May 4, 2021 4:14 am
NEW DELHI (AP) – A top expert is warning that the coming weeks in India will be “horrible,” as COVID-19 infections and deaths mount with alarming speed and there is no end in sight to the crisis. The country of nearly 1.4 billion has witnessed scenes of people dying outside overwhelmed hospitals and funeral pyres lighting up the night sky. India’s official count of coronavirus cases surpassed 20 million, nearly doubling in the past three months, while deaths officially exceed 220,000. But the true figures are believed to be far higher, the undercount an apparent symptom of the troubles in the health care system.
May 4, 2021 4:12 am
MEXICO CITY (AP) – Officials say 24 people were killed when an elevated section of Mexico City’s metro collapsed as a train was traveling along it. Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum said the train fell onto a busy boulevard late Monday night. It was one of the deadliest incidents in the history of the subway system, which is among the busiest in the world. Of the 24 killed, the mayor said 21 died at the scene, while the others died at hospitals, and children were among the fatalities, Crews used a crane to lower a train car to the ground as they untangled the steel and concrete wreckage. Officials say 77 people were hospitalized.
May 4, 2021 4:10 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – Bethel park police officers and a school resource officer were serving a search warrant at the high school this morning when they arrested a security guard. Bernard Allen Switala had a handgun in a backpack that was next to him at his post at the front door of the high school, police said. Switala also had another firearm in his personal vehicle which was parked in the school parking lot. He’s charged with two counts of possession of a weapon on school property. The warrant that police had been trying to serve on Switala was in connection with a recent incident where he is accused of pulling a firearm on a person in South Park, police said. In that incident, a motorcyclist told police a vehicle pulled up next to him and the driver had a gun, pointed to his glove box and made several threats to kill both people on the motorcycle.
May 4, 2021 4:06 am
The Washington School District held a workshop meeting Monday evening and approved a preliminary budget for the 2021-2022 school year. The approval was unanimous for the $29,126,045 budget that calls for no tax increase. Also during the workshop, attendance in the district’s cyber academy was discussed. Fifty nine students are currently enrolled to outside cyber schools. In the district cyber school there has been an 8.5% decrease in usage with those students coming back to the building. Currently 49% of seniors are enrolled in cyber and 43% of juniors are registered cyber. The district is paying close attention to make sure students that opt for cyber are able to keep up academically with those students enrolled in the brick and mortar program.
May 4, 2021 2:10 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration is solidifying its intention to begin imposing a price on greenhouse gas emissions from power plants next year, over the protests of coal- and gas-region lawmakers and elements of the energy industry. Wolf’s administration issued a final rule for the regulatory plan Tuesday with the same timeline and same goals for reductions in carbon dioxide. The rule must still go through two state regulatory boards. Wolf, a Democrat, in 2019 ordered his administration to start drafting regulations for the plan. If Wolf is successful, Pennsylvania would become the first major fossil fuel state to adopt a carbon pricing policy.
May 3, 2021 5:51 pm
SEATTLE (AP) – Bill and Melinda Gates say they’re divorcing. The Microsoft co-founder and his wife, who launched the world’s largest charitable foundation, said they would continue to work together at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. In identical tweets, they said they had made the decision to end their marriage of 27 years. They asked for space and privacy for their family. The couple were married in 1994 in Hawaii. They met after she began working at Microsoft as a product manager in 1987. Last year, Bill Gates said he was stepping down from Microsoft’s board to focus on philanthropy. (Photo: CNN)
May 3, 2021 2:51 pm
(WPXI) – Kennywood is set to open on Saturday, May 8 with new food stands and special events as it kicks off its 123rd season of operation. The first full season since the COVID-19 pandemic will feature the return of favorites, from the record-setting Steel Curtain to attractions like the Gran Prix, Black Widow and Raging Rapids. They’ll be joined by The Old Mill, which was reborn last season after a 17-year absence. “We can’t wait to begin a new year that brings us closer to the typical Kennywood experience,” says Mark Pauls the general manager. “The 2021 season offers a lot to be excited about, and we’ll keep the safety of our Guests and Team Members as top priority as we welcome everyone back to the park.” Opening Day will begin with a centennial celebration 101 years in the making: a ceremonial first ride on the legendary Jack Rabbit roller coaster, the fifth-oldest operating coaster in the world. Per state regulations, Kennywood attendance will be limited to 75% capacity, and the park will also limit capacity within indoor facilities such as restaurants and retail shops. To better monitor attendance, the park will have an optional, online reservation system.
May 3, 2021 4:27 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The United States and Iran are in active talks over the release of prisoners, but Washington is denying a report by Iranian state-run television that deals had been struck. Prisoner swaps between the U.S. and Iran are not uncommon and both countries in recent years have routinely sought the release of detainees. But any movement between the two countries is particularly sensitive as the Biden administration looks to restart nuclear talks. The issue burst into public view with a report in Iran of a deal for the Islamic Republic to release U.S. and British prisoners in exchange for Tehran receiving billions of dollars.
May 3, 2021 4:26 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden is formally raising the nation’s cap on refugee admissions to 62,500 this year. The move comes weeks after Biden faced bipartisan blowback for his delay in replacing the record-low ceiling of 15,000 set by former President Donald Trump. Biden last month moved to expand the eligibility criteria for resettlements, removing one roadblock to refugees entering the U.S., but he initially stopped short of lifting the annual cap. But Biden faced sharp pushback and swiftly reversed course. Biden says the previous limit “did not reflect America’s values as a nation that welcomes and supports refugees.”
May 3, 2021 4:23 am
ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. (AP) – The funeral for Andrew Brown Jr., a Black man shot and killed by deputies in North Carolina, brought calls for justice from the Rev. Al Sharpton and attorneys for the family. Sharpton delivered a fiery eulogy that likened delays in the release of law enforcement footage to a con job done on the public at the service Monday in a church in Elizabeth City. Other speakers included civil rights attorney Ben Crump and the Rev. William Barber II, who leads the Poor People’s campaign. The 42-year-old Brown was shot and killed on April 21 by deputies attempting to serve drug-related search and arrest warrants. His death sparked days of protests in the city in rural northeastern North Carolina. (Photo: CNN)
