March 1, 2021 4:23 am
NEW YORK (AP) – New York’s attorney general said she’s moving forward with an investigation into sexual harassment allegations against Gov. Andrew Cuomo after receiving a letter from his office authorizing her to take charge of the probe. The referral letter was sent Monday. It allows Attorney General Letitia James to deputize an outside law firm to conduct the inquiry with full subpoena power. When the investigation is finished, the findings will be disclosed in a public report. Two women who’ve worked for Cuomo accused him of sexual harassment. The governor said some of his behavior with women “may have been insensitive or too personal,” but denied harassing anyone.
March 1, 2021 4:20 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Congress is beginning debate on the biggest overhaul of U.S. elections law in a generation. Legislation from Democrats would touch virtually every aspect of the electoral process – striking down hurdles to voting, curbing partisan gerrymandering and curtailing big money in politics. Republicans see those very measures as a threat that would limit the power of states to conduct elections and ultimately benefit Democrats. The stakes are enormous with both control of Congress and President Joe Biden’s legislative agenda in the balance. But at its core, a more foundational principle of American democracy is at play: access to the ballot.
March 1, 2021 4:16 am
Discussions are reportedly underway to move teachers into Phase 1A, the current phase of Pennsylvania’s vaccine rollout. Washington County Representative Tim O’Neal, a member of the bipartisan COVID-19 Task Force, alerted GOP House members to the discussions in an email Sunday. However, multiple Democratic sources said no final decision has been made. The email said the National Guard would be involved in the vaccination process. Sources said the final decision will be made by Gov. Tom Wolf.
March 1, 2021 4:15 am
MT. PLEASANT TWP. — (WPXI)- A man was struck by a vehicle and killed while he was riding an ATV in Mount Pleasant Township, Westmoreland County, on Saturday. State police said the incident happened on Route 819 at 8:45 p.m. Saturday, between Brinker and Steeles roads — when Timothy Strobel, 39, crashed his ATV. According to investigators, Strobel was trying to pick up the ATV in the roadway when he was hit by a 2014 Kia Soul. Strobel was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the vehicle was not hurt, but troopers said a passenger in that car had minor injuries. The investigation is ongoing, and it’s unclear if any charges will be filed.
February 28, 2021 7:57 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department said Saturday it will appeal a judge’s ruling that found the federal government’s eviction moratorium was unconstitutional. Prosecutors filed a notice in the case on Saturday evening, saying the government was appealing the matter the to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. The appeal comes days after U.S. District Judge J. Campbell Barker ruled that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevented had overstepped its authority and that the moratorium was unlawful. “Although the COVID-19 pandemic persists, so does the Constitution,” the judge wrote in the decision on Thursday. In a statement, Brian Boynton, the acting assistant attorney general in charge of the Justice Department’s civil division, said prosecutors respectfully disagreed with the judge’s ruling and noted it only applied to parties in the case, not broadly to others. The CDC eviction moratorium was signed in September by President Donald Trump and extended by President Joe Biden until March 31.
February 28, 2021 7:55 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House approved a $1.9 trillion pandemic relief bill that was championed by President Joe Biden, the first step in providing another dose of aid to a weary nation as the measure now moves to a tense Senate. “We have no time to waste,” Biden said at the White House after the House passage early Saturday. “We act now — decisively, quickly and boldly — we can finally get ahead of this virus. We can finally get our economy moving again. People in this country have suffered far too much for too long.” The new president’s vision for infusing cash across a struggling economy to individuals, businesses, schools, states and cities battered by COVID-19 passed on a near party-line 219-212 vote. That ships the bill to the Senate, where Democrats seem bent on resuscitating their minimum wage push and fights could erupt over state aid and other issues. Democrats said that mass unemployment and the half-million American lives lost are causes to act despite nearly $4 trillion in aid already spent fighting the fallout from the disease. GOP lawmakers, they said, were out of step with a public that polling finds largely views the bill favorably.
February 28, 2021 7:54 am
A second former aide said she was sexually harassed by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who responded with a statement Saturday saying he never made advances toward her and never intended to be inappropriate. Charlotte Bennett, a health policy adviser in the Democratic governor’s administration until November, told The New York Times Cuomo asked her inappropriate questions about her sex life, including whether she ever had sex with older men. Another former aide, Lindsey Boylan, a former deputy secretary for economic development and special adviser to the governor, recently accused Cuomo of subjecting her to an unwanted kiss and inappropriate comments. Cuomo denied the allegations. Cuomo said in a statement Saturday that Bennett was a “hardworking and valued member of our team during COVID” and that “she has every right to speak out.” He said he had intended to be a mentor for Bennett, who is 25. “I never made advances toward Ms. Bennett nor did I ever intend to act in any way that was inappropriate,” Cuomo’s statement said. “The last thing I would ever have wanted was to make her feel any of the things that are being reported.” Cuomo, however, said he had authorized an outside review of Bennett’s allegations. The governor’s special counsel, Beth Garvey, said that review would be conducted by a former federal judge, Barbara Jones.
February 28, 2021 7:53 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. is getting a third vaccine to prevent COVID-19, as the Food and Drug Administration on Saturday cleared a Johnson & Johnson shot that works with just one dose instead of two. Health experts are anxiously awaiting a one-and-done option to help speed vaccinations, as they race against a virus that already has killed more than 510,000 people in the U.S. and is mutating in increasingly worrisome ways. The FDA said J&J’s vaccine offers strong protection against what matters most: serious illness, hospitalizations and death. One dose was 85% protective against the most severe COVID-19 illness, in a massive study that spanned three continents — protection that remained strong even in countries such as South Africa, where the variants of most concern are spreading. J&J initially is providing a few million doses and shipments to states could begin as early as Monday. By the end of March, J&J has said it expects to deliver 20 million doses to the U.S., and 100 million by summer.
February 28, 2021 7:48 am
PITTSBURGH, Pa. (WPXI) – The National Weather Service has issued a flood warning for several rivers in the area and West Virginia from late Sunday night into Monday evening. The warning specifically names the Monongahela River at Point Marion affecting Greene and Fayette counties; Monongahela River near Charleroi affecting Washington, Fayette and Westmoreland Counties; Monongahela River near Elizabeth affecting Allegheny, Washington and Westmoreland counties. One to three inches of rain is forecast to fall across portions of West Virginia and far Southwest Pennsylvania through Monday morning. The heaviest rain is expected Sunday and Sunday night. This rainfall along with snow melt will result in significant rises on the Cheat and Monongahela rivers.
February 28, 2021 5:06 am
UNIONTOWN, Pa. – A Daisytown man is in the Fayette County Jail after allegedly setting a house on fire with people and children inside. According to court records, 27-year-old, Brandon Michaux, set fire to the rear of a home containing four apartments at 25 Shady Avenue in Uniontown on Thursday. Michaux allegedly was arguing with one of the residents over a video game system and then set fire to the building as he was leaving. It’s reported that 10 people were in the building, including four children. Michaux was apprehended a little while later where police found him to be in possession of lighters and intoxicated. He faces charges including arson, aggravated assault, simple assault, and reckless endangerment. His bail has been set at $50,000 and has a preliminary hearing scheduled for March 23.
