September 8, 2021 4:11 am
HOUMA, La. (AP) – Officials have raised the death toll from Hurricane Ida in Louisiana to 26. The additional 11 deaths all occurred in the city of New Orleans. The state Health Department said Wednesday that the deaths happened between Aug. 30 and Monday, but were just confirmed as storm-related by the Orleans Parish coroner. Nine of the deaths were from excessive heat. The remaining two deaths involved carbon monoxide poisoning. The health department says the heat-related deaths involved people ages 64 to 79.
September 8, 2021 4:07 am
NEW YORK (AP) – There will be something missing at two Whole Foods stores opening next year: the rows of cashiers. Amazon, which owns the grocery chain, said Wednesday that it will bring its cashier-less technology to two Whole Foods stores for the first time, letting shoppers grab what they need and leave without having to open their wallets. Cameras and sensors track what’s taken off shelves. Items are charged to an Amazon account after customers leave the store with them. But there will be an option for those who want to shop the old-fashioned way: Self-checkout lanes will be available that take cash, gift cards and other types of payment. One of the new stores will be in Washington, D.C., the other in Sherman Oaks, California.
September 8, 2021 4:05 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania’s highway agency wants to prevent a major heavy equipment contractor from doing state work for up to three years because it pleaded no contest to theft after being accused of illegally diverting money and other benefits from its workers. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation on Friday asked an administrative hearing officer to sanction Glenn O. Hawbaker Inc. of State College. Hawbaker pleaded no contest last month and is on probation for five years. It also is paying more than $20 million in restitution to some 1,200 victims. Hawbaker says it will vigorously defend the company and workers and is vowing to do everything it can to fight the proposed sanction.
September 8, 2021 4:00 am
WASHINGTON COUNTY, Pa. — (WPXI) – A Canon-McMillan school board meeting turned downright nasty Tuesday night with parents screaming at each other, cursing and refusing to wear masks. The board eventually shut the whole thing down after about 20 minutes. “I think it was a total fiasco. A lot of tensions are high,” said Robert Barnard. One of the parents started screaming about the weight of one of the board members, fat shaming them. Board members asked the crowd to wear masks to be in compliance with the new statewide requirement for school buildings. When parents in the crowd refused, the board said they had no choice but to adjourn. “It’s a very touchy subject right now. I think a lot of people are very agitated, very frustrated and aren’t getting any answers,” Barnard said. It’s a similar situation in many other local school districts, but the issue won’t be going away any time soon. The next Canon-Mac board meeting is penciled in for Sept. 23.
September 7, 2021 3:53 pm
TYLER, Texas (AP) – Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has signed into law an overhaul of the state’s election rules following months of protests by Democrats. The sweeping bill signed Tuesday by the two-term Republican governor further tightens Texas’ strict voting laws. Texas joins more than a dozen states that have passed Republican-backed voting changes since the 2020 election. The new laws have been driven in part by former President Donald Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was stolen. Opponents of the changes in Texas have already begun filing lawsuits in federal court.
September 7, 2021 1:19 pm
(WPXI) – Protests over Pennsylvania’s mask mandate for schools were held Tuesday morning at several local schools, including Penn Trafford and Greater Latrobe Senior high schools. At Greater Latrobe Senior High School, a group of about 40 students and parents gathered to make their opinions known. People both for and against the mandate showed up. Cynthia Sarp, a parent, is in favor of the mandate. “I would much rather see my daughter wear a mask than watch her suffering, struggling to breathe in the hospital,” Sarp said. Outside Penn Trafford High School, about 70 students and parents rallied. The mandate, which Gov. Tom Wolf announced last week, went into effect Tuesday. It requires masks to be worn in K-12 schools.
September 7, 2021 9:33 am
A medical helicopter was called to the scene of a tanker truck crash in Mt. Pleasant Township Monday morning. Washington County 9-1-1 dispatchers say the truck ended up on its side against a utility pole at the intersection of Avella Road and Henderson Road near the BP station. The helicopter arrived on scene but had to wait for crews to shut off power in the area to allow emergency crews to remove the driver from the vehicle. There is no word on his identity or condition. He was flown to UPMC-Presbyterian Hospital in Pittsburgh. Meanwhile, the driver of another tanker truck was injured in a separate crash earlier in the morning in West Bethlehem Township. A 9-1-1 dispatcher says this crash occurred just before 5:30 a.m. along Lone Pine Road. The unidentified driver was transported to a local hospital. There were no details on his condition. The roadway was closed for some time between Dunkard Church Road and Wherry School Road. HazMat crews were called to the scene of both accidents. (Photo: WPXI)
September 7, 2021 4:25 am
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. (AP) – Crews are still fighting wind-swept flames in some parts the wildfire south of Lake Tahoe, but officials said Monday that they’re planning to prepare to repopulate parts of the resort community that remain under evacuation order. The Caldor Fire was 48% contained as of Monday evening, which was enough to allow residents of the city of South Lake Tahoe to return to their homes. Town remained quieter than usual with gas stations and grocery stores open, but ski shops and restaurants closed. Winds have been easing, allowing firefighters to make progress containing the flames, but fire officials remain concerned about winds threatening their progress.
September 7, 2021 4:24 am
(AP) – Total COVID-19 cases in the United States surpassed 40 million on Monday, fueled by a continued surge in infections attributed primarily to the unchecked spread of the delta variant of the coronavirus. By 3:21 p.m. EDT Monday, U.S. COVID-19 cases totaled 40,003,101, and the nationwide death toll totaled 648,935, according to a Johns Hopkins University tally. The latest figures mean that the most recent 1 million cases were reported within the past six days, after three consecutive seven-day cycles. During the nation’s winter peak, the U.S. averaged 1 million new cases every four days, according to Johns Hopkins data. India has recorded the second-highest nationwide cases with 33,027,621, resulting in nearly 440,752 deaths, while Brazil has confirmed 20,890,779 cases and 583,628 COVID-19 fatalities, according to the Johns Hopkins tally.
September 7, 2021 4:20 am
MANVILLE, N.J. (AP) – President Joe Biden toured storm damaged New Jersey and New York, focusing on climate change and saying he’s thinking about all the families that suffered losses. Biden on Tuesday visited areas that were badly damaged when Hurricane Ida’s remnants unleashed catastrophic flash flooding in the Northeast. He said that better rebuilding is needed to deal with future storms and cited his own $1 trillion plan, now pending in Congress. He said, in his words, “Every part of the country, every part of the country is getting hit by extreme weather,” and more is surely to come. Ida’s soggy remnants are blamed for at least 50 deaths in the region.
