July 26, 2022 10:25 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – U.S. consumer confidence slid again in July as concerns about higher prices for food and gas continue to weigh on Americans. The Conference Board said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index fell to 95.7 in July from 98.4 in June, largely due to consumers’ anxiety over four-decade high inflation. The business research group’s present situation index – which measures consumers’ assessment of current business and labor market conditions – fell from 147.2 to 141.3. U.S. inflation surged to a new four-decade high in June, squeezing household budgets and pressuring the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates aggressively — trends that raise the risk of a recession.
July 26, 2022 8:55 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Conflicting signs about the health of the U.S. economy have thrust the Federal Reserve into a difficult spot. With inflation raging at a four-decade high, the job market strong and consumer spending still solid, the Fed is under pressure to raise interest rates aggressively. But other signs suggest the economy is slowing and might even have shrunk in the first half of the year. Such evidence would typically lead the Fed to stop raising rates – or even cut them. For now, though, the Fed is focused squarely on its inflation fight, and this week it’s set to announce another hefty hike in its benchmark interest rate.
July 26, 2022 4:19 am
KHIMKI, Russia (AP) – American basketball star Brittney Griner has returned to a Russian courtroom for her drawn-out trial on drug charges that could bring her 10 years in prison if convicted. The trial of the two-time Olympic gold medalist and Phoenix Mercury standout began July 1 but only four sessions have been held, some them lasting only a few hours. In one session, she acknowledged she was carrying vape canisters containing cannabis oil when she was arrested at a Moscow airport in February but said she had no criminal intent. The slow-moving trial and her five months of detention have raised strong criticism among teammates and supporters in the United States, which has formally declared her to be “wrongfully detained.” Russian officials have rejected that designation.
July 26, 2022 4:18 am
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris says Indiana’s proposed abortion ban reflects a health care crisis in the United States. She met Monday with Democratic state legislators on the first day of a contentious special legislative session in Indiana. Harris traveled to Indianapolis as several thousand people on both sides of the issue filled Statehouse corridors and lined sidewalks surrounding the building. Indiana’s Republican Senate leaders last week proposed banning abortions with limited exceptions – in cases of rape, incest and to protect the life of the mother. Indiana is one of the first Republican-run states to debate tighter abortion laws following the U.S. Supreme Court decision last month overturning Roe v. Wade.
July 26, 2022 4:17 am
MASKWACIS, Alberta (AP) – Pope Francis has apologized for the Catholic Church’s cooperation with Canada’s “catastrophic” policy of Indigenous residential schools. The pontiff says the forced assimilation of Native peoples into Christian society destroyed their cultures, severed their families and marginalized generations in ways still being felt today. Francis spoke Monday near the site of the former Ermineskin Indian Residential School, on lands of four Cree nations south of Edmonton, Alberta. He said, “I humbly beg forgiveness for the evil committed by so many Christians against the Indigenous peoples.” The long-awaited apology opens Francis’ week-long “penitential pilgrimage” to Canada, which is meant to help the church on its path of reconciliation with Indigenous peoples and help victims heal.
July 26, 2022 4:13 am
SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP, Pa. — (WPXI) – Two people were killed in a multi-vehicle crash in Fayette County Sunday afternoon. According to Pennsylvania State Police, the crash happened on Mill Run Road approximately a quarter of a mile from Killarney Road in Springfield Township around 12:55 p.m. According to police, the driver of a motorcycle failed to negotiate a right-hand curve, crossed the center line, and hit a camper hauled by an SUV. The two people on the motorcycle, identified by police as Charles Marsh, 58, and passenger Kelley Marsh, 57, both of Lowber, Pennsylvania. Two motorcycles driving behind the crashed motorcycle also wrecked due to debris in the roadway. Their drivers had minor injuries and were treated on the scene. The passenger on one of the other motorcycles was taken to Frick Hospital for injuries.
July 26, 2022 4:10 am
A zoning ordinance change that was defeated by a 3-3 tie vote by council earlier this year, was introduced again in Peters Township. A public hearing was held to gather input on changes to a zoning ordinance governing the types of apartment dwellings that can be built in the mixed-use activity center areas of the township. Currently the ordinance allows apartment buildings that contain no more than 36 units in a single structure. Developer Al Neyer is currently asking that council amend the ordinance to eliminate that limit and let them build a proposed apartment complex that would have two buildings containing 120 units and 68 units with what they describe as high-end amenities. Additional changes would alter the calculation of square footage of living space in a building allowed in a development. The final change would eliminate the requirement for covered parking in an apartment complex. Seth Koons, Assistant Planning Director stated that studies show that high end apartment developments like the proposed complex are a demographic currently not served in the township. Audience members commenting during the hearing were unanimous in their opposition to the development. They are concerned about traffic in an already congested area and they state that a development like this is not part of the character that defines Peters Township.
July 26, 2022 3:11 am
MONONGAHELA, Pa. — The Washington County Coroner’s office has released the identity of a man shot and killed by police Sunday night in Monongahela. The victim identified as 29 year old Cody Bennett of Monongahela. A cause and manner of death are still pending investigation. According to the coroner’s office, police responded to a report of a man firing shots in the area of the one-thousand block of Lincoln Street just after 9 p.m. State Police are handling the investigation. They say Bennett was at a house party not far from his home but was asked to leave. Police say he went to his home, got a gun and went back, firing shots into the air and at the house. When officers arrived, police say Bennett began shooting at their car. Police instructed the man to drop the gun and he did not. Bennett was then shot by police. He was transported to Penn Highlands Mon Valley Hospital where he was pronounced dead about an hour later. (Photo: WPXI)
July 26, 2022 2:13 am
The founder and chairman of CentiMark has died. Family members announced the passing of Edward B. Dunlap, Jr., at his Upper St. Clair home on Saturday, July 23rd. He was born on September 18, 1938. They say Dunlap died after an extended illness. CentiMark Corporation is a national roofing contractor company headquartered in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. The company also has a flooring division, QuestMark, and a Canadian Roofing subsidiary.
July 25, 2022 2:48 pm
(AP) – Paul Sorvino, an imposing actor who specialized in playing crooks and cops like Paulie Cicero in “Goodfellas” and the NYPD sergeant Phil Cerretta on “Law & Order,” has died. He was 83. In his over 50 years in the entertainment business, Sorvino was a mainstay in films and television, playing an Italian-American communist in Warren Beatty’s “Reds,” Henry Kissinger in Oliver Stone’s “Nixon” and mob boss Eddie Valentine in “The Rocketeer.” He would often say that while he might be best known for playing gangsters, his real passions were poetry, painting and opera. (Photo: ABC News)
