NewsHealth
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Dan Nott for Spotlight PA
Personal data from Pa. contact tracing calls still online despite assurances it had been secured
A spreadsheet of data was still online as of Wednesday, raising questions about whether the company, Insight Global, or the state can be confident they know where all the information might be stored.
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Matt Rourke
New evidence suggests COVID-19 vaccines remain effective against variants
An analysis of blood from people who had received the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine found a lower level of neutralizing antibodies against viral variants but a strong response involving T cells.
By Joe Palca/NPR -
Eugene Hoshiko
U.S. lowers the travel risk rating for Japan, where COVID still shadows the Olympics
The change is not an enthusiastic endorsement as the guidance urges Americans to “reconsider travel to Japan,” but it puts the department closer in line with the White House’s position on the issue.By Vanessa Romo/NPR -
Matt Rourke
The highly contagious Delta variant is on the rise in the U.S.
The variant, also known as B.1.617.2, is spreading rapidly in the U.K., and has quickly become the dominant strain there, responsible for more than 60% of infections and causing surges in some parts of England.By Jane Greenhalgh/NPR -
Matt Rourke
There’s a stark red-blue divide when it comes to states’ vaccination rates
As of Tuesday, nearly 64% of U.S. adults have had at least one shot, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.By Domenico Montanaro/NPR
Regional & State News
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Keith Srakocic
‘Space race’ level attack on future public health crises
The worst health catastrophe in a century has prompted a renewed focus on research and innovation.
By Daniel Moore/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette -
Mladen Antonov
Judge tosses suit seeking end to Delaware River drilling ban
A federal judge on Friday threw out a lawsuit by Republican state lawmakers in Pennsylvania that sought to overturn a ban on gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing in the Delaware River basin…
By The Associated Press -
Andrew Harnik
Western Pennsylvania man facing robbery, assault in Capitol riot
Federal investigators say throughout the siege on the Capitol, Robert Morss rallied, directed and made multiple attempts to organize members of the crowd to push past Capitol guards.
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Emma Lee
Loss, healing, resistance, and hope: 5 recent grads reflect on a turbulent year
From the trauma and isolation of this past year, these students found a new sense of community, new sets of skills, new coping methods, and new ways to take care of others.
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Robert F. Bukaty
National maple production off 17% in 2021, Vermont off 21%
The drop in production was due to poor sugaring weather, including a run of 70 degree days during prime sugaring season and low sugar content in tree sap.
Politics & Policy
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Dan Gleiter
Counties fear desired election law changes will get lost in sprawling GOP bill
Many aspects of the proposal may not address actual problems, one expert said.
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Office of Gov. Tom Wolf
Wolf signs bill to extend pandemic regulatory waivers
The bill allows the waivers to last through Sept. 30, unless Wolf’s administration ends them sooner.
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Matt Rourke
As Biden’s plan struggles, Rep. Lamb pushes for more moderate infrastructure bill
U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb is playing a key role in crafting a more moderate proposal with the hopes of getting bipartisan buy-in.
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Matt Slocum
House GOP unveils ambitious proposal to revamp Pennsylvania’s election law
The ambitious 149-page bill would change deadlines, early voting and mail-in ballot procedures and mandate IDs for all in-person voters.
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Matt Rourke
Legislature votes to immediately end Pa.’s coronavirus disaster declaration while keeping waivers in place
Republicans said terminating the emergency order was what Pennsylvanians demanded when they granted the legislative branch new powers during the May primary.
National & World News
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Kin Cheung
Bitcoin is fueling ransomware attacks
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies made it possible to extort huge ransoms from large companies, hospitals and city governments.
By Greg Myre/NPR -
Mary Altaffer
Schools across US brace for surge of kindergartners in fall
School districts across the country are hiring kindergarten teachers and preparing summer programs as they brace for a supersized class.
By Heather Hollingsworth and Cedar Attanasio/AP -
Reed Saxon
A lobster diver in Cape Cod says a Humpback Whale scooped him up and spat him out
A commercial lobster diver says he escaped relatively unscathed after nearly being swallowed by a humpback whale, in a biblical-sounding encounter that whale experts describe as rare but plausible.
By Rachel Treisman/NPR
Energy & environment
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Bastiaan Slabbers for WHYY
Push is on for national PFAS drinking water standard
“PFAS is a sinister and pervasive threat to our families’ health, a drag on local, state and national economies, and a problem that will not go away on its own.”
By Susan Montoya Bryan/The Associated Press -
Emma Lee
Chester activists denounce a new Philadelphia Union-Subaru partnership as environmental injustice
A press release says the steam generated at an incinerator in Chester “will turn the turbines to produce electricity for the Philadelphia area,” but some residents fear they will pay the costs.
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Rachel McDevitt
Planned solar project near Gettysburg denied key permit
Four Mount Joy Township supervisors on Thursday deadlocked on motions to grant or deny a conditional use permit to the 75-megawatt solar project from NextEra Energy.
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Donald Eggen/DCNR
Pennsylvania sprays for gypsy moths in 19 counties, hoping to bring down a spike in the leaf-eating insect
Trees can handle some gypsy moth caterpillars, but too many mean a tree can lose too much foliage and could die.
By Anne Danahy -
Courtesy of Western Pennsylvania Conservancy
Western Pennsylvania Conservancy sells land along Clarion River for the Allegheny National Forest
The conservancy said it’s an important strip of land to protect along the Clarion, a National Wild and Scenic River which is coming back from two centuries of logging and other heavy industry.
By Reid Frazier
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Christophe Ena
Athletes’ mental health claims make headlines after star tennis player drops out of competition
Also on the program: Spending the Army birthday with one soldier who “beat the odds.”
By Smart Talk and Merideth Bucher -
Chris Gardner
Fixing Pennsylvania’s pollution problem in the Chesapeake Bay stifled by underfunding
Also on the program: Area Eagle Scouts tackle big projects to earn the honor -
Pavel Golovkin
Cybersecurity should be a huge priority after events of last few weeks
New book details how military vets recover with the help of nature
By Scott LaMar