September 16, 2021 3:30 am
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – North Korea said it successfully launched ballistic missiles from a train for the first time and was continuing to bolster its defenses, after the two Koreas test-fired missiles hours apart in dueling displays of military might. Wednesday’s launches underscored a return of the tensions between the rivals amid a prolonged stalemate in U.S.-led talks aimed at stripping North Korea of its nuclear weapons program. State media said the missiles were launched during a drill of a “railway-borne missile regiment” and images showed what appeared to be two different missiles streaking up from rail-car launchers along tracks surrounded by dense forest. A rail-based ballistic system reflects North Korea’s efforts to diversify its launch systems for better mobility.
September 16, 2021 3:29 am
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) – SpaceX’s first private flight has streaked into orbit with two contest winners, a health care worker and their rich sponsor. It was the first time a spacecraft circled Earth with an all-amateur crew and no professional astronauts. SpaceX’s recycled rocket soared Wednesday night from the same Kennedy Space Center pad used by the company’s three previous astronaut flights for NASA. But this time, the Dragon capsule aimed for an unusually high orbit, 100 miles higher than the International Space Station. The Dragon capsule’s two men and two women are looking to spend three days circling the world, before splashing down off the coast of Florida.
September 16, 2021 3:28 am
SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK, Calif. (AP) – Fire crews moved to ramp up the battle Wednesday against two expanding forest fires threatening Sequoia National Park’s giant sequoia trees and infrastructure. The lightning-sparked Colony and Paradise fires covered about 11 square miles Wednesday. A fire spokesperson says the Colony Fire poses a threat to the Sequoia National Park’s Giant Forest but not imminently. The grove is home to more than 2,000 giant sequoias. More than 300 firefighters are on the lines, aided by helicopters and air tankers when smoke conditions allow flights. A national interagency management team will take over the fire on Thursday.
September 16, 2021 3:28 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Biden administration has begun notifying governors and state refugee coordinators about how many Afghan evacuees from the first group of nearly 37,000 arrivals are slated to be resettled in their states. State Department data obtained by The Associated Press shows that California is projected to take more arrivals than any other – more than 5,200 people. U.S. officials say Alabama is slated to welcome 10. Hawaii, South Dakota, West Virginia and Wyoming as well as the District of Columbia are not slated to resettle anyone from the first group of evacuees who fled during the final days of the chaotic U.S. withdrawal last month.
September 16, 2021 3:27 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Mayim Bialik and Ken Jennings will split “Jeopardy!” hosting duties for the remainder of 2021. Sony Pictures Television announced the plan Thursday, the same week that episodes filmed by ousted host Mike Richards to begin the show’s 38th season are airing. Richards, who also lost his role as “Jeopardy!” executive producer, was initially selected as Alex Trebek’s successor but left the show after past misogynistic and disparaging comments surfaced. Bialik was tapped as interim host, and her episodes will air through Nov. 5. Sony says Bialik and Jennings, the record-holder for longest “Jeopardy!” winning streak, will share hosting duties based on their schedules after that date.
September 16, 2021 3:24 am
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) – West Virginia hospitals continue to be overrun with COVID-19 patients as the number of people seeking treatment for the virus hit a record of 893 at midweek. The 893 people hospitalized for the coronavirus Wednesday is 41 more than Monday’s record. That’s up from a total of 52 people hospitalized for the virus on July 4. Gov. Jim Justice says 745 of those hospitalized are unvaccinated – or about 85%. He said people who choose to be unvaccinated have made a bad choice. There have been 212 deaths reported this month statewide, far surpassing the total for all of August.
September 16, 2021 3:22 am
PITTSBURGH, Pa. (WPXI) — An increase in COVID-19 cases and staffing shortages are affecting local ER wait times and taking a toll on frontline workers, not only nationally but also locally. Parents reported to our news partners at Channel 11 that wait times at the emergency room of UPMC Children’s Hospital were up to eight hours before their children were seen. But officials say this issue is hardly unique and is a result of the pandemic. Across western Pennsylvania, emergency departments are slammed and staffing is short. The demand for care is higher now than it was months ago and even a year ago, and much of that is related to COVID-19 illness or the concern about it. Officials at UPMC Children’s Hospital ER said higher wait times can also be contributed to the ER being misused by parents, coming in to get their child tested for COVID-19, sprained ankles, runny nose and other non-life-threatening medical issues.
September 16, 2021 3:12 am
WASHINGTON, Pa. — The Washington County Commissioners have a new start time for their regular voting meetings each month, starting today. The usual meeting times for the agenda and voting meetings would normally occur Wednesday and Thursday mornings at 10:00 a.m. once a month. Due to an update to the state’s Sunshine Act signed into law by Governor Tom Wolf on June 30th, government agencies are required to post their agendas at least 24 hours before the vote. Moving forward, the agenda meeting will remain at 10:00 a.m on Wednesdays, followed by a 2:00 p.m. voting meeting the next day each month. The County Commissioners will continue to meet in the first-floor conference room in Courthouse Square.
September 16, 2021 1:57 am
A Florida teen has been arrested for calling in a bomb threat at Canon-McMillan High School last week. The Bay County Sheriff’s Office posted on its Facebook page that 14-year-old Alex Solorio of Panama City, Florida, has been charged with making a false bomb threat on September 9th. Police in Florida, working with North Strabane Township Police, discovered that Solorio was the one who called in the threat at Canon-McMillan High School. In return, a student here had agreed to call a threat in to Arnold High School in Florida. Solorio is facing charges for making a false bomb threat in Florida and North Strabane. Police said more charges are expected and the Washington County District Attorney’s Office says it has not ruled out charges at this time. Canon-McMillan sent a statement to parents Wednesday saying the school supports prosecution to the greatest extent of the law following “the significant disruption caused by this senseless act.”
September 15, 2021 12:59 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) – Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles has told Congress that “enough is enough” in emotional testimony along with other young gymnasts about her sexual abuse at the hands of USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar. Biles used congressional testimony Wednesday to blame not only the gymnastics organization but also federal law enforcement that “turned a blind eye” to the crimes as hundreds of young athletes were abused. The hearing is part of a congressional effort to hold the FBI accountable after multiple missteps in investigating the case – including the delays that allowed Nassar to abuse additional young gymnasts.
