August 6, 2021 8:41 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Hiring surged in July as American employers added 943,000 jobs. The unemployment rate dropped to 5.4% as the U.S. economy continues to bounce back with surprising vigor from last year’s coronavirus shutdown. The July numbers exceeded economists’ forecast for more than 860,000 new jobs. Hotels and restaurants, reopening and doing brisk business, added 327,000 jobs last month. Local public schools added 221,000. The number of people who reported they had jobs surged by 1 million, pushing the jobless rate down from 5.9% in June.
August 6, 2021 4:26 am
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) – Arkansas’ ban on mask mandates faces a new legal challenge and defiance from the mayor of the state capital as the state’s coronavirus cases continue to spiral. The Little Rock and Marion school districts on Thursday asked a state judge to block the law Gov. Asa Hutchinson signed in April prohibiting schools and other governmental bodies from requiring masks. Little Rock’s mayor issued an order requiring masks in the city’s public spaces. The moves cam as Republican lawmakers appeared unlikely to roll back the prohibition.
August 6, 2021 4:23 am
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – The U.S. Coast Guard says a sightseeing plane crashed Thursday in southeast Alaska, killing all six people on board. The Coast Guard says the plane’s emergency alert beacon was activated around 11:20 a.m. in the area of Misty Fjords National Monument, near Ketchikan. A helicopter company reported seeing wreckage on a ridgeline in the search area, and Coast Guard crew members found the wreckage around 2:40 p.m. The Coast Guard says there were no survivors. Recovery efforts are expected Thursday and Friday. Holland America Line says the five passengers on the flight were from the company’s cruise ship Nieuw Amsterdam, which stopped in Ketchikan on Thursday.
August 6, 2021 4:22 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Senators are struggling to wrap up work on the bipartisan infrastructure plan. A late-night session Thursday stalled out as new debates emerged over proposed amendments to the $1 trillion package. A procedural vote was moved to Saturday. Senators have processed nearly two dozen amendments and none has substantially changed the framework of the public works bill. One debate emerged over cryptocurrency tax compliance. The Congressional Budget Office said the overall package would increase deficits by about $256 billion over the next decade. But the bill’s backers say it is a “historic investment” that will lead to economic growth.
August 6, 2021 4:21 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The U.S. economy likely enjoyed a burst of job growth last month as it bounced back with surprising vigor from last year’s coronavirus shutdown. That despite an uptick in COVID-19 cases and a shortage of available workers. The Labor Department’s July jobs report Friday is expected to show that the United States added more than 860,000 jobs in July, topping June’s 850,000, according to a survey of economists by the data firm FactSet. The rollout of vaccines has encouraged businesses to reopen and consumers to return to shops, restaurants and bars they’d shunned for months after the pandemic struck.
August 6, 2021 4:19 am
Washington City Council heard nearly an hour of public comment at their meeting Thursday. Most, centered on questions raised by Dr. Andrew Goudy, President of the Washington, PA Branch of the NAACP. His frustrations are about the lack of motion in the establishment of a police review committee for the city of Washington. He is disappointed that no meetings have occurred since an ordinance to create the committee was tabled in June. Much discussion took place between Goudy and City Council and Mayor Scott Putnam. Putnam explained that the city is working with the Fraternal Order of Police and their concerns of discipline aspects of the ordinance. He also explained that there are steps to follow for ordinances that create review committees and the city needs to follow rules for a third class city and hire based on civil service rules. Councilman Joe Manning explained to Goudy that he had tried to establish scholarship programs with previous NAACP presidents to try and get local high school students to join police, fire and EMT services in the city. Manning also suggested that a review committee specific to Washington is unfairly singling out the city and wanted to know if Goudy has approached any other surrounding communities in an effort to make the review committee a county wide effort as opposed to just the city of Washington. Both Dr. Goudy and Mayor Putnam are going to schedule a meeting to keep things moving forward.
August 6, 2021 4:08 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – The University of Pittsburgh announced additional COVID-19 policies ahead of the fall semester due to rising COVID-19 cases in the area. The University announced that regardless of vaccination status, face coverings are required when indoors. If you are outdoors and not fully vaccinated, you should wear a face covering when unable to maintain physical distancing. Additionally, anyone in the University that has not provided proof of vaccination will be required to participate in regular COVID-19 testing.
August 6, 2021 4:06 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – Allegheny County officials announced changes to their vaccination, masking and other Covid-19 policies on Thursday as rates of Covid-19 transmission continue to rise. County Executive Rich Fitzgerald said beginning Aug. 9, all new hires will have to be vaccinated, and current employees who are unvaccinated will be required to wear masks and will be tested regularly for COVID-19 once protocols have been established. Executive branch county employees, including contracted employees, who have not provided proof of vaccination will be required to wear face coverings that cover the person’s mouth and nose when indoors at any county facility.
August 6, 2021 2:54 am
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – The Ohio Attorney General’s Office has rejected summary language in a petition to legalize marijuana use and sales in the state. Attorney General Dave Yost on Thursday listed seven deficiencies in the petition filed by a group called Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol. Among the technical problems Yost cited in the summary language was that it fails to inform signers of the petition about the measure’s “character and limitations.” The group wants to make it legal for adults 21 and older to buy and possess 2.5 ounces (71 grams) of marijuana and grow as many as six plants inside their homes.
August 5, 2021 5:36 pm
(AP) – The nation’s top aviation regulator is asking local officials to consider filing criminal charges more often against people who act up during airline flights. Federal Aviation Administration chief Stephen Dickson says airline crews often ask police to meet their plane when it lands because of unruly passengers. In some cases, flight attendants report being assaulted. Dickson says many of the passengers are interviewed by police and then released without any charges. He calls that a missed opportunity to hold passengers accountable for dangerous behavior.
