October 28, 2021 9:27 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell to a pandemic low last week, another sign that the job market and economy continue to recover from last year’s coronavirus recession. Jobless claims dropped by 10,000 to 281,000, lowest since mid-March 2020, the Labor Department said Thursday. Since topping 900,000 in early January, áweekly applications have steadily dropped, moving ever closer to pre-pandemic levels just above 200,000. In all, 2.2 million people were collecting unemployment checks the week of Oct. 16, down from 7.7 million a year earlier.
October 28, 2021 8:44 am
BRIDGEVILLE, Pa. — (WPXI) – A 12-year-old boy died Wednesday after collapsing during basketball practice at Chartiers Valley Middle School, officials said. The boy, identified by the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office as Jayson Kidd, collapsed at about 5 p.m. during warmups. He was taken to a hospital, where he died just before 6:30 p.m. A message from Chartiers Valley Superintendent Johannah Vanatta said “the Chartiers Valley family is deeply saddened” by the tragedy. “I am confident that our community will rise in support. My thoughts and prayers are with the student’s family, friends, teammates, coaches, teachers, and all of those affected by this tragedy,” Vanatta’s message to families said. The Middle School Crisis Team will be available for students and staff on Thursday.
October 28, 2021 4:17 am
NEW YORK (AP) – A New York judge on Wednesday refused to pause a vaccine mandate set to take effect Friday for the city’s municipal workforce, denying a police union’s request for a temporarily restraining order. Judge Lizette Colon ruled that the city’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate can take effect as scheduled. She also ordered city officials to appear in court Nov. 12 to defend the requirement against a union lawsuit seeking to have it declared illegal. Also Wednesday, a federal appeals panel presiding in another mandate-related case seemed to be supportive of arguments that a New York state vaccine mandate for health care workers does not violate their Constitutional rights even though the mandate doesn’t provide religious exemptions.
October 28, 2021 4:10 am
LAKE CHARLES, La. (AP) – A tornado in western Louisiana damaged more than a dozen homes in a part of the state still struggling to recover from repeated weather disasters. The National Weather Service said in a preliminary report posted on Twitter that an EF-2 tornado caused “significant structural damage” to about a dozen homes when it touched down around midday Wednesday. Several other homes also received minor damage. Two people were injured. The tornado was part of a line of severe weather that moved from Texas across southern Louisiana and into Mississippi. Wednesday’s severe weather was the latest weather calamity to batter the Lake Charles region in a little over a year.
October 28, 2021 4:08 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden and Democrats are getting low marks from the public as they try to get a roughly $2 trillion spending package over the finish line. Fewer than half of Americans approve of how they have handled negotiations. And many say they know little to nothing about the bill. Overall, 36% say they approve of Biden’s handling of the talks, while 41% disapprove. Another 23% say they neither approve nor disapprove. That’s according to The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll. Ratings of Republicans’ role in the situation are even worse. Republicans, who have been shut out from the talks over the bill, are expected to overwhelmingly, if not unanimously, oppose the Democratic package.
October 28, 2021 4:07 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Senate Democrats want to again try letting millions of immigrants stay temporarily in the U.S. as part of President Joe Biden’s economic plan. People familiar with the effort say Democrats want to let migrants in the U.S. before 2011 apply for temporary permits letting work in this country for five years, and then renew it once. The proposal needs a sign off from the Senate parliamentarian, who enforces the chamber’s rules of what is allowed in certain bills. The renewed focus on immigration comes as Biden met with House Democrats and sought support for a framework of his 10-year, $1.75 trillion plan.
October 28, 2021 4:05 am
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) – A criminal complaint filed by a police investigator with a court in Albany has accused former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo of committing a misdemeanor sex crime, though there were reports Thursday that the document might have been submitted in error. The brief complaint accused Cuomo of putting his hand under a woman’s shirt on Dec. 7, 2020. The document didn’t name the woman but Cuomo had been publicly accused of groping aide Brittany Commisso at the executive mansion in Albany last year. The Albany County district attorney’s office and Albany County Sheriff did not immediately return messages. áCuomo’s lawyer and spokesperson didn’t immediately return messages seeking comment. (Photo: AP)
October 28, 2021 4:03 am
NORTH STRABANE TWP., Pa. — (WPXI) – The family of a woman killed while driving home on Interstate 79 is speaking out for the first time. Holly Davis was just one exit from home when a driver going the wrong way hit her vehicle head-on. Her family has learned someone has anonymously paid for all of her funeral expenses. Jamar Davis lost his mother last weekend. Holly Davis leaves behind her two sons and a 2-year-old grandson, who has spent the last few days asking where her grandmother is. Holly was driving north on Interstate 79 near the Houston exit, as drivers were calling 911 to say someone was driving in the wrong direction. One of those drivers even captured some of it on cellphone video. Kristina Coyne, 26, of Washington, was driving in the wrong direction on her way to a Pittsburgh hospital. Officials are still investigating. Davis was a certified nursing assistant for more than 35 years. As they were making funeral arrangements Tuesday, they discovered everything had been paid in full by someone anonymous. “They told us not to worry if she had the best insurance or any insurance. An anonymous donor was going to take care of everything and that’s a blessing.” he said. Holly’s family believes the anonymous donation came from someone she took care of.
October 28, 2021 3:40 am
North Franklin Township is in the process of installing an advanced early warning siren system. The service will be tied into the National Weather Service that will initiate the alarm during a severe weather event. The county 9-1-1 system will also be able to set off the alarm in the event of a severe accident. Township Supervisor Chairman Bob Sabot states the supervisors have been working on the $60,000 system since September. He states that if the system saves one life, it is well worth the investment. Residents will be able to differentiate between a traditional fire siren that has an up and down wail that will last for a minute and the weather alert siren that will be an upward wail that will last between three to five minutes. Both the township and fire department will be educating residents about the system in their respective newsletters. The system is currently under design to make sure the 7.4 square mile township and its 5000 residents will be able to hear the alarms that will be placed at each of the township’s three fire stations.
October 27, 2021 10:49 am
WJPA & WJPA) – A man was run over by a truck that was carrying a wood chipper Wednesday morning in Cecil Township, emergency dispatchers said. The accident happened shortly before 9 a.m. along Fawcett Church Road. Investigators say the truck carrying the chipper either lost its brakes or the driver lost control and ran into a man who was standing in front of a stump grinder, trapping him between the truck and the stump grinder. The victim was taken to the hospital with a leg injury. OSHA has been called in to investigate.
