A “Pandemic Of The Unvaccinated”

July 16, 2021 12:43 pm

UNDATED (AP) – The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the COVID-19 outbreak in the U.S. is becoming “a pandemic of the unvaccinated.” Dr. Rochelle Walensky says cases in the U.S. are up about 70% over the last week, hospital admissions are up 36% and deaths rose by 26%. Nearly all hospital admissions and deaths, she says, are among the unvaccinated. White House COVID-19 coordinator Jeff Zients says the Biden administration expects cases to increase in the weeks ahead because of spread in communities with low vaccination rates. Four states accounted for 40% of new cases last week. But Zients says there are signs that increased cases are driving more people in those communities to seek vaccination at rates faster than the national average.

I-70 East Open After Accident In West Alexander

July 16, 2021 9:12 am

WEST ALEXANDER, Pa. — All eastbound lanes of Interstate 70 near the state line were closed due to a multi-vehicle rollover accident Friday morning. The incident occurred after 8:30 a.m. between the West Alexander exit and the ramp to the Welcome Center around mile marker 3. Reports say a disabled tractor trailer was hit by a passing pickup truck causing the closure. The driver of the pickup truck was reportedly transported to Washington Hospital. There is no word on the injury or condition. The road finally reopened for travel around 10:00 a.m.

Verdict Returned In Newspaper Shooting

July 16, 2021 3:27 am

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) – More than three years after the shooting attack on the Capital Gazette newspaper that left five dead, survivors and family members of victims embraced in relief and applauded the jury for quickly rejecting the gunman’s plea of not criminally responsible by reason of insanity. After a trial with graphic surveillance footage showing the rampage, widow Andrea Chamblee spoke Thursday of the many friends and relatives who experienced great pain and loss. The gunman, Jarrod Ramos, now faces five life terms in prison instead of being sent to a maximum-security mental health facility, where he could have potentially been released one day.

Vaccinated Americans Welcomed Back To Canada In August

July 16, 2021 3:26 am

TORONTO (AP) – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada could start allowing fully vaccinated Americans into Canada as of mid-August for non-essential travel and should be in a position to welcome fully vaccinated travelers from all countries by early September. Trudeau spoke with leaders of Canada’s provinces on Thursday and his office released a readout of the call. He noted that if Canada’s current positive path of vaccination rate and public health conditions continue the border can open. The border has been closed to non essential travel since the early months of the pandemic.

Mask Mandate Back On In Los Angeles

July 16, 2021 3:25 am

LOS ANGELES (AP) – Los Angeles County will again require masks indoors even when people are vaccinated. Also Thursday, the University of California system announced that it will require coronavirus vaccinations for students, faculty and staff to return to campuses. The moves are prompted by a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases, many of them the highly transmissible delta variant. The public health officer of the nation’s largest county said the mask requirement will go into effect just before midnight Saturday. He says Los Angeles County has been recording more than 1,000 new cases each day for a week and there’s now “substantial community transmission.”

Two Charged With Plotting To Blow Up Democratic HQ

July 16, 2021 3:24 am

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – Federal prosecutors say two California men have been charged with plotting to blow up the Democratic Party’s headquarters in the state capital. Authorities say the men hoped the bombing would be the first in a series of politically-motivated attacks. Officials say the pair used multiple messaging apps to plan to attack targets they associated with Democrats after the November 2020 presidential election. Their first intended target was the John L. Burton Democratic Headquarters in Sacramento. One of the men is accused of reaching out to an anti-government militia group to gather support for their movement.

Major Oregon Wildfires Prompt Evacuations

July 16, 2021 3:23 am

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Firefighters are scrambling to control an inferno in southeastern Oregon that’s spreading up to 4 miles a day in windy conditions as wildfires across the U.S. West strain firefighting resources. Authorities expanded evacuations late Thursday along the eastern edge of the Bootleg Fire, currently the largest in the U.S., and worry it could merge with another blaze. Dozens more fires were burning in 12 states. Among those was a new one near Paradise, California, the site of the deadliest wildfire in U.S. history. That fire was posing little risk so far but survivors of the 2018 blaze were worried.

 

Over 90 Dead After Devastating Floods In Germany

July 16, 2021 3:22 am

BERLIN (AP) – The death toll from devastating floods across parts of western Germany and Belgium rose above 90 on Friday, as the search continued for hundreds of people still unaccounted for. Authorities in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate said 50 people had died there. Nine of those killed were residents of an assisted living facility for people with disabilities. In neighboring North Rhine-Westphalia state officials put the death toll at 30, but warned that the figure could rise further. Belgian broadcaster RTBF reported at least 12 dead in the country. The flash floods this week followed days of heavy rainfall which turned streams and streets into raging torrents that swept away cars and caused houses to collapse across the region.

Weirton Man Accused Of Shooting Turns Himself In

July 16, 2021 3:20 am

CANONSBURG — A West Virginia man has turned himself in about a week after he was charged for a Canonsburg shooting. Reports say Reginald Edward Quick, 48, of Weirton, went to the Sheriffs office to turn himself in, and District Judge James Saieva sent Quick to the County Jail on a $250,000 bond. He was accused of shooting his ex-girlfriend on July 7 at her residence on Ridge Avenue. Quick also was charged with aggravated assault, attempted strangulation, reckless endangerment, burglary and simple assault. He is awaiting a preliminary hearing in mid August with Saieva.

Diocese of Pittsburgh Reinstates Obligation To Attend Mass

July 16, 2021 3:15 am

PITTSBURGH — The Diocese of Pittsburgh has announced the obligation to attend weekly mass is about to be reinstated for Catholics in the area. Bishop David Zubik made the announcement Thursday and says the obligation for Sundays as well as Holy Days will be put in place August 15 with the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Zubik says since the public health restrictions from the COVID-19 pandemic have been restricted, more people are making it back to services. The diocese is still encouraging those who are not physically able to make it to mass to utilize the live streaming services offered by many of the parishes across the area. The church also says if you are ill to stay home until you are healthy again.