July 11, 2021 7:52 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — With just a year and a half left in office, Gov. Tom Wolf’s primary focus will be convincing the Republican-controlled Legislature to modernize how state aid is distributed to Pennsylvania’s public schools — a shift that could carry a price tag of $1 billion. Doing so would direct more money to Pennsylvania’s poorest school districts — including districts with the state’s biggest proportions of Black students — as well as to growing suburban districts whose share of state aid reflects early 1990s demographics or political compromises in the Legislature. In an interview Thursday with The Associated Press, the Democratic governor also said he remains dedicated to two initiatives opposed by many Republicans: adding tolls to nine major interstate bridges in need of upgrades and forcing fossil fuel-fired power plants to pay a price for the carbon dioxide they emit. On the proposed bridge tolls, Wolf said he hasn’t seen a better idea to fill the growing highway construction-funding gap worsened by stagnating gasoline tax revenues. On the other, the centerpiece of his agenda to fight climate change, Pennsylvania’s coal-fired power plants have been closing anyway, Wolf said, and his plan at least promises aid to coal communities that lose plants in the future. Wolf, 72, is term-limited and must leave office in January 2023.
July 11, 2021 7:48 am
WASHINGTON, Pa. — Allegheny Technologies, Inc. is investigating an incident in which a striking employee was reportedly seen carrying a scythe and wearing a “Grim Reaper” mask and a noose around his neck outside of the company’s plate mill in Washington, Pa., a company spokeswoman said Thursday. Craig Smalls, 53, a replacement worker from Charlotte, N.C., said he and others saw the picketer as they left the plant on Tuesday. An overhead crane operator, Smalls said he’s been working there for two weeks, according to Trib Live. Smalls said that at one point, the employee grabbed the rope to the noose and pointed it at them. “As a Black man, I was very offended,” he said. “We are human. We have families. We are just making a living, too.
July 11, 2021 3:56 am
Antonio Gonzalez pleaded not guilty to nine different charges, including aggravated assault, simple assault, and attempted homicide, at his preliminary hearing. Gonzalez, alongside accomplice Juan Garcia-Hernandez, allegedly attacked an individual on May 24th. Two different surveillance videos caught the incident, which occurred near a Charleroi Sunoco. The victim contacted the EMT after the brawl, where he was later found at a Sunoco with head and back injuries. The exact reason behind their assault is unknown, according to Gonzalez’s defense attorney Renee Colbert. However, Colbert plans to further investigate the footage to “determine how to best defend” Gonzalez. “The District Attorney is going to be providing copies of a video and all written police reports”, said Colbert. Magisterial District Judge Eric Porter waived the case after Gonzalez pleaded not guilty. A formal arraignment will now be scheduled for the Court of Common Pleas.
July 11, 2021 3:49 am
MONESSEN, Pa. (WPXI) — Police are asking for the public’s help to identify a man who robbed a bank in Monessen Friday afternoon. The man entered Citizens Bank on Grand Boulevard shortly after 1:15 p.m. and passed a note to a teller. The teller gave an undisclosed amount of money to the man, who walked out of the bank. The robber was wearing a white Puma hooded sweatshirt, baseball cap, sunglasses and a face covering. Anyone with information about the suspect is asked to call Monessen Police at 724-684-4620. (Photo: WPXI)
July 10, 2021 5:04 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The White House says President Joe Biden told Russian President Vladimir Putin in a phone call that he must “take action” against cybercriminals acting in his country and that the U.S. reserves the right to “defend its people and its critical infrastructure.” The warning to Putin was largely a repetition of the tough rhetoric Biden had used during their meeting in Geneva last month, when he warned that there would be consequences for continuing cyberattacks emanating from Russia. Since then, a new ransomware attack linked to the Russia-based REvil hacking group has caused widespread disruption, placing Biden under growing pressure to this time marry the warning with actions. None were immediately announced.
July 10, 2021 5:02 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The White House says President Joe Biden has fired the Social Security commissioner. Biden has also accepted the resignation of the agency’s deputy commissioner. The White House says Biden asked Commissioner Andrew Saul to resign, and Saul’s employment was terminated when he refused the Democratic president’s request. Deputy Commissioner David Black agreed to step down. Both officials had been put in place under President Donald Trump, a Republican. Biden has named Kilolo Kijakazi, the agency’s deputy commissioner for retirement and disability policy, to lead the agency in an acting capacity.
July 10, 2021 4:59 am
HAITI (AP) – An American arrested in connection to the assassination of Haiti’s president worked alongside Sean Penn to rebuild the country from a devastating earthquake in 2010, according to three people familiar with the Hollywood actor’s decade-old relief drive. The two people said James Solages worked as a driver and in a security capacity for J/P Haitian Relief Organization, which was started by Penn following the magnitude 7.0 earthquake in 2010 that killed more than 300,000 people in the impoverished Caribbean nation. One of the people said Solages had left the organization sometime in 2011. All three people requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
July 10, 2021 4:57 am
BECKWOURTH, Calif. (AP) – A Northern California wildfire exploding through bone-dry timber has prompted Nevada authorities to evacuate a border-area community. The Beckwourth Complex – a merging of two lightning-caused fires – headed into Saturday showing no sign of slowing its rush northeast from the Sierra Nevada. Across the state line, the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office asked people to evacuate a section of Rancho Haven, north of Reno. Other fires are burning in Oregon, Arizona and Idaho. Authorities say fire conditions are tough as a heat wave engulfs the region, promising triple-digit temperatures in many areas through the weekend.
July 10, 2021 4:55 am
SURFSIDE, Fla. (AP) – The death toll in the Florida condominium collapse has risen to 78 after 14 additional victims were pulled out of the rubble. Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava announced the new number at a Friday news conference, calling it both “staggering” and “heartbreaking.” An additional 62 people are still unaccounted for. On Thursday, Paraguay’s foreign minister said in a radio report that the body of the sister of that country’s first lady was among those found. Several Latin American citizens were reported in the building when it collapsed. Rescue workers now focused on finding remains instead of survivors have pledged to keep up their search for victims until they clear all the debris at the site.
July 10, 2021 4:55 am
PHOENIX (AP) – Authorities say a fiery crash that killed six people and injured five others happened after two vehicles crossed an interstate median to pull over and get help with a flat tire. The two vehicles were hit from behind by a semi-trailer after making a U-turn in a median on Interstate 10 west of Phoenix. The state Department of Public Safety says the July 2 crash split Natisha Moffett’s car in half, and it burst into flames. The 35-year-old Arizona resident and her five children were killed. Her friend and her four children who were traveling in the other vehicle were injured.
