News Of Western Pennsylvania And The World
Gov. Tom Wolf on Wednesday said the state will give the Johnson & Johnson single-dose COVID-19 vaccine to PreK-12 teachers and other school staff, an announcement that comes as Pittsburgh Public Schools employees are expected to return to their buildings this month for the first time in a year.
Source: Gov. Wolf says Pa. will vaccinate teachers, staff with J&J shot | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Pittsburgh City Council moved forward Tuesday with a temporary ban on evictions during the emergency created by the coronavirus pandemic.
The legislation, spearheaded by Councilwoman Deb Gross, with support from Mayor Bill Peduto’s administration, and several city activists, was unanimously approved, but only after extensive discussion among council members. They debated whether the law can be enforced.
“The administration agrees that protecting vulnerable tenants during the pandemic is vitally important and will continue to work with Council — as well as county, state, and federal partners — to protect residents from eviction proceedings,” Peduto spokesman Tim McNulty said.
Source: Eviction ban passed by Pittsburgh City Council | TribLIVE.com
Arizona is recommending teachers promote ‘equity’ and social justice through an ‘antiracist’ agenda that sees racism in toddlers and recommends progressive and Black Lives Matter materials as the cure.
An ‘equity and diversity’ toolkit for teachers, parents, and administrators posted by the Arizona Department of Education fully embraces the belief in “persistent racial biases in our society,” going so far as to demand of parents that they instill “antiracist attitudes and actions” from birth so their children don’t “absorb bias” from the world.
Researcher Chris Rufo posted a series of screenshots of the materials from the toolkit on Tuesday. He points out that some of the materials claim that babies show the first signs of racism at three months old, or that white children “remain strongly biased in favor of whiteness” by age five.
While daily new cases of Covid-19 are significantly down from the peak in early January, the decline has plateaued in recent days at a worryingly high level.
- Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves, both Republicans, announced Tuesday they would allow businesses to reopen at 100% capacity and lift mask mandates.
- President Joe Biden on Wednesday called the decisions a “big mistake.”
- “The last thing, the last thing we need is Neanderthal thinking, that, ‘In the meantime, everything’s fine. Take off your mask. Forget it.’ It still matters,” Biden said.
Source: Biden slams governors for lifting mask mandates, calls it ‘Neanderthal thinking’
The threat comes two months after the deadly Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol by supporters of Donald Trump who believed the election was stolen from him.
Source: House cancels Thursday session over ‘possible plot’ to breach Capitol
Bill Gates says nuclear power will “absolutely” be politically palatable again. It’s safer than oil, coal, and natural gas and technology is improving.
Nuclear energy will “absolutely” be politically palatable, billionaire philanthropist, technologist and climate change evangelist Bill Gates recently told Andrew Ross Sorkin on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
Nuclear power has to overcome a baneful reputation garnered by association with the atomic bomb and radioactive disasters, but it’s a necessary, worthy and surmountable challenge to correct the naysayers, according to Gates.
That’s because the need for clean energy is dire, and the operation of nuclear power plants produces no greenhouse gas emissions. According to Gates, new innovations in nuclear technology (in which he is an investor) are making nuclear energy safer and more affordable, and countries around the world are starting to adopt nuclear power.
Nuclear energy is safer than coal, oil, natural gas
Nuclear energy has long had reputation of being dangerous: Early innovations in nuclear power were made in furtherance of the nuclear bomb, and in more recent decades, there have been high-profile disasters like the Chernobyl plant meltdown in 1986 in Ukraine and the the Fukushima Daiichi plant accident in 2011 in Japan.
Source: Bill Gates: Nuclear power will ‘absolutely’ be politically acceptable
Pelosi and Schumer’s “For the People Act” H.R.1. is about taking away the rights of Republicans to have their voices heard, choose their candidates, and participate in free and fair elections.
Former Vice President Mike Pence is seizing on a Democratic-led initiative to streamline election standards to again push false claims of voting irregularities in one of his first public statements since leaving office.
