June 16, 2022 4:11 am
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) – Montana’s largest city has restarted its water plant after shutting it down amid record flooding that’s caused widespread damage in Yellowstone National Park and surrounding communities. The city of Billings had asked residents to conserve water because it was down to a limited supply after shutting its treatment plant when the Yellowstone River hit record high levels. City officials said Thursday the plant was back to full capacity. But the slug of floodwater from rain and melting snow continued to move downstream. By Friday morning it was expected to reach Miles City in eastern Montana. Local authorities said there was no immediate risk to the city of more than 8,000 people.
June 16, 2022 4:09 am
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) – French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian Premier Mario Draghi have arrived in Kyiv. áThe Europeans leaders are expected to meet with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday as they prepare for a key European Union leaders’ summit in Brussels next week and a June 29-30 NATO summit in Madrid. France currently holds the EU’s rotating presidency. Romanian President Klaus Iohannis is also expected to join them.
June 16, 2022 4:07 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – The Pennsylvania Senate is advancing two competing plans to slash the state’s corporate net income tax rate. Democrats warn the bills are premature because there’s no agreement with Gov. Tom Wolf. The bills passed Wednesday on a nearly party-line basis in twin votes in the Republican-controlled chamber. The Democratic governor has said he is optimistic about coming to an agreement with Republicans on a plan to cut taxes for corporations that pay Pennsylvania’s 9.99% tax rate. That’s one of the nation’s highest. Wolf has yet to agree to a plan as part of this month’s budget negotiations. The state House in April passed yet another plan.
June 16, 2022 4:06 am
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) – Atlantic City casino workers have authorized their leaders to call a strike against the gambling houses if new contracts are not reached by the beginning of July. Members of Local 54 of the Unite Here union on Wednesday authorized their leaders to call a July 1 strike against the Borgata, Caesars, Harrah’s and Tropicana, and a July 3 strike against Hard Rock if new deals are not in place by then. Union president Bob McDevitt said 96% of the “several thousand” union members who cast ballots did so in favor of authorizing a strike.
June 16, 2022 4:04 am
The Ringgold School Board tied up loose ends for the current school year and adopted their budget for the 2022-2023 academic year. As presented in May, the board unanimously approved the $51,537,045 budget. The budget is a balanced budget. According to Kimberly Moore, Director of Finance the budget does include a tax hike of four tenths of a mill. The average home in the Ringgold School District is assessed at $111,250 so that tax increase will be $44.50. The new tax rate for taxpayers will be 15.1705 mills.
June 16, 2022 2:54 am
Interstate 70 westbound near the Taylorstown Exit was closed for hours Thursday, after a multi-vehicle accident reportedly involving an SUV and a tractor-trailer. The crash happened around eleven-thirty a.m. State Police say the lanes were reopened around four o’clock. The closure snarled traffic on the interstate and on Route 40. There’s been no word on what may have caused the crash or the extent of injuries, although unconfirmed reports are that one person was ejected from a vehicle.
June 15, 2022 5:37 pm
NORFOLK, Va. (AP) – John Hinckley Jr. has been freed from court oversight. The development Wednesday ended decades of supervision by legal and mental health professionals after Hinckley shot and wounded President Ronald Reagan in 1981. U.S. District Court Judge Paul L. Friedman had announced Hinckley’s pending released earlier this month, saying that he had shown no signs of active mental illness since the mid-1980s and had not exhibited any violent behavior or interest in weapons. Hinckley has lived in a community in Virginia since 2016.
June 15, 2022 5:16 pm
(AP) – COVID-19 shots for infants, toddlers and preschoolers in the U.S. have moved a step closer. An advisory panel for the Food and Drug Administration gave a thumbs-up to vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer for children under 5.. They are the only age group not yet eligible for vaccination against the coronavirus and many parents have been anxiously waiting to protect their little children. If all the regulatory steps are cleared, shots should be available next week. (Photo: AP)
June 15, 2022 11:51 am
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) – The gunman who killed 10 Black people in a racist attack at a Buffalo supermarket has been charged Wednesday with federal hate crimes and could face the death penalty if convicted. Payton Gendron already has pleaded not guilty to state-level charges, including hate-motivated domestic terrorism and murder following the May 14 rampage. The 18-year-old has been jailed without bail since his arrest at the Tops Friendly Market he allegedly targeted for its location in a predominantly Black neighborhood. Authorities say Gendron’s radical, racist worldview and extensive preparation for the massacre are laid out in online documents. (Photo: ABC News)
June 15, 2022 4:26 am
North Franklin Township Supervisors heard a complaint about their recently installed emergency alert siren at their monthly meeting on Tuesday. Matthew Hensler spoke to supervisors and made his displeasure with the siren clear. He tracked five weeks worth of siren soundings and indicated that the siren sounded 27 times with four times sounding in the middle of the night. He indicated that the township website states its use is for weather emergencies and is not clear that it is being used for other emergency purposes. Supervisors did not dispute the frequency of use as the fire chief later gave a report that indicated the use of it is very much once per day. Supervisor Josh Polan explained that weather alerts are just one aspect of the siren’s usage. He stated that it is also to alert residents to all emergencies. It is not to summon firemen to the station, it is meant to have residents and children get off the streets as emergency vehicles may be approaching. Supervisors were sensitive to Hensler’s complaint, but explained that the overall public safety is what is most important. They explained that roughly 80% of residents approve of the siren.
