December 12, 2024 5:16 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is commuting the sentences of roughly 1,500 people who were released from prison and placed on home confinement during the coronavirus pandemic and pardoning 39 Americans convicted of nonviolent crimes. The White House says it’s the largest single-day act of clemency in modern history. The clemency follows a broad pardon for his son Hunter, who was prosecuted for gun and tax crimes. Biden is under pressure from advocacy groups to pardon broad swaths of people before the Trump administration takes over in January. He’s also weighing whether to issue preemptive pardons to those who investigated Trump’s effort to overturn the 2020 election and are facing possible retribution when he takes office.
December 12, 2024 5:19 am
NEW YORK (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange after being recognized by Time magazine as its person of the year. The honors Thursday for the businessman-turned-politician are a measure of Trump’s remarkable comeback from an ostracized former president who refused to accept his election loss four years ago to a president-elect who won the White House decisively in November. At the stock exchange, Trump was accompanied by his wife, Melania Trump, daughters Ivanka and Tiffany and Vice President-elect JD Vance. Trump grinned as people chanted “USA” before he opened the trading day and raised his fist.
December 12, 2024 5:20 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump says he’s picking Kari Lake as director of Voice of America, installing a staunch loyalist who ran unsuccessfully for Arizona governor and a Senate seat to head the congressionally funded broadcaster that provides independent news reporting around the world. Lake took a hard line against illegal immigration in both her campaigns. Also Wednesday, Trump announced Leandro Rizzuto as his choice to be the U.S. ambassador to the Washington-based Organization of American States, and said he wanted Florida personal injury attorney Dan Newlin to be U.S. ambassador to Colombia. Physician and donor Peter Lamelas is his pick for U.S. ambassador to Argentina.
December 11, 2024 2:57 am
Mariah Carey’s Pittsburgh concert scheduled for Wednesday night was canceled because the singer has the flu. Ticketmaster’s website says the event organizer canceled the event, which was scheduled to be at PPG Paints Arena at 7:30 p.m. Refunds will be issued automatically, Ticketmaster’s website said. If you bought a ticket, the refund should be in your account within two to three weeks. No further information was released. Carey posted a message on her social media site: “Pittsburgh, I am sorry to say, I’ve come down with the flu. It breaks my heart that I unfortunately have to cancel tonight’s show. I love you all so much.” (Photo: AP)
December 11, 2024 3:27 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — FBI Director Christopher Wray says he plans to resign at the end of President Joe Biden’s term in January. The announcement Wednesday comes a week and a half after President-elect Donald Trump announced his intention to nominate loyalist Kash Patel for the position. At a town hall meeting with the bureau workforce, Wray said he would be stepping down “after weeks of careful thought.” Wray had previously been named by Trump and began the 10-year term. a length meant to insulate the agency from the political influence of changing administrations — in 2017, after Trump fired then-FBI Director, James Comey. (Photo: AP)
December 11, 2024 2:15 pm
ALTOONA, Pa. (AP) — New York’s police commissioner says the The gun found on the suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO matches shell casings found at the crime scene. Commissioner Jessica Tisch also said Wednesday that lab results matched suspect Luigi Mangione’s prints to a water bottle and snack wrapper found near the scene of the killing. Mangione is jailed in Pennsylvania on weapon and forgery charges, but he also has been charged with murder in Brian Thompson’s death. Mangione shouted about “insult to the intelligence of the American people” on his way into a Pennsylvania court Tuesday. (Photo: AP)
December 11, 2024 2:51 am
Holiday shoppers will be happy to know that power has been restored at Tanger Outlets in South Strabane Township. Tanger Director of Marketing Megan Hindes tells WJPA News that power was restored by Tuesday night. She says the initial power outage occurred Monday morning and crews worked diligently along with the South Strabane Township Fire Department to safely bring all of the suites back online. As for the exact cause of the outage, Hindes directed us to West Penn Power. We have not heard back from them. Hindes says some store were able to operate Tuesday but admits they faced some unspecified challenges and delays in getting service restored to all of the stores.
December 11, 2024 9:50 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Fueled by pricier used cars, hotel rooms and groceries, inflation in the United States moved slightly higher last month in the latest sign that some price pressures remain elevated. Consumer prices rose 2.7% in November from a year earlier, up from a yearly figure of 2.6% in October. Excluding volatile food and energy costs, so-called core prices increased 3.3%. Measured month to month, prices climbed 0.3% from October to November, the biggest such increase since April. Wednesday’s inflation figures are the final major piece of data Federal Reserve officials will consider before they meet next week to decide on interest rates. The November increase won’t likely be enough to discourage the officials from cutting their key rate by a quarter-point.
December 11, 2024 2:55 am
Representatives from PennDot were on hand Tuesday to preview plans for bridge and culvert replacement plans at the junction of South Main Street and Park Avenue/Rt. 18 over Catfish Creek. According to Jeremy Hughes, Assistant District Executive for Design at PennDot, the replacement is planned to take place in two phases. Phase one of the project that involves Park Avenue will last 3 weeks. The portion of the culvert that will be replaced will be precast and dropped into place. In phase two, over South Main Street, the portion of the culvert to be replaced will need to be cast in place. That process will take 20 weeks because of utility work and the drawn out procedure of casting the culvert on location as opposed to trucking it in. Utilities in the area prevent a crane from being used to deploy a precast culvert. The Park Avenue detour will use state roads and be approximately 3 miles. The South Main Street detour will use state roads and be 10.5 miles. The project cost is $2 million. Bids for the project will be opened in July. Construction will begin in the spring of 2026. Residents may see the plans for the project and make comments by going to https://www.pa.gov/agencies/penndot/projects-near-you/district-12-projects/route-2001-route-18-over-catfish-creek.html
December 11, 2024 2:53 am
North Strabane Township Supervisors held their agenda meeting and the most important consideration will be the adoption of the 2025 budget. The balanced budget does not contain a tax increase and comes in at $22,932,084. In other business, supervisors began the evening with a public hearing concerning the definition of a personal warehouse. The township and CC Realty Advisors have been working for several months on a definition of the use as it would occur in a commercial zone. Supervisors and the applicant agree that they are close to a final definition. The only request from CC Realty Advisors is to allow parking in front of the garage door sections of each unit and a slight adjustment in parking ratio. Supervisors could vote on the definition at their meeting next week. If the definition was approved, the actual change to the ordinance could be voted on in January.
