January 29, 2021 2:12 am
The Washington County Tourism Promotion Agency will be awarding more than $93,000 in tourism grants to public and private organizations. The money will be used for capital and marketing projects for the 2021 tourism season. Agency President Jeff Kotula says the capital projects total nearly $28-thousand, including 10-thousand dollars each to Mingo Creek Craft Distillers and Mon Valley Alliance. Under the marketing umbrella, Kotula indicated the Washington Wild Things received the largest allocation of $13-thousand, Little Lake Theater received $9-thousand, Pennsylvania Trolley Museum and Family Festivals Association each received 75-hundred dollars. Kotula says the coronavirus pandemic slowed the growth of the county’s tourism industry but he’s confident that they will be able to recover.
January 28, 2021 2:40 pm
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) – A new coronavirus variant identified in South Africa has been found in the United States for the first time. South Carolina officials say two such cases have been diagnosed in the state. Viruses mutate constantly, and many variants of the coronavirus are circulating around the globe, but scientists are primarily concerned with three that appear to spread more easily. Other variants first reported in the United Kingdom and Brazil were already confirmed in the U.S. Researchers predicted it was only a matter of time before the variant identified in South Africa reached the United States as well.
January 28, 2021 2:36 pm
GAINESVILLE, Ga, (AP) – A liquid nitrogen leak at a northeast Georgia poultry plant has killed six people, with multiple others taken to the hospital. A spokesperson for Northeast Georgia Health System said five people died Thursday at the Gainesville plant before they could be taken to the hospital and one person died in the emergency room. Hall County Fire Department Division Chief Zach Brackett says the leak happened after 10 a.m. at Prime Pak Foods. He said firefighters arrived to find workers milling around outside, some with injuries. At least four firefighters were also injured and taken to the Gainesville hospital with what Brackett described as respiratory complaints.
January 28, 2021 2:34 pm
There will be no St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Pittsburgh this March. Organizers announced Thursday that the parade, scheduled for March 13th, will be postponed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and continued health concerns surrounding large gatherings. There may be a parade though. The St. Patrick’s Day Parade committee says it is working with the City of Pittsburgh to identify a date in the latter half of 2021 when a parade can safely be celebrated.
January 28, 2021 9:13 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell to a historically high 847,000 last week, a sign that layoffs remain high as the coronavirus pandemic continues to rage. The Labor Department said Thursday that last week’s claims were down by 67,000 from 914,000 the week before. Before the virus hit the United States hard last March, weekly applications for jobless aid had never topped 700,000.Overall, nearly 4.8 million Americans are continuing to receive traditional state unemployment benefits. That is down from a staggering peak of nearly 25 million in May when the virus – and lockdowns and other measures to contain it – brought economic activity to a near halt.
January 28, 2021 4:19 am
SAN RAMON, Calif. (AP) – Apple says it will roll out a new privacy control in the spring to prevent iPhone apps from secretly shadowing people. The delay in its anticipated rollout aims to placate Facebook and other digital services that depend on such data surveillance to help sell ads. Although Apple didn’t provide a specific date, the timetable disclosed Thursday means a feature known as App Tracking Transparency is likely to arrive in March or April. Apple has been holding off to give Facebook and other app makers more time to adjust to a feature that will require iPhone users to give explicit consent before apps can track them.
January 28, 2021 4:16 am
Alabama health officials say the more highly transmissible COVID-19 variant seen in the United Kingdom has been found in the state. The Alabama Department of Public Health said the variant is thought to be more contagious. It is the first time the variant has been identified in the state, although it has been detected in at least 24 other states. The variant was first detected in the United Kingdom in late 2020. Health officials said the variant was found in two children and one adult in Alabama. Two cases are in Montgomery County and one is in Jefferson.
January 28, 2021 4:14 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden has rescinded a regulation that barred U.S. foreign aid from being used to perform or promote abortions. The move comes just a week after he was inaugurated and fulfills his campaign pledge to reverse a policy that previous Republican presidents, including Donald Trump, have instated immediately on taking office. The so-called Mexico City policy or Global Gag Rule, has been a political ping-pong ball for decades, bouncing back and forth between Republican and Democratic presidents since it was first enacted in 1985. Critics say it hurts women’s reproductive health care and contributes to poverty worldwide, while supporters argue it is essential to preserve the sanctity of life.
January 28, 2021 4:13 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden says “we can’t wait any longer? to address the climate crisis, and that’s driving his ambitious effort to stave off the worst effects of global warming. Biden has issued executive orders to cut oil, gas and coal emissions and double energy production from offshore wind turbines. The orders target federal subsidies for oil and other fossil fuels and halt new oil and gas leases on federal lands and waters. But there’s political risk for Biden and Democrats as oil- and coal-producing states face job losses from moves to sharply increase U.S. reliance on clean energy.
January 28, 2021 4:11 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Homeland Security Department has issued a national terrorism bulletin warning of the lingering potential for violence from people motivated by anti-government sentiment after President Joe Biden’s election. The bulletin suggests the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol may embolden extremists and set the stage for additional attacks. The department isn’t citing a specific threat. But DHS points to “a heightened threat environment across the United States” that it believes “will persist” for weeks after Biden took office. The wording suggests national security officials see a thread between recent violence over the past year motivated by anti-government grievances, whether over COVID-19 restrictions, the 2020 election results or police use of force.
