July 9, 2021 4:18 am
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – Texas GOP lawmakers began a hurried attempt Thursday to pass new voting restrictions, among other unfinished business, as they began a packed special session agenda that Democrats say plays to the far right. New voting proposals took center stage Thursday as Texas lawmakers returned to the state capitol for a 30-day special session following Democrats’ May walkout that broke quorum and closed out the regular session. The agenda, which was released by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott early Wednesday, also includes border security, “social media censorship,” and critical race theory, among other priority items.
July 9, 2021 4:17 am
Pfizer says it is about to seek U.S. authorization for a third dose of its COVID-19 vaccine, but U.S. health officials say a booster isn’t needed yet. The company said Thursday that another shot could dramatically boost immunity and maybe help ward off the latest worrisome coronavirus mutant. Pfizer says early data from a company trial suggests people’s antibody levels jump after they get a third dose. But the filing doesn’t mean third doses would be rolled out any time soon. Public health officials would have to decide if they’re really needed. And U.S. health officials followed Pfizer’s announcement with a statement saying they want to see more data before authorizing booster shots.
July 9, 2021 4:15 am
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Dozens of aftershocks have hit the area between Northern California and Nevada on Friday after a magnitude 6 earthquake the day before. The earthquake sent large boulders rolling into highways and knocked smaller items off shelves. A spokesman for California’s emergency operations said there is minor road damage but no significant impact to infrastructure. The quake struck before 4 p.m. near the eastern Sierra community of Walker near the state line. It was felt across California in San Francisco and in Nevada to Las Vegas. It was the largest quake to hit the area since a magnitude 6.1 temblor in 1994.
July 9, 2021 4:14 am
NEW YORK (AP) – U.S. health officials say vaccinated teachers and students don’t need to wear masks inside school buildings. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced the new guidelines Friday. The changes come after a growing national vaccination campaign in which children as young as 12 are eligible to get shots, as well as a general decline in recent months in COVID hospitalizations and deaths. The guidance generally leaves it to local officials to figure out how to ensure the unvaccinated are using precautions while letting those who are fully protected go mask-free. The biggest questions will be at middle schools where some students are eligible for shots and others aren’t.
July 9, 2021 4:12 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Biden administration has unveiled new efforts to help protect voting rights as complaints grow louder from civil rights activists and other Democrats that the White House has not done enough to fight the push from several Republican-led state legislatures to restrict access to the ballot. President Joe Biden met with civil rights leaders in the West Wing on Thursday, while Vice President Kamala Harris announced $25 million in new spending by the Democratic National Committee to support efforts to protect voting access ahead of the 2022 midterm elections. The administration is facing a call to “save American democracy.”
July 9, 2021 4:07 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – The state attorney general’s office says Pennsylvania would receive $225 million to fight the opioid-addiction epidemic from a new agreement with OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma. Attorney General Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania was among the state attorneys general who had opposed Purdue’s original settlement proposal, before joining an agreement with 14 other states that was disclosed late Wednesday night. Weeks of mediations resulted in changes to Purdue’s original plan, including an increase in the original $3 billion offered to $4.5 billion. Purdue sought bankruptcy protection in 2019 as a way to settle about 3,000 lawsuits over its marketing of the prescription painkiller.
July 9, 2021 4:03 am
ALLEGHENY COUNTY, Pa. — (WPXI) – Areas south of Pittsburgh were again dealing with high water and flooding issues after storms moved through Thursday. In Monogahela, the fire department was working to pump out 3 feet of water that flooded the fire station. On their Facebook page, the department posted that “for many years we have been dealing with the fire station flooding. A fix has been in the works for a collapsed storm drain under the rail tracks but from what we have heard they are dragging their feet with the permit. Tonight’s storm was the worst.” The went on to say “something needs done to fix this and soon.” In Pleasant Hills, three people had to be rescued from quickly rising water. Several rounds of showers and thunderstorms pushed through the region from Wednesday afternoon through Thursday evening, dropping more than an inch of rain in many areas. (PHOTO; Facebook)
July 9, 2021 2:36 am
Washington County has recorded two new COVID-19 related deaths, bringing the countywide death toll to 309. The deaths come as vaccinations are stagnating across Pennsylvania. State health officials say as of Thursday, sixty-three-point-three-percent of the entire population has received at least one dose of a COVID vaccine, while just sixty-point-eight-percent of Pennsylvanians eighteen and over are fully vaccinated.
July 8, 2021 2:54 pm
TOKYO (AP) – Fans will be banned from the Tokyo area’s stadiums and arenas when the Olympic Games begin in two weeks. The decision by the city’s governor, in agreement with Olympics officials, came after the prime minister put the capital under a COVID-19 state of emergency because of rising new infections and the highly contagious delta variant. That means the Olympics will be a largely TV-only event. It was a serious blow for Japanese taxpayers and local organizers of the games, which already had been postponed from 2020 by the coronavirus. Hundreds of millions of dollars in ticket revenue will be lost, and that must be made up by the government. (Photo: CNN)
July 8, 2021 4:30 am
NEW YORK (AP) – A New York judge has sentenced the combative California lawyer Michael Avenatti to 2 1/2 years in prison for trying to extort up to $25 million from Nike. U.S. District Judge Paul G. Gardephe announced the sentence Thursday in Manhattan, where a jury in early 2020 convicted Avenatti of charges including attempted extortion and fraud. Avenatti gained fame representing porn star Stormy Daniels in lawsuits against then-President Donald Trump. The sentence marked another chapter in the fall of a man who was popular enough on social media and cable news programs three years ago that he considered running for president.
