(AP Photo)
Monday, December 27, 2021 at 12:57 PM
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Monday pledged the full support of the federal government to states facing surges in COVID-19 cases from the more-transmissible omicron variant and a run on at-home tests.

Joining a regular meeting between his coronavirus response team and the National Governors Association, Biden said, “My message is: if you need something, say something, and we are going to have your back any way we can.”

Biden acknowledged long lines and chaotic scenes as Americans sought out testing amid the case surge and as they looked to safely gather with family and friends over the holiday.

He referenced his administration’s plan to make 500 million rapid tests available to Americans beginning next month through an as-yet-to-be-developed website.

A White House official said the new tests would come from new manufacturing capacity and wouldn’t interfere with existing supply chains.

Despite supply issues and omicron, holiday sales rise 8.5%
By PAUL WISEMAN and ANNE D’INNOCENZIO AP Business Writers
Holiday sales rose at the fastest pace in 17 years, even as shoppers grappled with higher prices, product shortages and a raging new COVID-19 variant in the last few weeks of the season, according to one spending measure. Mastercard SpendingPulse, which tracks all kinds of payments including cash and debit cards, reported Sunday that holiday sales had risen 8.5% from a year earlier. MasterCard SpendingPulse had expected an 8.8% increase. The results covered Nov. 1 through Dec. 24. They were fueled by purchases of clothing and jewelry. Holiday sales were up 10.7% compared with the pre-pandemic 2019 holiday period.

By BRYAN GALLION and PAUL WISEMAN Associated Press
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — The latest COVID-19 variant is upending holiday plans for tens of thousands of travelers — but it didn’t do much damage to holiday shopping. Airlines canceled hundreds more flights Sunday, citing staffing problems tied to COVID-19, as the nation’s travel woes extended beyond Christmas. There was no clear indication when normal schedules would resume. But shoppers shrugged off the omicron variant, and holiday sales rose at the fastest pace in 17 years. Omicron is likely to slow the economy’s unexpectedly strong rebound from last year’s coronavirus recession and could add more heat to already simmering inflation. But it’s not yet clear how deep the hurt will go or how long it will last.

Sarah Weddington, lawyer who argued Roe v. Wade, dies at 76
By JAKE BLEIBERG Associated Press
DALLAS (AP) — Sarah Weddington, a Texas lawyer who at 26-year-old successfully argued the landmark abortion rights case Roe v. Wade before the U.S. Supreme Court, has died. She was 76. Weddington’s former student and colleague Susan Hays said she died in her sleep early Sunday morning at her Austin home. Hays told The Associated Press that Weddington had been in poor health for some time and it was not immediately clear what caused her death. Weddington was also a state lawmaker, general counsel of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and an advisor to President Jimmy Carter.

(File Photo)
December 27, 2021 at 7:19 AM
Summit Twp., Pa.) Pa State Police in Butler are reporting that they were called to Summit Academy Sunday, December 26, 2021 around 4 PM for reports of a runaway juvenile.
Troopers have identified the juvenile as Jandell Nunez. Nunez left the academy Sunday afternoon around 2:40 PM wearing a gray Summit Academy T-shirt, Blue Summit Academy sweatpants and possibly a blue Summit Academy sweatshirt. Anybody with information in regard to Nunez or his location are asked to contact Pa State Polce in Butler at 724-284-8100.

(File Photo)
Monday, December 27, 2021 at 6:55 AM
(Bellevue, Pa.) Pa State Police are investigating this morning after two people were taken to the hospital after an overnight crash that occurred just after 2:00 AM Northbound along I-279 just after the Bellevue-Westview exit..

At least one person was extracted by first responders from the wreckage of a vehicle. One other person was taken to the hospital as well.

The condition of those injured in the crash is unknown at this time.

(File Photo)
Story by Sandy Giordano, Beaver County Radio News Correspondent
Monday December 27, 2021 at 6:53 AM
(Ambridge, Pa.) Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano is reporting that Ambridge School Board was going to hold a special meeting last Friday morning December 24, 2021 to replace current board member Cathy Fischer who had submitted her resignation. According to the districts website that meeting was cancelled after Fischer rescinded her resignation the night before the meeting.

Beaver County Radio had previously reported in error that the meeting was still held and that there was another position still open on the board.
The release on the district website can be seen below:
In light of our receipt late last night of Mrs. Fischer rescinding her verbal resignation, there is no longer a voting agenda item for today’s board meeting.  Therefore, the Board of School Directors of the Ambridge Area School District has canceled its Special Board Meeting scheduled on Friday, December 24, 2021, at 10:00 a.m.  We wish you all a happy holiday season and new year.

By Order of the Board,

June Mueller Board Secretary

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Police say a man suspected of shoplifting at a store where he worked in Pittsburgh is wanted for homicide in Texas. Officers were called to the Family Dollar store on Wednesday night to assist with the termination of 22-year-old Joseph Tedder of Hutchinson, Kansas. But Tedder fled the scene. Police say they soon learned Tedder was wanted in connection with a homicide in early November in Austin, Texas, that stemmed from a drug deal. Authorities tracked Tedder to a Pittsburgh home and he was taken into custody. He’s awaiting arraignment and an extradition hearing.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Russ Rose retired Thursday as Penn State’s women’s volleyball coach, ending a 43-year run that featured seven NCAA titles, 109 straight wins from 2007-10 and the Division I career victory record. The 68-year-old Rose will remain in an advisory role within the athletic department. Katie Schumacher-Cawley will serve as interim head coach. Rose finished with a 1,330-229 record, the most victories in Division I history. He led Penn State to national titles in 1999, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013 and 2014 and 25 conference championships — 17 in the Big Ten and eight in the Atlantic 10. As a player, Rose helped George Williams College win the 1974 NAIA title.