July 3, 2021 4:19 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – A Republican-crafted bill to ban so-called COVID-19 “vaccine passports” and restrict the health secretary’s actions during health emergencies is dead after a veto by Pennsylvania’s Democratic governor. The measure that split both legislative chambers along party lines last month was vetoed Thursday by Gov. Tom Wolf. Legislative Republicans had sought to prevent what they view as a violation of health privacy through stigmatizing policies requiring proof of vaccination. The bill would have kept colleges and universities that receive state money from mandating proof of COVID-19 vaccination to undertake any activity. It also would have kept the health secretary from ordering closures or directing people to engage in disease mitigation efforts.
July 3, 2021 4:15 am
Rev. Dr. Roger Raymond Fischer, a former member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, has died at the age of 80. Fischer, who was from Washington, was elected to the State House of Representatives from the 47th Legislative District in 1966 and served until his retirement in 1988. At the age of twenty-five, Fischer was one of the youngest members to serve in the history of the Pennsylvania General Assembly. During his time in Harrisburg, Fischer also served as Chairman of the House Education Committee and on the State Board of Education. In 1998, Fischer received an Honorary Doctor of Divinity Degree from Washington and Jefferson College. Friends will be received from one to three and six to eight p.m. on Tuesday, in the Hummell and Jones Funeral Home at 420 Locust Avenue in Washington. Services will be held at ten a.m. on Wednesday in the First Lutheran Church at 92 West Walnut Street in Washington. Burial will follow in Washington Cemetery.
July 3, 2021 4:14 am
A male suspect was being questioned Friday morning in connection with a pedestrian accident in Chartiers Township that left two teenage girls hospitalized. Chartiers Township Police Chief James Horvath tells WJPA News that it happened just after 10:30 p.m Thursday night as the girls, ages 14 and 15, were walking along N. Main St. Extension. When officers arrived they found one of the girls that had been struck. During the investigation, they then discovered that another girl had also been hit by the vehicle. Both were transported to Washington Hospital but their conditions have not been released. No identities were available. Chief Horvath says during the investigation they gathered important information about the vehicle involved and a ‘be on the lookout alert’ was issued. He says officers then located a vehicle that matched the description and identified the owner. As of 9 a.m., Horvath says detectives were still questioning the unidentified individual. At this time no charges have been filed. The investigation is ongoing.
July 2, 2021 4:16 pm
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) – Elsa has strengthened into the first hurricane of the Atlantic season and it’s blowing off roofs and snapping trees in the eastern Caribbean, where officials closed schools, businesses and airports under the threat of flash flooding and landslides. Forecasters say it might reach Florida as a tropical storm by Tuesday. The Category 1 storm unleashed heavy rains and winds on Barbados and on St. Vincent and the Grenadines, which are struggling to recover from recent massive volcanic eruptions. Authorities in Barbados reported damage but not deaths.
July 2, 2021 10:38 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – America’s employers added 850,000 jobs in June, well above the average of the previous three months and a sign that companies may be having an easier time finding enough workers to fill open jobs. Friday’s report from the Labor Department was the latest sign that the reopening of the economy is propelling a powerful rebound from the pandemic recession. Restaurant traffic across the country is nearly back to pre-pandemic levels, and more people are shopping, traveling and attending sports and entertainment events. The number of people flying each day has regained about 80% of its pre-COVID-19 levels.
July 2, 2021 6:52 am
Washington City Council wound up a rather mundane meeting on Thursday with great financial news from Councilman Joe Manning. In his committee report, Manning announced that the city received $158,000 in Act 13 monies. Those monies are awarded through the Pennsylvania program that distributes gas and oil money from drilling that goes on in the commonwealth. Manning also announced that the city is in line to get $1.2 million from the American Rescue Plan Act. Manning stated these federal funds are closely monitored and closely restricted for use. The city cannot just spend the funds on anything they please. Mayor Scott Putnam reported that progress is being made in the pursuit of body cameras for city police and dash cameras for the cars. Putnam hopes to have more information mid month about cost and grant funding for the cameras. The Mayor also reminded residents of fireworks at dusk on July 2 from Washington Park. The Citywide Summer Clean Up will be July 3 from 8:00 am until 2:00 pm. The Whiskey Rebellion will come back in a limited fashion this year on July 10 from 11:00 am until 10:00 pm.
July 2, 2021 4:16 am
DOVER, Del. (AP) – The Boy Scouts of America have reached an $850 million agreement with attorneys representing some 60,000 victims of child sex abuse in what could prove to be a pivotal moment in the organization’s bankruptcy case. The settlement would mark one of the largest sums in U.S. history involving cases of sexual abuse. Attorneys for the BSA filed court papers late Thursday outlining a restructuring support agreement with attorneys representing abuse victims. The BSA sought bankruptcy protection last year, moving to halt lawsuits and create a compensation fund for men who were molested as youngsters decades ago.
July 2, 2021 4:12 am
SURFSIDE, Fla. (AP) – The number of people missing in the Florida condominium collapse has fallen substantially, from 145 to 128. Officials said Friday that the number declined after duplicate names were eliminated and some residents reported missing turned up safe. Authorities also announced the recovery of two more bodies, including the 7-year-old daughter of a Miami firefighter. That raised the confirmed death toll to 20 people. Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said an audit of the missing revealed that, in some cases, a person may have been moved to the “accounted for” list when, in fact, an entire family had been found to be safe.
July 2, 2021 4:11 am
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) – U.S. officials say the U.S. military has left Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan after nearly 20 years. The facility was the epicenter of the war to oust the Taliban and hunt down the al-Qaida perpetrators of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on America. Two officials say the airfield was handed over to the Afghan National Security and Defense Force in its entirety. They spoke on condition they not be identified because they were not authorized to disclose the handover to the media. One of the officials also said the U.S. top commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Austin S. Miller, “still retains all the capabilities and authorities to protect the forces.”
July 2, 2021 4:10 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pension contribution rates for tens of thousands of public school employees in Pennsylvania are rising, amid a federal investigation into some pension system actions and calls for resignations. The increases took effect Thursday for about 94,000 school employees, all hired in 2011 or after. Most will see their contribution rate rise by 0.5% of their salary, while a smaller number of them will see their contribution rate rise by 0.75% of their salary. The board of the $64 billion Public School Employees’ Retirement System voted in April to increase the contribution rates, after it had originally certified them at lower rates in December.
