May 5, 2021 4:16 am
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Former President Donald Trump won’t return to Facebook. The social network’s quasi-independent Oversight Board has voted to permanently ban his account after it was suspended four months ago for inciting violence that led to the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol riot. But the board said Facebook must reassess the penalty because it imposed it “indefinitely.” Trump has also been permanently banned from Twitter.
May 5, 2021 4:14 am
NEW YORK (AP) – The U.S. birth rate fell 4% last year – the largest single-year decrease in nearly 50 years. That’s according to a government report being released Wednesday. The rate dropped for moms of every major race and ethnicity, and in nearly age group. It fell to the lowest point since federal health officials started tracking it more than a century ago. Experts say the pandemic no doubt contributed to last year’s big decline. Anxiety about COVID-19 and its impact on the economy likely caused many couples to delay children. But many of the 2020 pregnancies began well before the U.S. epidemic.
May 5, 2021 4:10 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Mark Nordenberg, the former chancellor of the University of Pittsburgh, is the state high court’s appointee and the tie-breaking fifth member of the panel that will redraw boundaries of Pennsylvania’s legislative districts. The state Supreme Court delivered the news Monday. Nordenberg, who also was Pitt’s law school dean, now chair’s the university’s Institute of Politics. For the past three decades at least, the state Supreme Court has appointed the panel’s fifth member after the four members – two Democratic lawmakers and two Republican lawmakers – could not agree on a fifth member. The state Supreme Court has a 5-2 Democratic majority, with four Democrats hailing from the Pittsburgh area.
May 5, 2021 4:08 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration is solidifying its intention to begin imposing a price on greenhouse gas emissions from power plants next year, over the protests of coal- and gas-region lawmakers and elements of the energy industry. Wolf’s administration issued a final rule for the regulatory plan Tuesday with the same timeline and same goals for reductions in carbon dioxide. The rule must still go through two state regulatory boards. Wolf, a Democrat, in 2019 ordered his administration to start drafting regulations for the plan. If Wolf is successful, Pennsylvania would become the first major fossil fuel state to adopt a carbon pricing policy.
May 5, 2021 3:50 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Teams of experts are projecting that COVID-19’s toll on the U.S. will wane dramatically by the end of July. That’s according to research released by the government Wednesday. But they also warn a “substantial increase” in hospitalizations and deaths is possible if unvaccinated people do not follow basic public health guidelines such as wearing a mask and social distancing. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention paper included projections from six different research groups.
May 5, 2021 3:19 am
Gov. Tom Wolf announced Tuesday that his office would be lifting the COVID-19 mitigation orders, except the masking order, on Memorial Day. According to a news release, Wolf said the current order requiring state residents to wear a mask will be lifted once 70% of Pennsylvanians age 18 and older were fully vaccinated. Right now, masks are required to be worn indoors and outdoors when away from your home. Requirements such as testing and reporting new cases will remain in place for hospitals and long-term care facilities. Maintaining requirements for hospitals and long-term care facilities will allow Pennsylvania to continue to closely monitor COVID-19 spread while lifting other restrictions. The Department of Health recommends that Pennsylvanians refer to CDC guidance and recommendations regarding ongoing COVID-19 safety measures and procedures. These updates will not prevent municipalities and school districts from continuing and implementing stricter mitigation efforts.
May 4, 2021 5:51 pm
DOYLESTOWN, Pa. (AP) – Two suburban Philadelphia women are facing misdemeanor voter fraud charges after authorities allege they completed mail-in ballots for the November 2020 election by signing the names of their deceased mothers. Bucks County prosecutors say 56-year-old Danielle Dooner of Buckingham Township and 51-year-old Melissa Ann Fisher of Quakertown were both charged by summons with third-degree misdemeanor violations of provisions relating to absentee and mail-in ballots. Prosecutors cited handwriting analysis in alleging they signed declarations and other documents for the ballots of their mothers, both of whom died in September. Neither ballot was counted or opened. Court documents don’t list attorneys representing the defendants.
May 4, 2021 12:52 pm
DETROIT (AP) – Hyundai is recalling over 390,000 vehicles in the U.S. and Canada for problems that can cause engine fires. In one recall, owners are being told to park outdoors until repairs are made. That recall covers more than 203,000 Santa Fe Sport SUVs from 2013 through 2015. Some are being recalled a second time. Brake fluid can leak into a brake computer, causing an electrical short that can lead to fires.
May 4, 2021 4:16 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is expected to authorize Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for kids ages 12 to 15 by next week, setting up shots for many before the beginning of the next school year. That’s according to a federal official and a person familiar with the process. The FDA action would be followed by a meeting of a federal vaccine advisory committee to discuss whether to recommend the shot for 12- to 15-year-olds. Then the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would act on the committee’s recommendation. Those steps could be completed in a matter of days.
May 4, 2021 4:14 am
NEW DELHI (AP) – A top expert is warning that the coming weeks in India will be “horrible,” as COVID-19 infections and deaths mount with alarming speed and there is no end in sight to the crisis. The country of nearly 1.4 billion has witnessed scenes of people dying outside overwhelmed hospitals and funeral pyres lighting up the night sky. India’s official count of coronavirus cases surpassed 20 million, nearly doubling in the past three months, while deaths officially exceed 220,000. But the true figures are believed to be far higher, the undercount an apparent symptom of the troubles in the health care system.