Pence described the events of January 6, which put him and his family in direct danger, as “tragic,” and said the insurrection “deprived the American people of a substantive discussion in Congress about election integrity in America.”In his op-ed, Pence strongly urged Congress to vote against a sweeping government, ethics and election bill, HR 1, that the House of Representatives is set to take up Wednesday.
Source: Pence continues to spread misinformation on 2020 election – CNNPolitics
A first-ever “space hurricane” was spotted whirling above the Earth, scientists said.
The 600-mile-wide mass of plasma occurred several hundreds of miles above the North Pole, according to a study in the journal Nature Communications.
“Until now, it was uncertain that space plasma hurricanes even existed, so to prove this with such a striking observation is incredible,” said Mike Lockwood, a space scientist at the University of Reading and co-author of the study, in a statement.
The spectacle was captured by satellites in August 2014, but only recently uncovered during research led by scientists from Shandong University in China.
The space hurricane “rained” electrons instead of water, had multiple spiral arms and lasted eight hours before gradually fizzing, researchers said.
“Tropical storms are associated with huge amounts of energy, and these space hurricanes must be created by unusually large and rapid transfer of solar wind energy and charged particles into the Earth’s upper atmosphere,” Lockwood said.
Source: ‘Space hurricane’ spotted above Earth for the first time ever
“One civilian contractor died of a heart attack during the attack,” a high-level security source told AFP, adding that he could not confirm the contractor’s nationality.
The death marks the third fatality in rocket attacks in recent weeks, after rockets targeting US-led troops in the Kurdish regional capital of Erbil left two people dead.
Days later, more rockets hit a US military contracting company working north of the capital and the US embassy in Baghdad, but only injuries were reported.
Source: Civilian dies of heart attack in rocket assault on Iraq base hosting US troops | The Times of Israel
Senate Democrats and President Joe Biden settled a last-minute debate over Biden’s $1.9 trillion pandemic relief bill, choosing to keep federal unemployment benefit payments at $400 per week but narrow the phaseout of the measure’s $1,400 stimulus checks.
The breakthrough comes just a few hours before Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is hoping to kick off debate on the Covid aid bill. One Senate Democratic aide said the chamber is now waiting only on official scores from the Congressional Budget Office and the Joint Committee on Taxation to confirm its bill doesn’t run afoul of the rules of budget reconciliation, the process that allows passage of the package with a simple majority.
Source: Biden strikes stimulus deal with Senate Democrats – POLITICO
PITTSBURGH — A man who was shot before crashing into a pole outside a gas station in Pittsburgh’s South Side early Tuesday morning died at a hospital, police said.
It was shortly after 1 a.m. when police and paramedics were called to the crash near the intersection of East Carson Street and Arlington Avenue, right by American Natural.
When officers got to the scene, an off-duty firefighter was performing CPR on the man. He was then taken to a hospital in critical condition and later died.
The man was identified as Bradford McCary, 41, of Wilkinsburg.
The Jeep McCary crashed had bullet holes in it. There was a bullet hole through the windshield, and the back driver’s side window was shot out.It’s unclear where the shooting happened.
No arrests have been made.
Source: Man dies after being shot, crashing into pole outside Pittsburgh gas station
Michigan National Guardsmen tasked with continuing to protect the U.S. Capitol have said they’re being provided food that’s “badly undercooked, raw, moldy, and even filled with metal shavings,” according to a letter from the state’s House delegation obtained by CBS News on Tuesday. Some guardsmen have been hospitalized after eating the food, the letter said.
“It is clear that these contracted meals are poorly prepared, oftentimes inedible, and highly inadequate to support our soldiers,” the 14 lawmakers said in the letter, which was sent to the chief of the National Guard Bureau at the Pentagon. “It is completely unacceptable that our men and women serving in Washington, D.C., are being hospitalized due to the food they are being provided.”
BJ’s Wholesale Club is putting a store at The Block Northway in Ross Township.
BJ’s is a membership-only club, similar to Costco and Sam’s Club.
The chain is also looking at building a store in South Fayette Township.
