September 7, 2019 9:10 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – A federal agency is reversing course on the question of whether President Donald Trump tweeted stale information about Hurricane Dorian potentially hitting Alabama.
On Sunday, Trump warned that Alabama, along with the Carolinas and Georgia, was “most likely to be hit (much) harder than anticipated.” The National Weather Service in Birmingham tweeted in response that “Alabama will NOT see any impacts from #Dorian.” But the president has been adamant he was correct. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has now issued a statement saying information provided to Trump through Monday demonstrated that “tropical-storm-force winds from Hurricane Dorian could impact Alabama.” The NOAA statement also says the National Weather Service tweet “spoke in absolute terms that were inconsistent with probabilities from the best forecast products available at the time.”
September 7, 2019 9:08 am
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) – The United Nations’ nuclear watchdog says it has inspectors on the ground in Iran who will be able to look into reports that Tehran began injecting uranium gas into advanced centrifuges in violation of its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. The International Atomic Energy Agency told The Associated Press Saturday it was aware of the reports “related to Iran’s centrifuge research and development.” The Vienna-based IAEA says “agency inspectors are on the ground in Iran and they will report any relevant activities to IAEA headquarters.” Meantime, IAEA Acting Director General Cornel Feruta was traveling Saturday to Iran. The agency said he will meet Sunday with high-ranking officials in Tehran as part of what it said were its “ongoing interactions” related to its monitoring under the nuclear deal. The IAEA, which issues compliance reports, meets in Vienna on Monday.
September 7, 2019 8:56 am
PITTSBURGH, Pa. (WPXI) — Pittsburgh and fans of the late rapper Mac Miller are paying tribute to him, following his death last September. This Saturday marks the first anniversary of his death, and fans have remembered him with a vigil on Friday at Blue Slide Park, the place that inspired his album in 2011. The Celebration of Mac Miller event started at 6 p.m., and hundreds of people were in attendance. Fans of Miller said they want to celebrate his music and the good he did for Pittsburgh, including investing in youth programs and safe playgrounds. The celebration of life comes just two days after federal prosecutors announced an arrest in connection with Miller’s death. Prosecutors charged Cameron Pettit, alleging he sold counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl to Miller.
September 7, 2019 8:53 am
PITTSBURGH, Pa. (WPXI)- A new government report released Thursday says the train derailment near Station Square last August could have been prevented. The Federal Railroad Administration released an accident investigation report on the incident. An issue with one of Norfolk Southern’s rail lines led to train cars crashing over the hillside above Carson Street, with several of them falling onto Port Authority light rail tracks. The report said that issue along the line was picked up in camera images during a test in July 2018 conducted by Sperry Rail Services. The report notes that the Sperry inspector made a “serious oversight” because there were “multiple opportunities to recognize a potential defect and follow up with a ground inspection,” which would have included a check by hand. The report also cleared the crew members of any wrong-doing. It also noted that the emergency brake acted correctly and stopped the train after several cars had derailed, indicating to the crew that there was a problem.
September 7, 2019 4:22 am
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (AP) – The 34 people who died in a diving boat fire off Southern California are being remembered by those who shared their love of the sea. Hundreds turned out Friday evening for a vigil at a Santa Barbara park. Clergy offered words of solace, musicians offered harp music and a rendition of “Amazing Grace” and a diving instructor said a common love of diving “bonds us together for eternity.” Only five crew members survived Monday’s sinking of the Conception off Santa Cruz Island. Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown says it appears the victims died from smoke inhalation as they slept in a bunkroom below deck. Divers have recovered all but one body. The Coast Guard says safety concerns over gusty winds halted efforts to salvage the boat Friday.
September 7, 2019 4:21 am
WILMINGTON, N.C. (AP) – Hurricane Dorian is producing tropical storm-force winds in southeastern Massachusetts as it speeds toward eastern Canada. The Category 1 storm was around 170 miles southeast of Nantucket, Massachusetts, early Saturday, and around 490 miles southwest of Halifax, Nova Scotia. Top sustained winds remain at 90 mph with higher gusts. While some weakening is forecast, Dorian is expected to bring hurricane conditions to portions of Nova Scotia later Saturday before becoming a powerful post-tropical cyclone. The storm is moving northeast near 25 mph and some increase in forward speed is expected through Sunday. The tropical-storm conditions affecting parts of Massachusetts are expected to spread into Maine by Saturday afternoon.
September 7, 2019 4:18 am
PITTSBURGH, Pa. (WPXI) – A 700-day closure of a northbound Interstate 579 ramp began Friday as part of the $29.34 million I-579 “Cap” Urban Connector project, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation announced. The closure of the ramp that takes drivers from northbound I-579 to 7th Avenue in Pittsburgh is scheduled started just after 8 p.m. For 700 consecutive days, the ramp PennDOT officials said is used by 2,250 vehicles each day will remain closed. It is expected to reopen Aug. 6, 2021. Crews have placed concrete barriers at the ramp, and southbound I-579 is being shifted into two 11-foot-wide lanes. Line painting will take place through Saturday morning. A detour has been posted for drivers in the area.
September 6, 2019 4:28 pm
WHEELING, W.Va. (AP) – Officials in a West Virginia town say they’ve faced difficulties finding a buyer for a medical center that shut down its main services about a month earlier than expected. The Intelligencer reports the Ohio Valley Medical Center suspended its emergency medical services Wednesday ahead of the originally slated Oct. 7 deadline. Mayor Glenn Elliott said Thursday that finding a buyer has been an “uphill battle” and that officials are preparing “for the worst.” Proposed uses have included a veteran’s health clinic, a corporate campus or a public safety building. Last month, Alecto Healthcare Services announced closures of Ohio Valley as well as East Ohio Regional Hospital in Martins Ferry, Ohio. More than 1,000 jobs will be lost , though Elliott said Wheeling is trying to find jobs for displaced employees.
September 6, 2019 4:23 pm
NEW YORK (AP) – U.S. health officials are again urging people to stop vaping until they figure out why some are coming down with serious breathing illnesses. Officials on Friday said they had identified 450 possible illnesses, including at least three deaths, in 33 states. The count includes a newly reported death in Indiana. Health officials say no single vaping device, liquid or ingredient has been tied to all the illnesses. Many of the sickened – but not all – were people who had been vaping THC, the chemical that gives marijuana its high. A week ago, U.S. officials pegged the number at 215 possible cases in 25 states. Health officials have only been counting certain lung illnesses in which the person had vaped within three months. Most are teens.
September 6, 2019 10:21 am
EYEMOUTH, Scotland (AP) – In their drive to uncouple Britain from the European Union, pro-Brexit campaigners have turned fishing into one of their battlegrounds. But while some seafood industry workers want out of the EU, others are alarmed at the prospect of losing frictionless access to EU consumers. Seafood harvested from Scottish waters must be whisked quickly to EU markets to stay fresh, but Brexit could create problems. A holdup on the long, usually obstacle-free journey, even of just half a day, can be fatal for the fragile critters, turning prized seafood into worthless waste. On Friday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson visited a fish market in Scotland to meet with people in the industry after bruising week in Parliament where he is struggling to keep his Brexit plans on track.
