June 25, 2021 4:05 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania’s plans for its share of coronavirus relief and a potential boost in education funding are among the issues being negotiated as lawmakers and the governor entered the final week of their budget year. Leaders say the budget could wrap up this weekend, but details are scanty as high-level negotiations continued Thursday inside the Capitol. The final days of budget talks invariably are accompanied by deals on other issues. For example, talks on whether to reauthorize mixed-drinks to go for restaurants are still being discussed. The state’s fiscal year ends on June 30.
June 25, 2021 4:02 am
Canon McMillan School Directors met Thursday evening and were greeted by roughly 50 residents. Parents and students packed the meeting room to hear just what school directors had to say about one particular subject for the next school year. It was not the budget; it was not the health and safety plan. Seven of the nine people that spoke wanted to offer their support for their candidate for varsity wrestling coach. Ron Dami, whose son is a wrestler stated that issues of nepotism may have come into play in trying to block who he and many others felt was the best candidate to coach. Ultimately the board reopened the interview process and hired Brian Krenzelak as head coach by a 7-2 roll call vote. Directors Darla Bowman Monaco and Bernard Price were the dissenters. In school district business items, directors unanimously passed a $95 million operating budget for the 2021-2022 school year without raising taxes. Assistant Superintendant Scott Chambers stated that the board worked countless hours to craft a budget that did not raise taxes, to be fair to residents because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Directors also approved the health and safety plan that calls for students to return to classrooms 5 days a week. Masks and vaccinations are optional and daily sanitation of buildings and buses will continue.
June 24, 2021 12:37 pm
NEW YORK (AP) – An appeals court has suspended Rudy Giuliani from practicing law in New York because he made false statements while trying to get courts to overturn Donald Trump’s loss in the presidential race. An attorney disciplinary committee said in its motion to suspend Giuliani’s license that there was “uncontroverted evidence” that Giuliani had made false statements to the courts, the public and lawmakers as he pushed theories that the election was stolen through fraud. The ruling, signed Thursday, will prevent Giuliani from representing clients as a lawyer. A message seeking comment about the ruling was sent Thursday to Giuliani and his lawyer.
June 24, 2021 9:52 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits dropped last week, a sign that layoffs declined and the job market is improving. The Labor Department said Thursday that jobless claims declined just 7,000 from the previous week to 411,000. The number of weekly applications for unemployment aid has fallen steadily this year from about 900,000 in January. The level of unemployment claims generally reflects the pace of layoffs.
June 24, 2021 7:50 am
SURFSIDE, Fla. (AP) – Part of a 12-story beachfront condo building has collapsed in a town outside Miami, killing at least one person while trapping others in rubble and twisted metal. Rescuers pulled dozens of survivors from the tower Thursday morning and continued to look for more. Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett warned during a news conference that the building manager told him the tower was quite full, and the death toll was likely to rise. Rescuers have pulled 35 people from the building. The mayor says two people were brought to the hospital and one died. Authorities did not say what may have caused the collapse. (Photo: AP)
June 24, 2021 4:58 am
Two people were flown to UPMC Presbyterian Hospital in Pittsburgh following a one-vehicle crash Wednesday evening along Interstate 79 in South Strabane Township. State Police say it happened near mile-marker 38 just after 6 p.m. A vehicle driven by 30 year old Drew Scholato of Washington was traveling south when it left the roadway and overturned in the center, grass median. Scholato was ejected. A passenger, 56 year old Gary Salansky of Jupiter, Florida climbed out of the vehicle. State Police do not believe either was wearing a seatbelt. There is no word on their conditions. The investigation is ongoing.
June 24, 2021 4:25 am
The Ringgold School Board adopted their operating budget for the 2021-2022 school year and taxes are going up. The budget is set for $47,866,588 and balancing the budget included a tax increase to residents of 2.5%. The motion passed unanimously 8-0. During public comments, four parents addressed the board asking that next year school returns to a traditional in class format. Furthermore, parents requested that students not be required to wear masks. Several officials commented on those remarks indicating that state and federal funds allocated to the district are not tied to the requirement of student mask wearing. Officials stated that right now, the plan is to not require masks. They did caution parents that this is the plan right now and any change in guidance from the Pennsylvania Department of Health, the Governor or the CDC will guide any future policy on masks.
June 24, 2021 4:17 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden has announced that “we have a deal” – a bipartisan agreement on a $953 billion infrastructure plan. The agreement, reached in a meeting Thursday at the White House, means a breakthrough after arduous negotiations on the president’s top legislative priority. Biden invited members of the bipartisan group to discuss the pared-down plan that has rare broad backing and could open the door to the president’s more sweeping and more expensive proposals. The senators have struggled over how to pay for the new spending.
June 24, 2021 4:16 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Declaring that the federal government was “taking on the bad actors doing bad things to our communities,” President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced a series of efforts to stem a rising national tide of violent crime. But questions persist about how effective the efforts will be in calming what could be a turbulent summer. Crime rates have risen after plummeting during the initial months of the coronavirus pandemic, creating economic hardship and anxiety. Biden’s plan focuses on providing money to cities that need more police, offering community support and most of all cracking down on gun violence and those supplying illegal firearms.
June 24, 2021 4:15 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Vice President Kamala Harris is set to make her first visit to the U.S.-Mexico border since taking office. The visit to El Paso, Texas, is planned for Friday and comes after criticism from members of both parties over her failing to go sooner despite her leading role in the administration’s response to a steep increase in migration. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is joining Harris for the trip. So far, Harris has focused her efforts on improving economic and living conditions in the region. Her aides have insisted that her focus is distinct from the security issues that plague U.S. officials trying to handle a spike in border crossings.
