September 7, 2021 1:19 pm
(WPXI) – Protests over Pennsylvania’s mask mandate for schools were held Tuesday morning at several local schools, including Penn Trafford and Greater Latrobe Senior high schools. At Greater Latrobe Senior High School, a group of about 40 students and parents gathered to make their opinions known. People both for and against the mandate showed up. Cynthia Sarp, a parent, is in favor of the mandate. “I would much rather see my daughter wear a mask than watch her suffering, struggling to breathe in the hospital,” Sarp said. Outside Penn Trafford High School, about 70 students and parents rallied. The mandate, which Gov. Tom Wolf announced last week, went into effect Tuesday. It requires masks to be worn in K-12 schools.
September 7, 2021 9:33 am
A medical helicopter was called to the scene of a tanker truck crash in Mt. Pleasant Township Monday morning. Washington County 9-1-1 dispatchers say the truck ended up on its side against a utility pole at the intersection of Avella Road and Henderson Road near the BP station. The helicopter arrived on scene but had to wait for crews to shut off power in the area to allow emergency crews to remove the driver from the vehicle. There is no word on his identity or condition. He was flown to UPMC-Presbyterian Hospital in Pittsburgh. Meanwhile, the driver of another tanker truck was injured in a separate crash earlier in the morning in West Bethlehem Township. A 9-1-1 dispatcher says this crash occurred just before 5:30 a.m. along Lone Pine Road. The unidentified driver was transported to a local hospital. There were no details on his condition. The roadway was closed for some time between Dunkard Church Road and Wherry School Road. HazMat crews were called to the scene of both accidents. (Photo: WPXI)
September 7, 2021 4:25 am
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. (AP) – Crews are still fighting wind-swept flames in some parts the wildfire south of Lake Tahoe, but officials said Monday that they’re planning to prepare to repopulate parts of the resort community that remain under evacuation order. The Caldor Fire was 48% contained as of Monday evening, which was enough to allow residents of the city of South Lake Tahoe to return to their homes. Town remained quieter than usual with gas stations and grocery stores open, but ski shops and restaurants closed. Winds have been easing, allowing firefighters to make progress containing the flames, but fire officials remain concerned about winds threatening their progress.
September 7, 2021 4:24 am
(AP) – Total COVID-19 cases in the United States surpassed 40 million on Monday, fueled by a continued surge in infections attributed primarily to the unchecked spread of the delta variant of the coronavirus. By 3:21 p.m. EDT Monday, U.S. COVID-19 cases totaled 40,003,101, and the nationwide death toll totaled 648,935, according to a Johns Hopkins University tally. The latest figures mean that the most recent 1 million cases were reported within the past six days, after three consecutive seven-day cycles. During the nation’s winter peak, the U.S. averaged 1 million new cases every four days, according to Johns Hopkins data. India has recorded the second-highest nationwide cases with 33,027,621, resulting in nearly 440,752 deaths, while Brazil has confirmed 20,890,779 cases and 583,628 COVID-19 fatalities, according to the Johns Hopkins tally.
September 7, 2021 4:20 am
MANVILLE, N.J. (AP) – President Joe Biden toured storm damaged New Jersey and New York, focusing on climate change and saying he’s thinking about all the families that suffered losses. Biden on Tuesday visited areas that were badly damaged when Hurricane Ida’s remnants unleashed catastrophic flash flooding in the Northeast. He said that better rebuilding is needed to deal with future storms and cited his own $1 trillion plan, now pending in Congress. He said, in his words, “Every part of the country, every part of the country is getting hit by extreme weather,” and more is surely to come. Ida’s soggy remnants are blamed for at least 50 deaths in the region.
September 7, 2021 4:18 am
The resurgence of COVID-19 this summer and the national debate over vaccine requirements have created a fraught situation for the nation’s first responders, who are dying in larger numbers but pushing back against mandates. It’s a stark contrast from the beginning of the vaccine rollout when first responders were prioritized for shots. The mandates affect tens of thousands of police officers, firefighters and others on the front lines across the country, many of whom are spurning the vaccine. That is happening despite consequences that range from weekly testing to suspension to termination. The virus is now the leading cause of U.S. law enforcement line-of-duty deaths.
September 7, 2021 4:09 am
OAK HILL, W.Va. (AP) – Health officials say anyone who attended the Oak Leaf Festival in West Virginia should get tested for the coronavirus. Oak Hill City Manager Bill Hannabass told news outlets that the weekend festival in Oak Hill started Saturday, but most events scheduled for Sunday were canceled after some workers and volunteers tested positive for COVID-19. Fayette County health officials said in a statement on Sunday that anyone who attended Saturday’s events should consider themselves exposed and get tested. Hannabass said the city has put any future festival events on public property on hold until further notice.
September 6, 2021 4:31 am
OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says that “people are not bargaining chips” and adds that the U.S. stands with Canada in calling for the release of two Canadians detained in China for 1,000 days. In a statement issued Sunday, Blinken says that “the practice of arbitrarily detaining individuals to exercise leverage over foreign governments is completely unacceptable.” Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor were detained in China in 2018 in what critics label “hostage politics” after Canada arrested the chief financial officer of Chinese tech giant Huawei on a U.S. extradition request. The arrest of Meng Wanzhou infuriated Beijing, which sees her case as a political move designed to prevent China’s rise.
September 6, 2021 4:30 am
A Florida sheriff says a man wearing full body armor fatally shot four people, including a mother and the 3-month-old baby she was cradling, and engaged in a massive gunfight with police and deputies before getting wounded and surrendering. An 11-year-old girl who was shot seven times survived. Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said Sunday that even after 33-year-old Bryan Riley was arrested, he was so aggressive he tried to wrestle a gun from police as he lay on his hospital gurney. Judd said Riley was a former Marine who seemed to have targeted his victims at random and appeared to be suffering from mental health issues.
September 6, 2021 4:29 am
CAIRO (AP) – Libyan officials say they have released one of Muammar Gadhafi’s sons after more than seven years of detention in the capital of Tripoli. Al-Saadi Gadhafi walked free Sunday from Tripoli’s al-Hadaba prison, where many Gadhafi regime officials are being held pending trial, mostly in connection to the crackdown on the 2011 uprising that toppled the longtime ruler and led to his killing. The country’s interim prime minister announced his release early Monday, saying the move was taken to comply with a previous court order. Al-Saadi Gadhafi had been smuggled across the desert to Niger in 2011 just as his father’s regime was crumbling. He was extradited to Libya in March 2014.
