December 25, 2021 8:00 am
The world’s largest and most powerful space telescope rocketed away Saturday on a high-stakes quest to behold light from the first stars and galaxies and scour the universe for hints of life. NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope soared from French Guiana on South America’s northeastern coast, riding a European Ariane rocket into the Christmas morning sky. The $10 billion observatory hurtled toward its destination 1 million miles (1.6 million kilometers) away, or more than four times beyond the moon. It will take a month to get there and another five months before its infrared eyes are ready to start scanning the cosmos. First, the telescope’s enormous mirror and sunshield need to unfurl; they were folded origami-style to fit into the rocket’s nose cone. Otherwise, the observatory won’t be able to peer back in time 13.7 billion years as anticipated, within a mere 100 million years of the universe-forming Big Bang. (Photo: AP)
December 25, 2021 7:53 am
SWISSVALE, Pa. (WPXI) — Swissvale and Allegheny County Police are investigating after six people were shot at a Swissvale home Friday night. Police and emergency medical crews were called to a home near the intersection of Schoyer Ave and Monongahela Ave around 4:30 p.m. Investigators said all six people, including the suspect, were taken to the hospital with gunshot wounds. Their conditions are unknown. The suspect is under police supervision. According to officers, there was an exchange of gunfire between one of the victims and the suspect. If you have any information that could help investigators, you’re asked to contact Allegheny County Police.
December 24, 2021 12:54 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Jan. 7 on whether the Biden administration can order that workers at private companies and health care employees be vaccinated for COVID-19. Until the court rules, millions of workers face a patchwork of requirements depending on where they live. For now the federal government is moving forward with imposing the mandates on the workers that it can. The rule with the most impact requires that employees of companies with 100 or more workers be vaccinated by Jan. 10 and meet virus testing requirements by Feb. 9. The Jan. 7 hearing is unlikely to put the mandates on hold unless the court moves unusually fast.
December 24, 2021 7:27 am
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) – At least three major airlines have reported canceling dozens of flights as illnesses largely tied to the omicron variant of COVID-19 take a toll on flight crew numbers during the busy holiday travel season. Germany-based Lufthansa said Friday that it was canceling a dozen long-haul transatlantic flights over the Christmas holiday period because of a “massive rise” in sick leave among pilots. The cancellations on flights to Houston, Boston and Washington come despite a “large buffer” of additional staff for the period. The airline said it couldn’t say whether COVID-19 was responsible. In the U.S., Delta Air Lines and United Airlines said they had to cancel dozens of Christmas Eve flights because of staff shortages tied to omicron.
December 24, 2021 4:07 am
BOSTON (AP) – The surge in coronavirus cases driven by the new omicron variant is the latest blow to hospitals, police departments, supermarkets and other critical operations struggling to maintain staffing levels. COVID-19 absences among workers at London hospitals tripled this month, and nearly 10% of the city’s firefighters were out sick. In New York, about twice as many police officers took sick time this week than normal. Countries such as Spain have eased quarantine rules to allow more people to continue working. Some U.S. states have called in the National Guard to help boost short-handed hospitals.
December 24, 2021 4:04 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Former President Donald Trump has turned to the Supreme Court in a last-ditch effort to keep documents away from the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol. A federal appeals court ruled against Trump two weeks ago, but the court prohibited documents held by the National Archives from being turned over before the Supreme Court has a chance to weigh in. Trump appointed three of the nine justices. Trump is claiming that as a former president he has right to assert executive privilege over the records, arguing that releasing them would damage the presidency in the future.
December 24, 2021 4:02 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Forecasters say winter storms that have killed at least two people will bring flooding threats, snow and bitter cold throughout much of the West through Christmas. An atmospheric river of moisture is prompting a wave of storms that could even bring a rare chance of snow to Seattle and Portland. On Thursday, two people died near San Francisco when their car was submerged in a flooded underpass. In the south, a mudslide was reported in a fire-scarred Orange County canyon that had been ordered evacuated but no injuries are reported. The Sierra Nevada could see up to 10 feet of snow and forecasters warned drivers of treacherous conditions.
December 24, 2021 4:02 am
DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) – Bangladesh fire services say at least 37 passengers have been killed and many others injured in a massive fire that swept through a crowded ferry on the southern Sugandha River. The blaze broke out around 3 a.m. Friday on the ferry packed with 800 passengers. Rescuers have so far recovered 37 bodies and rescued 72, 48 of whom are being treated for burns. There was no word on what caused the fire. Ferries are a leading means of transportation, especially in the southern and northeastern regions. In April, 25 people died after a ferry collided with another vessel and capsized outside Bangladesh’s capital.
December 24, 2021 3:59 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Police say a man suspected of shoplifting at a store where he worked in Pittsburgh is wanted for homicide in Texas. Officers were called to the Family Dollar store on Wednesday night to assist with the termination of 22-year-old Joseph Tedder of Hutchinson, Kansas. But Tedder fled the scene. Police say they soon learned Tedder was wanted in connection with a homicide in early November in Austin, Texas, that stemmed from a drug deal. Authorities tracked Tedder to a Pittsburgh home and he was taken into custody. He’s awaiting arraignment and an extradition hearing.
December 24, 2021 3:57 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – The state Supreme Court is just now releasing its rationale for why it ruled that Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration had no legal authority to require masks in Pennsylvania’s schools and child care centers, even amid a pandemic and surging cases of COVID-19. The court ruled 6-0 on Dec. 10, immediately ending the statewide mask mandate. The justices’ 58-page opinion released Thursday says the Legislature’s move in June to end Wolf’s COVID-19 emergency disaster declaration also eliminated any legal justification for a school mask mandate. The justices say state law gives the state broad authority to protect public health, but it doesn’t empower a mask mandate without a regulation.
