July 17, 2021 4:24 am
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Forecasters say dry, unstable and windy conditions will keep fueling a massive wildfire in southern Oregon. The largely uncontained blaze grows by miles each day. The Bootleg Fire was just one of numerous wildfires burning across the U.S. West. Crews had to flee the fire lines of the Oregon blaze late Thursday after a dangerous “fire cloud” started to collapse, threatening them with strong downdrafts and flying embers. An initial review Friday showed the Bootleg Fire destroyed 67 homes and 117 outbuildings overnight in one county. Authorities were still counting the losses in a second county where the flames are surging up to 4 miles a day.
July 17, 2021 4:18 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Biz Markie, a hip-hop staple known for his beatboxing prowess, turntable mastery and the 1989 classic “Just a Friend,” has died. He was 57. Markie’s representative, Jenni Izumi, said the rapper-DJ died peacefully Friday evening with his wife by his side. The cause of death has not been released. Markie, who real name is Marcel Theo Hall, became known within the rap genre realm as the self-proclaimed “Clown Prince of Hip-Hop” for lighthearted lyrics and a humorous nature. He’s made music with the Beastie Boys, opened for Chris Rock’s comedy tour and was a sought-after DJ for countless star-studded events.
July 17, 2021 4:17 am
LORDSTOWN, Ohio (AP) – Lordstown Motors, an Ohio manufacturer that has come under scrutiny over the number of orders it claimed it had for the electric trucks that it wants to produce, acknowledged that it has received two subpoenas from federal regulators and that prosecutors in New York have opened an investigation. The company and its executives have given conflicting accounts of whether it has received any orders for its trucks, and if so, how many orders have been placed. The company’s stock is down nearly 60% this year.
July 17, 2021 4:10 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Democrat John Fetterman is showing his early fundraising prowess in the crowded stakes for Pennsylvania’s open U.S. Senate seat ahead of next year’s election. Fetterman reported $2.5 million raised in the three months ending June 30. That left him with $3 million in his campaign account, far more than any candidate, Republican or Democrat, has reported. Thursday was the Federal Election Commission deadline to file the quarterly report. Fetterman is the state’s lieutenant governor. Leading the Republican money chase is Jeff Bartos, the Montgomery County real estate investor whose campaign said he had just under $1.9 million in his account as of June 30.
July 17, 2021 4:09 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate and labor force shrank slightly in June as payrolls crept up. State figures released Friday show Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate dropped one-tenth of a percentage point to 6.9%. The national rate was 5.9% in June. In a survey of households, the labor force shrank by 2,000 in June, closer to 6.3 million, as the number of employed grew slightly and the number of unemployed slid. In a separate survey of employers, payrolls in Pennsylvania grew in June by 11,500. Pennsylvania has regained about 60% of the 1.1 million jobs lost in the pandemic. The government sector led all gainers, while construction led the losers.
July 17, 2021 4:02 am
Strong storms that passed through the area Friday evening brought with them rain as well as winds and tree damages. West Penn Power is reporting 86 customers still without service as of late Saturday morning throughout Washington County. West Penn expects power to be restored for all customers by early Saturday afternoon.
July 16, 2021 4:10 pm
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate and labor force shrank slightly in June as payrolls crept up. State figures released Friday show Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate dropped one-tenth of a percentage point to 6.9%. The national rate was 5.9% in June. In a survey of households, the labor force shrank by 2,000 in June, closer to 6.3 million, as the number of employed grew slightly and the number of unemployed slid. In a separate survey of employers, payrolls in Pennsylvania grew in June by 11,500. Pennsylvania has regained about 60% of the 1.1 million jobs lost in the pandemic. The government sector led all gainers, while construction led the losers.
July 16, 2021 12:43 pm
UNDATED (AP) – The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the COVID-19 outbreak in the U.S. is becoming “a pandemic of the unvaccinated.” Dr. Rochelle Walensky says cases in the U.S. are up about 70% over the last week, hospital admissions are up 36% and deaths rose by 26%. Nearly all hospital admissions and deaths, she says, are among the unvaccinated. White House COVID-19 coordinator Jeff Zients says the Biden administration expects cases to increase in the weeks ahead because of spread in communities with low vaccination rates. Four states accounted for 40% of new cases last week. But Zients says there are signs that increased cases are driving more people in those communities to seek vaccination at rates faster than the national average.
July 16, 2021 9:12 am
WEST ALEXANDER, Pa. — All eastbound lanes of Interstate 70 near the state line were closed due to a multi-vehicle rollover accident Friday morning. The incident occurred after 8:30 a.m. between the West Alexander exit and the ramp to the Welcome Center around mile marker 3. Reports say a disabled tractor trailer was hit by a passing pickup truck causing the closure. The driver of the pickup truck was reportedly transported to Washington Hospital. There is no word on the injury or condition. The road finally reopened for travel around 10:00 a.m.
July 16, 2021 3:27 am
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) – More than three years after the shooting attack on the Capital Gazette newspaper that left five dead, survivors and family members of victims embraced in relief and applauded the jury for quickly rejecting the gunman’s plea of not criminally responsible by reason of insanity. After a trial with graphic surveillance footage showing the rampage, widow Andrea Chamblee spoke Thursday of the many friends and relatives who experienced great pain and loss. The gunman, Jarrod Ramos, now faces five life terms in prison instead of being sent to a maximum-security mental health facility, where he could have potentially been released one day.