Source: BJ’s Wholesale Club coming to Ross Township
FRANCISCO GARCIA
The emerging drug contains two highly-potent highs, fentanyl and etizolam, and has been linked to a string of drug deaths in Canada.
Fatal overdoses are more likely to occur after using benzo dope because the life-saving opioid overdose reversal drug, naloxone, is not effective against benzos.
Benzo dope, also known as ‘purple heroin’, is most commonly dark purple, blue and orange, but it has been found to be other colours.
Drug forensic experts in British Columbia found that in October last year one in six (16 percent) of fentanyl deals were cut with benzodiazepines – a type of drug not usually found cut into opioids – compared to five per cent last January and zero before 2019.
The most common benzo identified in benzo dope was etizolam, a super potent benzo that is fuelling record drug death rates in Scotland.
The combination of benzos and fentanyl causes prolonged loss of consciousness, profound respiratory depression and amnesia. In January, half of the 165 suspected illicit drug toxicity deaths in British Columbia – most of which involved fentanyl – also involved benzos, compared to only 15 percent in July last year. Last year was the deadliest year on record for overdoses in British Columbia, the epicentre of Canada’s drug death crisis.
Source: A Deadly Synthetic Street Drug Called ‘Benzo Dope’ Is on the Rise
“The View” co-host Joy Behar gave a confused response to the sexual harassment allegations against Democrat New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo Tuesday, saying that Democrats should “ignore everything” and hope the scandal goes away while also calling for an investigation into the claims.
For Jessica Hooper, part of the appeal of tiny house living is that “when you strip away the clutter and distractions in life, you are able to focus your energy on what is truly important.”
That’s what the Latrobe resident told readers of Tiny House Magazine, an online publication that features her tiny vacation getaway on the cover of the current issue.
The 160-square-foot structure fulfills Hooper’s dream of being able to afford a vacation home in the Laurel Highlands, where she vacationed with her family as a child and now takes advantage of the hiking trails, ski runs, paddleboarding and whitewater opportunities.
She calls the house “Eventyr,” a word with Old Norse roots that means “an adventure, fairy tale (a folktale), something exceptionally great.”
She bought the house as a shell and spent 18 months working on it, completing the project last April. She purchased a lot at Roaring Run Resort in Donegal Township, where it now sits amid the woods.
Source: Latrobe woman’s tiny vacation house gets online magazine spread | TribLIVE.com
AUSTIN (KXAN) — On the heels of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s announcement Tuesday to take down the statewide mask and occupancy mandates, many groups and businesses are letting people know where they stand.
“It’s time to reopen Texas 100%,” Abbott said. “Everybody who wants to work should have that opportunity. Every business that wants to be open, should be open.”
“Travelers at AUS are required to wear a mask at TSA airport screening checkpoints and throughout the commercial and public transportation systems. Passengers without a mask may be denied entry, boarding, or continued transport. Failure to comply with the mask requirement can result in civil penalties,” a spokesperson wrote.
Capital Metro will also be keeping its requirements for passengers who want to board its buses.
Media will not be able to visit migrant detention centers holding minors near the southern border due to COVID-19, a spokesperson told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Reporters will not be allowed inside the Carrizo Springs facility for unaccompanied minors that was recently opened under the Biden administration in Texas, a Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families (ACF) spokesperson told the DCNF.
“The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) is not hosting media tours of unaccompanied children (UC) facilities currently due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” an ACF spokesperson told the DCNF. “If media tours resume, we will send a media advisory,” the spokesperson added.
CONNEAUT LAKE — A federal bankruptcy court judge has approved the sale of a century-old amusement park in northwestern Pennsylvania.
Pittsburgh-based U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Jeffrey Deller on Tuesday morning approved the sale of Conneaut Lake Park to Keldon Holdings LLC for a cash price of $1.2 million.
Source: Bankruptcy judge approves sale of Conneaut Lake Park | TribLIVE.com
The Quaker Oats recall is specific to the brand’s 3.03-oz. bags of Quaker Rice Crisps in Sweet Barbecue Flavor, which may have undeclared soy in them. According to the recall notice, individuals with soy sensitivities or allergies “run the risk of a serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume the product contained inside the recalled bags.”
