September 2, 2021 4:17 am
DETROIT (AP) – The global shortage of computer chips is getting worse, forcing automakers to temporarily close factories including those that build popular pickup trucks. General Motors announced Thursday that it would pause production at eight North American plants during the next two weeks, including two that make the company’s top-selling Chevrolet Silverado pickup. Ford will stop making pickups at its Kansas City Assembly Plant for the next two weeks. Shifts will be cut at two more truck plants in Dearborn, Michigan, and Louisville, Kentucky. Industry analysts say the delta variant of the novel coronavirus has hit employees at chip factories in southeast Asia hard, forcing some plants to close. That’s worsened a chip shortage that was starting to improve earlier in the summer.
September 2, 2021 4:15 am
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. (AP) – Officials say they lucked out with favorable weather conditions that kept a huge forest fire out of the city of South Lake Tahoe, California. But they also say the tourist hot spot of 22,000 residents on the southern end of the lake remains in danger. Strong winds and dry conditions are forecast for Wednesday. A Cal Fire spokesman says crews are working to keep flames out of urban communities, where homes set close together would provide even more fuel. The South Tahoe Public Utility District pleaded with residents to turn off hoses and irrigation systems to save water for firefighters.
September 2, 2021 4:15 am
NEW YORK (AP) – A stunned U.S. East Coast has woken up to a rising death toll, surging rivers and destruction after the remnants of Hurricane Ida walloped the region with record-breaking rain. At least 26 deaths have been linked to flooding from Maryland to New York from the storm’s strike Wednesday night and Thursday morning. Police in New York City reported nine deaths, as basement apartments suddenly filled with water and roads turned into rivers. Local media reported at least eight deaths in New Jersey and three were reported in a county outside Philadelphia.
September 2, 2021 4:11 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Former President Donald Trump is backing Republican Sean Parnell in what is expected to be one of the nation’s most competitive Senate contests in next year’s election. Parnell, a former Army Ranger who penned a memoir of his service in Afghanistan, was already getting enthusiastic support from Trump’s oldest son, Donald Trump Jr., before Trump’s Wednesday endorsement. Parnell became politically active in recent years, running unsuccessfully for Congress last year and landing a coveted speaking slot at the 2020 Republican National Convention. The Democratic field includes Lt. Gov. John Fetterman and U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb, who narrowly beat Parnell last year.
September 2, 2021 4:09 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Fourteen Republican state lawmakers are the plaintiffs in a new lawsuit challenging Pennsylvania’s mail-in voting law, asking for it to be thrown out. The legal challenge was filed just before midnight Tuesday in the state Commonwealth Court. It is the latest attempt by Republicans to invalidate the 2019 law that Republican lawmakers almost unanimously supported. Attorney General Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, says the lawsuit is “not only the height of hypocrisy, but it also has real consequences and damages public trust in our elections.” Republicans soured on mail-in voting last year after then-President Donald Trump began baselessly attacking it as rife with fraud.
September 2, 2021 4:08 am
WEST NEWTON, Pa. — (WPXI) – First responders are keeping close watch on the Youghiogheny river. “We know we’re probably going to have some kind of flooding in West Newton so we’re just watching everything,” said West Newton Mayor Mary Popovich. Popovich said they’re keeping an eye on the river banks and have the emergency operations center ready to go around the clock. “The fire department is available and is ready for pumping water,” she said. “We do have sandbags in place to help people that might get flooding.” The National Weather Service predicts the river will reach flood stage in Sutersville by Thursday morning, causing flooding in basements along the banks. Five miles upstream in West Newton, the business district could start to see flooding too. The Yough also flows into the Monongahela River, creating even more flooding concerns for later in the week.
September 2, 2021 2:55 am
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) – A program offering cash incentives for out-of-state workers to move to West Virginia has welcomed its first round of new residents, and more people can now apply. The public-private program says 53 newcomers are getting settled in to the northern college town of Morgantown. The window is now open for the second phase, with out-of-staters applying to live in Lewisburg. The program leverages one of West Virginia’s natural beauty to reverse an exodus of people. The 2020 census found that West Virginia lost a greater percentage of its residents than any other state in the past decade.
September 1, 2021 5:44 pm
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Emergency officials are rushing to evacuate about 3,000 people downstream from a dam near Johnstown after hours of heavy rains triggered plans to ensure safety of downstream residents. Cambria County emergency management director and 911 center head Art Martynuska said Wednesday the water level at the Wilmore dam reached the height that required evacuation. He says the nearby Hinckston Run Dam is also being monitored and may require evacuation. Pennsylvanians are being drenched by downpours and bracing for high winds as the remnants of Hurricane Ida plow through the state, inundating creeks, streams and rivers.
September 1, 2021 4:30 am
WACO, Texas (AP) – A Central Texas school district is closing its schools after two teachers died last week of COVID-19. Connally Independent School District officials closed its seven suburban Waco schools for the rest of the week Tuesday after the Saturday COVID-19 death of 41-year-old Natalia Chansler. She taught social studies to sixth graders at Connally Junior High. A district spokeswoman says her death came after the Aug. 24 death of 59-year-old David McCormick, who taught social studies to Connally Junior High seventh graders. It was not immediately known if either teacher was vaccinated. Connally High School football coach Terry Gerik says the Cadets will play La Vega as scheduled Friday night.
September 1, 2021 4:28 am
NEW ORLEANS (AP) – Louisiana residents still reeling from flooding and damage caused by Hurricane Ida are scrambling for food, gas, water and relief from the oppressive heat. Meanwhile, thousands of line workers are toiling to restore electricity and officials have vowed to set up more sites where people can get free meals and cool off. Ida knocked out power to more than a million people, including all of New Orleans. Mayor LaToya Cantrell says she expects the city’s main power company to be able to provide some electricity by Wednesday evening, though she stressed that doesn’t mean a quick citywide restoration.
