February 17, 2021 4:17 am
MILWAUKEE (AP) – President Joe Biden is promising a majority of elementary schools will be open five days a week by the end of his first 100 days in office. He is restating his goal after his administration came under fire when aides said schools would be considered open if they held in-person learning just one day a week. Biden spoke during a CNN town hall Tuesday night in Milwaukee. He has faced increasing questions about how he would reopen schools, with school districts operating under a patchwork of different virtual and in-person learning arrangements nationwide.
February 17, 2021 4:14 am
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – Utility crews are racing to restore power to nearly 3.4 million utility customers around the U.S. who are still without electricity in the aftermath of a winter storm. Meanwhile, another blast of snow and ice is threatening to sow more chaos. The latest storm front was expected to bring more hardship to parts of Texas, Arkansas and the Lower Mississippi Valley before moving to the Northeast on Thursday. The National Weather Service says more than 100 million people live in areas covered by some type of winter weather warning, watch or advisory. At least 30 people have died in the extreme weather this week.
February 17, 2021 4:12 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Police say seven people have been wounded by gunfire near a transit station in north Philadelphia. Police said a 71-year-old man was listed in critical condition after he was hit once in the stomach and multiple times in the legs shortly before 3 p.m. near the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority station in the Olney neighborhood. Police said a 22-year-old man was shot in the back, two other men aged 21 and 53 were hit in the legs, a 36-year-old woman was struck in the thigh and a 70-year-old man was also struck in the thigh. A 17-year-old girl was shot in the right arm. All six were listed in stable condition. Police reported two firearms recovered and one person in custody.
February 17, 2021 4:11 am
(AP) The Pennsylvania Department of Health and the newly-formed joint task force Wednesday assured people that they could get their second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, after some providers inadvertently gave doses of the Moderna vaccine as second doses that were meant to be first doses. As a result, Pennsylvania is facing a temporary shortage of booster shots of the Moderna vaccine after providers mistakenly used them as first doses. State health officials say the error could mean more than 100,000 people will need appointments rescheduled. The second-dose shortage does not affect the Pfizer vaccine. Pennsylvania has been holding second doses in reserve to ensure they will be available for residents who have gotten the initial shot. The state’s acting health secretary Alison Beam says inconsistent vaccine supply, confusion about deliveries and a lack of clear communication caused the problem. Officials with Washington Health System say they have not been affected by the error.
February 17, 2021 4:07 am
The Peters Township School Board took a run of the mill February action meeting and highlighted it with two appointments. First, Joe Deegan was sworn in as a new school board director. He is finishing the balance of Dr. Jamison Hardy’s term because Hardy had to move from the area due to job obligations. Deegan is a Principal/Partner with Ernst and Young. He hopes to bring his expertise to help the district maintain its high quality educational standards. The board also appointed Dr. Jeannine French to another five year term as Superintendent of Peters Township School District. Daniel Taylor, Chairman of Personnel for the school board pointed to French’s ability to deliver top tier performance on student test scores while managing to oversee the construction of a new high school and manage the districts response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Dr. French expressed gratitude to the board for her reappointment. The contract for Dr. French will run through June of 2026.
February 16, 2021 10:18 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden is extending a ban on housing foreclosures to June 30 to help homeowners struggling during the coronavirus pandemic. The moratorium on foreclosures of federally guaranteed mortgages had been set to expire March 31. On his first day in office, Biden had extended the moratorium from Jan. 31. Census Bureau figures show that almost 12% of homeowners with mortgages were late on their payments. The White House says the coordinated actions announced Tuesday by the Departments of Housing and Urban Development, Veterans Affairs and Agriculture also will extend to June 30 the enrollment window for borrowers who want to request a pause or reduction in mortgage payments.
February 16, 2021 4:00 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The House Homeland Security chairman has sued Donald Trump, accusing him of inciting the deadly insurrection at the Capitol. Democrat Bennie Thompson alleges that Trump conspired with members of far-right extremist groups to try to prevent Congress from certifying the presidential election results. The federal court lawsuit is part of an expected wave of litigation over the riot and is believed to be the first filed by a member of Congress. It was filed under a Reconstruction-era law known as the Ku Klux Klan Act and comes days after Trump was acquitted in an impeachment trial. The suit seeks unspecified punitive and compensatory damages. A Trump adviser says Trump “did not incite” any violence at the Capitol.
February 16, 2021 3:55 am
BOSTON (AP) – The right-wing friendly social network Parler says it’s re-launching. The Twitter alternative was forced offline following the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of then-President Donald Trump. Parler has been struggling to get back online since Amazon canceled its web-hosting service on Jan. 11 over Parler’s unwillingness to remove posts inciting violence. An interim CEO, Mark Meckler of the Tea Party Patriots movement, said in a statement Monday that Parler would be brought back online for current users this week with new users being able to sign up next week. But the site’s only presence Monday evening was a single, static webpage.
February 16, 2021 3:54 am
WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden’s administration is increasing coronavirus vaccine supplies sent to states to 13.5 million doses per week. White House press secretary Jen Psaki says that represents a 57% increase from when Biden took office nearly a month ago on Jan. 20th. Psaki also says the administration is doubling, to 2 million doses per week, the amount of vaccine being sent to pharmacies across the country as part of a program to extend access into neighborhoods. Jeff Zients, Biden’s coronavirus coordinator, made the announcements during a regular White House call with governors on Tuesday. Psaki says the administration is monitoring severe weather across parts of the country that has forced some vaccination centers to close temporarily, and that could jeopardize the viability of the vaccines.
February 16, 2021 3:52 am
OCEAN ISLE BEACH, N.C. (AP) – A winter storm that left millions without power in record-breaking cold weather has claimed more lives. The dead include three people found dead after a tornado (pictured) hit a seaside town in North Carolina and four family members who perished in a Houston-area house fire while using a fireplace to stay warm. The storm that overwhelmed power grids and immobilized the Southern Plains carried heavy snow and freezing rain into New England and the Deep South and left behind painfully low temperatures. Wind-chill warnings extended from Canada into Mexico. At least 11 deaths were reported from other causes, including car crashes and carbon monoxide poisoning.
