging Republican Rep. Anthony Gonzalez for his congressional seat. Gonzalez was one of 10 GOP House members who voted to impeach Trump for his role in inciting the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
June 26, 2021 9:20 am
MEXICO CITY (AP) – The first hurricane of the eastern Pacific season has formed and forecasters say it’s expected to grow stronger, bringing heavy rainfall while advancing northwestward off the Mexican coast. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said new Hurricane Enrique’s maximum sustained winds had risen to near 75 mph (120 kph) by early Saturday. They were expected to hit Category 2 force by Sunday. The storm’s core was predicted to stay at sea while moving parallel to the coast. But a tropical storm warning was declared from Zihuatanejo to Cabo Corrientes and forecasters warned of 6 to 12 inches of rain.
June 26, 2021 9:19 am
SEATTLE (AP) – The Pacific Northwest sweltered Friday as a historic heat wave hit Washington and Oregon, with temperatures in many areas expected to top out 25 to 30 degrees above normal in the coming days. Seattle was expected to edge above 100 degrees over the weekend and in Portland, Oregon, forecasters said the thermometer could soar to 108 degrees Sunday, breaking an all-time record. The heat wave shocked a region accustomed to mild summers where many don’t have air conditioning. Cities opened cooling centers, hospitals canceled vaccination clinics, baseball teams canceled games and utilities braced for power outages.
