September 19, 2021 7:56 am
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — France would have known Australia had “deep and grave concerns” that a submarine fleet the French were building would not meet Australian needs, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Sunday after the contract’s cancellation set off a diplomatic crisis. France accused Australia of concealing its intentions to back out of the 90 billion Australian dollar ($66 billion) contract for French majority state-owned Naval Group to build 12 conventional diesel-electric submarines. President Joe Biden revealed last week a new alliance including Australia and Britain that would deliver an Australian fleet of at least eight nuclear-powered submarines. Morrison blamed the switch on a deteriorating strategic environment in the Indo-Pacific. He has not specifically referred to China’s massive military buildup, which has gained pace in recent years. France responded to the contract cancellation, which Morrison has said will cost his government at least AU$2.4 billion ($1.7 billion), by recalling its ambassadors from Australia and the United
September 19, 2021 7:48 am
DEL RIO, Texas (AP) — Haitian migrants seeking to escape poverty, hunger and a feeling of hopelessness in their home country said they will not be deterred by U.S. plans to speedily send them back, as thousands of people remained encamped on the Texas border Saturday after crossing from Mexico. Scores of people waded back and forth across the Rio Grande on Saturday afternoon, re-entering Mexico to purchase water, food and diapers in Ciudad Acuña before returning to the Texas encampment under and near a bridge in the border city of Del Rio. Junior Jean, a 32-year-old man from Haiti, watched as people cautiously carried cases of water or bags of food through the knee-high river water. Jean said he lived on the streets in Chile the past four years, resigned to searching for food in garbage cans. “We are all looking for a better life,” he said. The Department of Homeland Security said Saturday that it moved about 2,000 of the migrants from the camp to other locations Friday for processing and possible removal from the U.S. Its statement also said it would have 400 agents and officers in the area by Monday morning and would send more if necessary.
September 19, 2021 7:47 am
BRUSSELS (AP) — The Belgian town of Aarschot has a vaccination rate of 94% of all adults, but Mayor Gwendolyn Rutten worries her town is too close for comfort to the capital of Brussels, where the rate stands at 63%. But there’s not much she can do about it. Her hope is that the government mandates vaccination. “Otherwise, you drag all others back into danger,” Rutten said in a recent interview. But few European Union countries have issued outright mandates, instead requiring people to show proof of immunization, a negative test or recent recovery from COVID-19 to participate in ever more activities — even sometimes to go to work. More sweeping requirements are the order of the day in the U.S., which has faced significant vaccine resistance. President Biden announced mandates last week that cover large portions of the population, sometimes without any option to test instead. Despite apparently divergent strategies, officials in both the U.S. and the EU are struggling with the same question: how to boost vaccination rates to the max and end a pandemic that has repeatedly thwarted efforts to control it. And the apparent split may in fact be narrowing. While not calling their restrictions mandates, some European countries are making life so difficult for those without the vaccine that it may amount to the same thing.
September 19, 2021 7:45 am
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Witnesses say an explosion targeted a Taliban vehicle in the provincial city of Jalalabad, the second such deadly blast in as many days in an Islamic State stronghold. The Taliban and IS extremists are enemies, and fought each other even before the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan last month. Witnesses say Sunday’s blast targeted a vehicle of the border police, which is now run by the Taliban. Initial reports said five people were killed, including two civilians, among them a child. The Taliban were not immediately available for comment about possible casualties among their ranks.
September 19, 2021 7:43 am
WASHINGTON, Pa. — One of the most legendary athletes in Western Pennsylvania was honored over the weekend in Washington. The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission and W&J College dedicated a Pennsylvania State Marker in honor of Dr. Charles “Pruner” West. Then, at Cameron Stadium, the 1921 W&J team was celebrated on the 100th anniversary of their season that culminated with a berth in the Tournament of Roses game. West was the first black quarterback to play in what is now known as the Rose Bowl. The Presidents played the entire game with just 11 players. The event ended 0-0, the only scoreless tie in the history of the game. His athletic successes were not just seen on the football field. In track and field, West won the National Collegiate Pentathlon Championship at the Penn Relays in 1922 and 1923 and he was named to the 1924 U.S. Olympic team, though injury prevented his participation. He signed with the Akron Pros professional football team after graduating from W&J in 1924, but instead chose to retire from athletics and attend Howard University Medical School in Washington, D.C. Dr. West went on to become a prominent physician in the Alexandria, Va. area for 50 years.