In total, 4,550 bags of the potentially contaminated chips are being recalled, each bearing UPC number 0 30000 31984 0 and a best before date of May 29, 2021, written as “MAY29213M21” on the packaging. The affected products may have been sold in the following 21 states: Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, Nevada, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, and Washington.
While no illnesses associated with the consumption of the aforementioned Quaker Oats product have been reported, the FDA says that anyone with the recalled snacks at home should return them to their point of purchase to receive a refund or contact Quaker Consumer Relations at 800-367-6287.
Source: This Quaker Oats Product Has Been Recalled Over Safety Concerns
MIDDLETOWN, Ohio —
A new police report in the investigation into the death of a 6-year-old boy from Middletown reveals disturbing new details in the case.
James Hutchinson, of Middletown, is believed to be dead, and his mother and her boyfriend are now facing charges after admitting he was killed and his body was dumped into the Ohio River.
Hutchinson was reported missing Sunday morning by his mother, Brittany Gosney, 29, police said.Investigators said Gosney, and her boyfriend, 42-year-old James Hamilton, showed up at the police lobby and reported the child missing. Police said that was the first red flag because parents of missing children usually call 911.Hours later, investigators said Gosney and Hamilton told police the 6-year-old was killed in Preble County a few days ago.Middletown Police Chief David Birk said Gosney drove James and two of his siblings to Rush Run Park Friday evening and intended to abandon her children. Gosney later told officers that Hamilton had been “pressuring her to get rid of her kids,” according to a new police report from the Preble County Sheriff’s Office.According to court documents, Gosney placed James outside of her car, and as he attempted to get back into the vehicle, “she drove off at a high rate of speed, dragging the child for a distance.”Gosney then left the park and returned approximately 30 to 40 minutes later and found James in the middle of the parking lot with a head injury, according to court documents. Gosney told police James was dead.After he was killed, investigators said Gosney put his body in the car with her two other children and drove back to where they live on Crawford Street in Middletown.Gosney put James’ body in an upstairs bedroom at their home.”Sometime Saturday night, Saturday evening, when the other kids fell asleep, that’s when they responded to 275 by Lawrenceburg, and that’s when they disposed of James in the Ohio River,” Birk said.Investigators said Hamilton helped Gosney throw James’ body over the bridge and into the water.According to the Preble County Sheriff’s Office report, Gosney told officers that Hamilton wanted her to get rid of her kids.”It really hit Middletown really hard, along with Preble County,” Birk said. “This is heartbreaking for all of us, and it is difficult.”Trained search and rescue teams searched the river banks Monday in an attempt to recover James’ body.Gosney is charged with murder, abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence. Hamilton faces charges of abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence.During Gosney’s arraignment Monday, she told the judge she didn’t fully understand her rights.”I have a learning disability, so I do not understand what you are saying,” Gosney said.”She seems to be communicating fine. She understands right from wrong. She understands her constitutional rights,” Birk said.Her bond was set at $1 million. Hamilton’s was set at $100,000.Gosney’s two children who lived at the home, both second graders, have since been placed in foster care, authorities said.
IMPERIAL COUNTY, Calif. — California Highway Patrol confirms that multiple people are dead after a crash in Imperial County, located near the Mexico border and about 50 miles from the Arizona border.
During a news conference at the El Centro Regional Medical Center, Managing Director of the Emergency Department, Judy Cruz said, “We believe there was 27 passengers in this S.U.V. that struck a semi-truck full of gravel. 14 were dead on the scene. 3 of them were flown out from the scene, 7 patients transported to El Centro Regional Medical Center where unfortunately one of those has died since arrival.”
Source: California-Mexico border crash: More than a dozen killed Tuesday | khou.com
It’s been 360 days since Penguins fans were last able to watch a game in person at PPG Paints Arena due to the covid-19 pandemic.
They’ll have to wait for a few more, at least, to see the team’s captain for similar reasons.
