August 3, 2021 3:12 am
CARRICK, Penn. (AP) – A man claiming to be Jesus stabbed three people an apartment on Monday and hid until he was taken into custody by Pittsburgh police. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports the man is being charged with three counts of attempted homicide and aggravated assault. One of the injured victims told officers he offered the suspect a place to stay at the apartment in Carrick because he was homeless. He said in the early morning they were talking until the suspect said he was Jesus and began stabbing people. The suspect was taken into custody and it was not immediately clear that he has an attorney to represent him.
August 2, 2021 5:45 pm
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) – Sen. Lindsey Graham has tested positive for the coronavirus. The South Carolina Republican is the first senator to disclose a breakthrough infection after being vaccinated. He says he is “very glad” he received the vaccine, without which his current symptoms would be “far worse.” Graham says he “started having flu-like symptoms Saturday night” and went to the doctor Monday morning. Graham says he will quarantine for 10 days and describes his current symptoms as “mild.” Graham’s infection comes on the heels of updated CDC guidance urging even fully vaccinated people to return to wearing masks indoors in areas of high coronavirus transmission. (Photo: CNN)
August 2, 2021 4:26 am
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) – A day after it recorded the most new daily cases since the start of the pandemic, Florida on Sunday broke a previous record for current hospitalizations set more than a year ago before vaccines were available. The Sunshine State had 10,207 people hospitalized with confirmed COVID-19 cases. That’s according to data reported to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services on Sunday. The previous record was from more than a year ago, July 23, 2020, more than a half-year before vaccinations became widespread, when Florida had 10,170 hospitalizations. That is according to the Florida Hospital Association.
August 2, 2021 4:21 am
BLY, Oregon (AP) – Firefighters in Oregon reported good progress in the battle against the nation’s largest wildfire, while authorities canceled evacuation orders near a major blaze in Northern California. Containment of the Bootleg Fire in remote southern Oregon is up to 74% on Sunday. It was 56% contained a day earlier. The blaze has scorched 646 square miles. California’s Dixie Fire covered nearly 383 square miles in mountains where 42 homes and other buildings have been destroyed. On Hawaii’s Big Island, a fire nearly 63 square miles in size has forced evacuations, and at least one home has been destroyed.
August 2, 2021 4:20 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – After much delay, senators have unveiled their $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act clocks in at more than 2,700 pages. It includes new expenditures on roads, bridges, water pipes broadband and other projects, plus cyber security. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer kept the senators in a rare weekend session to wrap up the work Sunday. He said the bill could be passed “in a matter of days.” Senators will start offering amendments as soon as Monday. The bill is a key part of President Joe Biden’s agenda.
August 2, 2021 4:19 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The White House says that Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was “unable to find legal authority for a new, targeted eviction moratorium.” It asks that states and local governments put in policies to keep renters in their homes. Mass evictions could potentially worsen the recent spread of the COVID-19 delta variant. Roughly 1.4 million households told the Census Bureau they could “very likely” be evicted from their rentals in the next two months. But the Biden administration says it is unable to take action. But it also notes that state-level efforts to stop evictions would spare a third of the country from evictions over the next month.
August 2, 2021 4:17 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – The governor of Pennsylvania is asking state lawmakers to return to Harrisburg within a month to extend a statewide disaster emergency intended to help stem the opioid addiction crisis. In a letter to the General Assembly, Tom Wolf said he plans an Aug. 5 renewal of the disaster emergency declaration first issued in January 2018 and wants lawmakers to consider extending it by Aug. 26. The governor can no longer unilaterally extend the 90-day disaster emergency declaration, something he had done more than a dozen times, following approval by the voters of a state constitutional amendment curbing the emergency powers of a Pennsylvania governor.
August 2, 2021 4:13 am
MOUNT HOLLY, N.J. (AP) – The National Weather Service has confirmed a ninth tornado that struck during storms last week in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Forecasters said Sunday that an EF-1 tornado with peak winds up to 90 mph appeared in the Weisenberg Township area of Lehigh County during Thursday’s storms, uprooting trees and causing some minor roof damage. Authorities earlier confirmed eight other tornadoes in the neighboring states during Thursday’s storm, including the EF-3 storm in eastern Pennsylvania and an EF-2 tornado that started in the Keystone State and then moved into the Garden State.
August 2, 2021 4:08 am
HEMPFIELD TWP., Pa. — Two people were killed in a crash in Westmoreland County on Saturday evening. The Westmoreland County Coroner identified the two people as Walter J. Gardner, 61, and Catherine M. Gardner, 58, both of Jeannette. Police said the crash occurred in the 400 block of Agnew Road, Hempfield Township shortly before 5:45 p.m. Saturday. Walter Gardner was driving a 2001 Ford F-150 north on Agnew Road, when for unknown reasons the vehicle went off the road, down an embankment into a wooded area, rolled over and came to rest in a small creek. Catherine Gardner was a passenger in the vehicle. Both suffered blunt force trauma to the head and torso, and were pronounced dead at the scene. Neither was wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash, according to a news release. Police continue to investigate.
August 1, 2021 8:06 am
VERONA, Italy (AP) — Shouts of “Liberty!” have echoed through the streets and squares of Italy and France as thousands show their opposition to plans to require vaccination cards for normal social activities, such as dining indoors at restaurants, visiting museums or cheering in sports stadiums. Leaders in both countries see the cards, dubbed the “Green Pass” in Italy and the “health pass” in France, as necessary to boost vaccination rates and persuade the undecided. Italian Premier Mario Draghi likened the anti-vaccination message from some political leaders to “an appeal to die.” The looming requirement is working, with vaccination requests booming in both countries. Still, there are pockets of resistance by those who see it as a violation of civil liberties or have concerns about vaccine safety. About 80,000 people protested in cities across Italy last weekend, while thousands have marched in Paris for the past three weekends, at times clashing with police.