September 19, 2021 4:40 am
PITTSBURGH (WPXI) — The sole passenger on what has become known as the Downtown sinkhole bus filed a lawsuit against the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority on Friday, alleging that the entity should have been aware of the potential danger there from previous flooding. Michelle Goodlow, of Washington, is suing the authority for negligence, according to Trib Live. The complaint, filed in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court, also names an unidentified private business, which would have owned a disconnected water line in the area, as a defendant. The PWSA did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
September 19, 2021 4:31 am
PITTSBURGH, Pa. — A Venetia man has pleaded guilty in federal court to multiple drug charges. According to officials, Timothy Forester, 46, pleaded guilty to three counts before Senior United States District Judge David Cercone. Forester was charged for obtaining controlled substances by fraud, misbranding of drugs and health care fraud conspiracy. Forester was a licensed pharmacist who owned four pharmacies — Century Square Pharmacy in West Mifflin and Prescription Center Plus with locations in South Park, McMurray and Eighty Four. Forester admitted to knowingly, intentionally and unlawfully obtaining oxycodone and hydrocodone between November of 2018 and February of 2019. He says he did not place those controlled substances into the inventories of the pharmacies and did not create records on how the drugs were administered. Forester also admitted to rebranding generic drugs and selling them for more than its actual value. He finally admitted to filling prescriptions with generic drugs, but charged Medicare and Medicaid for the more expensive name brand substances, committing healthcare fraud at a loss of approximately $680,000. Forester is facing multiple years in prison, depending on his sentencing which is scheduled for February 8th, 2022.
September 19, 2021 1:23 am
WASHINGTON, Pa. – Two bank robberies are under investigation in the region, including one in South Strabane Township. According to officials, the PNC Bank off of Washington Road in South Strabane at Strabane Square was targeted Thursday afternoon. The second robbery happened at the Brentwood Bank in South Fayette. Officials say the robberies are related. South Fayette police took Anthony West, 27, of Stowe Township into custody during a traffic stop near McKees Rocks. West was charged for the robbery according to court documents. Reports say a second person is in custody, but not charged as of this time. Employees told investigators the actor came in the PNC Bank and told them he needed twenty-five-thousand-dollars. Police said no money was taken in South Strabane, but $4,000 was taken from the Brentwood Bank after West demanded originally demanded $20,000. Officials say no one was hurt during the incidents. The FBI is handling most of this investigation moving forward.
September 18, 2021 4:48 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – An influential federal advisory panel has overwhelmingly rejected a plan to give Pfizer booster shots against COVID-19 to most Americans, but it endorsed the extra doses for those who are 65 or older or run a high risk of severe disease. The twin votes Friday represented a heavy blow to the Biden administration’s sweeping effort to shore up nearly all Americans’ protection amid the spread of the highly contagious delta variant. The decision was made by a committee of outside experts who advise the Food and Drug Administration. The White House called the action “an important step forward in providing better protection” from the virus.
September 18, 2021 4:47 am
DEL RIO, Texas (AP) – A US official says the Biden administration plans on the widescale expulsion of Haitian migrants in a small Texas border city on flights to Haiti starting Sunday. The move represents a swift and dramatic response to thousands who suddenly assembled under and around a bridge in Del Rio. The official tells The Associated Press that details are not finalized but will likely involve five to eight flights a day. San Antonio may be among the departure cities. U.S. authorities closed traffic to vehicles and pedestrians in both directions at the Del Rio’s only border crossing with Mexico.