Sidney Crosby will not play in Tuesday’s contest against the rival Philadelphia Flyers at PPG Paints Arena as he will be placed on the NHL’s list of absences related to the league’s protocol for covid-19.
Source: Penguins captain Sidney Crosby to be placed on NHL’s covid-19 protocol list | TribLIVE.com
By: KDKA-TV News Staff
BRIDGEVILLE (KDKA) — A 26-year-old man is facing numerous drug charges in connection with the largest single-day heroin bust in Bridgeville Police history following a recent traffic stop.
READ MORE:COVID-19 In Pennsylvania: 4,000 To Be Vaccinated At Heinz Field Clinic
Police say that 26-year-old Ronell Cathie of Pittsburgh was arrested after a traffic stop on Sunday, February 21.
(Courtesy: Bridgeville Police Department)
According to police, Cathie was stopped and police seized approximately 400 stamp bags of heroin, approximately $1,000 in cash, and three cell phones.
(Courtesy: Bridgeville Police Department)
Cathie was transported to the Allegheny Co. Jail and was released on bond the next day.
Lewis Hamilton said he was still fully committed to success in Formula 1 despite signing only a one-year deal with Mercedes this winter.
The seven-time champion, 36, said he had twin goals of winning an eighth title
Source: Lewis Hamilton still committed as Mercedes launch 2021 Formula 1 car – BBC Sport
Hundreds of popular K-pop songs have been removed from Spotify, amid a dispute with South Korean music distributor Kakao M.
Releases by popular acts including Sistar, IU, Monsta X and Epik High have vanished, leaving fans frustrated.
Spotify said its “existing licensing deal” with Kakao M had “come to an end” but it hoped the disruption would be temporary.
But the Korean company accused Spotify of refusing to extend its licence.
Source: Hundreds of K-pop songs disappear from Spotify – BBC News
A third woman has accused New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo of unwanted advances – the latest bombshell as calls for Cuomo to resign grow louder amid the dueling scandals over allegations of improper behavior toward women and his handling of nursing homes during the coronavirus pandemic.
Source: NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo accused by third woman of unwanted sexual advances | Fox News
The January assault left at least five people dead, caused millions of dollars in damage to the historic building and led to then-President Donald Trump’s second impeachment. Federal prosecutors have opened a massive nationwide investigation to find those who took part in the violence and hold them responsible.
So far, authorities have arrested some 280 people and charged more than 300 in connection with the attack.
In their opening remarks, the Democratic chairman and top Republican on the panel painted different pictures of the threat posed by domestic extremism, with Democrats focusing on the Jan. 6 attack, while Republicans preferring to look at last summer’s unrest protesting police violence following the death of George Floyd.
Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., while he unequivocally condemns left-wing violence, said, “let’s stop pretending that the threat of Antifa is equivalent to the white supremacist threat. Vandalizing a federal court house in Portland is a crime. It should be prosecuted to the full extend of the law.”
But it is not equivalent to a violent attempt to overthrow the results of elections, nor is it equivalent to mass shootings targeting minority communities,” he said.
Source: Livestream: FBI Director Wray Testifies On Riot, Extremism : NPR
Text for H.R.1 – 117th Congress (2021-2022): For the People Act of 2021
To expand Americans’ access to the ballot box, reduce the influence of big money in politics, strengthen ethics rules for public servants, and implement other anti-corruption measures for the purpose of fortifying our democracy, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVESJanuary 4, 2021Mr. Sarbanes (for himself, Ms. Pelosi, and Ms. Lofgren) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committees on Intelligence (Permanent Select), the Judiciary, Oversight and Reform, Science, Space, and Technology, Education and Labor, Ways and Means, Financial Services, Ethics, Homeland Security, and Armed Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILLTo expand Americans’ access to the ballot box, reduce the influence of big money in politics, strengthen ethics rules for public servants, and implement other anti-corruption measures for the purpose of fortifying our democracy, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
Full Text Source: Text – H.R.1 – 117th Congress (2021-2022): For the People Act of 2021 | Congress.gov | Library of Congress
