September 9, 2021 4:04 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – The Republican primary for Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate seat is turning personal, as real estate developer Jeff Bartos slammed rival Sean Parnell for allegations related to his contentious divorce and child custody dispute. Parnell, the Trump-endorsed candidate, accused Bartos of lying and demanded he drop out of the race. Bartos launched the attack by bringing up restraining orders sought by Parnell’s wife in 2017 and in 2018 during divorce proceedings that are still ongoing. Parnell’s campaign disputed the notion that the temporary orders – granted prior to a hearing involving both parties – were evidence of any wrongdoing. Neither lasted more than a matter of days.
September 9, 2021 4:02 am
ALLEGHENY COUNTY, Pa. — (WPXI) – With rising COVID-19 cases, especially among children younger than 12, Allegheny County officials said Wednesday they’re worried about the numbers and that events like football games could be canceled. “We continue to see an increase in cases among children, especially among children who are not old enough to get vaccinated,” said Allegheny County Health Department director Dr. Debra Bogen. At a news conference Wednesday, Bogen said there were 157 cases in children younger than 12 in July. That number skyrocketed to 773 cases in August. She said the county reported 450 new cases of COVID-19 Wednesday, with more than half of them classified as probable cases. She said cases are being tracked back to large and small gatherings, weddings, parties, concerts and youth football games.
September 9, 2021 2:17 am
(WPXI) – Pittsburgh Public Schools Superintendent Anthony Hamlet, who was found to have violated ethics codes, is resigning. The announcement was made Wednesday by the Pittsburgh Board of Public Education and Pittsburgh Public School District Solicitor Ira Weiss. Hamlet’s resignation will be effective Oct. 1st. When asked if Hamlet was pressured to resign, the board said he was not asked to leave and the decision was his own. In late August, the Pennsylvania State Ethics Commission said Hamlet violated state ethics codes related to travel expenses. That included being reimbursed for travel that had already been paid for by the school district.
September 8, 2021 1:37 pm
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) – A Florida judge has ruled the state cannot enforce its ban on mask mandates in public schools to guard against the coronavirus while an appeals court sorts out whether the ban is ultimately legal. Leon County Circuit Judge John C. Cooper lifted an automatic stay of his decision last week that Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and state education officials exceeded their authority by imposing the blanket ban through executive order and tagging defiant pro-mask local school boards with financial penalties. The case next goes before the 1st District Court of Appeal in Tallahassee. DeSantis says he is optimistic the state would prevail.
September 8, 2021 12:59 pm
NEW YORK (AP) – The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will return to New York City’s streets this year with COVID-19 protocols including a vaccination requirement for parade volunteers. Macy’s says the Nov. 25 parade will be broadcast on NBC and will feature the traditional giant balloons, celebrity performers, clowns and marching bands. Macy’s presented a curtailed version of the parade last year with balloons and performers confined to an area near the retailer’s flagship Manhattan store. Marching bands that had been slated to join the 2020 parade will be participating this year instead. Parade staff members and volunteers will have to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination.
September 8, 2021 4:16 am
MIAMI (AP) – Tropical Storm Mindy has formed in the northeast Gulf of Mexico, prompting forecasters to issue a tropical storm warning for part of the Florida Panhandle. Mindy could cause as much as 6 inches of rainfall across the Florida Panhandle and portions of southern Georgia and South Carolina through Thursday morning. The tropical storm warning is in effect from Mexico Beach, Florida, to the Steinhatchee River to the east. The storm on Wednesday evening was about 90 miles west-southwest of Apalachicola, Florida, and moving northeast at 21 mph with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph.
September 8, 2021 4:13 am
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – North Carolina health officials on Tuesday released a report showing 170 ongoing COVID-19 clusters in K-12 schools or child care settings. While the state Department of Health and Human Services said it does not have data on the number of pupils quarantined statewide or the share of those forced to miss school without a remote learning option, districts without mask-wearing requirements are seeing substantially more spread of the virus and hours of lost learning among students. Union County Public Schools, which voted down a proposal last month to require mask wearing in the state’s sixth-largest public school district, reported about one in 8 of the more than 41,000 students in the district were under quarantine, as of Friday.
September 8, 2021 4:11 am
HOUMA, La. (AP) – Officials have raised the death toll from Hurricane Ida in Louisiana to 26. The additional 11 deaths all occurred in the city of New Orleans. The state Health Department said Wednesday that the deaths happened between Aug. 30 and Monday, but were just confirmed as storm-related by the Orleans Parish coroner. Nine of the deaths were from excessive heat. The remaining two deaths involved carbon monoxide poisoning. The health department says the heat-related deaths involved people ages 64 to 79.
September 8, 2021 4:07 am
NEW YORK (AP) – There will be something missing at two Whole Foods stores opening next year: the rows of cashiers. Amazon, which owns the grocery chain, said Wednesday that it will bring its cashier-less technology to two Whole Foods stores for the first time, letting shoppers grab what they need and leave without having to open their wallets. Cameras and sensors track what’s taken off shelves. Items are charged to an Amazon account after customers leave the store with them. But there will be an option for those who want to shop the old-fashioned way: Self-checkout lanes will be available that take cash, gift cards and other types of payment. One of the new stores will be in Washington, D.C., the other in Sherman Oaks, California.
September 8, 2021 4:05 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania’s highway agency wants to prevent a major heavy equipment contractor from doing state work for up to three years because it pleaded no contest to theft after being accused of illegally diverting money and other benefits from its workers. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation on Friday asked an administrative hearing officer to sanction Glenn O. Hawbaker Inc. of State College. Hawbaker pleaded no contest last month and is on probation for five years. It also is paying more than $20 million in restitution to some 1,200 victims. Hawbaker says it will vigorously defend the company and workers and is vowing to do everything it can to fight the proposed sanction.
