October 25, 2021 4:13 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate is hitting new post-pandemic lows, but the labor force and payrolls shrank in September as employers struggle to find enough employees. The state Department of Labor and Industry said Friday that Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate dropped two-tenths of a percentage point to 6.2% from August’s rate. The national rate was 4.8% in September, and Pennsylvania lags most other states at 41st among 50. Pennsylvania has regained about 65% of the 1.1 million jobs lost in the pandemic. Unemployment rates were lower in 27 states. The surveys were conducted after the federal government ended supplemental payments of $300 a week, as well as expanded unemployment benefits to the self-employed.
October 25, 2021 4:11 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Spending in the race for an open seat on Pennsylvania’s state Supreme Court has blown past $5 million, with less than two weeks left until Election Day. Campaign finance reports filed Friday show that most of it, or roughly $3 million, has been spent to help Republican Kevin Brobson, including spending by third-party groups in the race. That compared with about $2 million to help Democrat Maria McLaughlin. Brobson’s largest donor, by far, is a group that receives millions from suburban Philadelphia billionaire Jeffrey Yass. Labor unions, the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association and the state Democratic Party are McLaughlin’s biggest donors.
October 25, 2021 2:26 am
NORTH STRABANE TWP., Pa. — One person is dead following a wrong-way crash on Interstate 79 early Sunday morning. According to the Washington County Coroner, Holly Ann Davis, 56, of Canonsburg was the sole occupant of a vehicle traveling northbound on the highway near the border with South Strabane Township. Her vehicle was struck by a wrong-way driver traveling south in the northbound lanes just before 2:00 a.m. Prior to the crash, 911 operators say they received calls about the wrong-way driver near the Southpointe interchange. Davis was wearing a seatbelt at the time of the accident. The wrong-way driver was identified as Kristina Rose Coyne, 26, of Washington. Coyne was flown to an area hospital for treatment and her condition is unknown. Police have not said whether or not Coyne will face charges. The Pennsylvania State Police are investigating. Assisting on scene included Canonsburg Ambulance, North Strabane and Peters Township Fire Departments and the South Strabane Police.
October 25, 2021 2:17 am
WASHINGTON, Pa. — The National Weather Service has confirmed eight tornadoes in Southwestern Pennsylvania stemming from storms Thursday night. Three of those twisters touched down in portions of Washington County. The strongest tornado ripped through Hopewell Township and areas near the Pennsylvania/West Virginia border between 7:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. before weakening near Houston. The estimated peak winds for that storm were 130 mph over a nearly 16-mile track. Trees were uprooted, while homes were damaged and farms destroyed. Peters Township experienced an EF-1 tornado that was associated with the Hopewell storm between 8:07 and 8:10 p.m. that night. Estimated peak winds were 95 mph over the 1.5-mile track. Trees were uprooted in that event, along with minor damage to homes in the area. An additional EF-1 tornado was also confirmed just east of West Finley between 7:58 and 8:00 p.m. Winds reached 100 mph over the half-mile track, causing damage to trees and some farm structures. The total tornado count for the area is now at 15 for the month. Between 1950 and 2020, only 11 total tornadoes have hit the area in the month of October. The full list of tornado damage in Southwestern Pennsylvania is below:
EAST OF WEST FINLEY (PA, WASHINGTON COUNTY) EF-1
PETERS TOWNSHIP (PA, WASHINGTON COUNTY) EF-1
HOPEWELL TOWNSHIP (PA, WASHINGTON COUNTY) EF-2
HAMPTON TOWNSHIP (PA, ALLEGHENY COUNTY) EF-1
MOUNT NEBO (PA, ALLEGHENY COUNTY) EF-0
BUTLER (PA, BUTLER COUNTY) EF-0
FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP (PA, BEAVER COUNTY) EF-1
NEW GALILEE (PA, BEAVER COUNTY) EF-1
October 24, 2021 8:40 am
There’s an intriguing subplot to President Joe Biden’s upcoming meeting with Pope Francis. The world’s two most prominent Roman Catholics will be celebrating a shared outlook on church teaching and vital social issues even as Biden faces unwavering opposition from many U.S. Catholic bishops over his stances on abortion and LGBTQ rights. Less than three weeks after Biden’s visit to the Vatican on Friday, the American bishops will convene in Baltimore, with one of the agenda items inspired in part by conservatives who contend that Biden’s support for abortion rights should disqualify him from receiving Communion. Though any document that emerges is not expected to mention Biden by name, it’s possible there could be a clear message of rebuke.
