October 25, 2021 4:20 am
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) – Haiti’s capital has been brought to the brink of exhaustion by fuel shortages, after staggering along despite an earthquake, the assassination of the president, gang violence and mass kidnappings. More than two weeks of fuel deliveries interrupted by gang blockades and abductions of fuel truck drivers have driven residents of Port-au-Prince to a desperate search for gasoline and diesel. The fuels are widely used to run generators needed to compensate for the country’s unreliable electrical system. Protests have broken out and the capital’s foremost pediatrics hospital says it has only three days of fuel left to run ventilators and medical equipment. A spokesman for Saint Damien hospital warns that the situation there “is very critical.”
October 25, 2021 4:17 am
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – A powerful storm barreled toward Southern California after flooding highways, toppling trees and causing mud flows in areas burned bare by recent fires across the northern part of the state. Drenching showers and strong winds accompanied the arrival of an atmospheric river – a long and wide plume of moisture pulled in from the Pacific Ocean. Flooding was reported across the San Francisco Bay Area. To the north, the California Highway Patrol closed State Route 70 in Butte County because of mudslides within the massive Dixie Fire burn scar. The weather service’s Sacramento office warned of “potentially historic rain.”
October 25, 2021 4:15 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – White House proposals for new taxes on billionaires and certain corporations to help pay for President Joe Biden’s big domestic policy bill is drawing the backing of Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin. A person who requested anonymity to discuss Manchin’s position tells The Associated Press the senator is agreeable to the White House’s new approach on the tax proposals. Biden spent hours Sunday at his home in Delaware with Manchin and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. Democrats are trying to wrap up talks on the social services and climate change package now being eyed at $1.75 trillion, though it could still climb higher.
October 25, 2021 4:13 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate is hitting new post-pandemic lows, but the labor force and payrolls shrank in September as employers struggle to find enough employees. The state Department of Labor and Industry said Friday that Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate dropped two-tenths of a percentage point to 6.2% from August’s rate. The national rate was 4.8% in September, and Pennsylvania lags most other states at 41st among 50. Pennsylvania has regained about 65% of the 1.1 million jobs lost in the pandemic. Unemployment rates were lower in 27 states. The surveys were conducted after the federal government ended supplemental payments of $300 a week, as well as expanded unemployment benefits to the self-employed.
October 25, 2021 4:11 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Spending in the race for an open seat on Pennsylvania’s state Supreme Court has blown past $5 million, with less than two weeks left until Election Day. Campaign finance reports filed Friday show that most of it, or roughly $3 million, has been spent to help Republican Kevin Brobson, including spending by third-party groups in the race. That compared with about $2 million to help Democrat Maria McLaughlin. Brobson’s largest donor, by far, is a group that receives millions from suburban Philadelphia billionaire Jeffrey Yass. Labor unions, the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association and the state Democratic Party are McLaughlin’s biggest donors.
October 25, 2021 2:26 am
NORTH STRABANE TWP., Pa. — One person is dead following a wrong-way crash on Interstate 79 early Sunday morning. According to the Washington County Coroner, Holly Ann Davis, 56, of Canonsburg was the sole occupant of a vehicle traveling northbound on the highway near the border with South Strabane Township. Her vehicle was struck by a wrong-way driver traveling south in the northbound lanes just before 2:00 a.m. Prior to the crash, 911 operators say they received calls about the wrong-way driver near the Southpointe interchange. Davis was wearing a seatbelt at the time of the accident. The wrong-way driver was identified as Kristina Rose Coyne, 26, of Washington. Coyne was flown to an area hospital for treatment and her condition is unknown. Police have not said whether or not Coyne will face charges. The Pennsylvania State Police are investigating. Assisting on scene included Canonsburg Ambulance, North Strabane and Peters Township Fire Departments and the South Strabane Police.
October 25, 2021 2:17 am
WASHINGTON, Pa. — The National Weather Service has confirmed eight tornadoes in Southwestern Pennsylvania stemming from storms Thursday night. Three of those twisters touched down in portions of Washington County. The strongest tornado ripped through Hopewell Township and areas near the Pennsylvania/West Virginia border between 7:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. before weakening near Houston. The estimated peak winds for that storm were 130 mph over a nearly 16-mile track. Trees were uprooted, while homes were damaged and farms destroyed. Peters Township experienced an EF-1 tornado that was associated with the Hopewell storm between 8:07 and 8:10 p.m. that night. Estimated peak winds were 95 mph over the 1.5-mile track. Trees were uprooted in that event, along with minor damage to homes in the area. An additional EF-1 tornado was also confirmed just east of West Finley between 7:58 and 8:00 p.m. Winds reached 100 mph over the half-mile track, causing damage to trees and some farm structures. The total tornado count for the area is now at 15 for the month. Between 1950 and 2020, only 11 total tornadoes have hit the area in the month of October. The full list of tornado damage in Southwestern Pennsylvania is below:
EAST OF WEST FINLEY (PA, WASHINGTON COUNTY) EF-1
PETERS TOWNSHIP (PA, WASHINGTON COUNTY) EF-1
HOPEWELL TOWNSHIP (PA, WASHINGTON COUNTY) EF-2
HAMPTON TOWNSHIP (PA, ALLEGHENY COUNTY) EF-1
MOUNT NEBO (PA, ALLEGHENY COUNTY) EF-0
BUTLER (PA, BUTLER COUNTY) EF-0
FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP (PA, BEAVER COUNTY) EF-1
NEW GALILEE (PA, BEAVER COUNTY) EF-1
October 24, 2021 8:40 am
There’s an intriguing subplot to President Joe Biden’s upcoming meeting with Pope Francis. The world’s two most prominent Roman Catholics will be celebrating a shared outlook on church teaching and vital social issues even as Biden faces unwavering opposition from many U.S. Catholic bishops over his stances on abortion and LGBTQ rights. Less than three weeks after Biden’s visit to the Vatican on Friday, the American bishops will convene in Baltimore, with one of the agenda items inspired in part by conservatives who contend that Biden’s support for abortion rights should disqualify him from receiving Communion. Though any document that emerges is not expected to mention Biden by name, it’s possible there could be a clear message of rebuke.
October 24, 2021 8:38 am
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A senior U.S. diplomat on Sunday urged North Korea to refrain from additional missile tests and resume nuclear diplomacy, days after the North fired off its first underwater-launched ballistic missile in two years. Sung Kim, the U.S. envoy on North Korea, spoke after meeting with South Korean officials to discuss North Korea’s recent missile tests while nuclear negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang remain stalled. Last Tuesday, North Korea fired a newly developed ballistic missile from a submarine in its fifth round of weapons tests in recent weeks. South Korean officials said the submarine-fired missile appeared to be in an early stage of development. That marked the North’s first underwater-launched test since October 2019, and the most high-profile one since President Joe Biden took office in January.
October 24, 2021 8:37 am
NEW DELHI, India (AP) — Facebook in India has been selective in curbing hate speech, misinformation and inflammatory posts, particularly anti-Muslim content, according to leaked documents obtained by The Associated Press, even as the internet giant’s own employees cast doubt over its motivations and interests. Based on research produced as recently as March of this year to company memos that date back to 2019, internal company documents on India highlight Facebook’s constant struggles in quashing abusive content on its platforms in the world’s biggest democracy and the company’s largest growth market. Communal and religious tensions in India have a history of boiling over on social media and stoking violence. The files show that Facebook has been aware of the problems for years, raising questions over whether it has done enough to address the issues. Many critics and digital experts say it has failed to do so, especially in cases where members of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party are involved.
