January 22, 2022 3:52 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania’s payrolls are continuing to grow, but a persistent worker shortage is still keeping labor markets tight. The state Department of Labor and Industry said Friday that Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate dropped three-tenths of a percentage point to 5.4% in December. The national rate was 3.9% in December. In a survey of households, the labor force shrank for the seventh straight month, reflecting a worker shortage that some economists attribute partly to an increase in people who have recently gone to work for themselves. In a separate survey of employers, payrolls in Pennsylvania grew in December by more than 14,000, driven primarily by hiring in trucking and warehousing.
January 21, 2022 10:41 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Louie Anderson, whose four-decade career as a comedian and actor included his unlikely and Emmy-winning performance as mom to twin adult sons in the TV series “Baskets,” has died at age 68. Anderson’s publicist Glenn Schwartz says the comedian died Friday in Las Vegas. The publicist had said earlier this week that Anderson was hospitalized for a type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. He’d been a familiar face elsewhere on TV, including as host of a revival of the game show “Family Feud” from 1999 to 2002, and on comedy specials and in frequent late-night talk show appearances.
January 21, 2022 8:47 am
GENEVA (AP) – The United States and Russia sought to lower the temperature in a heated standoff over Ukraine, even as they said no breakthrough was imminent amid fears of a possible Russian invasion. Armed with seemingly intractable and diametrically opposed demands, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met in Geneva at what the American said was a “critical moment.” With an estimated 100,000 Russian troops massed near Ukraine, many fear Moscow is preparing an invasion although Russia denies that. The U.S. and its allies are scrambling to present a united front to prevent that or coordinate a tough response if they can’t.
January 21, 2022 4:37 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Meat Loaf, the rock superstar loved by millions for his “Bat Out of Hell” album and for such theatrical, dark-hearted anthems as “Paradise by the Dashboard Light” and “Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad,” has died at age 74. A family statement provided by his longtime agent says the singer born Marvin Lee Aday died Thursday night. “Bat Out of a Hell,” his mega-selling collaboration with songwriter Jim Steinman, came out in 1977 and became one of the bestselling records in history. He was also known for his role in “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” and the 1993 single “I’d Do Anything for Love.”
January 21, 2022 4:18 am
(AP) – Candy maker Mars is giving a makeover to its six M&M’s characters as a way to promote inclusivity. The company said that it will provide a modern take on the appearances of the characters – which Mars calls “lentils” – and give them more nuanced personalities. The lentils, which are featured in red, green, orange, yellow, brown and blue, will also come in different shapes and sizes. Mars, whose brands also include Twix and Snickers, said that it will also put added emphasis on the ampersand in the M&M’s logo to demonstrate how the brand aims to bring people together. (Photo: ABC News)
January 21, 2022 4:16 am
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – California would allow children age 12 and up to be vaccinated without their parents’ consent, the youngest age of any state, under a state senator’s proposal. Alabama allows such decisions at age 14, Oregon at 15, Rhode Island and South Carolina at 16. Only Washington, D.C., has a lower limit, at age 11. Sen. Scott Wiener, a Democrat from San Francisco who proposed the change late Thursday, argued that California already allows those 12 and up to consent to certain vaccines and treatments. Wiener’s legislation is permissive, not a mandate, but any vaccination legislation has been hugely controversial in California and elsewhere.
January 21, 2022 4:15 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The annual anti-abortion rally in the nation’s capital sounded more like a victory celebration Friday. Speaker after speaker expressed a growing sense of optimism that their long-sought goal was finally in reach: a sweeping rollback of abortion rights in America. Thousands of anti-abortion protesters rallied in the bitter cold and then marched to the Supreme Court. The high court has indicated it will allow states to impose tighter restrictions on abortion with a ruling in the coming months – and possibly overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that affirmed the constitutional right to an abortion.
January 21, 2022 4:12 am
An Avella man was killed in a vehicle crash Thursday afternoon in Cross Creek Township. The Washington County Coroner’s office says 28 year old Zachary Noga lost control of his vehicle in the 200-block of Cross Creek Road just after 2 p.m. The vehicle left the roadway, traveled down an embankment and struck the exterior of a home. He was not wearing a seatbelt and was pronounced dead at the scene. A cause and manner of death are pending. State Police are investigating.
January 20, 2022 12:17 pm
A group of Ringgold residents have filed a civil lawsuit in Washington County Court, claiming the Ringgold School Board violated Pennsylvania’s Sunshine Law when they added an item to their agenda last month, amending the district’s health and safety plan requiring students and staff wear masks. Lane Turturice, who is representing the sixteen individuals, says the suit names the Ringgold School District and the five board members who voted to approve the measure. The suit claims the board deliberated and voted on the amendment at its December 15th meeting, but it was not included on the meeting’s posted agenda, as required by law. Turturice says the court is being asked to nullify the board’s decision. Turturice refused further comment at this time and attempts to reach the Ringgold solicitor, Tim Berggren, have been unsuccessful
January 20, 2022 8:48 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose to the highest level in three months as the fast-spreading omicron variant disrupted the job market. Jobless claims rose for the third straight week – by 55,000 to 286,000, highest since mid-October, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The four-week average of claims, which smooths out weekly volatility, rose by 20,000 to 231,000, highest since late November. A surge in COVID cases has set back what had been a strong comeback from from last year’s short but devastating coronavirus recession.
