July 28, 2021 4:05 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – A one-time top aide to the late former U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter and a longtime lobbyist and political consultant from Philadelphia will run for U.S. Senate as an anti-Trump Republican. Craig Snyder announced his candidacy Wednesday and aimed it squarely at middle-of-the-road voters. The seat is opening up with the retirement of Republican Sen. Pat Toomey. Pennsylvania’s Republican and Democratic primaries are already crowded for what is expected to be a competitive contest in next year’s election. In his announcement video, Snyder attacks both “Trumpism” and “socialism,” and laments that centrist voters have come to see the Republican Party as “even crazier” than the ultra-left wing. (Photo:Twitter)
July 28, 2021 4:02 am
North Strabane Township Supervisors held a public hearing to weigh a proposed expansion to the Lakeview Village housing development on McDowell Lane near Canonsburg Lake. The multi-family housing development was initially approved in 2019 for 129 units divided up among 88 apartments and 41 townhomes. The plan was modified to raise the total number of housing units to 145 made up of 96 apartments and 49 townhomes. All of the proposed units would be rental units. The scope of the conditional use hearing was to make sure that the expansion abided by the conditions already approved by the supervisors. Such conditions would include unit density, parking regulations and public safety needs for the additional units. All conditions were met by developers but public comment did raise some concerns. One concern about garage size was raised. A resident of a neighboring development questioned whether garage sizes for proposed townhouses would fit some of the newer larger vehicles that are now available. Issues of increased traffic were addressed by a more recent traffic impact study. Supervisors were to consider the plan at the following legislative meeting but the item was tabled. Supervisors will weigh public comment before voting on the item at the August 24 legislative meeting.
July 28, 2021 2:34 am
PITTSBURGH — UPMC has named a new president and chief executive officer to replace Jeffrey Romoff, who announced his retirement. Leslie Davis, who most recently served as president of the Health Services Division at UPMC and has 30 years of health care experience, will succeed Romoff, effective Aug. 1. “I am honored to have the opportunity to lead UPMC and work with the board, our talented physicians and nurses and all the employees associated with our provider, insurance, international and enterprises businesses as we seek to offer residents of the communities we serve the very best health care services,” Davis said in a statement. Romoff has been with UPMC for 48 years, having led the organization since 1992. He will be named president emeritus to serve as a resource to Davis and UPMC until Oct. 1. (PHOTO; WPXI)
July 27, 2021 5:52 pm
ATHENS, Ohio (AP) – Ohio University has suspended another fraternity for violating hazing rules. The Athens-based school has notified the Delta Pi chapter of Sigma Chi that it has been suspended for four years following an investigation by the school that revealed student code of conduct violations. The fraternity accepted responsibility for providing false information to school officials or law enforcement and two hazing-related counts. The suspension comes about two weeks after the university found the Beta Chapter of Delta Tau Delta committed nine violations and was also suspended for four years. Gov. Mike DeWine recently signed a measure that put in place tougher penalties for hazing at Ohio universities and colleges starting this fall.
July 27, 2021 1:45 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) – Four officers who defended the Capitol during the Jan. 6 insurrection are giving emotional and angry accounts of the attack. They testified Tuesday that they were beaten as the mob of Donald Trump supporters overwhelmed them, broke through windows and doors and interrupted the certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s presidential win. A new House committee is launching its probe with a focus on the law enforcement officers who protected them. Officers testified with emotion that they felt they might well be killed. And they rebuked Republican lawmakers for resisting the investigation and playing down the violence of the mob.
July 27, 2021 12:32 pm
(AP) – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reversing course on some masking guidelines. The agency announced new recommendations Tuesday that even vaccinated people should return to wearing masks indoors in parts of the U.S. where the coronavirus is surging. Scientists cited new information about the ability of the delta variant to spread among vaccinated people. The CDC also recommended indoor masks for all teachers, staff, students and visitors to schools, regardless of vaccination status. The new guidance follows recent decisions in Los Angeles and St. Louis to revert to indoor mask mandates amid a spike in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations that have been especially bad in the South.
July 27, 2021 7:44 am
TOKYO (AP) – Simone Biles says she will regroup Wednesday before deciding whether to defend her Olympic title in the all-around gymnastics final on Thursday. Biles withdrew from Tuesday’s team final, after deciding following a shaky vault that she wasn’t in the right headspace to compete. Biles said later that she didn’t want to go into any of the events second-guessing herself. With Biles looking on, her teammates took the silver medal, as the Russian Olympic Committee gymnasts won the gold. The gold came a day after the ROC men’s team edged Japan for the top spot in the men’s final. (Photo: AP)
July 27, 2021 5:47 am
TOKYO (AP) – Tokyo has reported its highest number of new coronavirus infections on Tuesday, days after the Olympics began. The Japanese capital reported 2,848 new COVID-19 cases, exceeding the earlier record of 2,520 cases on Jan. 7. It brings Tokyo’s total to more than 200,000 since the pandemic began last year. Tokyo is under its fourth state of emergency, which is to continue through the Olympics until just before the Paralympics start in late August. Experts have warned that the more contagious delta variant could cause a surge during the Olympics, which started Friday.
July 27, 2021 4:15 am
PHOENIX (AP) – Two top Republicans in the Arizona Senate have issued two new subpoenas for materials from the 2020 election. Senate President Karen Fann and Judiciary Committee Chairman Warren Petersen issued the subpoenas late Monday to Maricopa County and the maker of its voting machines, Dominion Voting Systems Inc. The new subpoenas are the latest front in the Senate’s unprecedented partisan audit of the 2020 election in Arizona’s largest county. The election has been thoroughly reviewed and no problems have been found, but many supporters of former President Donald Trump believe it will turn up evidence supporting Trump’s false claims that the election was stolen from him.
July 27, 2021 4:14 am
CANTON, Ga. (AP) – A man accused of killing eight people, most of them of Asian descent, at Atlanta-area massage businesses pleaded guilty to four of the murders. He was handed four sentences of life without parole. Robert Aaron Long still faces the death penalty in the four other deaths, which are being prosecuted in a different county. His shooting spree at three different businesses in March ignited outrage and fueled fear among Asian Americans, who were already facing increased hostility at the time. In comments sure to further frustrate those outraged over Long’s apparent targeting of Asian women, a prosecutor said Tuesday that Cherokee County investigators saw no evidence of racial bias. That’s at odds with the hate crime enhancement that Long faces in the four other deaths in Atlanta.
