February 6, 2021 9:34 am
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – There is another dramatic change for the Iditarod this year. Officials on Friday announced that the cfan-favorite ceremonial start for the world’s most famous sled dog race has been canceled over crowd-size concerns during the pandemic. The event usually draws large crowds to downtown Anchorage, where beer and food tents line city streets. Iditarod CEO Rob Urbach says they take the health and well-being of the racers, volunteers, staff and spectators very seriously. The race has been shortened this year, and it will start and finish north of Anchorage instead of having the finish line in Nome. There will be limited areas for spectators for the race’s start and end, and fans are encouraged to watch on television.
February 6, 2021 9:31 am
GUATEMALA CITY (AP) – Guatemala says the U.S. government is ending an arrangement that sent asylum-seekers who reached U.S. borders back to the Central American nation to seek protection there instead. The Guatemalan government said in a statement Friday it welcomed the decision to end the accord, known as a safe third country agreement. Only 20 of 939 Hondurans and El Salvadorans who have been turned back from the U.S. and flown to Guatemala decided to seek asylum there. With so many returning to their home countries instead, the policy instituted by former president Donald Trump became known as “deportation with a layover.”
February 6, 2021 9:28 am
BOSTON (AP) – Election integrity activists and computer security experts are complaining that leaders of federal agency that oversees voting technology have quietly weakened a key element of standards due for a vote next week designed to improve security. The Election Assistance Commission’s leadership says the change – removing a ban on wireless hardware – doesn’t mean future voting systems will be less secure because they will be prohibited from running wireless software. It says the change lets voting equipment vendors continue to purchase cheaper off-the-shelf components, boosting competition in an industry dominated by a handful of privately held companies.
February 6, 2021 9:26 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Fox Business Network’s “Lou Dobbs Tonight” has been canceled. In a statement Friday, Fox News Media said the move was part of routine programming changes that it had foreshadowed last fall. The company said plans were in place to launch new formats post-election, including on Fox Business. Fox News Media said the Dobbs cancellation was among the changes. The statement appeared to distance the show’s end from a multibillion-dollar defamation suit filed against Fox and three of its hosts, including Dobbs, by an election technology company. Whether the cancellation ends Dobbs’ career with Fox News wasn’t addressed, and the company had no further comment.
February 6, 2021 9:19 am
UNITED NATIONS (AP) – The U.N. chief is pledging that the United Nations will do everything it can to unite the international community and create conditions for the military coup in Myanmar to be reversed. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told a news conference Friday it is absolutely essential to carry out the U.N. Security Council’s calls for a return to democracy, respect for the results of November elections, and release of all people detained by the military, which he says means the reversal of the coup. He says that requires all possible areas of pressure to make it happen. He says Christine Schraner Burgener, the U.N. special envoy for Myanmar, had a first contact Friday with the military since the coup and expressed the U.N.’s strong opposition to the takeover.
February 6, 2021 9:11 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden says Donald Trump’s “erratic behavior” should prevent him from receiving classified intelligence briefings, a courtesy that historically has been granted to outgoing presidents. Asked in an interview with CBS News on Friday what he feared if Trump continued to receive the briefings, Biden said he did not want to “speculate out loud.” But he made clear he did not want Trump to continue to receive the briefings. Whether to give a past president intelligence briefings is solely the current officeholder’s prerogative. Trump’s second impeachment trial is set to begin next week.
February 6, 2021 5:01 am
A bill sponsored by Representative Tim O’Neal (R-48) passed the state house. That bill will allow the Pennsylvania National Guard assist in the distribution and administration of Covid-19 vaccinations throughout Pennsylvania. House Bill 326 will have the National Guard within 45 days of the bill becoming law, coordinate with the Pennsylvania Department of Health and Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency to develop plans to establish and operate vaccination sites across the Commonwealth. According to O’Neal “More than 20 states have successfully used National Guard members to assist with Covid-19 vaccination efforts.”
February 6, 2021 4:52 am
Governor Tom Wolf signed Senate Bill 109 into law on Friday. The bill allocates $145 million to help support businesses suffering from the Covid-19 pandemic. The Wolf administration authorized a transfer of $145 million from the Workers Compensation Security Fund at the Pennsylvania Insurance Department to the General Fund so that money could be appropriated by state legislature to aid businesses. The bill also addresses funding for rental and utility assistance to Pennsylvania residents to keep them in their homes.
February 6, 2021 4:27 am
The Washington School District’s Pandemic Team voted unanimously on Friday to have all hybrid students at Washington Park Elementary move to a 4-day in- school schedule of Monday through Thursday, beginning Monday, February 8th. Hybrid students in grades 3 through 6 will join the kindergarten through second grade who already had returned to a 4-day schedule. Fridays will still be virtual. At Washington Jr./Sr. High School, 7th and 8th grade students and seniors attending the current hybrid schedule will also return to a 4-day in-school learning schedule on Monday, February 8th. The district’s Pandemic Team will meet next week to review moving Grades 9-11 to a 4 day in-school schedule on Monday, February 15th. School officials say their decisions are being reviewed weekly based on a multitude of factors including the number of positive COVID-19 cases in the buildings. Superintendent Dr. Konrad said, “We are extremely happy to welcome our students back to school for in-person learning. Our Pandemic Team continues to meet and discuss ways to keep our students and staff safe and monitor the progress of our decisions.”
February 6, 2021 2:27 am
Animal abuse activists and rescuers now have a method to recoup some of their spending in those efforts to save abused animals. The Washington Abused Animal Relief Fund (WAARF) has been developed in Washington County by animal activist and organization president, Faith Bjalobok, Ph.D. Washington County Treasurer Tom Flickinger also sits on the board of directors and is instrumental in the operation of the 501c3 non-profit. Bjalobok states that only rescue animals of any type are eligible for medical reimbursement after the first $500 spent. Private individuals who rescue animals and police and fire departments and rescue shelters qualify for funding. Flickinger states that the Treasurer’s office is the entity that collects annual dog license monies. His office will include a solicitation that dog owners can fill out and send a separate check to donate to WAARF. Bjalobok says she also will be seeking grants to fund the project. Donations from the public are also welcome. The program is in its infancy. Donations to the fund can be made to WAARF, at the Treasurers office 100 West Beau St. Suite 102D Washington, PA 15301.
