September 1, 2021 4:26 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Ukrainian leader who found himself ensnarled in Donald Trump’s first impeachment is coming to Washington to see a new president. In a meeting Wednesday with President Joe Biden, Volodymyr Zelenskyy is seeking increased military aid and backing for his country’s bid for NATO membership. The White House says the meeting is aimed at showing support for Ukraine’s sovereignty in the face of Russia’s seizure of Crimea and backing of armed separatists in the country’s east. Biden also intends to encourage Zelenskyy’s efforts to tackle corruption and reassure him that the U.S will help protect Ukraine’s energy security.
September 1, 2021 4:25 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden defended the way the U.S. ended its 20-year “forever war” in Afghanistan. He called the military airlift to extract some 120,000 Afghans, Americans and other allies an “extraordinary success.” More than 100 Americans and thousands of Afghans were left behind, but Biden said diplomatic and other efforts would continue to get them out. His speech Tuesday from the White House came 24 hours after the departure of the last American aircraft from Kabul. Biden said: “I was not going to extend this forever war. And I was not going to extend a forever exit.”
September 1, 2021 4:23 am
The remnants of Hurricane Ida will not soon be forgotten in Southwestern Pennsylvania as heavy rains pounded the region for several hours Wednesday morning.l The mayor of Bridgeville has declared a state of emergency in the borough after flood waters forced the evacuation of several residents and businesses. Forty students and a driver needed to be rescued when a school bus was overtaken by floodwaters along Seavey Road in Shaler Township. Most schools in Washington and Allegheny counties were closed or on remote-learning schedules and morning commuters had a treacherous drive as flooded roadways seemed to appear out of nowhere. Washington County Interim Emergency Management Director Ryan Frazee says areas like Cecil, Midway, Peters, Donegal and Hopewell Townships were all hit very hard. A section of Route 519 (Western Avenue) was closed between Meddings and Paxton Farm roads. There were also reports of mudslides affecting area roadways. At the height of the storm, West Penn Power reported more than 18-hundred customers without power. Frazee tells WJPA News that, while emergency responders were busy, there were no reports of any major injuries and a new forecast issued Wednesday afternoon gives them hope that the rivers in the area will crest lower than the height initially expected.
August 31, 2021 2:33 pm
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Mike Richards is out as executive producer of “Jeopardy!”, days after he exited as the quiz show’s newly appointed host because of past misogynistic and other comments. Richards is also no longer executive producer of “Wheel of Fortune,” according to a memo to staff that was confirmed by Sony, which produces both of the shows. Suzanne Prete, an executive with the game shows, says in the memo that they “had hoped that when Mike stepped down from the host position at Jeopardy! it would have minimized the disruption and internal difficulties we have all experienced these last few weeks.” She says that “has not happened.”
August 31, 2021 2:27 pm
UNDATED (AP) – Walgreens will hike starting pay to $15 an hour beginning in October, as employers across the United States continue boosting wages to attract workers. The drugstore chain says the wage hike will take effect in phases and be completed by November 2022. It will affect workers in the U.S., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, where the company has about 190,000 hourly employees and 9,100 store locations.
August 31, 2021 4:15 am
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. (AP) – A ferocious wildfire is approaching Lake Tahoe just hours after roads were clogged with fleeing cars when the entire California resort city of South Lake Tahoe was ordered to evacuate. Communities just across the state line in Nevada are warned to get ready to leave. The huge Caldor Fire has grown to more than 292 square miles. Flames crossed state highways 50 and 89 and burned mountain cabins as it churns down slopes into the Tahoe Basin. New firefighters arrived Monday evening and were dispatched immediately to protect homes. Forecasters are warning of critical fire weather through Wednesday.
August 31, 2021 4:14 am
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said Monday that state and local emergency responders conducted 20 rescues from flooded areas in the state’s three coastal counties.He said he decided to let federal search-and-rescue teams leave Mississippi to help with bigger problems in Louisiana. Reeves said Mississippi had plenty of local teams to do what was needed. Meanwhile, early Monday evening hundreds of utility trucks with buckets and ladders were seen parked at an outlet mall in Gulfport, Mississippi, that was being used as a staging area. Workers said they were waiting on roads to be cleared and electrical substations restored before heading west into Louisiana to erect new poles and lines.
August 31, 2021 4:11 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Social Security and Medicare, the government’s two biggest benefit programs, remain under intense financial pressure with the retirement of millions of baby boomers and a devastating pandemic putting increased pressures on the two programs’ finances. A report from the programs’ trustees released Tuesday moved up by one year the date for the depletion of Social Security’s reserves. It now projects Social Security will be unable to pay full benefits starting in 2034 instead of 2035. Medicare is still expected to exhaust its reserves in 2026, the same date as estimated last year.
August 31, 2021 4:10 am
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) – The Taliban now have full control of Kabul’s international airport after the last U.S. plane took off. The scene on Tuesday marks the end of America’s longest war, a quiet airfield in the Afghan capital and a few Afghans outside the gates still hoping to flee the insurgents’ rule. Vehicles raced back and forth along the Hamid Karzai International Airport’s sole runway on the northern military side of the airfield. Before dawn broke, heavily armed Taliban fighters walked through hangars on the military side, passing some of the seven CH-46 helicopters the U.S. State Department used in its evacuations before rendering them unflyable.
August 31, 2021 4:06 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – A former state lawmaker and two-time congressional candidate from the Pittsburgh area says he’ll run for the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor next year. Rick Saccone said Monday that he’ll make a formal announcement Sept. 10. Saccone drew attention Jan. 6 when he posted videos online from outside the U.S. Capitol that appeared to support the violent insurrection by supporters of then-President Donald Trump to prevent Congress from confirming Democrat Joe Biden’s victory. Saccone said Monday that he hasn’t had any run-in with law enforcement over his statements and insisted he knew of no violence at the Capitol until he was at his bus, ready to leave.
