August 6, 2021 4:21 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The U.S. economy likely enjoyed a burst of job growth last month as it bounced back with surprising vigor from last year’s coronavirus shutdown. That despite an uptick in COVID-19 cases and a shortage of available workers. The Labor Department’s July jobs report Friday is expected to show that the United States added more than 860,000 jobs in July, topping June’s 850,000, according to a survey of economists by the data firm FactSet. The rollout of vaccines has encouraged businesses to reopen and consumers to return to shops, restaurants and bars they’d shunned for months after the pandemic struck.
August 6, 2021 4:19 am
Washington City Council heard nearly an hour of public comment at their meeting Thursday. Most, centered on questions raised by Dr. Andrew Goudy, President of the Washington, PA Branch of the NAACP. His frustrations are about the lack of motion in the establishment of a police review committee for the city of Washington. He is disappointed that no meetings have occurred since an ordinance to create the committee was tabled in June. Much discussion took place between Goudy and City Council and Mayor Scott Putnam. Putnam explained that the city is working with the Fraternal Order of Police and their concerns of discipline aspects of the ordinance. He also explained that there are steps to follow for ordinances that create review committees and the city needs to follow rules for a third class city and hire based on civil service rules. Councilman Joe Manning explained to Goudy that he had tried to establish scholarship programs with previous NAACP presidents to try and get local high school students to join police, fire and EMT services in the city. Manning also suggested that a review committee specific to Washington is unfairly singling out the city and wanted to know if Goudy has approached any other surrounding communities in an effort to make the review committee a county wide effort as opposed to just the city of Washington. Both Dr. Goudy and Mayor Putnam are going to schedule a meeting to keep things moving forward.
August 6, 2021 4:08 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – The University of Pittsburgh announced additional COVID-19 policies ahead of the fall semester due to rising COVID-19 cases in the area. The University announced that regardless of vaccination status, face coverings are required when indoors. If you are outdoors and not fully vaccinated, you should wear a face covering when unable to maintain physical distancing. Additionally, anyone in the University that has not provided proof of vaccination will be required to participate in regular COVID-19 testing.
August 6, 2021 4:06 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – Allegheny County officials announced changes to their vaccination, masking and other Covid-19 policies on Thursday as rates of Covid-19 transmission continue to rise. County Executive Rich Fitzgerald said beginning Aug. 9, all new hires will have to be vaccinated, and current employees who are unvaccinated will be required to wear masks and will be tested regularly for COVID-19 once protocols have been established. Executive branch county employees, including contracted employees, who have not provided proof of vaccination will be required to wear face coverings that cover the person’s mouth and nose when indoors at any county facility.
August 6, 2021 2:54 am
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – The Ohio Attorney General’s Office has rejected summary language in a petition to legalize marijuana use and sales in the state. Attorney General Dave Yost on Thursday listed seven deficiencies in the petition filed by a group called Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol. Among the technical problems Yost cited in the summary language was that it fails to inform signers of the petition about the measure’s “character and limitations.” The group wants to make it legal for adults 21 and older to buy and possess 2.5 ounces (71 grams) of marijuana and grow as many as six plants inside their homes.
August 5, 2021 5:36 pm
(AP) – The nation’s top aviation regulator is asking local officials to consider filing criminal charges more often against people who act up during airline flights. Federal Aviation Administration chief Stephen Dickson says airline crews often ask police to meet their plane when it lands because of unruly passengers. In some cases, flight attendants report being assaulted. Dickson says many of the passengers are interviewed by police and then released without any charges. He calls that a missed opportunity to hold passengers accountable for dangerous behavior.
August 5, 2021 8:55 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell last week by 14,000 to 385,000. It’s the latest evidence that the economy and the job market are rebounding briskly from the coronavirus recession. The Labor Department says unemployment claims – a proxy for layoffs – dropped from a revised 399,000 the week before. The applications have mostly fallen steadily since topping 900,000 in early January. Still, they remain high by historic levels. Before the pandemic slammed the United States in March 2020, they were coming in at around 220,000 a week.
August 5, 2021 4:14 am
(AP) – Investigators say an overloaded van carrying 29 migrants has crashed on a remote South Texas highway, killing at least 10 people, including the driver, and injuring 20 others. The crash happened shortly after 4 p.m. Wednesday on U.S. 281 in Encino, about 50 miles north of McAllen. Sgt. Nathan Brandley of the Texas Department of Public Safety says the van, designed to hold 15 passengers, was speeding when the driver lost control of the top-heavy van on a curve, slamming into a metal utility pole and a stop sign. Brooks County Sheriff Urbino Martinez said the passengers were migrants.
August 5, 2021 4:14 am
GREENVILLE, Calif. (AP) – A fast-moving wildfire has engulfed a Northern California town, leveling much of the downtown and several homes. The Dixie Fire tore through the Greenville on Wednesday evening, destroying businesses and homes as the sky was cast in an orange glow. A photographer on assignment for The Associated Press described seeing a gas station, hotel and local bar burned to the ground in the town of 800 people. The 3-week-old fire has grown to over 428 square miles across Plumas and Butte counties.
August 5, 2021 4:12 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says his Republicans will oppose raising the federal debt limit if Democrats pursue their $3.5 trillion plan to strengthen social and environment programs. The Kentucky Republican’s threat was the most explicit he’s been about his desire to force Democrats into either of two unpalatable options. They could either take the politically unpopular step of unilaterally renewing the government’s ability borrowing authority, or to pare back President Joe Biden’s domestic policy agenda. His remarks suggest a showdown between the two parties, with the government’s financial soundness in the balance, may loom.
