August 18, 2021 4:11 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Top Democrats are planning House votes next week on a budget resolution that would clear a path for future passage of the party’s ambitious plans for social and environment programs. And that suggests a showdown ahead with rebellious party moderates. Nine centrist Democrats have said they’ll vote against their own party’s budget blueprint. That’s enough to defeat it in the closely divided House. They want the chamber to first approve a separate $1 trillion infrastructure bill. But Democratic leaders want to wait on the infrastructure vote until a separate $3.5 trillion social and environment bill is ready. Moderates will have to decide what they’ll do.
August 18, 2021 4:10 am
NEW YORK (AP) – U.S. health officials have announced plans to dispense COVID-19 booster shots to all Americans to shore up their protection amid the surging delta variant and evidence that the vaccines’ effectiveness is falling. The plan, as outlined by the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other top health authorities, calls for booster doses eight months after people get their second shot of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine. The booster doses could begin the week of Sept. 20.
August 18, 2021 4:09 am
PHOENIX (AP) – Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey is upping the pressure on the growing number of public school districts defying a state ban on mask mandates as they try to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The Republican governor announced Tuesday that schools won’t get any cash from a $163 million pot of federal virus relief funds he controls if they don’t drop mask rules within 10 days. Schools also will lose out on the $1,800 per student if they have to close because of COVID-10 outbreaks. At least 16 districts teaching nearly a third of the state’s public school students now have mask rules.
August 18, 2021 4:08 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan says the Taliban have agreed to allow safe passage for civilians trying to leave Afghanistan. Sullivan says a timetable for completing the evacuation of Americans, Afghan allies and others has yet to be worked out with the country’s new rulers. Pentagon officials say that after interruptions Monday, the airlift is back on track and being accelerated amid regular communication with Taliban leaders. Additional U.S. troops have arrived and more are on the way. The White House says 13 flights Tuesday airlifted 1,100 U.S. citizens, permanent residents and their families from the Kabul airport.
August 18, 2021 4:05 am
North Strabane Supervisors set out their agenda for next week’s voting meeting on Tuesday night. One of the main actions that will be considered is how to spend funding from the American Rescue Plan. Those funds are appropriated from the federal government to help ease the financial strain put on municipalities by the Covid-19 pandemic. North Strabane is in line to receive more than $1.5 million in funding that will be distributed over two years. Two of the items under consideration are an appropriation of $200,000 to the North Strabane Township Municipal Authority and the balance to be spent on construction projects, particularly the new public safety building. During the public comment period, supervisors were met with push back on an agenda item that would have a recreation designation taken away from a plot of ground on Demar Blvd. That piece of ground known locally as the Borland Manor Parkette was supported by nine nearby residents. They called it a jewel in the neighborhood. Supervisors and the township solicitor were presented with a deed from 1947 conveying the land to the township with covenants and restrictions for use of the land as a park. Township Solicitor Gary Sweat will review the document before any action will be taken by the township.
August 18, 2021 4:02 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – An appeals court says a Pennsylvania federal judge shouldn’t have thrown out a legal challenge to township zoning rules that restricted operations at a gun range near Pittsburgh and limited “sportsman’s clubs” to nonprofit entities. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday reinstated the case and directed the district judge to gather evidence. The three-judge panel says Second Amendment rights require a closer examination of the facts than had occurred in the case. The decision concerns William Drummond’s plans to revive the dormant gun range and operate the Greater Pittsburgh Gun Club on a 265-acre property in suburban Robinson Township.
August 18, 2021 3:25 am
UNDATED (AP) – Former Purdue Pharma president and chair Richard Sackler says he, his family and the company do not have any responsibility for the opioid crisis in the United States. Sackler is a member of the family that owns the company. He testified Wednesday in a hearing to determine whether the company’s plan to restructure and settle thousands of lawsuits over the toll of its drug OxyContin and other opioids. Sackler is often seen a prime villain by anti-opioid activists over his role in the company and past statements. At the hearing, he answered many questions about the company’s activities by saying he did not recall.
August 18, 2021 2:51 am
(WPXI) – Leaders with the Allegheny-Fayette Central Labor Council and local officials on Wednesday announced that Pittsburgh’s popular Labor Day Parade will be canceled for the second year. The groups gathered at the City-County Building, Downtown, to make the announcement. The parade was canceled in 2020 as cases of Covid-19 spread through the area. Leaders said the decision to cancel again this year was based on high transmission levels of the Delta variant and concerns for the safety of parade participants and spectators. A particular concern mentioned Wednesday was that the parade normally features more than 1,000 local teachers, and leaders said they could not in good conscience have that many teachers in a crowd of thousands and then send them back into classrooms, where children under the age of 12 are not eligible to be vaccinated.
August 17, 2021 3:52 pm
FIREBAUGH, Calif. (AP) – A deepening drought threatens California’s $6 billion almond industry, which produces about 80% of the world’s almonds. As water becomes scarce and expensive, some growers have stopped irrigating their orchards and plan to tear them out years earlier than planned. After decades of expansion in California’s agricultural Central Valley, almond production is expected to decline. That ácould lead to higher prices for consumers who have embraced the popular nut. As the drought drains reservoirs and forces restrictions on water use, critics say the thirsty crop isn’t sustainable at current levels in California. The state is becoming hotter and drier because of climate change.
August 17, 2021 4:32 am
UNDATED (AP) – State Fairs in the Midwest are offering COVID-19 vaccinations. In Iowa, a vaccination booth nestled among corn dog and funnel cake stands vaccinated 150 people in the first four days of the fair in a state where only half of the population is fully vaccinated. All but three of Iowa’s 99 counties are experiencing a substantial or high rate of spread. Public health officials recommend getting vaccinated or wearing a mask in crowds. The fair is on track to attract an estimated 1 million visitors. At the Indiana State Fair, 304 vaccines have been administered since July 30. And at the Wisconsin State Fair in Milwaukee, 608 people were vaccinated over 11 days, perhaps enticed by the promise of a free cream puff pastry.
