September 18, 2024 4:56 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – Excitement is in the air as Pittsburgh gets ready to host the NFL Draft in two years. A new city resolution would pledge $1 million in taxpayer money to support the event. But, it has raised concerns with critics who say there isn’t enough money in the city’s budget to support the bill. “I was assured this morning before our meeting and council session that it is not taking away from any existing city operations or city programs,” said Khari Mosely when asked where the proposed funding would come from. The plan proposed by Mosley would allocate $1 million to VisitPITTSBURGH, the agency that is currently coordinating the multi-billion-dollar 2026 NFL Draft event. VisitPITTSBURGH shared that with 50 million viewers worldwide, the exposure and anticipated economic impact will far outpace the initial investment. “Previous destinations have reported anywhere from $120 to upwards of $213 million in economic impact and we expect Pittsburgh to be well within that range,” said Emily Hatfield, the senior director of communications for VisitPITTSBURGH. However, some city leaders are concerned about spending taxpayer money. Councilman Anthony Coghill said the city is already offering in-kind donations such as venue space, emergency responders, and public works services free of charge.
September 18, 2024 5:05 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans spent a bit more at retailers last month, providing a small boost to the economy just as the Federal Reserve considers how much to cut its key interest rate. The Commerce Department reported Tuesday that retail sales ticked up 0.1% from July to August, after jumping the most in 18 months the previous month. Online retailers, sporting goods stores, and home and garden stores reported higher sales. The data indicate that consumers are still able to spend more despite the cumulative impact of three years of excess inflation and higher interest rates.
September 18, 2024 4:00 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — The International Brotherhood of Teamsters has declined to endorse Kamala Harris or Donald Trump for president, saying neither candidate has sufficient support from the 1.3 million-member union. Vice President Harris met Monday with a panel of Teamsters, having long courted organized labor and made support for the middle class her central policy goal. Trump also met with a panel of Teamsters and even invited President Sean M. O’Brien to speak at the Republican National Convention, where the union leader railed against corporate greed. The Teamsters said Wednesday that internal polling of its members showed Trump with an advantage over Harris.
September 18, 2024 4:05 pm
NEW YORK (AP) — Tupperware Brands has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company that revolutionized food storage decades ago says it plans to continue operating and will seek court approval for a sale. The filing comes after growing struggles to revitalize the business. Tupperware saw a resurgence during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, but demand has since waned amid rising competition. And financial troubles have continued to pile up for the Florida company. Tupperware began to struggle as more families gave up making dinner from scratch and started dining out more. (Photo: AP)
September 18, 2024 5:07 am
Red Lobster, known for its affordable seafood and cheddary biscuits, has exited Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. A U.S. bankruptcy judge approved the casual seafood chain’s reorganization plan earlier this month, which included a lender group led by asset manager Fortress Investment Group acquiring the business. Red Lobster is now an independent, privately-held company with 545 restaurant locations in 44 states and four Canadian provinces.
September 17, 2024 5:03 am
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio (AP) — A small Ohio city has been inundated with hoax bomb threats since last week’s presidential debate, when former President Donald Trump falsely accused members of Springfield’s Haitian community of abducting and eating cats and dogs. City officials acknowledge growing pains from the influx of some 15,000 Haitian immigrants, but say there’s no evidence to support the claim they are consuming anyone’s pets. More than 30 bomb threats have been made against schools, government buildings and city officials’ homes since last week, forcing evacuations and closures. Springfield also canceled its annual celebration of diversity, arts and culture in response to the threats. On Tuesday, state police were deployed to city schools.
September 18, 2024 5:04 am
Instagram is introducing separate teen accounts for those under 18 as it tries to make the platform safer for children amid growing backlash against how social media affects young people’s lives. The teen accounts will be private by default. Messages are restricted so teens can only get them from people they follow or are already connected to. “Sensitive content,” such as videos of people fighting or those promoting cosmetic procedures, will be limited, Meta said. They will get notifications if they are on Instagram for more than 60 minutes and a “sleep mode” will be enabled that turns off notifications and send auto-replies to direct messages from 10 p.m. until 7 a.m.
September 18, 2024 3:58 pm
BEIRUT (AP) — Israel’s defense minister declares a “new phase” of war as Hezbollah officials and Lebanon’s state media say explosions went off in Beirut and multiple parts of Lebanon in an apparent second wave of detonations of electronic devices. The Hezbollah officials and state media said Wednesday that walkie-talkies and even solar equipment detonated a day after hundreds of pagers blew up. Lebanon’s Health Ministry says at least 14 people were killed and 450 were wounded. Israel’s defense minister made no mention of the mysterious waves of exploding devices in his remarks.
September 17, 2024 5:03 am
CHARLEROI, Pa. — Despite the nice weather on Monday, it was a quiet afternoon walking up and down the streets of Charleroi. But, the small river town is anything but quiet after it was thrust into the national spotlight over the weekend when former President Donald Trump made comments about the town’s Haitian immigrant population. Speaking at a campaign rally in Tucson, Arizona, Trump mentioned the influx of immigrants to the borough. “The small 4,000-person town of Charleroi, Pennsylvania. Charleroi. What a beautiful name. It’s not so beautiful now. Has experienced a 2,000% increase in the population of Haitian migrants under Kamala Harris,” Trump said. “This is a small town, all of a sudden they’ve got thousands of people.” The comments, amplified by Republican Senate Candidate Dave McCormick this weekend, were not well received by Kristin Hopkins-Calcek, the borough council president “I don’t look kindly at anyone using our town for political gain unless they are willing to offer help,” Hopkins-Cakcek told Channel 11’s Havranek. Hopkins-Calcek said Charleroi’s problems are not because of immigrants. She was out of town Monday attending meetings to try to keep the Anchor Hocking glass plant in town after the company announced plans to close it for good by the end of the year. With the new national attention, she’s calling for elected leaders to send funds to Charleroi to help. One of the things they need help with is students in the school district — many of whom don’t speak English. Channel 11 told you in the spring the district was working to support a growing number of English-as-a-Second-Language students, there are now 225 students in the program — up from 172 in March. “We are one of the only small towns in Pennsylvania that have a population increase and an upturn in our economy,” Hopkins-Calcek. I don’t want anyone’s comments on either side of the aisle to take us back.” Donald Trump won 61% of the vote in Washington County in both 2016 and 2020, and he’s hoping to get more out of the county this November.
September 17, 2024 4:55 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court has upheld a lower ruling that rejected a bid to get independent presidential candidate Cornel West on the battleground state’s ballot for the November election. The courts sided Monday with the secretary of state’s office in rejecting West’s candidacy paperwork. The decision sets in motion the process for counties to issue mail-in ballots to voters who requested one ahead of the Nov. 5 election. The court case had been among a raft of partisan legal maneuvering around third-party candidates. Now, Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris will appear on Pennsylvania’s ballot with the Green Party’s Jill Stein and the Libertarian Party’s Chase Oliver.
