August 7, 2021 10:10 am
The seven-day average for new daily COVID-19 infections has surpassed 100,000 in the U.S., returning to levels not seen since the winter surge. Cases and hospitalizations have skyrocketed in the last month, driven by the highly contagious delta variant. The country was averaging about 11,000 cases a day in late June. Now the number is over 107,000. The virus is spreading quickly through unvaccinated populations, especially in the Deep South. Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi have had hospitals overrun with patients. The U.S. first crossed the 100,000 average number in November and peaked at about 250,000 in early January before bottoming out in late June.
August 7, 2021 9:27 am
UNDATED (AP) – White House press secretary Jennifer Psaki said Friday that there are “early discussions about a range of options” for new vaccine mandates or penalties for certain situations, such as domestic travelers and nursing home workers. She added that the administration has “concern” about anti-mask, anti-vaccine mandate restrictions in some states. “If you don’t want to abide by public health guidelines, don’t want to use your role as leaders,” Psaki said, “then you should get out of the way.” She also applauded United Airlines’ announcement that it would require workers to get vaccinated, saying “support these vaccination requirements to protect workers, communities and our country…”
August 7, 2021 4:08 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – The Pennsylvania prison system is stopping in-person visits for the thousands of inmates who are not vaccinated against COVID-19. The Corrections Department also said Thursday it will begin housing unvaccinated inmates together next week. Corrections Secretary John Wetzel says the policy limits the contact that the unvaccinated have with potential carriers of the coronavirus. The changes won’t affect inmates’ access to classes and programs. Additional terminals will be installed in the unvaccinated units for video visitation. Nearly 8,000 inmates in state prisons are not vaccinated. That’s about one in five. The prison system provides vaccinations to all inmates who want one. It also requires everyone to wear masks indoors.
August 7, 2021 3:32 am
U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb says he is running for Pennsylvania’s open Senate seat, joining a crowded Democratic field in one of the nation’s most competitive races. Lamb is seeking the nomination to replace outgoing GOP Sen. Pat Toomey. He’s a former Marine and federal prosecutor who rose to political prominence three years ago when he beat a Donald Trump-backed Republican in a special election that foreshadowed the 2018 Democratic takeover of the House. The Senate race is wide open on both sides and is expected to be among the most expensive in next year’s election. Toomey is retiring after two terms.
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.
