August 24, 2021 12:16 pm
BUTLER, Pa. (AP) – State police say a western Pennsylvania police officer was stabbed multiple times during a struggle with a man who he then shot and killed. Police say the Butler city officer responded shortly before 7 a.m. Tuesday to a report of a man “acting erratically and jumping in and out of oncoming traffic.” State police said the officer struggled with the man and was stabbed, then discharged his department-issued firearm, killing the man. The 27-year-old officer was reported in critical but stable condition at UPMC Presbyterian in Pittsburgh. The deceased man was identified as 35-year-old John Ebberts of Butler. (Photo: WPXI)
August 24, 2021 4:16 am
PHOENIX (AP) – The delivery of a report on the 2020 vote count to Arizona state Senate Republicans has been delayed yet again. The Senate GOP leader says the Donald Trump supporter hired to lead the effort and several others involved have contracted COVID-19 “and are quite sick.” Republican Senate President Karen Fann says she still expects to receive a portion of the report Monday. She didn’t give a date for delivery of the full draft. The delay is the latest for the unprecedented partisan review. It has so far taken more than double the 60 days it was originally supposed to take.
August 24, 2021 4:15 am
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – Texas Republicans are bringing back their voting bill with no changes as some Democrats returned to the Capitol for the first time since ending their holdout. It was clear during a House hearing Monday that the bill is on track to become law after Democrats’ 38-day walkout. Dozens of people showed up to testify before lawmakers to seize their last chance for public input on the the bill that will tighten voting rules in ways the GOP says will ensure election integrity and that Democrats say amounts to voter suppression for disabled people and minorities. áBut even Texas residents and activists acknowledged the end of a losing battle is likely drawing near.
August 24, 2021 4:11 am
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) – Florida’s Walt Disney World will require union employees as well as non-union and salaried workers to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to keep their jobs at the theme park. The deal was reached Monday with a union coalition, shortly after the Pfizer vaccine earned full Food and Drug Administration approval. It requires the workers to show proof of vaccination by Oct. 22 to remain employed, although employees can request exemptions for medical or religious reasons, a union statement says.
August 24, 2021 4:09 am
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) – The politically-charged Florida debate over wearing masks in school to guard against coronavirus infection is now before a judge. Hearings began Monday in a lawsuit that challenges Gov. Ron DeSantis’ order reserving the student mask decision for parents. The lawsuit contends school boards should have authority to require masks as a health and safety matter. The state contends the DeSantis order meets constitutional and legal requirements to give parents choice. At least eight school districts covering more than 1 million students are requiring masks anyway, risking financial punishment by defying DeSantis. The court hearing continues through Wednesday.
August 24, 2021 4:08 am
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) – Kathy Hochul has become New York’s first female governor. The Democrat from western New York assumed the office at the stroke of midnight Tuesday. She’s taking control of a state government desperate to get back to business after months of distractions over sexual harassment allegations against Andrew Cuomo. Cuomo submitted his resignation letter late Monday. Hochul’s ascent to the top job comes as the state is dealing with a rising number of COVID-19 cases and an economy still hurting from the pandemic.
August 24, 2021 4:06 am
HONOLULU (AP) – Hawaii Governor David Ige is asking people not to visit the islands. He said it’s not a good time to travel to the islands and that he wants visitors and residents to limit travel to essential purposes. He is making this request while the state struggles to control COVID-19 as the highly contagious delta variant spreads in the community. As part of the effort to curb the spread, Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi says he will restrict indoor gatherings to 10 people and outdoor gatherings to 25. Blangiardi says the rules would affect weddings and other events and take effect on Wednesday. He’s also urging people to get vaccinated.
August 24, 2021 4:05 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – An administration official says President Joe Biden has decided to stick with his Aug. 31 deadline for completing a U.S.-led evacuation of Americans and at-risk Afghans from the Kabul airport and for withdrawing the remaining U.S. forces. The decision reflects a growing fear of extremist attacks at the Kabul airport but also opens Biden to domestic political complaints of caving to Taliban demands and of potentially leaving some Americans and Afghan allies behind. Earlier, a Taliban spokesman said in Kabul that the group will insist the United States complete its withdrawal by Aug. 31. Meanwhile, the U.S. pulled off its biggest day of evacuation flights so far.
August 24, 2021 4:02 am
Peters Township Council intends to continue their permit process for a spillway project that could cost millions. Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection orders the township to redesign Peters Lake dam spillway with new capacity standards. The spillway parameters must now hold 22 inches of rainfall within two hours in order to discharge excess water. However, township manager Paul Lauer believes the spillway already has “proven to be adequate.” “The largest storm that we have record of is Hurricane Ivan, and the spillway had lots of additional capacity,” says Lauer. Council hired Rizzo International Inc. to determine reconstruction designs in Apr. 2021, but these solutions would cost an estimated $4.5-5 million, according to their draft report. Council, shocked by the expenses, discussed getting a permit from DEP and finding out the actual project cost at Monday evening’s council meeting. Lauer says council should then determine whether to appeal or to seek adequate funding for the project. “We have to find out the cost of the project and then we’ll find out if that’s something appropriate to spend township funds on or whether we’re going to seek assistance from elsewhere- as of right now I haven’t identified any place where there’s money for this kind of project,” Lauer says. Council will continue the permit process, but Lauer says there won’t be any “immediate permit issue for the dam” since the process takes a long time.
August 24, 2021 2:41 am
Students in the Washington School District will be wearing masks from the first day of school on August 30th until at least September 20th when the school board will re-examine the issue. The board voted 7-2 Monday to require masks for all indoor school activities and K-12 classrooms until the next voting board meeting on September 20th. Students will not be required to be masked for outdoor activities or at the stadium. The Washington School Board held a special zoom meeting at noon to approve some final staff changes for the upcoming school year, and to revisit the issue of masks. The district’s original Health and Safety Plan for the 2021-22 School Year was submitted to the state earlier in the summer before the numbers of cases began increasing again. Several teachers and board members on the Zoom call expressed their concerns about the safety of all and urged the board to vote for the mandatory masks, while two parents (a husband and wife) expressed their discontent, urging the choice of masking to be made by parents. Families are being notified by the district of the revised policy.