October 24, 2021 8:38 am
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A senior U.S. diplomat on Sunday urged North Korea to refrain from additional missile tests and resume nuclear diplomacy, days after the North fired off its first underwater-launched ballistic missile in two years. Sung Kim, the U.S. envoy on North Korea, spoke after meeting with South Korean officials to discuss North Korea’s recent missile tests while nuclear negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang remain stalled. Last Tuesday, North Korea fired a newly developed ballistic missile from a submarine in its fifth round of weapons tests in recent weeks. South Korean officials said the submarine-fired missile appeared to be in an early stage of development. That marked the North’s first underwater-launched test since October 2019, and the most high-profile one since President Joe Biden took office in January.
October 24, 2021 8:37 am
NEW DELHI, India (AP) — Facebook in India has been selective in curbing hate speech, misinformation and inflammatory posts, particularly anti-Muslim content, according to leaked documents obtained by The Associated Press, even as the internet giant’s own employees cast doubt over its motivations and interests. Based on research produced as recently as March of this year to company memos that date back to 2019, internal company documents on India highlight Facebook’s constant struggles in quashing abusive content on its platforms in the world’s biggest democracy and the company’s largest growth market. Communal and religious tensions in India have a history of boiling over on social media and stoking violence. The files show that Facebook has been aware of the problems for years, raising questions over whether it has done enough to address the issues. Many critics and digital experts say it has failed to do so, especially in cases where members of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party are involved.
October 24, 2021 8:35 am
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Hours before actor Alec Baldwin fired a fatal gunshot from a prop gun that he had been told was safe, a camera crew for the movie he was filming walked off the job to protest conditions and production issues that included safety concerns. Disputes in the production of the Western film “Rust” began almost from the start in early October and culminated with seven crew members walking off several hours before 42-year-old cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed. The crew members had expressed their discontent with matters that ranged from safety procedures to their housing accommodations, according to one of those who left. He requested anonymity for fear that speaking up would hurt his prospects for future jobs. Rust Movie Productions did not answer emails Friday and Saturday seeking comment. At a rehearsal on the film set Thursday at Bonanza Creek Ranch outside Santa Fe, the gun Baldwin used was one of three that a firearms specialist, or “armorer,” had set on a cart outside the building where a scene was being rehearsed, according to the court records. Court records indicate that an assistant director, Dave Halls, grabbed a prop gun off a cart and handed it to Baldwin, indicating incorrectly that the weapon didn’t carry live rounds by yelling “cold gun.” When Baldwin pulled the trigger, he unwittingly killed Hutchins and wounded director Joel Souza, who was standing behind her inside a wooden, chapel-like building.
October 24, 2021 8:32 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Republicans have succeeded this year in passing a range of voting restrictions in states they control politically, from Georgia to Iowa to Texas. They’re not stopping there. Republicans in at least four states where Democrats control the governor’s office, the legislature or both — California, Massachusetts, Michigan and Pennsylvania — are pursuing statewide ballot initiatives or veto-proof proposals to enact voter ID restrictions and other changes to election law. In another state, Nebraska, Republicans control the governor’s office and have a majority in the single-house legislature, but are pushing a voter ID ballot measure because they have been unable to get enough lawmakers on board. Republicans say they are pursuing the changes in the name of “election integrity,” and repeat similar slogans — “easier to vote, harder to cheat.” Democrats dismiss it as the GOP following former President Donald Trump’s false claims that widespread fraud cost him the election. They say Republicans have tried to whip up distrust in elections for political gain and are passing restrictions designed to keep Democratic-leaning voters from registering or casting a ballot.
October 23, 2021 4:39 am
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) – Court records show that an assistant director unwittingly handed Alec Baldwin a loaded weapon and told him it was safe to use in the moments before the actor fatally shot a cinematographer. The assistant director referred to the gun as “cold,” according to a search warrant filed Friday in a Santa Fe, New Mexico, court. Instead, the gun was loaded with live rounds. When Baldwin pulled the trigger Thursday on the set of a Western, he killed 42-year-old cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. The sheriff’s office obtained the warrant so investigators could document the scene where the shooting took place. They sought to examine Baldwin’s blood-stained costume for the film “Rust.”
