February 22, 2021 4:19 am
(AP) – The COVID-19 death toll in the U.S. has topped 500,000, all but matching the number of Americans killed in World War II, Korea and Vietnam combined. The lives lost, as recorded by Johns Hopkins University, are about equal to the population of Kansas City, Missouri, and greater than that of Miami; Raleigh, North Carolina; or Omaha, Nebraska. The U.S. toll is by far the highest reported in the world. Despite the rollout of vaccines since mid-December, a closely watched model from the University of Washington projects more than 589,000 dead by June 1.
February 22, 2021 4:17 am
HOUSTON (AP) – Hospitals across the South are grappling with water shortages as the region carries on with recovery efforts in the wake of a devastating winter storm. Meanwhile, the weather offered a balmy respite – temperatures as high as the mid-60s in Houston. At the height of the storm, hospitals were left scrambling to care for patients amid record cold, snow and ice. The storm was especially damaging in parts of the country more accustomed to going through winter with light jackets and short sleeves. The icy blast ruptured water mains, knocked out power to millions of utility customers and contributed to at least 76 deaths.
February 22, 2021 4:16 am
Federal aviation regulators are ordering United Airlines to step up inspections of all Boeing 777s equipped with the type of engine that suffered a catastrophic failure over Denver Saturday. United says it is temporarily removing those aircraft from service. Boeing has recommended aircraft with the engines be grounded pending a decision on inspections. The announcements came a day after United Airlines Flight 328 had to make an emergency landing at Denver International Airport after its right engine blew apart just after takeoff. The National Transportation Safety Board said two of the engine’s fan blades were fractured although it did caution that it was too early to draw conclusions about how the incident happened.
February 22, 2021 4:12 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Merrick Garland, President Joe Biden’s attorney general nominee is vowing to prioritize combating extremist violence and said his first focus would be on the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol as he sought to assure lawmakers that the Justice Department would remain politically independent on his watch. The federal appeals court judge was snubbed by Republicans for a seat on the Supreme Court in 2016. Garland appeared Monday before the Senate Judiciary Committee and is widely expected to sail through his confirmation process with bipartisan support. He says the “attorney general represents the public interest, particularly and specifically as defined by the Constitution and the statutes of the United States.” He pledged that he does “not plan to be interfered with by anyone.” (Photo: AP)
February 22, 2021 4:09 am
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) – The president of Penn State University has announced plans to retire at the end of his current contract, which runs through June of next year, and a phased approach to finding his replacement is set to begin this spring. President Eric Barron announced his plans to university trustees Friday. He assumed the office in 2014. The process of finding a successor will begin in the spring with students, faculty, donors and others asked to weigh in on the qualities and qualifications they want in the next university president. The selection committee’s search is to start in the early summer.
February 22, 2021 4:07 am
LEBANON, Pa. (AP) – A Pennsylvania police officer is facing federal charges stemming from the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of former president Donald Trump over the results of the 2020 election. North Cornwall Township officer Joseph Fischer is listed a patrolman on the department’s site. He’s charged with obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder, entering a restricted building, violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds and obstruction of justice. Authorities allege that he posted a Facebook video showing the recorder entering the building and getting into a “physical encounter” with at least one police officer. A message seeking comment was sent to Fischer.
February 22, 2021 4:05 am
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — (WPXI) – Three cases of the COVID-19 U.K. variant were reported in Morgantown, with two of those cases confirmed in West Virginia University students. According to WVU officials, all three people are related to one another and did not visit campus during their infectious period. The school is working with the Monongalia County Health Department for case investigation and contact tracing. The U.K. variant originated in that country and is believed to be more contagious than the original strain of COVID-19. Forty-two other states, including Pennsylvania, have reported cases of the variant. Disease experts predict this could become the dominant strain in the country.
February 22, 2021 2:13 am
PITTSBURGH (WPXI)— UPMC has released a new way to register for the COVID-19 vaccine, for those who are eligible on Wednesday. By visiting https://vaccine.upmc.com/, those people who meet the Pennsylvania Department of Health’s Phase 1a criteria – which includes people over 65 and people with medical conditions that put them at greater risk of COVID-19 complications, are able to sign up to receive information regarding vaccine scheduling, as supplies become available. To date, UPMC has administered nearly 158,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines, including more than 12,500 to community members, and we are eager to do more as supplies become available, according to officials with the hospital system. Vaccine supply from the state and federal government is still limited, but by registering now will allow the hospital system to be able to contact about appointment scheduling.
February 21, 2021 8:24 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden paid a visit Saturday to former Sen. Bob Dole, days after the World War II veteran and 1996 Republican presidential nominee announced he’d been diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. Biden, who served in the Senate with Dole for more than two decades, arrived Saturday afternoon at the Watergate complex where Dole, 97, and his wife, Elizabeth, have maintained a longtime residence. The White House described Dole as a “close friend” of the president. Dole said this week he plans to begin undergoing treatment on Monday. Dole, a native of Russell, Kansas, represented the state in Congress for almost 36 years before resigning from the Senate in 1996 to challenge Democratic President Bill Clinton. Dole had unsuccessfully sought the GOP nomination in 1980 and 1988, and he was President Gerald Ford’s vice presidential running mate in 1976, when Ford lost to Democrat Jimmy Carter.
February 21, 2021 8:21 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump will be making his first post-presidential appearance at a conservative gathering in Florida next weekend. Ian Walters, spokesman for the American Conservative Union, confirmed that Trump will be speaking at the group’s annual Conservative Political Action Conference on Feb. 28. Trump is expected to use the speech to talk about the future of the Republican Party and the conservative moment, as well as to criticize President Joe Biden’s efforts to undo his immigration policies, according to a person who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the plans. CPAC is being held this year in Orlando, Florida, and will feature a slew of former Trump administration officials and others who represent his wing of the GOP, including former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem. Trump has been keeping a relatively low profile since he retired from the White House to Palm Beach, Florida, in January, but reemerged last week to conduct a series of phone-in interviews to commemorate the death of conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh.
