March 25, 2021 4:18 am
AstraZeneca insisted Wednesday that its COVID-19 vaccine is strongly effective even after counting additional illnesses in its disputed U.S. study, the latest in an extraordinary public rift with American officials. In a late-night press release, AstraZeneca said it had recalculated data from that study and concluded the vaccine is 76% effective in preventing symptomatic COVID-19, instead of the 79% it had claimed earlier in the week. Just a day earlier, an independent panel that oversees the study had accused AstraZeneca of cherry-picking data to tout the protection offered by its vaccine. The panel, in a harsh letter to the company and to U.S. health leaders, said the company had left out some COVID-19 cases that occurred in the study, a move that could erode trust in the science.
May 27, 2020 4:00 am
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) – Tropical Storm Bertha surprised the South Carolina coast, forming and making landfall within two hours, bringing a poor beach day of rain and gusty winds, but no major problems. Forecasters expected the bad weather Wednesday, but didn’t predict it to organize so quickly and become the second named storm before the official start of this year’s Atlantic hurricane season. Bertha was named around 8 a.m. Wednesday, was onshore east of Charleston by 9:30 a.m. and downgraded to a tropical depression by 2 p.m. Like almost all storms with heavy rain, several streets flooded in Charleston, leaving ankle to calf high brown water mixed with trash from knocked over cans Wednesday.
August 7, 2019 12:40 pm
WEST MIFFLIN, Pa. (AP) – A western Pennsylvania amusement park says its newest and biggest attraction will remain closed with no timetable for opening. Kennywood Park near Pittsburgh says crews “are continuing work on some adjustments” to the Steel Curtain, which has been closed since Saturday. The 4,000-foot-long coaster contains nine inversions, which park officials say is the most in North America, and the world’s tallest inversion at 197 feet. The park said on its Facebook site that maintenance crews are working with designer S&S Worldwide but can’t say when the Steel Curtain will reopen. When it does, the park says “stoppages and periodic closures” will remain possible due to the “newness, complexity and record-breaking nature” of the ride. The park is located in West Mifflin, about 10 miles (16 kilometers) southeast of downtown Pittsburgh.
September 19, 2024 2:52 am
Two people were injured in a crash Wednesday night involving a City of Washington police cruiser and an SUV. Authorities say that just before eleven o’clock, police were called to a stabbing in the 1200 block of Summerlea Avenue. As they were responding, one of the officers was involved in a crash at the intersection of Jefferson and Hall avenues in front of Washington Junior/Senior High School. State Police said the police cruiser was going through the intersection along Jefferson Avenue with its emergency lights activated when it was hit by the SUV coming from Hall Avenue. The woman driving the car was ejected during the crash. She was flown to UPMC Presbyterian Hospital in Pittsburgh, while the officer was taken by ambulance to the same hospital. Washington Mayor JoJo Burgess tells WJPA that the officer has since been released. State Police say their investigation is ongoing. No identities have been released.
November 21, 2023 4:54 am
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli troops are battling Palestinian militants in a dense, urban refugee camp near Gaza City as they expand operations across the north. Residents have been without electricity, water or access to humanitarian aid for weeks. The front line has shifted to the Jabaliya camp, a dense warren of concrete buildings near Gaza City that houses refugees from the 1948 war surrounding Israel’s creation and their descendants. The war sparked by Hamas’ surprise Oct. 7 attack into Israel has exacted a heavy toll on Palestinian civilians, particularly those who remain in the north after Israel repeatedly called on people to flee south.
December 31, 2022 4:04 am
WASHINGTON, Pa. — (WPXI) – Washington police say they were in the right place at the right time on Christmas morning when they saw a woman breaking into a home. A 911 call from from a home on Broad Street early Christmas morning said a woman held another woman at knifepoint and robbed her. Washington city police have arrested Brittany Molinaro. According to court documents, the victim heard a knock at the door and asked who was there. Court documents say Molinaro identified herself as “Sherri.” When the victim opened the door, police said Molinaro pushed past her, straight into the home and into the kitchen where she grabbed a knife. The victim said Molinaro stood over top of her with the knife, threatening to hurt her if she didn’t hand over her purse. Investigators say a man inside of the home witnessed the whole incident and did not intervene. Police arrested Molinaro just a few blocks away from the scene after spotting her walking. She is in the Washington county jail and faces burglary, robbery and terroristic threats charges. She will be in court in January.
February 17, 2022 4:20 am
The leader of the Federal Aviation Administration, Stephen Dickson, says he will resign at the end of March. Dickson said Wednesday that he wants to spend more time with his family. Dickson took over at the FAA in August 2019, when the agency was already under fire for what critics consider ineffective oversight of airplane maker Boeing. The FAA approved the Boeing 737 Max and didn’t ground the plane until it suffered two deadly crashes. Both happened before Dickson became administrator. More recently, the FAA has been swept up in a controversy over whether new high-speed wireless service causes radio interference with planes.
March 25, 2021 4:17 am
ISMAILIA, Egypt (AP) – At least 150 vessels are waiting to use the Suez Canal after a skyscraper-sized cargo ship wedged across the vital waterway. That’s according to canal service provider Leth Agencies. It says the backup Thursday affected ships both needing to travel into the Mediterranean and the Red Seas. The Ever Given, a Panama-flagged ship that carries cargo between Asia and Europe, ran aground Tuesday in the narrow, man-made canal dividing continental Africa from the Sinai Peninsula. It remains unclear when the obstruction will be cleared. That’s further imperiled global shipping, which relies on the canal.
May 27, 2020 3:57 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Police and state regulators are cracking down on a handful of Pennsylvania businesses that are supposed to remain shut down but have instead thrown open their doors. The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture has suspended the operating licenses of two York County diners that resumed dine-in service earlier this month. Two gyms in eastern Pennsylvania have also reopened, with state police already citing one and local police threatening to cite the other. áThe Pennsylvania Department of Health, meanwhile, is reporting 13 additional deaths linked to COVID-19, raising the statewide total to 5,152. State health officials also reported that 451 more people have tested positive for the new coronavirus.
August 7, 2019 12:30 pm
CYBERSPACE (AP) – Walgreens is looking to cut costs. And to do so, it’s cutting the number of stores it operates in the U.S. The company says it is shuttering 200 stores – a move it says will reduce costs by $1.5 billion over the next few years. Previously, Walgreens announced plans to close 200 stores in the U.K. In all, Walgreens operates more than 18,000 stores worldwide – but has also been struggling because of a decrease in revenue.
