May 10, 2021 9:23 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Biden administration says the government will protect gay and transgender people against sex discrimination in health care., reversing a Trump-era policy. It’s the latest step by President Joe Biden to advance the rights of gay and transgender people across society, from military service, to housing, to employment opportunities. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra says LGBTQ people should have the same access to health care as everyone else. The Trump administration had defined “sex” to mean gender assigned at birth, thereby excluding transgender people from the umbrella of legal protection against sex discrimination. Both sides say litigation is likely.
May 10, 2021 5:25 am
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. (AP) – We haven’t learned what caused the death of Tawny Kitaen. The red-haired actor who appeared in movies and in rock music videos during MTV’s heyday is dead at 59. The Orange County coroner’s office says she died at her home in Newport Beach, California on Friday. No cause of death was given. Aside from her being in music videos, she played Tom Hanks’ finance in the comedy “Bachelor Party” and was Jerry Seinfeld’s girlfriend in a 1991 “Seinfeld” episode.
May 10, 2021 4:25 am
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) – A gunman opened fire at a birthday party in Colorado, slaying six adults before killing himself Sunday. Police say the shooting happened just after midnight in a mobile home park on the east side of Colorado Springs. The Colorado Springs Gazette reports officers arrived at a trailer to find six dead adults and a man with serious injuries who died later at a hospital. The suspected shooter was the boyfriend of a female victim at the party attended by friends, family and children. Children at the shooting were placed with relatives. Police have not released the identities of the shooter or victims. Authorities say a motive wasn’t immediately known.
May 10, 2021 4:23 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Top House Republican Kevin McCarthy has publicly endorsed Rep. Elise Stefanik for the post of No. 3 leader. That cements the party conference’s support of the Donald Trump loyalist over Rep. Liz Cheney. Cheney is an outspoken critic of the former president for promoting discredited claims that the 2020 election was stolen. House Republicans could vote as early as Wednesday to remove Cheney and replace her with Stefanik. Cheney is the highest-ranking woman in the Republican leadership and a daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney. Stefanik’s rise in leadership has won Trump’s backing.
May 10, 2021 4:21 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Amid growing pressure on the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, NBC said Monday that will not air the Golden Globes in 2022. In a statement, the network said it believes the press association, which is facing possible boycotts from Netflix, Warner Bros. and many Hollywood stars, said it believes the organization is committed to reform. But those changes, NBC said, need time to be done right. It is hopeful the Globes can return in 2023. The award show is annually one of the highest rated broadcasts outside the Oscars. The outcry against the Hollywood Foreign Press Association has also included strong statements from Time’s Up.
May 10, 2021 4:20 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The operator of a major U.S. pipeline hit by a cyberattack says it hopes to have service mostly restored by the end of the week. Colonial Pipeline offered that update Monday after revealing that it had halted operations because of a ransomware attack. The FBI has linked the attack to a criminal gang. The cyberattack is raising concern that supplies of gasoline, jet fuel and diesel could be disrupted in parts of the East Coast if the outage lasts several more days. The Colonial Pipeline transports gasoline and other fuel through 10 states between Texas and New Jersey, delivering roughly 45% of fuel consumed on the East Coast.
May 10, 2021 4:18 am
(WPXI) – A portion of Fort Duquesne Boulevard will close Tuesday and remain closed for five months to help boost business in the central business district, the city of Pittsburgh’s Department of Mobility and Infrastructure announced Thursday. The roadway will be turned into a pop-up park that will allow the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership to host events and activities to bring business to the area, officials said. It will be called Allegheny Overlook Pop-Up Park. Fort Duquesne Boulevard’s westbound lane will be closed from Stanwix Street to 7th Street until Oct. 7. The detour is as follows: 7th Street to Penn Avenue to Stanwix Street. During the Three Rivers Arts Festival, Fort Duquesne Boulevard is where the big stage will be set up. Yoga in the Square has also returned for a bi-weekly run through October. Plus, live entertainment will return in late June as the Saturday Night Market returns.
May 10, 2021 4:15 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania is doing away with its own map of vaccine providers and says people looking for a COVID-19 shot should go to the federal government’s provider map. The state Health Department said Friday it will use vaccines.gov as its mapping source effective immediately. That map allows people to search for COVID-19 vaccine by brand name and see which providers have vaccine in stock. Information from the site also shows up in Apple Maps and Google Maps. The map was developed by Boston Children’s Hospital, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
May 10, 2021 4:13 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Republicans wanting a stricter voter identification provisions in Pennsylvania is emerging as an early flashpoint with Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf in what GOP lawmakers cast as a top-to-bottom update of state election law. This follows a presidential contest that Donald Trump still baselessly maintains was stolen from him by fraud. Wolf’s chief of staff, Mike Brunelle, said the House Republican in charge of writing election legislation called him to discuss the matter, and told him that voter ID needs to be part of negotiations. But Brunelle says it was a short conversation because Wolf opposes changes to the voter ID law.
May 10, 2021 4:12 am
For those interested in applying for a mail-in ballot for the May 18 primary, you must do so by 5 p.m. on May 11. This is one week before the election. Acting Secretary of State Veronica W. Degraffenreid urged voters who are voting by mail to submit their application as soon as possible, to allow sufficient time for their ballot to be mailed to them and then returned to the county by 8 p.m. May 18, Election Day. “Pennsylvanians still have time to apply online for a mail ballot or to apply in person at their county election office,” Secretary Degraffenreid said. “They can also vote early in person by applying for a mail ballot at their county election office, filling it out and returning it all in the same visit until 5 p.m. May 11.” So far, more than 706,900 Pennsylvania voters have applied for a mail-in ballot and more than 47,000 voters have applied for an absentee ballot. For more information on voting in Pennsylvania call the Department of State’s toll-free hotline at 1-877-VOTESPA (1-877-868-3772) or visit votesPA.com.
