October 1, 2021 4:08 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – With only hours to spare, President Joe Biden signed legislation to avoid a partial federal shutdown and keep the government funded through Dec. 3. Congress had passed the bill earlier Thursday. The legislation averts one crisis, but efforts to stave off a second crisis seem likely to continue for the next couple of weeks as Democrats and Republicans dig in on a dispute over how to raise the government’s borrowing cap. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says failure to raise the debt limit will lead to a financial crisis and economic recession.
October 1, 2021 2:34 am
(AP) – Pennsylvania is mailing 375,000 holders of commercial driver’s licenses in a recruitment campaign meant to address a shortage of school bus drivers. The state has a little more than 42,000 school bus drivers, the smallest complement in five years. áKurt Myers is PennDOT’s deputy secretary for driver and vehicle services. He said Thursday that the Department of Transportation will mail all current CDL holders about the need for bus drivers and inform them how they can get the right endorsement to operate a school bus. Schools across the nation are facing driver shortages, and many Pennsylvania districts are impacted.
October 1, 2021 2:27 am
(WPXI) – A homicide suspect barricaded inside a Pittsburgh home is firing a gun at SWAT and officers outside, according to police. There have also been additional gunshots heard as the negotiations continue. The goal is to bring them out alive, according to the Director of the Department of Public Safety, Wendell Hissrich. The suspect has been identified as Khalil Singletary, 25, who is wanted for a homicide on Sept. 22nd. The situation started in the Hill District section of the city around 12:30 p.m. at the corner of Bedford Avenue and Manilla Street. Bedford Avenue is closed to traffic and people are being asked to avoid the area. Tear gas has been used as well. No officers were hit by the gunfire, but it was close, Hissrich said. Officers did also return fire.
September 30, 2021 4:52 pm
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Newly proposed legislation would ban abortions in Ohio under nearly all conditions should the U.S. Supreme Court find abortion unconstitutional. The only exceptions would be if a doctor determined the abortion was needed to save a pregnant woman’s life or protect her from serious harm. The kind of bill is known as an abortion “trigger” bill and in Ohio is sponsored by Republican Sens. Kristina Roegner and Sandra O’Brien. Ten other states have similar laws in effect. An Oklahoma bill is set to become law Nov. 1. The new Ohio legislation is similar to House bills proposed in the last General Assembly.
September 30, 2021 3:54 pm
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) – Authorities say a teenage boy was shot and wounded at a school in Memphis, Tennessee, and they have detained a second boy believed to be the shooter. Memphis Police said in a statement that the shooting was reported Thursday morning at the Cummings School, which includes grades kindergarten through eighth. Police say the 13-year-old victim was taken to a hospital in critical condition. A suspect whom they described as a “male juvenile” was detained shortly afterward. Officials placed the school on lockdown and bused other students to a nearby church to be reunited with frantic parents.
September 30, 2021 1:35 pm
NEW YORK (AP) – Brace for a rude surprise on your winter heating bills. After years of unusually inexpensive levels, the price of natural gas in the United States has more than doubled since this time last year. In Europe and Asia, wholesale prices are more than five times what they were a year ago. The surging costs have coincided with a robust recovery from the pandemic recession, with more homes and businesses burning all forms of fuel. That intensified demand is poised to contribute to higher heating costs in many areas of the world.
September 30, 2021 9:36 am
A survey of Americans on President Joe Biden’s plan to require most workers to get either vaccinated or regularly tested for COVID-19 finds a deep and familiar divide: Democrats are overwhelmingly for it, while most Republicans are against it. With the highly contagious delta variant driving deaths up to around 2,000 per day, the poll released Thursday by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research showed that overall, 51% say they approve of the Biden requirement, 34% disapprove and 14% hold neither opinion.
September 30, 2021 9:35 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose for the third straight week, a sign that the highly contagious delta variant may be slowing the job market’s recovery. The Labor Department said Thursday that claims were up by 11,000 last week to 362,000 the previous week. áSince topping 900,000 in early January, applications have mostly fallen steadily as the economy bounces back from last year’s shutdowns. But they’ve risen recently as coronavirus cases tick up again. The numbers, which are a proxy for layoffs, remain elevated: Before the pandemic hit the United States hard in March 2020, they were typically coming in at around 220,000 a week.
September 30, 2021 4:16 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden appears unable to strike swift agreement with two wavering Democratic senators over his big $3.5 trillion government overhaul. That likely means trims for the measure, which will collapse without their support. Biden canceled a Wednesday trip to Chicago to keep negotiating with members of his own party. Attention is focused on Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona to articulate what size package they can live with. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi indicated she may shelve a Thursday vote on a companion $1 trillion public works bill without movement on Biden’s package. Meanwhile, Congress moved closer to resolving a separate issue over keeping the government funded past Thursday’s fiscal year end.
September 30, 2021 4:14 am
HONOLULU (AP) – Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano is erupting. Officials with the U.S. Geological Survey confirmed Wednesday that an eruption has begun in Kilauea’s Halemaumau crater at the volcano’s summit. The eruption is not in an area with homes and is entirely contained within Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. The volcano’s alert level has been raised to warning and the aviation code changed to red. Officials say increased earthquake activity and ground swelling had been detected, and at that time raised the alert levels accordingly. Kilauea had a major eruption in 2018 that destroyed scores of homes and displaced thousands of residents.
