August 15, 2021 3:48 am
The state Department of Health on Friday reported over 2,000 new COVID-19 cases statewide, and 935 patients hospitalized. The statewide total cases is over 1.2 million. Sixteen new deaths were reported Thursday, bringing the statewide death total from COVID-19 to almost 28,000. In Washington County, 23 new cases (but no additional deaths) were added Thursday, and the state reports a total of 18,470 positive cases and 313 total deaths; in Allegheny County, they added 400 new cases Thursday and two new COVID deaths, bringing their total to 2,017 dead from the disease. However, some positive news as the state also reports that over 11.8 million people have received at least one vaccine dose–and 64% of the state population has been fully vaccinated.
August 14, 2021 4:14 am
(AP) – Americans at high risk from COVID-19 because of severely weakened immune systems are now allowed to get a third vaccination in hopes of better protection. Government advisers on Friday grappled with exactly who qualifies. The Food and Drug Administration has ruled that transplant recipients and other similarly immunocompromised patients can get a third dose of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine. But the decision offers an extra dose only to those high-risk groups – not the general public. These patients have been clamoring for months for better protection, some of them traveling across state lines or lying to get another dose.
August 14, 2021 4:08 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Midnight on Sunday is the deadline for consumers to take advantage of a special “Obamacare” sign up period, courtesy of President Joe Biden. Not only did Biden reopen the HealthCare.gov marketplace because of the pandemic, but his COVID relief law is providing bigger subsidies that can significantly reduce the cost of coverage. The government says more than 2.5 million people have signed up so far. Officials are hoping for a strong close this weekend. That could help validate Biden’s strategy of moving the U.S. to coverage for all by building on existing programs. And it would help his pitch to Congress to permanently extend the increased financial help.
August 14, 2021 4:04 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The first forces of a Marine battalion have arrived in Kabul to stand guard as the U.S. speeds up evacuation flights for some American diplomats and thousands of Afghans, spurred by a lightning Taliban offensive that increasingly is isolating Afghanistan’s capital. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby says “elements” of a battalion are now in Kabul. They are the vanguard of three Marine and Army battalions that the U.S. is sending to the city by the end of the weekend for temporary deployment. The Taliban, emboldened by the imminent end of the U.S. combat mission in the country, took four more provincial capitals Friday, heightening fears they would move soon on the capital, which is home to millions of Afghans.
August 14, 2021 4:01 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – A Philadelphia grand jury has recommended criminal charges against three former homicide detectives including perjury in the 2016 retrial of Anthony Wright, who was exonerated by DNA evidence in the rape and murder of an older woman. Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner announced Friday that former detectives Manuel Santiago, Martin Devlin and Frank Jastrzembski were in the process of turning themselves in. They face various charges including perjury and swearing false statements during the retrial of Wright who was wrongly convicted of the rape and murder of a 77-year-old woman in 1993. Krasner said the detectives allegedly coerced a false confession from Wright and planted evidence during the investigation.
August 14, 2021 3:59 am
PITTSBURGH (WPXI) — A man was stabbed Friday evening in downtown Pittsburgh. Around 8:15 p.m., Port Authority Police alerted city police to a stabbing victim at the intersection of 4th Avenue and Wood Street. Zone 2 officers arrived on scene and found the victim with a stab wound to the kidney area. He was taken to the hospital in serious but stable condition. Pittsburgh Police located a female suspect not far from the crime scene and recovered a weapon. The female was questioned and arrested. She is currently being held in Allegheny County Jail. This follows a daylight shooting downtown on Thursday that left one man dead. In that incident, Taylor Wible, 21, of Pittsburgh is charged with Criminal Homicide and Carrying a Firearm Without a License. Ela Aydin, 18, of Oakdale is charged with Hindering Apprehension. Both were taken to the Allegheny County Jail.
August 14, 2021 3:30 am
ARMSTRONG COUNTY, Pa. (WPXI) – First responders from multiple departments in Armstrong County spent several hours Friday searching the Allegheny River for a missing 3-year-old boy. Officials said the boy’s family was at a former campsite in South Buffalo Township, when he disappeared. The search was called off around 8 p.m. due to storms that moved through western Pennsylvania. Dive teams are expected to return to the Allegheny River on Saturday.
August 14, 2021 3:26 am
Another round of storms Friday night left their mark. West Penn Power reports almost 200 customers throughout Washington County are without power. Most of those outages are in Morris and Independence Townships. A large number had been in Peters, as well as the Centerville and East Bethlehem Township areas, but they have been restored as of this morning. West Penn Power expects all service to be restored by 3:00pm today.
August 13, 2021 1:21 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) – A military base in the nation’s capital was locked down for about an hour and a half Friday, after an armed man ran onto the grounds following a report of gunfire on local streets surrounding the base. Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling posted a note on its Facebook page saying the person was spotted on the south side of the base. Officials say the individual was detained and will be transferred to the Metropolitan Police Department. The naval support facility at the north end of the base is used by Marine Helicopter Squadron One, the fleet of green helicopters that carry the president and vice president.
August 13, 2021 4:19 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The first forces of a Marine battalion have arrived in Kabul to stand guard as the U.S. speeds up evacuation flights for some American diplomats and thousands of Afghans, spurred by a lightning Taliban offensive that increasingly is isolating Afghanistan’s capital. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby says “elements” of a battalion are now in Kabul. They are the vanguard of three Marine and Army battalions that the U.S. is sending to the city by the end of the weekend for temporary deployment. The Taliban, emboldened by the imminent end of the U.S. combat mission in the country, took four more provincial capitals Friday, heightening fears they would move soon on the capital, which is home to millions of Afghans.
