April 1, 2021 2:43 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – President Joe Biden wants $2 trillion to reengineer America’s infrastructure and expects the nation’s corporations to pay for it. The Democratic president traveled to Pittsburgh on Wednesday to unveil what will be a hard-hatted transformation of the U.S. economy. It includes $621 billion for roads, bridges and transportation infrastructure. The plan would also move the country away from fossil fuels toward cleaner energy. It would be financed by raising the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%, among other measures. That could lead to fierce resistance from the business community and thwart attempts to work with Republican lawmakers.
April 1, 2021 2:43 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration says every adult in Pennsylvania will qualify for COVID-19 vaccines starting April 19. Emergency responders, grocery workers and others will be able to set up shots immediately. Acting Health Secretary Alison Beam said Wednesday the new timeline is possible because the state’s rate of vaccinations has quickened. Starting Wednesday, vaccine appointments are being expanded to include police, corrections officers and other law enforcement; volunteer and professional firefighters; grocery employees; and food and farm workers. Next will be Phase 1C starting April 12. That group includes workers in transportation and logistics, water and wastewater, communications and media, public health, legal services, finance and construction.
March 31, 2021 8:53 am
Pfizer says its COVID-19 vaccine is safe and strongly protective in kids as young as 12. The announcement Wednesday marks a step toward possibly beginning shots in this age group before the next school year. Most COVID-19 vaccines being rolled out worldwide are for adults, who are at higher risk from the coronavirus. Pfizer’s vaccine is authorized for ages 16 and older. But vaccinating children of all ages will be critical to stopping the pandemic. In a study of 2,260 U.S. volunteers ages 12 to 15, preliminary data showed there were no cases of COVID-19 among fully vaccinated adolescents compared to 18 among those given dummy shots.
March 31, 2021 4:18 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – G. Gordon Liddy, a mastermind of the Watergate burglary and a radio talk show host after emerging from prison, has died at age 90. His son, Thomas Liddy, confirmed the death Tuesday but did not reveal the cause, other than to say it was not related to COVID-19. Liddy, a former FBI agent and Army veteran, was convicted of conspiracy, burglary and illegal wiretapping for his role in the Watergate burglary, which led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon. He spent four years and four months in prison, including more than 100 days in solitary confinement. After his release, Liddy became a popular, often provocative radio talk show host. He also worked as a security consultant, writer and actor.
March 23, 2021 2:46 am
(WPXI) – Two people were charged after police say a 7-year-old boy was found bruised and burned in Bethel Park. Twenty-four-year-old John Stone and 32-year-old Kaiyla Bowers were charged with felony aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of a child after the incident on Friday. Police and EMS responded to the home after the boy was found unresponsive. He was taken to Children’s Hospital where they found extensive bruising and burns. Following a hearing, both Stone and Bowers were denied bail. According to court documents, the couple said the burns came from bathwater that was too hot. The complaint states that it was found that the burns were caused in November or December. Police said the two admitted to failing to take the boy to the doctor because Bowers was afraid she would lose custody to the boy’s father. The document also states that neighbors told police they would hear screaming coming from their home when Stone is watching the child and Bowers is at work.
March 22, 2021 5:42 pm
Police responded Monday afternoon to an active shooter call at a Boulder, Colorado grocery store. A person on the scene, who identified to passing police officers as a member of the media, began streaming live video of the event, and tactical units can be seen at the front of the store, and a handcuffed, shirtless man was seen being walked out of the store by officers. A law enforcement source told ABC News that officers responded to a report of someone shot in the parking area of the King Soopers grocery store and when they arrived at the scene, a suspect opened fire on them. (Photo: ABC)
March 22, 2021 8:47 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – In a private Facebook group called the Pittsburgh Area Police Breakroom, many current and retired officers spent the year criticizing chiefs that took a knee or officers who marched with Black Lives Matter protesters, who they called “terrorists,” “racist” or “thugs.” Posts from the group were shared with The Associated Press, showing some of the 2,200 members –police officers, chiefs and retired law enforcement officials-made regular transphobic bullying or violent posts, and bullied members who supported anti-police brutality protesters or Joe Biden in a forum billed as a place officers can “decompress, rant, share ideas.”
March 22, 2021 7:30 am
LONDON (AP) – AstraZeneca says its COVID-19 vaccine provided strong protection against sickness and eliminated hospitalizations and deaths from the disease across all age groups in a late-stage study in the United States. AstraZeneca said Monday that its experts did not identify any safety concerns related to the vaccine, including finding no increased risk of rare blood clots identified in Europe. Although AstraZeneca’s vaccine has been authorized in more than 50 countries, it has not yet been given the green light in the U.S. It has struggled to gain public trust amid a troubled rollout. The study comprised more than 30,000 volunteers, of whom two-thirds were given the vaccine while the rest got dummy shots.
March 22, 2021 4:25 am
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) – Miami Beach officials are extending an emergency 8 p.m. curfew for at least another week. Sunday’s decision by city commissioners comes after days of intense partying, where unruly crowds gathered by the thousands on South Beach, fighting in the streets, destroying property and ignoring masks and other COVID-19 orders. Tourists are being encouraged to stay inside their hotels and pedestrians or vehicles are not allowed to enter the restricted area after 8 p.m. SWAT officers in bulletproof vests dispersed pepper spray balls to break up defiant crowds. Miami Beach Police say more than 1,000 people have been arrested this month.
March 22, 2021 4:22 am
Despite the clamor to speed up the U.S. vaccination drive against COVID-19, the first three months of the rollout suggest faster is not necessarily better. A surprising new analysis found that states such as South Carolina and Florida that raced to offer the vaccine to ever-larger groups of people have vaccinated smaller shares of their population than those that moved more slowly and methodically, such as Hawaii and Connecticut. The explanation, as experts see it: The rapid expansion of eligibility caused a surge in demand too big for some states to handle. The result was serious disarray, confusion and frustration. The analysis may hold an important lesson for states as they rush to meet President Joe Biden’s goal of making all adults eligible for vaccination by May 1.
