August 13, 2021 4:09 am
(AP) – Philadelphia and its suburbs have continued to attract new residents, and south-central Pennsylvania also grew at a healthy clip. But most of the rest of the state’s 67 counties lost people over the past decade. That’s according to new population data released by the U.S. Census Bureau. Pennsylvania as a whole added about 300,000 residents to surpass 13 million, but its anemic 2.4% growth rate cost the state another U.S. House seat. The detailed Census data released Thursday will be used to redraw the boundaries of Pennsylvania’s state legislative and congressional districts.
August 13, 2021 3:47 am
The death of a Donora man is under investigation after he was found in his home at Highland Terrace. The Washington County Coroner’s Office says 60-year-old Peter Jankowski died in a house fire that broke out around eleven-thirty Thursday morning. Several fire departments were called to the scene, including Donora and Carroll Township firefighters. The coroner’s office says the cause and manner of Jankowski’s death is pending an autopsy. There was no word on what caused the fire.
August 13, 2021 2:34 am
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) – A federal lawsuit says Policies that allow West Virginia officials to refuse to change a transgender person’s gender on their birth certificates should be declared unconstitutional. The Exponent Telegram reports the American Civil Liberties Union and the Harvard Law School LGBTQ+ Advocacy Clinic on Thursday sued the Department of Health and Human Resources on behalf of two transgender men born in West Virginia. Harvard Law School LGBTQ+ Advocacy Clinic Director Alexander Chen said West Virginia is among the last states where gender can’t be changed. The Department of Health and Human Resources says it is unable to comment on pending litigation.
August 13, 2021 2:27 am
The death of a Washington County man who was running a portable gas-powered generator in his basement is being investigated as a suspected carbon monoxide poisoning. The Washington County Coroner says 60-year-old Jeffrey McClay was found unresponsive Thursday in his home on Covered Bridge Road in Prosperity after a power outage Wednesday. As a result of McClay’s death, the coroner’s office is urging users of portable generators to use them safely and follow the manufacturer’s instructions, saying gas-powered generators should never be used inside homes or enclosed spaces.
August 12, 2021 3:48 pm
(AP) – The U.S. Census Bureau has released new population data that will be used to reshape U.S. House seats and state legislative districts for the next decade. The 2020 census data released Thursday shows that much of the fastest population growth occurred in the nation’s largest cities, particularly the suburbs. The data will serve as the building block for redistricting that must be done in most states before the 2022 elections. The official goal is to redraw districts with roughly the same number of people. But many Republicans and Democrats also will be trying to draw districts that make it more likely for their candidates to win.
August 12, 2021 1:37 pm
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – The union that represents about 10,000 guards in Pennsylvania’s state prisons is telling Gov. Tom Wolf it plans legal action to stop his effort to force them to get COVID-19 vaccines over the next month. The president of the Pennsylvania State Corrections Officers Association sent a letter to the Democratic governor Thursday. It comes two days after Wolf ordered the guards and some other state workers to get fully vaccinated by Sept. 7 or face weekly testing. Union president John Eckenrode is telling Wolf his policy announcement is “a slap in the face.” Wolf press secretary Lyndsay Kensinger says the union’s opposition to the initiative “is extremely disappointing.”
August 12, 2021 4:32 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul waited more than a year to disclose that his wife bought stock in a company that makes a COVID-19 treatment. It’s an investment that was made after Congress was briefed on the threat of the virus but before the public was largely aware of its danger. The Republican filed a disclosure Wednesday revealing that Kelley Paul purchased as much as $15,000 in Gilead stock in February 2020. Trades are supposed to be reported within 45 days. A spokeswoman says Kelley Paul used her own earnings to make the investment and said the failure to disclose it was an oversight.
August 12, 2021 4:29 am
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – California will become the first state in the nation to require all teachers and school staff to get vaccinated or undergo weekly COVID-19 testing – a wide order that applies to more than 800,000 staffers. The statewide vaccine mandate for K-12 educators comes as schools return from summer break amid growing concerns of the highly contagious delta variant. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the new policy Wednesday as he visited a San Francisco Bay Area school. Several large school districts in the state have issued similar requirements in recent days. Teachers unions also have dropped their opposition amid rising case rates.
August 12, 2021 4:27 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – A federal judge has cleared the way for a defamation case by Dominion Voting Systems to proceed against Sidney Powell, Rudy Giuliani and Mike Lindell, allies of former President Donald Trump who had all falsely accused the company of rigging the 2020 presidential election. U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols handed down a ruling Wednesday that found there was no blanket protection on political speech. He also denied an argument from two of the defendants that the federal court in Washington wasn’t the proper venue for the case. The ruling came just a day after the vote-counting machine maker filed defamation lawsuits against right-wing broadcasters and another Trump ally.
August 12, 2021 4:24 am
LAME DEER, Mont. (AP) – A wildfire is threatening several Montana towns and a California blaze remains the largest in the nation as the Western United States burns. Fire officials say the Richard Spring Fire jumped a road on Wednesday and advanced across the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation. The towns of Ashland and Lame Deer are under evacuation orders. In California, the Dixie Fire has burned over 780 square miles and more than 550 homes. It’s 30% contained. The wildfires are among more than 100 burning in over a dozen Western states.
