July 30, 2021 4:17 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Biden administration has announced sweeping new pandemic rules for federal workers and some contractors. It is requiring that any federal civilian worker who does not attest to being fully vaccinated will be subject to universal masking, weekly testing, physical distancing from other employees and restrictions on official travel. The guidelines are aimed at boosting vaccination rates among the millions of Americans who draw federal paychecks and to set an example for private employers around the country. áBiden said, “This is an American tragedy. People are dying who don’t have to die.”
July 30, 2021 4:16 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – More than 200 people have arrived in the United States on the first evacuation flight for Afghans who worked alongside Americans in Afghanistan. The commercial airliner landed early Friday at Dulles International Airport outside Washington. It carried Afghan interpreters and their family members. The new arrivals include scores of children and babies in arms. Dubbed Operation Allies Refuge, the flights are intended to bring to the U.S. Afghans who are farthest along in their visa process. The interpreters fear reprisals from Afghanistan’s Taliban as the last U.S. troops leave.
July 30, 2021 4:13 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – A rural Pennsylvania county is formally declining to participate in an Arizona-style “forensic investigation” of the state’s 2020 presidential election sought by backers of former President Donald Trump, saying it would need new voting machines paid for and delivered within three weeks. The three commissioners in Republican-controlled Tioga County had said two weeks ago that they wouldn’t allow third-party access to the county’s voting machines for fear of seeing them decertified by the state just weeks before preparations must begin for November’s election. In a Thursday letter, the commissioners said they were declining the request “at this time” without new voting machines paid for and delivered by Aug. 20.
July 30, 2021 4:09 am
(AP) – Gov. Tom Wolf and Pennsylvania’s coronavirus task force are asking state lawmakers to urge their constituents to get vaccinated, noting the rapid spread of the highly contagious delta variant. Wolf and the task force, which includes Democratic and Republican appointees from the House and Senate, asked members of the General Assembly to use every tool at their disposal, starting now, to promote the COVID-19 vaccines. The letter says “we are at a pivotal moment in this pandemic.” New COVID-19 cases have more than tripled over the past two weeks.
July 29, 2021 12:34 pm
The folks in Waynesburg, Pennsylvania were plenty happy it rained on Thursday – because they were celebrating Rain Day. The official time was 12:09 p.m. Thursday, July 29th, is Rain Day, a day that has a history of rain. In fact, with Thursday’s rain – it has now rained 116 times out of the past 148 years in Waynesburg. Last year’s festival was held virtually because of the COVID pandemic, but this year, Waynesburg Mayor Greg Leathers says it went on – but with a twist. Leathers say the festivities were held in two of the borough’s parks, rather than in the downtown area. Rain Day historically began with a bet between two guys in a downtown drugstore, and that tradition evolved into betting a hat and has carried on with various celebrities taking the bet over the years. This year, Leathers say the bet is with Grammy-nominated and Dove Award-winning music artist Josh Reedy, who plays guitar for country music singer Thomas Rhett.
July 29, 2021 4:56 am
One person was flown to a Pittsburgh hospital following a head-on collision along Route 136 near the border of North and South Strabane. Washington County 9-1-1 says it happened just after 9:30 p.m. and involved a tractor trailer and a car. There is no word on the identity or condition of the person flown from the scene. The roadway was closed for some four hours as Haz-Mat crews were called to the scene to clean up a large fuel spill. Police continue to investigate.
July 29, 2021 4:46 am
MOUNT LEBANON, Pa. – A man killed his parents before getting into a shootout with police in Mount Lebanon, then leading officers on a chase and being found dead after a crash, authorities said. The 25-year-old man, who has not been identified, called police shortly after 12 a.m. to a home on Gilkeson Road. He said he had shot and killed both of his parents and was surrendering. Police said he was calm at first, but he then began shooting at officers. Officer Rob Barnes, an 8-year veteran of the Dormont Police Department, was shot in the torso, and his bullet-proof vest likely saved his life, police said. He was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and was later released. He is expected to make a full recovery. A Mount Lebanon officer was also hurt, but was not hit by gunfire. That officer was treated at a hospital and released. The man then took off, leading police on a chase that ended in a crash along route 19. Officers then found the man dead in his car, police said. Officers determined the man had a single gunshot wound to the head and believe it was self-inflicted. His parents, a 65-year-old male and 59-year-old female, were found deceased inside the home on Gilkeson Road.
July 29, 2021 4:20 am
GARDNERVILLE, Nev. (AP) – The governors of California and Nevada are calling for increased federal assistance as they tour an area blackened by one of several massive wildfires that have destroyed dozens of homes. Wednesday’s tour of the Tamarack Fire along the state line comes as numerous wildfires char land and homes in a dozen states. Cooler weather and even some rain has helped in the fight against some of the largest, including the Bootleg Fire in Oregon that has burned more than 160 homes. But fire officials say hotter, drier weather is returning and could pose a threat of renewed fire ferocity.
July 29, 2021 4:20 am
BOSTON (AP) – Court records show that former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick has been charged with sexually assaulting a teenage boy during a wedding reception in the 1970s. Court documents obtained by The Boston Globe shows that McCarrick is charged with three counts of indecent assault and battery on a person over 14. McCarrick was defrocked by Pope Francis in 2019 after a Vatican investigation confirmed he had sexually molested adults as well as children. Mitchell Garabedian, an attorney for the man alleging the abuse by McCarrick, says he is the first cardinal in the U.S. to ever be criminally charged with a sexual crime against a minor. An attorney for McCarrick told The Associated Press that they “look forward to addressing the case in the courtroom” and declined further comment.
July 29, 2021 4:17 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Senate has voted to start work on a nearly $1 trillion national infrastructure package. The vote came together quickly Wednesday night after President Joe Biden and a bipartisan group of senators reached agreement on the key part of the White House agenda. But it’s unclear if enough senators will eventually support final passage. The process ahead could take days. The outcome will set the stage for the next debate in the months ahead over Biden’s much more ambitious $3.5 trillion spending package, which includes child care, tax breaks and health care. The $1 trillion package would be partly paid for by repurposing unspent COVID-19 relief aid.
