November 15, 2022 4:29 pm
MONACA, Pa. (AP) – Years in the works, a massive petrochemical refinery in western Pennsylvania fed by the vast natural gas reservoir underneath Appalachia is fully operational. Oil and gas giant Shell plc said Tuesday that the refinery will produce 3.5 billion pounds of polyethylene annually when it ramps up to full production by the second half of 2023. It is built on the site of a former zinc smelter along the Ohio River some 30 miles northwest of Pittsburgh. The refinery produces ethylene, which is used to produce everything from plastics to tires to antifreeze. Environmental advocacy groups predict that it’ll generate more plastic pollution, compounds that form smog and planet-warming greenhouse gases.
November 15, 2022 1:55 pm
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Beyonce has propelled herself into the highest Grammy echelon. The star singer claimed a leading nine nominations Tuesday, making her tied with her husband Jay-Z as the most nominated music act in the history of the awards show at 88 apiece. Kendrick Lamar came away with the second-most nominations with eight, while Adele and Brandi Carlile both received seven nods. Harry Styles, Mary J. Blige, Future, DJ Khaled, Randy Merrill and The-Dream picked up six. The ceremony will be held Feb. 5 in Los Angeles. Nearly half of this year’s leading nominees are women and more than half are people of color. (Photo: AP)
November 15, 2022 1:36 pm
(WPXI) – A woman, who police say was an innocent bystander, was grazed by a bullet in Downtown Pittsburgh Tuesday afternoon. Police responded to the intersection of Smithfield Street and Fourth Avenue just after noon. A spokesperson for Pittsburgh Public Safety said that the woman was grazed in the leg by a bullet during a dispute between two males. Police said she is OK. There is no threat to the public following the shooting, according to police.
November 15, 2022 12:14 pm
BOISE, Idaho (AP) – Police say four University of Idaho students found dead in an off-campus home were targeted and the killer or killers used a knife or other “edged weapon.” The Moscow Police Department said in a news release Tuesday that investigators were trying to establish a timeline to recreate the victims’ activities on Saturday night and early Sunday morning, following all leads and identifying persons of interest. The killings likely occurred around 3 a.m. Sunday and the bodies were discovered about nine hours later. Autopsies expected to be completed later this week could provide more information about how the victims were killed.
November 15, 2022 9:39 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Prices at the wholesale level rose 8% in October from a year ago, the fourth straight decline and the latest sign that inflation pressures in the United States are easing from painfully high levels. The annual figure is down from 8.4% in September. On a monthly basis, the government said Tuesday that its producer price index, which measures costs before they reach consumers, rose 0.2% in October from September. That was same as in the previous month, which was revised down from an initial reading of 0.4%.
November 15, 2022 4:24 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Jay Leno says he’s doing OK after suffering serious burns in a gasoline fire. In a statement to Variety, Leno said he needs a “week or two” to get back on his feet. The cause and time of the fire wasn’t immediately clear. The 72-year-old former “Tonight Show” host is known for his famed car collection, which is housed at a garage in Burbank, north of Los Angeles. People magazine reported Leno had been set to appear at a financial conference in Las Vegas on Sunday but canceled citing a serious medical emergency. Leno’s publicist and production company had no immediate comment.
November 15, 2022 4:22 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy has cleared the first major step toward becoming House speaker. The California Republican won the nomination Tuesday from his GOP colleagues in a secret ballot election. But it’s just the start. Republicans are on the cusp of House control and McCarthy will face a formal vote when the new Congress convenes in January. McCarthy will need to shore up support from no fewer than 218 lawmakers with potentially just a few votes to spare. (Photo: AP)
November 15, 2022 4:20 am
PHOENIX (AP) – Democrat Katie Hobbs has been elected Arizona governor, defeating an ally of Donald Trump who falsely claimed the 2020 election was rigged and refused to say she would accept the results of her race this year. Hobbs, who is Arizona’s secretary of state, rose to prominence as a staunch defender of elections and warned that her Republican rival, former television news anchor Kari Lake, would be an agent of chaos. Hobbs’ victory Monday suggests Trump is weighing down his allies as the former president gears up for an announcement of a 2024 presidential run. Hobbs will succeed Republican Gov. Doug Ducey, who was prohibited by term limit laws from running again.
November 15, 2022 4:17 am
NUSA DUA, Indonesia (AP) – Leaders of the world’s largest economies remain divided over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine but appear prepared to convey a strong message from most condemning the war. A draft declaration seen Tuesday by The Associated Press reiterated the stance expressed in the UN General Assembly’s March 2 resolution that “deplores in the strongest terms the aggression by the Russian Federation.” But the statement also noted there were different views on the situation and on sanctions against Russia. It also says G-20 was not the forum for resolving security issues. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appealed to fellow leaders to press for an end to the nine-month war that has devastated Ukraine and sent food and energy prices soaring.
November 15, 2022 4:15 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Josh Shapiro, the Democratic governor-elect of Pennsylvania, will take office with a decisive mandate from voters, who overwhelmingly rejected a Republican drive to pare back abortion rights and voting laws in the premier battleground state. Shapiro, the state’s two-term attorney general, scored a massive 14 percentage point win over Republican rival Doug Mastriano in last week’s midterm election, smashed state campaign finance records and became the first candidate since 1966 to succeed a governor of the same party in Pennsylvania. U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., said the election results showed voters’ eagerness to protect abortion rights and the sanctity of elections from subversion by far-right Republicans who promoted former President Donald Trump’s lies about voter fraud in his 2020 loss. Set to be sworn in Jan. 17, Shapiro will take the reins in a state riven by bitter partisanship over voting laws and the management of the COVID-19 pandemic by his predecessor, outgoing Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf. That helped drive a record number of vetoes by one governor going back to the 1970s. Shapiro will likely face battles with Republicans who control the state Senate over the grist of statehouse business, such as budgeting.
