March 24, 2021 4:18 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) – George Segal, the banjo player turned actor who was nominated for an Oscar for 1966’s “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?,” and starred in the ABC sitcom “The Goldbergs,” has died. Segal’s wife Sonia Segal said in a statement that he died Tuesday in Santa Rosa, California, of complications from bypass surgery. He was 87. Segal was always best known as a comic actor, but his most famous role was in a harrowing drama, 1966’s “Virginia Woolf.” More recently he played magazine publisher Jack Gallo on the NBC series “Just Shoot Me” and grandfather Albert “Pops” Solomon on the “The Goldbergs.”
March 24, 2021 4:15 am
JERUSALEM (AP) – Exit polls indicate there is no clear winner in Tuesday’s Israeli election, leaving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s fate uncertain and signaling continued political deadlock. The polls on Israel’s three main TV stations showed Netanyahu and his religious and nationalist allies, as well as a diverse array of opponents, both falling short of a parliamentary majority. That could set the stage for weeks of paralysis and even an unprecedented fifth consecutive election. Exit polls are often imprecise and the official results may not be known for days. Netanyahu nevertheless said Israelis had “given a great victory to the right and to the Likud under my leadership.”
March 24, 2021 4:14 am
HONG KONG (AP) – Hong Kong suspended vaccinations using Pfizer shots after the Chinese distributor informed the city that one batch had defective bottle lids. The government said the suspension was immediate while the matter was investigated by Fosun Pharma and BioNTech, the German company which created the vaccine with American pharmaceutical firm Pfizer. They haven’t found any evidence the shots were unsafe but suspended their use as a precaution. Macao also said residents would not receive the Pfizer vaccinations from the affected batch. More than 150,000 people in Hong Kong have received the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine. The suspension leaves only China’s Sinovac vaccine for use in Hong Kong.
March 24, 2021 4:13 am
BOULDER, Colo. (AP) – Police and former associates of the man accused of opening fire at a Colorado supermarket describe the suspect as sometimes prone to rage or delusions. But a motive behind the shooting that killed 10 people, including a police officer, remains unknown. Authorities say Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa purchased an assault weapon less than a week before Monday’s attack in Boulder. It was not immediately known where the suspect purchased the weapon. Alissa, who is from the Denver suburb of Arvada, was booked into jail on murder charges. He is due to make a first court appearance on Thursday.
March 24, 2021 4:12 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Senate Democrats say they are pushing toward a vote on expanded gun control measures as the nation reels from it its second mass shooting in a week. President Joe Biden says “we have to act,” but prospects for any major changes are dim, for now, in the closely divided Congress. In brief remarks responding to Monday’s shooting in Colorado, Biden urged Congress to move quickly to close the loopholes in the background check system and to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer vowed Tuesday to bring House-passed legislation that would require background checks for most gun sales and transfers to the Senate floor.
March 24, 2021 4:08 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania lawmakers are restarting the multi-year clock on amending the state constitution to allow now-adult victims of child sexual abuse to sue their perpetrators or institutions that may have covered it up. The state Senate voted, 44-3, on Tuesday after Republicans blocked efforts to make the change more quickly. The debate has been spurred by investigations into child sexual abuse allegations inside Pennsylvania’s Roman Catholic dioceses. Lawmakers had been on schedule to deliver a proposed amendment to voters in May 18’s primary election before Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration revealed that it had failed to advertise the proposal last year, as it was required to do. Without an emergency amendment, a referendum cannot happen before 2023.
March 24, 2021 4:04 am
A supervisor position was made available in South Strabane Township on Tuesday night. Supervisor Thomas Moore tendered his resignation from the board and it was accepted unanimously with regrets. Moore is resigning due to health concerns. Supervisor Chairman Bob Weber stated that we will not only be missing a great supervisor, we will be missing a great friend. Opportunity was given to local residents to announce their interest in filling out Moore’s term that will end on January 3, 2022. Russ Grego who is the Public Works Director for the township expressed his interest as did resident Mark McCurdy who is a former Legislative Assistant in the State House of Representatives. In other township business, supervisors held a public hearing on a proposal to rezone a 141 acre parcel of land from C-2 general commercial to R-4 medium density residential. The request was made by the Meadows Landing Associates, LP. They plan a 334 unit mixed residential development on the land behind the Speedway Convenience store on Route 19. Supervisors later approved a master plan for that development pending approval of the zoning change.
March 24, 2021 2:25 am
Regal Cinemas, the second largest movie theater chain in the U.S., will reopen beginning April 2nd. Regal had been one of most notable holdouts in the gradual reopening of cinemas nationwide. For nearly half a year, screens and theatres in the U.S. have been dark – and that includes the one at Washington Crown Center in North Franklin Township. The company says doors will open early next month with attendance limited to 25 to 50% capacity in about 500 locations. As for the Washington County location, Civil Knox, the mall’s general manager and marketing director, says the news of the reopening is news to her and she can’t say whether that will include their location.
March 23, 2021 3:58 pm
EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) – Evanston, Illinois, has become the first U.S. city to make reparations available to its Black residents for past discrimination and the lingering effects of slavery. The Chicago suburb’s City Council voted 8-1 to distribute $400,000 to eligible black households. Each qualifying household would get $25,000 for home repairs or down payments on property. The program is being funded through donations and revenue from a 3% tax on the sale of recreational marijuana. The city has pledged to distribute $10 million over 10 years. Qualifying residents must either have lived in or been a direct descendant of a Black person who lived in Evanston between 1919 to 1969 and who suffered discrimination in housing because of city ordinances, policies or practices. Alderman Rue Simmons, who proposed the program adopted in 2019, said pro-reparations groups have offered pro-bono legal assistance if the program is challenged in court.
Simmons says, “This is set aside for an injured community that happens to be Black, that was injured by the city of Evanston for anti-Black housing policies.”
March 23, 2021 9:39 am
In a private Facebook group called the Pittsburgh Area Police Breakroom, many current and retired officers spent the year criticizing chiefs who took a knee or officers who marched with Black Lives Matter protesters, whom they called “terrorists,” “racist” or “thugs.” Posts from the group were shared with The Associated Press, showing some of the 2,200 members including police officers, chiefs and retired law enforcement officials made regular transphobic bullying or violent posts, and bullied members who supported anti-police brutality protesters or Joe Biden in a forum billed as a place officers can “decompress, rant, share ideas.” The Associated Press says Mount Pleasant Township Police Chief Louis McQuillan was one of four administrators for the site. He said his comments and posts on the site were “meant to support law enforcement and police officers everywhere.” Township officials have not returned a call from WJPA News for comment and whether McQuillan could face possible disciplinary action. In addition to police chief, McQuillan is also a councilman in McDonald Borough and is currently a candidate for Magisterial District Judge for MCDonald, Cecil, Mount Pleasant and Robinson Township.
