October 27, 2021 2:54 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – U.S. health advisers have endorsed kid-size doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for young children. The vote Tuesday by the Food and Drug Administration panel moves the nation closer to vaccinating children ages 5 to 11. The FDA isn’t bound by the recommendation and is expected to make its own decision within days. If regulators agree, shots could begin as early as late next week. Young kids would get just a third of the dose given to teens and adults. A study found kid-size vaccinations are nearly 91% effective at preventing symptomatic infections.
October 27, 2021 2:23 am
HARRISBURG (AP) – Victims of a crash on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Westmoreland County that killed five people and hurt nearly all the dozens of passengers on a bus nearly two years ago claim in a lawsuit that one of the drivers was wearing noise-canceling headphones. The wrongful death and negligence lawsuit filed last week in Philadelphia claims FedEx driver Brandon Stowers’ use of the headphones prevented him from hearing warnings that he was about to crash into the scene of the bus wreck near Mount Pleasant. The complaint includes a photo of the driver in the cab wearing headphones. The FedEx truck plowed into a bus headed from the New York area to Cincinnati around 3:30 a.m. on Jan. 5, 2020. The lawsuit says one of the plaintiffs, a child identified by his initials, was decapitated in the crash. The plaintiffs are 18 victims or their next of kin. The 95-page complaint names as defendants Z&D Tour Inc., the bus operator based in Rockaway, N.J.; Ohio Coach Inc.; Sioux Trucking Inc.; and FedEx Ground Package System Inc. FedEx issued a statement Tuesday saying safety is its top priority and expressing “our thoughts and condolences” to the people involved.
October 26, 2021 3:43 pm
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) – Three groups are asking the West Virginia Public Service Commission to reconsider a decision allowing Appalachian Power and Wheeling Power to keep three plants operational through at least 2040. The Parkersburg News and Sentinel reports that West Virginia Citizen Action Group, Solar United Neighbors, and Energy Efficient West Virginia filed a petition Friday asking the panel to revisit the issue. Utility regulators voted this month to approve the request involving the John Amos plant in Winfield, the Mountaineer plant in New Haven and the Mitchell plant in Moundsville. The companies are seeking a 3.3% increase for customers to help subsidize environmental improvements.
October 26, 2021 3:37 pm
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Workers for the Philadelphia-area transit system have voted to authorize a strike next month if agreement isn’t reached on a new contract. The Transport Workers Union Local 234 said a voice vote at a Sunday morning meeting in south Philadelphia approved a motion to allow union leaders to call a strike if an agreement with the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority is not reached in a week. The union represents about 5,000 bus drivers, cashiers, mechanics, and other workers providing service on buses, trolleys, the subway, and elevated train lines. A weeklong strike by SEPTA workers in November 2016 was resolved the day before the general election that year.
October 26, 2021 3:27 pm
BOSTON (AP) – A powerful storm has begun barreling up the northeastern U.S. coast, and officials warn it could bring intense flooding and hurricane-force wind gusts. The National Weather Service said Tuesday that the nor’easter had already soaked parts of New Jersey with more than 5 inches of rain and flooded some areas. Officials are warning of more flooding and widespread power outages as the storm sweeps north. The worst of it is expected to hit New England late Tuesday through Wednesday. The storm arrives just weeks after the remnants of Hurricane Ida inundated the Northeast and caused deadly flooding.
October 26, 2021 3:25 pm
PONTOON BEACH, Ill. (AP) – Authorities say a police officer was shot to death by a man at a gas station in an Illinois suburb of St. Louis. Trooper Jayme Bufford with Illinois State Police said Pontoon Beach Officer Tyler Timmins succumbed to his injuries at a hospital. The officer was shot at around 8 a.m. Tuesday at a Speedway gas station along Route 111. Bufford said the Pontoon Beach officer had approached a car in the gas station’s parking lot because he suspected it had been stolen. Bufford says a man then began firing on Timmins. The suspect was taken into custody.
October 26, 2021 4:16 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Democrats’ idea for a new billionaires’ tax to help pay for President Joe Biden’s social services and climate change plan is quickly running into criticism. Some Democratic lawmakers view it as too cumbersome and prefer the original plan of simply raising the top tax rates on corporations and the wealthy. Democrats are working frantically to shore up the revenue side of Biden’s domestic package. Biden said Monday he’s hopeful the talks with Congress can wrap up overall agreement this week, before he departs for global summits.
October 26, 2021 4:14 am
BOISE, Idaho (AP) – Police say they exchanged gunfire with a suspect during a shooting at a shopping mall in Boise, Idaho, that killed two people and injured four — including an officer. Boise Police Chief Ryan Lee said at a news conference the shooting was reported about 1:50 p.m. on Monday – as well as a report that one person was “shot and down” at that time. When the officers arrived, they spotted someone who matched the description of the suspect. Authorities said officers exchanged gunfire with the suspect and later said the suspect was in critical condition at a hospital. Police said Monday evening that the officer had been treated and released.
October 26, 2021 4:12 am
UNDATED (AP) – McDonald’s workers in 12 U.S. cities walked off the job Tuesday to protest what they say is a continuing problem of sexual harassment and violence in the company’s stores. Organizers from the labor group Fight for $15 say several hundred workers were expected to participate in Chicago, Miami and other cities. McDonald’s plans to require sexual harassment training in all of its 40,000 stores worldwide starting in January. But some workers say that’s not enough. They cite a lawsuit filed last month by a teen employee who says she was raped by a McDonald’s store manager earlier this year.
October 26, 2021 4:05 am
MORRIS TOWNSHIP, Pa.- (WPXI) – A rural route mail carrier was hit and killed by a vehicle in Greene County Monday evening. According to the coroner’s office, Chad Varner, 49, was hit after getting out of his vehicle to deliver a package. Investigators said the deadly incident happened in Morris Township shortly after 4 p.m. Officials said they were awaiting the results of an autopsy for more information. (Photo: Facebook)
