September 11, 2021 5:48 am
A 45 year-old Pittsburgh man died Friday night in a motorcycle crash in Ligonier. Adam Kocher was riding his Ducati motorcycle about 9:15 p.m. on Route 30 west when he failed to negotiate a curve and crossed the roadway and hit a metal fence and sign. Westmoreland County Coroner pronounced him dead around 10:24 p.m. from blunt force injuries to torso and extremities. The Ligonier Valley Police Department is investigating. Toxicology results are pending.
September 11, 2021 4:17 am
VATICAN CITY (AP) – Pope Francis is making his first foreign trip since undergoing intestinal surgery in July. His four-day visit to Hungary and Slovakia starting Sunday will not only test his health but also provide what may be one of the most awkward moments of his papacy – a meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, the sort of populist, right-wing leader Francis scorns. Francis is only spending seven hours in Budapest before moving on to a three-day, hopscotch tour of neighboring Slovakia. The lopsided itinerary can’t help but suggest that Francis wanted to avoid giving Orban the bragging rights and political boost that come with hosting a pope for a proper state visit.
September 11, 2021 4:16 am
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Firefighters battling massive California blazes say thunderstorms that dropped light rain gave them a little breathing room but lightning sparked several new blazes in the drought-stricken north. Storms rolling through Thursday night and Friday dumped up to a half-inch of rain over portions of the Dixie Fire in the Sierra Nevada. The Dixie Fire is the second-largest blaze in state history. Firefighters say the wet vegetation will slow its progress for a couple of days until things begin heating up and drying out again. Meanwhile, lightning strikes ignited at least 17 new fires, although most were tiny. More than 13,000 firefighters are working to rein in 13 major blazes across the state.
September 11, 2021 4:14 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Republicans are blasting President Joe Biden, threatening lawsuits and going as far as to call for civil disobedience to block his new vaccination mandates. It’s all in response to his sweeping new federal vaccine requirements that would force as many as 100 million Americans to be vaccinated against COVID-19, or risk losing their jobs. Biden’s move marks a dramatic escalation in the federal government’s campaign against the virus as the highly contagious delta variant continues to spread. It also sets the stage for a new, more caustic chapter in the COVID culture wars, which have thus far focused mainly on masking mandates.
September 11, 2021 4:13 am
COLUMBUS (AP) – Gov. Mike DeWine has delayed four more executions in keeping with his contention that lethal injection is no longer an option in Ohio because of the ongoing lack of drugs with which to put inmates to death. The Republican governor has said lawmakers must choose a different method of capital punishment before any inmates can be executed. DeWine on Friday postponed executions scheduled for next winter and spring until 2024 and 2025. Despite the unofficial moratorium on executions, the Ohio Supreme Court recently set new execution dates for two inmates, both in 2025.
September 11, 2021 4:07 am
UNDATED (AP) – Pennsylvania health officials say some physicians are offering stock “doctor’s notes” for use by parents wishing to have their children exempted from wearing masks in school. The Health Department says it has referred these doctors for possible disciplinary action. A statewide, universal mask mandate for Pennsylvania schools went into effect Tuesday. The order contains a medical exemption, but parents have complained it’s been difficult to find a physician who will sign off. The Health Department says some doctors are pushing stock exemptions that are available to anyone, regardless of medical necessity.
September 10, 2021 4:14 pm
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) – The on-again, off-again ban imposed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis to prevent mandating masks for Florida school students is back in force. The 1st District Court of Appeal ruled Friday that a Tallahassee judge should not have lifted an automatic stay two days ago that halted enforcement of the mask mandate ban. The upshot is that the state could resume its efforts to impose financial penalties on the 13 Florida school boards currently defying the mask mandate ban. The U.S. Department of Education has begun a grant program for school districts that lose money for implementing anti-coronavirus practices such as mandatory masks.
September 10, 2021 2:50 pm
NEW YORK (AP) – A Florida businessman who gained notoriety for helping Rudy Giuliani seek damaging information on Joe Biden in Ukraine has pleaded guilty to seeking illegal foreign campaign contributions in an effort to build a marijuana business in the U.S. Igor Fruman entered the plea Friday in Manhattan federal court after reaching a deal reached with prosecutors. Fruman’s plea agreement does not require the 56-year-old to cooperate in other cases. That charge was part of a wide-ranging indictment that had charged Fruman and others with various crimes. Giuliani was not charged in this case, but has been under investigation for his Ukraine dealings while serving as then-President Donald Trump’s personal lawyers.
September 10, 2021 2:09 pm
Funeral services were held Friday for 66-year-old Rodney Rohrer of West Middletown. Rohrer passed away on Sunday, September 5th, in his home, following a lengthy illness. Rohrer served as operations manager for Ambulance & Chair Service since 1996, retiring from that position in April 2020. Rohrer was a proponent of emergency medicine advancements and development. He also served on the Emergency Medical Services Institute/EMS West Board from 2002 until the present. He was on the Executive Committee/Executive Board from 2004 until 2020. He was a member of the Washington County EMS Council from 1996 through the present serving on many committees and projects including EMSOF and Conference activities. He was also active with the Washington County Opioid Overdose Coalition since 2016. Funeral services were held in Beallsville, followed by a procession into the city of Washington and onto Main Street where the procession passed underneath an American Flag hanging from two fire trucks.
September 10, 2021 4:16 am
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio (AP) – Ohio’s Wright-Patterson Air Force Base went into lockdown for several hours while security officials investigated reports of a shooter on the campus. Officials from the 88th Airbase Wing eventually gave the all-clear around 1:40 a.m. Friday morning and say there is no threat and no one injured. A spokesman says two individuals reported hearing one gunshot Thursday night. The report launched a series of events leading to the lockdown. Responders conducted two sweeps of the National Air and Space Intelligence Center. That’s a large, three-story facility at the base that is the Department of Defense’s primary source for foreign air and space threat analysis. Officials are investigating what caused the sound.
