May 21, 2026 8:46 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Fewer Americans filed for jobless aid last week as layoffs remain low despite a number of uncertainties that continue to cloud the economy. U.S. applications for unemployment benefits for the week ending May 16 fell by 3,000 to 209,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That’s fewer than the 213,000 new applications analysts had forecast. Weekly filings for unemployment benefits are considered a proxy for U.S. layoffs and are close to a real-time indicator of the health of the job market. The total number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits for the previous week ending May 9 grew by 6,000 to 1.78 million. US markets head lower as oil prices resume their climb and higher treasury yields pressure stocks
May 21, 2026 9:33 am
The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission has unveiled dedicated parking spaces for military veterans at all 17 service plazas along its more than 565-mile system. This initiative, launched on the heels of Armed Forces Day, was a partnership with State Rep. Jennifer O’Mara, the Pennsylvania American Legion and American Legion Post 329 in Elizabethtown. The new parking designation provides two dedicated spots at each service plaza for customers who have served in the United States military. Veterans do not need a special placard or other designation to use these spaces. The partnership was initiated by Rep. O’Mara as a way to better honor veterans traveling through the Commonwealth. PA Turnpike CEO Mark Compton stated that the commission is proud to recognize those who served the country. “We are proud to recognize all those who served our country and these dedicated parking spaces serve as a small token of our appreciation,” Compton said. “This initiative furthers our commitment to honoring and creating meaningful opportunities for veterans within our community.” The Pennsylvania American Legion is supporting the partnership by covering the costs of the new signage.
May 21, 2026 9:27 am
Heinz is bringing back its iconic glass ketchup bottle. This marks the first time in nearly a decade that the nostalgic item will be available to consumers. The return is part of the brand’s new campaign, “157 Years of Being Food’s Best Friend.” For a limited time, while supplies last, the classic glass ketchup bottle can be found exclusively at Walmart stores nationwide.
May 21, 2026 5:44 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republican leaders are expected to abandon a proposal for $1 billion in security money for the White House complex and President Donald Trump’s ballroom on Thursday after members of their own party questioned the timing and the lack of detail in the Secret Service request. Pressured by the White House, Republicans have tried to add the money to a roughly $70 billion bill to restore funding to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol. But the security proposal met with backlash from some GOP lawmakers who are questioning the cost and how the taxpayer dollars would be used. The bill’s text has not yet been released, but the Senate hopes to pass it this week and send it to the House before leaving for a weeklong Memorial Day recess. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., acknowledged “ongoing vote issues” on Wednesday as leaders tired to measure Republican support, as well as “ongoing parliamentarian issues” as they try to figure out what will be allowed in the bill under the chamber’s rules. Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said Wednesday that the bill would be “back to square one” without the security money because “the votes are not there.”
May 21, 2026 5:51 am
ATLANTA (AP) — For Donald Trump, it seems the 2020 presidential election is never over. That’s especially true in Georgia. The Republican president’s years of false claims that his defeat to Democrat Joe Biden was due to widespread fraud have shadowed many elections since in the presidential battleground. The issue is almost certain to play a role in a four-week runoff campaign as GOP voters choose nominees choose for governor, secretary of state and the U.S. Senate. Among the contenders: one of Trump’s alternate electors in his attempt to overturn Biden’s win in the state, a Trump acolyte who won his first congressional race while saying Trump won in 2020 and a secretary of state hopeful who echoes Trump’s conspiracy theories as he vies to become Georgia’s top elections official. To be clear, Georgia’s presidential votes were counted three times, including once by hand, and each one affirmed Biden’s victory. The primary came amid continued legal and political wrangling over how elections are managed in Fulton County — home to heavily Democratic Atlanta. Trump’s questioning of the Georgia results and longtime criticism of Fulton County elections were supercharged earlier this year when the FBI searched the county’s election office, seizing ballots and records from 2020.
May 21, 2026 5:57 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Barney Frank, the longtime Democratic congressman and leading liberal who brought new visibility to gay rights and crafted the most significant reforms to the financial system in a generation, has died. He was 86. Frank died late Tuesday, according to Jim Segel, Frank’s former campaign manager and close friend. After representing broad swaths of Boston’s suburbs in Congress for 32 years, Frank and his husband moved to Ogunquit, Maine. He entered hospice there in April with congestive heart failure and is survived by his husband, Jim Ready, and sisters, the longtime Democratic strategist Ann Lewis and Doris Breay, along with brother David Frank. A self-described “left-handed gay Jew,” Frank was known for his acerbic wit, combative style and focus on marginalized communities. He represented the party’s left wing while keeping close with Democratic leaders who sometimes frustrated progressives. He is best known as a pioneer for LGBT rights. After decades of grappling with his sexuality, he publicly came out as gay in 1987, the first member of Congress to do so voluntarily. With his 2012 marriage to Ready, he became the first incumbent lawmaker on Capitol Hill to marry someone of the same sex.
May 21, 2026 7:00 am
Washington Mayor JoJo Burgess issued a press release on Wednesday to help alleviate residents concerns about piles of trash at their homes that have not been picked up. Burgess says city officials are aware of the issue, after having been contacted by upset residents and they are working out a solution. Burgess says the city has met directly with the management of Bigs Sanitation and it has become clear that their level of service does not meet their current contract requirements. According to Burgess, the city is working on a plan to correct the situation and will continue to update residents as needed.
May 21, 2026 7:00 am
A 34-year-old coal miner was killed in a tragic underground accident late Tuesday night at the Bailey Mine in Greene County. According to Pennsylvania State Police, Zachary Wolfe was working about 700 feet underground at the Aleppo Portal, a newer section of the mine, installing roof supports when approximately 1,000 pounds of coal suddenly fell. Two other miners were also injured. One man suffered a head injury and was flown to Ruby Memorial Hospital. A woman with an arm injury was transported there by ambulance. The Bailey Mining Complex is considered one of the largest underground coal mining operations in the world. It is now operated by Core Natural Resources following the merger of CONSOL Energy and Arch Resources.
May 20, 2026 6:45 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration has fired the two leaders of an influential health group that determines when insurance must provide free preventive care, like mammograms and colonoscopies, for millions of Americans. In letters dated May 11, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. notified the two doctors who chaired the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force that he was terminating their appointments immediately, before the end of their multiyear terms. The Department of Health and Human Services already had largely sidelined the task force, indefinitely postponing scheduled public meetings over the past year and thus leaving some long-expected updates on cervical cancer screenings and other topics in limbo. The panel, first created in the 1980s, is composed of experts who scrutinize the latest evidence behind a wide array of disease prevention tools, such as depression screenings ad the use of statins to prevent heart attacks. The panel updates guidelines with letter grades showing the strength of the science. Under the Affordable Care Act, most insurance plans must cover preventive services given an “A” or “B” grade without requiring a co-pay. (Photo: AP)
May 20, 2026 2:22 am
The Pennsylvania 46th Senate District unofficial election results are in and they show that incumbent Senator Camera Bartolotta has held of a challenge by Greene County businessman Al Buchtan. Results from Washington, Greene and Beaver Counties show that Bartolotta beat Buchtan by 1439 votes. Buchtan beat Bartolotta by 447 votes in Greene County, but that was not enough to overcome the 1860 vote lead that Bartolotta built in Washington County. The vote tally in Beaver County had Bartolotta beating Buchtan by 26 votes. Bartolotta will face Democrat Evan Snyder in November.
