June 30, 2021 4:14 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Supreme Court is leaving a pandemic-inspired nationwide ban on evictions in place, over the votes of four objecting conservative justices. The court on Tuesday rejected a plea by landlords to end the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention moratorium on evicting millions of tenants who aren’t paying rent during the coronavirus pandemic. Last week, the Biden administration extended the moratorium by a month, until the end of July. It said then it did not expect another extension. U.S. Judge Dabney Friedrich in Washington had struck down the moratorium as exceeding the CDC’s authority, but put her ruling on hold.
June 30, 2021 4:13 am
SURFSIDE, Florida (AP) – A fire official says the bodies of four additional victims have been found in the rubble of a collapsed condo tower, raising the death toll to 16 people. Miami-Dade Assistant Fire Chief Raide Jadallah told family members at a morning briefing that rescuers found the bodies Tuesday night. He said the victims’ next of kin had not yet been identified. Jadallah says that in addition to those four bodies, crews also found other human remains. Rescuers were also able to build a ramp for a crane to reach areas at the top of the pile they had not been access before.
June 30, 2021 4:11 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The House has launched a new investigation of the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection. Lawmakers approved a special committee on Wednesday to probe the violent attack as officers who were injured fighting former President Donald Trump’s supporters watched from the gallery above. The vote on a resolution to form the new panel fell mostly along party lines, with Republicans objecting that majority Democrats would be in charge. The vote came after Senate Republicans blocked the creation of an independent commission that would have been evenly split between Democrats and Republicans
June 30, 2021 4:10 am
NEW YORK (AP) -“Smallville” actor Allison Mack was sentenced to three years in prison for her role in the scandal-ridden, cult-like NXIVM group. The sentence was handed down Wednesday in Brooklyn federal court. Mack had previously pleaded guilty to charges she manipulated women into becoming sex slaves for the group’s spiritual leader, Keith Raniere. She cooperated against Raniere and took responsibility for helping him create a secret society of brainwashed women who were branded with his initials, which was expected to lower her sentence. Mack is best known for her role as a young Superman’s close friend on the series “Smallville.” She’s to surrender to prison Sept. 29.
June 30, 2021 4:09 am
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) – About a dozen deaths in Washington and Oregon may be tied to an intense heat wave that brought scorching temperatures to the Northwest and has caused one power utility to impose rolling blackouts amid heavy demand. The dangerous weather that gave Seattle and Portland consecutive days of record high temperatures exceeding 100 degrees Fahrenheit eased in those cities on Tuesday. But inland Spokane saw temperatures spike. The National Weather Service said the 109 F on Tuesday in Spokane was the highest temperature ever recorded there. About 9,300 Avista Utilities customers in Spokane lost power on Monday and the company said more planned blackouts began on Tuesday afternoon.
June 30, 2021 4:03 am
ERIE, Pa. (AP) – Authorities say three people were found dead following a fire in a northwestern Pennsylvania home. State police say the blaze was reported shortly after 2 p.m. Tuesday in the Greene Township home in Erie County. Trooper Cindy Schick told the Erie Times-News that the three deceased individuals had not yet been identified. Volunteers with several local volunteer fire companies responded and had the blaze under control within an hour. Schick said the state police criminal investigation unit and a fire marshal are investigating.
June 30, 2021 3:59 am
BRIDGEVILLE, Pa. – (WPXI) – Despite the mask mandate being dropped and steadily increasing numbers of people getting vaccinated, COVID-19 hasn’t gone completely away yet. A local family is now left without a mother due to the virus. “It was very hard. She was just laying there with a tube down her throat,” said Ty Barlow. 39-year-old Katie Barr of Bridgeville was diagnosed with COVID-19 on May 11 and gave birth to her fourth child two days later. After birth, the complications from the virus continued, eventually landing her in the ICU at UPMC Presbyterian hospital for the last three weeks of her life. Barr died on Sunday. She leaves behind her children – ages 7, 5, 2 and a 6-week-old baby girl.
June 30, 2021 3:49 am
A Strabane man was arrested Monday after a suspicious package was discovered at the Washington County Family Court Center. Authorities say 37-year-old Reed Morrow is accused of leaving a bag at the center and telling an attorney that he believed he had a bomb detonator. Morrow is being held without bond at the Washington County Jail, charged with one felony count of making terroristic threats resulting in the evacuation of a building. He was arraigned Tuesday morning. After the bag was discovered, the building was evacuated and the State Police Hazardous Device and Explosives Section (HDES) was called in. State Police tell WJPA News that the backpack did not contain anything explosive. Morrow was in the building to meet with his attorney in cases involving possession of drug paraphernalia, disorderly conduct and public drunkenness. Authorities say Morrow told his attorney that he found the bag in a motel and wanted to leave it with her. Police say Morrow has since confessed to owning and packing the backpack.
June 30, 2021 3:39 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Gov. Tom Wolf has signed a roughly $40 billion budget package, before he spoke Wednesday at a Capitol news conference celebrating new funding for public schools. The budget legislation won approval Friday in the Republican-controlled Legislature. The package holds the line on taxes, and puts billions of dollars in federal coronavirus aid into reserve. Wolf is touting $300 million extra for school district operations, including setting aside $100 million of that for the poorest districts. In exchange, Republicans got Wolf to repeal a regulation to expand the ranks of lower-wage salaried workers who qualify for overtime pay. Wolf, though, says more still needs to be done for public schools.
June 29, 2021 4:23 am
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) – The U.S. Geological Survey says a magnitude 3.9 earthquake has rattled the San Francisco Bay Area. The Monday earthquake’s epicenter was in San Lorenzo, an East Bay community in Alameda County 13 miles south of Oakland. Communities south of San Francisco – across the bay from San Lorenzo- felt the quake. A magnitude 3.2 earthquake was reported in near Los Angeles International Airport on Wednesday. The quake was initially rated a 4.2 but was downgraded to 4.0 and then 3.9. The initial epicenter was reported as Ashland, near San Lorenzo, but the geological survey later also revised that.
