September 30, 2021 2:31 am
All Allegheny County employees will be required to get a COVID-19 vaccination, Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald announced Wednesday. Unvaccinated employees have until Dec. 1 to comply, subject to such exceptions as required by law. It’s the latest in an effort to promote the health and safety of Allegheny County’s workforce and to protect the public, Fitzgerald said in a news release. Employees will need to provide proof of vaccination to department management. While employees do not have to be considered fully vaccinated by Dec. 1, they will have to have received the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine, or received the second dose of the two-shot Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, on or before Dec. 1st. On Dec. 2nd, anyone in violation of the requirement who does not meet any exception will face termination. Vaccinated employees who still get COVID-19 or have been ordered or directed to quarantine will also have an additional benefit of being provided 10 days of paid leave.
September 29, 2021 5:25 pm
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) – West Virginia’s largest outdoor festival has been canceled, a week after a group representing parachutists bailed out. The Bridge Day Commission voted unanimously Wednesday to cancel the Oct. 16 event on the New River Gorge Bridge. A parachutists’ group organizer last week cited concerns about available health care in case of an emergency because of the coronavirus pandemic. He also was concerned whether enough bus drivers would be available to transport the parachutists. Bridge Day is the only day of the year that the nation’s third-highest bridge is open to pedestrian traffic. Last year’s event in Fayetteville was canceled due to the pandemic.
September 29, 2021 4:11 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Senior Pentagon officials say the collapse of the Afghan government and its security forces in August could be traced to a 2020 U.S. agreement with the Taliban that promised a complete U.S. troop withdrawal. Gen. Frank McKenzie, the head of Central Command, told the House Armed Services Committee that once the U.S. troop presence was pushed below 2,500 as part of President Joe Biden’s decision in April to complete a total withdrawal by September, the unraveling of the U.S.-backed Afghan government accelerated. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said he agreed with McKenzie’s analysis.
September 29, 2021 4:08 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden is hunkering down at the White House to try to strike a deal on his potentially historic $3.5 trillion government overhaul. Biden canceled a Wednesday trip to Chicago to keep negotiating with members of his own party. All eyes are turning to Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona to see what they can live with. Speaker Nancy Pelosi indicated she may shelve a Thursday vote on a companion $1 trillion public works bill without movement on Biden’s package. As if that’s not enough, Congress has more votes set to prevent a federal shutdown and debt default.
September 29, 2021 4:06 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) – It’s premiere time for the film academy’s long-awaited museum. The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures opens Thursday in Los Angeles. The project has been in the works for a decade and fulfills an idea nearly a century old. Visitors can see the ruby slippers from “The Wizard of Oz,” the sled from “Citizen Kane” and the droids from “Star Wars.” The featured inaugural exhibit is on the works of legendary Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki. One of the two buildings is topped by a glass dome that architect Renzo Piano hopes will lead to the nickname “The Soap Bubble.”
September 29, 2021 4:05 am
CHESAPEAKE, Va. (AP) – Dollar Tree, the national chain of stores that promises everything for a buck, will begin introducing items on its shelves that will exceed $1. The company said this week that it’s responding to customer requests and said pushing the $1 barrier will allow for a better mix of products. However, the change to prices at Dollar Tree, which have been unchanged for decades, comes with inflation rising above 4% in July. Prices have risen across the spectrum as the global economy emerges from the pandemic.
September 29, 2021 4:04 am
UNDATED (AP) – Video-sharing tech platform YouTube on Wednesday announced immediate bans on false claims that vaccines are dangerous and cause health issues like autism, cancer or infertility. áThe tech company also deleted the accounts belonging to some of the most notable propagators of vaccine misinformation and conspiracy theories. The ban on vaccine misinformation extends to all approved immunizations and comes as countries, including the U.S., struggle to ramp up vaccination rates during the COVID-19 pandemic.
September 29, 2021 3:19 am
Two drivers who were hurt in an accident Tuesday afternoon at the Meadows Race Track in North Strabane Township will require surgery. In a statement, The Meadows Standardbred Owners Association says a horse piloted by James Dodson took a bad step entering the far turn and fell to the track. A second horse driven by Chris Shaw could not avoid the fallen horse and also fell, flipping Shaw from the bike. Dodson bounced to his feet quickly and was taken to an area hospital for treatment of a broken collarbone and will undergo surgery. According to a Facebook post on Wednesday, Shaw suffered multiple injuries, including a broken nose and several fractures throughout his body, some of which will require surgery. The horses were reportedly not injured.
September 28, 2021 5:40 pm
(AP) – Nurses and hundreds of other staff members will soon begin wearing panic buttons at a Missouri hospital where assaults on workers tripled after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Cox Medical Center Branson is using grant money to add buttons to identification badges worn by up to 400 employees who work in the emergency room and inpatient hospital rooms. Pushing the button will immediately alert hospital security, launching a tracking system that will send help to the endangered worker. The hospital hopes to have the system operational by the end of the year. Missouri isn’t alone. A February report cited hundreds of COVID-related attacks worldwide.
September 28, 2021 4:11 am
GLENDALE, Ky. (AP) – Ford and a partner company say they plan to build three major electric-vehicle battery factories and an auto assembly plant by 2025. áIt’s a dramatic investment in the future of EV technology that will create an estimated 10,800 jobs and shift the automaker’s future manufacturing footprint toward the South. The factories will be built on sites in Kentucky and Tennessee. They will make batteries for the next generation of Ford and Lincoln electric vehicles that will be produced in North America. Combined, they mark the single largest manufacturing investment the 118-year-old company has ever made and are among the largest factory outlays in the world.
