August 1, 2021 8:01 am
WILKINSBURG, Pa. — The Allegheny County Police Department’s General Investigations Unit responded to a shooting in Wilkinsburg. At approximately 10.16 p.m., Allegheny County 911 was notified of a shooting in the 1900 block of McNary Blvd. First responders found two men with gunshot wounds, both non-life-threatening. The victims were taken to local hospitals. Allegheny County Police Department detectives are initiating the investigation. Anyone with information is asked to call the County Police Tip Line 1-833-ALL-TIPS. Callers can remain anonymous.
August 1, 2021 7:59 am
HEMPFIELD TWP., PA — A Jeannette couple died in a single-vehicle collision Saturday night in Westmoreland County. According to coroner Kenneth Bacha, 61-year-old Walter Gardner was the operator of a 2001 Ford F-150 traveling north on Agnew Road. Catherine Gardner, 58, was riding as the lone passenger when the vehicle left the roadway for an unknown reason just before 6:00 p.m. The truck traveled down an embankment into a wooded area, rolled over, and came to rest upright in a small creek according to reports. The couple both died of blunt force trauma of the head and torso and were pronounced dead just after 6:30 p.m. Both victims were not wearing seatbelts at the time of the crash, and cellphones do not believe to be a factor. The air bags did deploy during the crash. Pennsylvania State Police Greensburg also investigated on scene.
August 1, 2021 7:50 am
MORGAN TWP., PA. — A Jefferson woman is dead following a motor vehicle accident in Greene County Friday night. According to Coroner Gene Rush, 37-year old Christin Whateley was the lone victim in an accident on State Route 188 in Morgan Township just before 11:00 p.m. The cause and manner of Whateley’s death are still pending investigation.
August 1, 2021 4:23 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania’s Department of Health will carry out a text messaging campaign to encourage roughly 254,000 people in the state to follow through and get the second shot of the two-shot COVID-19 vaccine that they never received. Officials said Thursday that the campaign will begin early next week as the resurgent coronavirus in the form of the highly contagious delta variant is skyrocketing cases in Pennsylvania. The state’s acting health secretary, Alison Beam, said the second dose will provide stronger protection against the delta variant. She said it’s not too late to get it, and it’s not necessary to start over with the first shot.
July 31, 2021 9:30 am
UNITED NATIONS (AP) – Two U.N. agencies are warning that hunger is expected to rise in 23 global hotspots in the next three months with the highest alerts for “catastrophic” situations in Ethiopia’s embattled Tigray region, southern Madagascar, Yemen, South Sudan and northern Nigeria. The Food and Agriculture Organization and World Food Program said in Friday’s report that between August and November “acute food insecurity is likely to further deteriorate” especially in Ethiopia where the number of people facing starvation and death is expected to rise to 401,000 — the highest number since the 2011 áSomalia famine — if aid isn’t provided quickly.
July 31, 2021 9:28 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Russian hackers behind the massive SolarWinds cyberespionage campaign broke into the email accounts of some of the most prominent federal prosecutors’ offices around the country last year. The Justice Department made the announcement Friday. The department says 80% of Microsoft email accounts used by employees in the four U.S. attorney offices in New York were breached. All told, the Justice Department says 27 U.S. Attorney offices had at least one employee’s email account compromised during the hacking campaign. The Justice Department says it believes the accounts were compromised from May 7 to December 27, 2020.
July 31, 2021 9:24 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Senators are returning to the Capitol for a rare Saturday session as they try to make further progress on a roughly $1 trillion infrastructure plan. A bipartisan group of senators helped it clear one more hurdle Friday and braced to see if support can hold during the next few days of debate and efforts to amend it. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the chamber should be able to process the legislation quickly given the bipartisan support. But as Friday evening came around, the full text of what promises to be a massive bill was not finished by the time lawmakers adjourned.
July 31, 2021 9:21 am
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – The federal government has sued Kaiser Permanente, alleging the health care giant committed Medicare fraud and pressured doctors to list incorrect diagnoses on medical records in order to receive higher reimbursements. The Department of Justice lawsuit was filed Thursday in San Francisco federal court. It consolidates allegations made in six whistleblower complaints. Oakland, California-based Kaiser told the Sacramento Bee that its practices are good-faith interpretations from guidance received from the agency that oversees Medicare. A lawyer for one whistleblower says if Kaiser loses, it might have to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in penalties and damages.
July 31, 2021 9:18 am
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) – Florida’s coronavirus cases jumped 50% this week, continuing a six-week surge that has seen it responsible for 1 in 5 new infections nationally, becoming the outbreak’s epicenter. Friday’s report by the Health Department came shortly after Gov. Ron DeSantis barred school districts from requiring students to wear masks when classes resume next month. He says there is no evidence they prevent outbreaks among students or staff. More than 110,000 new coronavirus cases were reported statewide over the past week, up from 73,000 last week and 11 times the 10,000 that were reported the week of June 11, six weeks ago. Case numbers are now back to where they in January, just before vaccinations became widely available.
July 31, 2021 9:14 am
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) – U.S. Navy explosive experts believe a “drone strike” targeted an oil tanker that came under attack off the coast of Oman in the Arabian Sea, killing two on board. That’s according to a statement Saturday from the U.S. Navy’s Mideast-based 5th Fleet. The 5th Fleet added that the American nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan and the guided missile destroyer USS Mitscher now are escorting the Mercer Street as it heads to a safe port. While no one has claimed responsibility for the attack, Israeli officials alleged Tehran launched the drone strike. Iran has not directly discussed the attack yet, though tensions remain high over its tattered nuclear deal.
