July 7, 2021 4:14 am
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Oregon’s death toll from last weekend’s record-smashing Pacific Northwest heat wave has risen to 116. The state medical examiner on Wednesday released an updated list of fatalities from the heat wave that added nine deaths. Of the 116 deaths recorded, the youngest victim was 37 and the oldest was 97. In Portland’s Multnomah County, where most of the deaths occurred, officials said many victims had no air conditioners or fans and died alone. Gov. Kate Brown directed agencies to study how Oregon can improve its response to heat emergencies and enacted emergency rules to protect workers from extreme heat.
July 7, 2021 4:12 am
SURFSIDE, Fla. (AP) – Emergency workers are giving up on any hope of finding survivors in a collapsed Florida condo building. Authorities told sobbing families Wednesday that there was “no chance of life” in the rubble. They planned to shift their efforts to recovering more remains. The announcement followed increasingly somber reports from emergency officials, who said they sought to prepare families for the worst. Miami-Dade Assistant Fire Chief Raide Jadallah says crews will stop using rescue dogs and listening devices but continue to search for people who are still missing. The death toll stands at 46, with 94 people unaccounted for.
July 7, 2021 4:11 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden says he plans to deliver a message to Russian President Vladimir Putin about the latest ransomware attacks targeting American businesses. It’s a conversation that could test Biden’s ability to follow through on a promise to answer such attacks with a tough response while also trying to avoid escalating tensions with Russia. The administration faces few easy options for a threat that in just a few months has emerged as a major national security challenge, with attacks from Russia-based gangs that have targeted vital infrastructure and extorted multimillion-dollar payments from victims. Biden was opaque when asked Wednesday what exactly he planned to convey to Putin in light of the latest ransomware attacks.
July 7, 2021 4:04 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Tolls on the Pennsylvania Turnpike will soon rise by another 5%. The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission voted Tuesday for higher rates that will apply as of Jan. 2. The most common E-ZPass fare for a passenger vehicle will rise by a dime, from $1.60 to $1.70. Those being charged through a scan of their license plate will see the most common fare go from $3.90 to $4.10. Officials say 2022 will be the first time in six years that fares will have jumped by less than 6%. The turnpike has pumped more than $7 billion in funding from tolls to the state Transportation Department since 2007.
July 7, 2021 4:02 am
Cecil Township Supervisors are considering a restoration project for their historic French Club building. For the past ten years, the building, once used for private occasions, has debilitated into abandonment. A judge ordered the municipality to demolish the building and place a lien on its remaining property. Approximately $45,000 will go towards its demolition, but that amount can be recuperated if someone decides to buy the property thereafter. Board members expressed doubt and uncertainty over recuperation, noting that it would take one to two years for the amount to be earned back because of the increasing standard interest rate. However, a business partner of SA Harris Construction company proposed that his firm would instead acquire the property and renovate it into a multi-storied apartment unit. A neighboring property is also on contract with the firm, where they plan to build a parking lot there. Supervisors agreed to discuss the project’s terms with the solicitor, who will then propose a halt to Judge Katherine Emery’s demolition orders. Emery’s order is vital to how the firm handles its sales agreements, according to board member Thomas Casciola. “They’ll buy it, but their sales agreement with the current owner is contingent upon the judge lifting the demolition order, nobody’s going to buy a house that’s under a demolition order”, said Casciola. Updates about the renovation project will be announced and discussed at Cecil Township’s next public meeting on August 7th.
July 6, 2021 6:02 pm
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Carla Sands, former President Donald Trump’s ambassador to Denmark, says she’ll join the crowded Republican primary field for Pennsylvania’s open U.S. Senate seat. Sands’ announcement Tuesday comes after months of making the rounds of the state Republican Party’s circuit of dinners, meet-and-greets and fundraisers. The race for Pennsylvania’s open U.S. Senate seat is expected to be one of the nation’s most competitive in 2022. The 60-year-old Sands grew up in Cumberland County, outside Harrisburg, and spent much of her adult life living in California. There, she took over as CEO of Vintage Capital Group, the real estate investment firm founded by her late husband, Fred Sands, who died in 2015.
July 6, 2021 9:36 am
MOSCOW (AP) – A plane carrying 28 people has apparently crashed as it came in for a landing in bad weather in Russia’s Far East. Everyone aboard was feared dead. Officials said the Antonov An-26 plane was on approach Tuesday for a landing in fog and clouds when it missed a scheduled communication and disappeared from radar. It was heading to the airport in the town of Palana. Russia’s state aviation agency said that parts of the plane were found about 3 miles from the airport’s runway, near the coast line. Russia’s Pacific Fleet told news agencies that part of the fuselage was found on the side of a mountain and another part was floating in the Okhotsk Sea.
July 6, 2021 4:20 am
SURFSIDE, Fla. (AP) – The discovery of four more victims in the rubble of a collapsed Florida condominium building has raised the death toll to 32. Miami-Dade Assistant Fire Chief Raide Jadallah announced the new death count to family members during a closed-door morning briefing Tuesday. A ramped-up rescue effort at the collapsed Florida condo building is facing new weather threats. Tropical Storm Elsa has begun lashing the state on a path that will mostly spare South Florida. But bands of rain are expected in Surfside as Elsa gains strength. The search crews can work through rain, but lightning from unrelated thunderstorms has already forced them to pause at times, and a garage area in the rubble filled with water.
July 6, 2021 4:17 am
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) – Gamblers who smoke are once again lighting up inside Atlantic City’s casinos, even as a renewed push is on by smoking opponents to prohibit it permanently. A year-long temporary ban on smoking at the casinos, inspired by the coronavirus outbreak last year, ended on Sunday. Smoking is now allowed on 20% of the casino floor. Gary Scromo of Staten Island in New York City says he enjoys smoking while gambling, and notes there are plenty of sections nonsmokers can use. But Shay Trowery of Philadelphia, a gambler who also smokes, says it’s a bad idea to allow it indoors right now, fearing the spread of the COVID-19 virus in smoke expelled from someone’s lungs.
July 6, 2021 4:17 am
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) – The National Hurricane Center says Tropical Storm Elsa is strengthening and could became a hurricane before making landfall along Florida’s north Gulf coast. It’s complicating the search effort at the collapsed condo in Surfside, and could be near hurricane strength before it makes landfall somewhere between Tampa Bay and the Big Bend. Forecasters also warn that it could push a storm surge of water into Tampa Bay neighborhoods. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has expanded a state of emergency to cover a dozen counties. Tampa International Airport shut-down at five p.m. on Tuesday.
