September 14, 2021 4:20 am
As hundreds of mostly unvaccinated COVID-19 patients filled Alabama intensive care units, hospital staff in north Alabama contacted 43 hospitals in three states to find a specialty cardiac ICU bed for Ray Martin DeMonia, his family writes in his obituary. The resident of Cullman, Alabama, was finally transferred to Meridian, Mississippi, about 170 miles away. The 73-year-old antiques dealer died there Sept. 1. Now, his family is making a plea. “In honor of Ray, please get vaccinated if you have not, in an effort to free up resources for non-COVID related emergencies,” his obituary reads. After describing the search for an ICU bed for DeMonia, the obituary adds: “He would not want any other family to go through what his did.”
September 14, 2021 4:18 am
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A federal judge has ordered the state of Iowa to immediately halt enforcement of a law that prevents school boards from ordering masks to be worn to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Judge Robert Pratt said in an order signed Monday that the law passed in May substantially increases the risk of several children with health conditions of contracting COVID-19. Several parents with children that have various medical conditions sued the state. Pratt says he has looked at data on the effectiveness of masks to reduce spread of the virus and agrees with recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics on mask wearing in schools. Gov. Kim Reynolds says the state will appeal.
September 14, 2021 4:17 am
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – Republicans led by former President Donald Trump are raising unsubstantiated claims that California’s recall election against Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom is rigged. That messaging poses a problem for Republican Party officials, who are encouraging everyone to vote while maintaining concerns about the state’s election security. GOP officials have vowed to watch over the race and possibly sue to challenge any irregularities. As of Saturday, 7.8 million ballots have been cast, or 35% of registered voters. The secretary of state says California has the nation’s strictest voting system security requirements. Much of the GOP criticism of California’s elections has focused on the wide use of mail-in ballots.
September 14, 2021 4:15 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – House Democrats have unveiled a sweeping proposal for tax hikes on big corporations and the wealthy to fund President Joe Biden’s $3.5 trillion rebuilding plan. Congress is speeding ahead to shape the far-reaching package that touches almost all aspects of domestic life. The proposed top tax rate would revert to 39.6% on individuals earning more than $400,000, or $450,000 for couples. There would be a 3% tax on wealthier Americans making beyond $5 million a year. For big businesses, the proposal would lift the 21% corporate tax rate to 26.5%. The tax hikes are in line with Biden’s own proposals.
September 14, 2021 4:14 am
HOUSTON (AP) – The National Hurricane Center in Miami says Hurricane Nicholas has made landfall along the Texas coast, bringing the threat of up to 20 inches of rainfall to parts of the Gulf Coast. The hurricane center says the storm touched down on the eastern part of the Matagorda Peninsula, about 10 miles west southwest of Sargent Beach, Texas, with maximum winds of 75 mph. Nicholas was the 14th named storm of the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season. The biggest unknown about Nicholas was how much rainfall it would produce in Texas, especially around flood-prone Houston. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says authorities have placed rescue teams and resources in the Houston area and along the coast. Storm-battered Louisiana was also expected to see heavy rain and flooding from Nicholas.
September 14, 2021 4:10 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – People would need to wear masks at all indoor events and some outdoor events under new legislation that is expected to be introduced at Tuesday’s Allegheny County Council meeting, according to our news partners at Channel 11. Under the new proposal, sponsored by council members Bethany Hallam and Olivia Bennett, people would be required to wear masks at any outdoor gathering of more than 250 people. Anyone who fails to comply could be fined up to $100. If passed, it would be effective until Apr. 30, 2022, unless the council acts to repeal it sooner, according to reports. “It’s not taking away personal freedoms. It’s giving our people the right to live. This virus is killing people and so we’re leading and we’re making these decisions. We have to make the decisions that are going to help save our constituents’ lives,” Bennett said. “The goal is for it to look kind of like what we were doing at the beginning of the pandemic.”
September 14, 2021 2:50 am
Washington Health System’s President and CEO Brook Ward wants to assure the public that beds in both Washington and Waynesburg Hospitals are available despite reports of rising Covid numbers in the county. Ward says that part of the reason for availability is the county’s 70% vaccination rate. The problem facing the hospitals is a shortage of staff, but that could be solved by rearranging some staff or programs, but Ward says there has not been a need for such actions yet. There are currently 31 in-patients in both hospitals, the high last year was 58.
September 14, 2021 2:30 am
BROWNSVILLE, Pa. — (WPXI) – Four Brownsville Senior High School students were rushed to the hospital Monday morning after state police troopers said they may have overdosed. According to troopers, state police were called at around 7:15 a.m. for a report of four children that were taken to a nearby hospital “for unknown medical issues.” Investigators said the students may have eaten THC edibles on school property, leading to the medical issues. The students were released from the hospital in stable condition. Troopers are still investigating. The superintendent issued this statement to our news partners at Channel 11: “Unfortunately, we had a student discipline issue in our high school today involving 4 students. The State Police and local ambulance service were contacted. However, reports circulated on social media regarding our students’ well-being are not accurate.”
September 14, 2021 2:13 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – The union that represents corrections officers in Pennsylvania prisons wants a state court to intervene over the governor’s recent mandate that they all get coronavirus vaccines or submit to weekly testing. The six-page Commonwealth Court complaint over a rule Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf announced last month requests that the court issue a preliminary injunction to end mandatory testing unless inmates, visitors and outside vendors are also subject to the requirement. Wolf a month ago announced that about 25,000 employees of Pennsylvania’s prisons and state health care and congregate care facilities would have to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by Sept. 7 or take weekly tests for the virus.
September 13, 2021 1:41 pm
NEW ORLEANS (AP) –
A Louisiana man who is the oldest living World War II veteran in the United States has marked his 112th birthday. Lawrence Brooks celebrated Sunday with a drive-by party at his New Orleans home hosted by the National World War II Museum. Festivities included a Jeep parade, a live performance from the museum vocal trio and entertainment from New Orleans musicians. Drafted in 1940, Brooks was a private in the Army’s mostly Black 91st Engineer Battalion. The unit was stationed in New Guinea and the Philippines and built infrastructure such as bridges, roads and airstrips.
