January 30, 2024 5:04 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Donald Trump is meeting with members of the Teamsters Union in Washington as he looks past the GOP primary and towards a general election rematch against President Joe Biden. The former president will participate in a roundtable Wednesday afternoon with the group’s executive board, its president and rank-and-file members. The meeting is part of Trump’s effort to win over the blue-collar workers who fueled his 2016 victory and who are expected to play a major role in November, particularly in critical Midwestern swing states like Wisconsin and Michigan.
January 30, 2024 4:40 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — U.S. Steel has agreed to settle a lawsuit that accused the Pittsburgh-based steel producer of violating federal clean air laws by operating plants without its desulfurization controls for more than three months, emitting clouds of sulfurous gas into surrounding towns. Environmental groups Clean Air Council and PennEnvironment said the settlement was filed in federal court Monday for a judge to review. They put the value of the settlement at $42 million, including $37 million worth of improvements to U.S. Steel’s Mon Valley Works plants. The groups say an additional $5 million penalty is one of the largest-ever nationally in a citizen-enforced lawsuit under federal clean air laws.
January 30, 2024 4:38 am
Washington City Council held their agenda meeting on Monday and departmental discussions were highlighted by the Washington Business District Authority. Main Street Manager, Shana Brown told council that they have mapped out the upcoming year and are looking forward to a successful year, a year that will bring changes. The biggest change, according to Brown, is the re-imagining of the Christmas holiday celebrations. Unlike last year where Small Business Saturday, Light Up Night, the Holiday Market and the annual Christmas Parade were held on consecutive weekends in 2024, all of the holiday events will occur on one weekend. This year, the Saturday after Thanksgiving, November 30th, The Home for the Holidays extravaganza will have all holiday events take place that day. Other changes occurring this year is a change to the “Passport Program.” Participants will no longer need to fill out their passports over the course of one event. They will have all year to visit vendors and participate in events sponsored by the authority. Once passports are filled out, they may be turned in for a prize t-shirt. The first event participants may use their passports is at the Love Local Cocoa Tour that takes place on February 10th. Brown also said that approximately six new businesses will be opening over the next three months.
January 30, 2024 2:16 am
City of Washington Mayor JoJo Burgess held a press conference Tuesday to offer his view on the proposed merger of the Washington Health System and UPMC. Burgess, a steel worker and organizer with the United Steel Workers union stood in support of the merger. He indicated that he met with WHS and UPMC leaders and came away understanding that all commitments to labor will be honored. He also said that he looks forward to labor negotiations between the SEIU and UPMC in 2025. He said it is an opportunity for the SEIU to grow. Burgess urged the SEIU and UPMC to halt their standoff in negotiations in Pittsburgh and sit down to the bargaining table. Burgess indicated that the $300 million that UPMC has committed to invest in the hospital will help all unions especially construction unions that will perform the improvement work. Burgess said it is important that everyone get behind the effort to merge so southwestern Pennsylvania will not lose its local access to world class care and patients would be forced to travel to Pittsburgh to obtain that care.
January 30, 2024 1:27 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro wants to devote millions of dollars to creating a 10-year economic development plan. His plan, announced Tuesday, would include developing commercial and industrial sites, revitalizing an aging workforce and better competing with neighboring states to entice big businesses to choose Pennsylvania. The announcement comes as neighboring states are pouring incentives into luring multi-billion-dollar microchip, electric vehicle and battery factories. Shapiro has been eyeing such a strategy since last year, when he told legislators during his inaugural budget address that he was “sick and tired of losing to other states.” Shapiro will be in Pittsburgh Wednesday to promote his plan. (Photo: AP)
January 29, 2024 4:26 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — An enemy drone that killed three American troops and wounded dozens of others in Jordan may have been confused with an American drone returning to the U.S. installation. That’s according to two U.S. officials who were not authorized to comment and insisted on anonymity Monday. The officials say preliminary information suggests the enemy drone that struck the installation known as Tower 22 may have been mistaken for an American drone that was in the air at the same time. The officials add that as the enemy drone was flying in at a low altitude, a U.S. drone was returning to base. As a result, there was no effort to shoot down the enemy drone.
January 29, 2024 12:52 pm
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s state Supreme Court says a lower court must hear a challenge to the constitutionality of a decades-old state law that limits the use of state Medicaid dollars to cover the cost of abortions. Monday’s 3-2 decision overturns the lower court’s ruling and puts aside an earlier state Supreme Court court decision. The high court’s majority said Monday that prior court decisions did not fully consider the breadth of state constitutional protections against discrimination. The lawsuit brought by Planned Parenthood and other operators of abortion clinics says the law unconstitutionally discriminates against poor women. Abortion is legal in Pennsylvania under state law through 23 weeks of pregnancy.
January 29, 2024 6:59 am
The Trinity School District was forced to switch to remote instruction Monday for middle school students because of a power outage. The district sent out text messages and phone calls to district parents just before 6 a.m. Only middle school students were affected. Students at other district schools had regular, in-person instruction. West Penn Power reporting having power restored in the area before 9 a.m. It’s unclear what caused the outage.
January 29, 2024 5:03 am
BEIJING (AP) — As the U.S. presidential campaign moves closer to a Donald Trump-Joe Biden rematch, China is watching uneasily. First, there are concerns about the campaigns themselves, where candidates are likely to talk tough on China. That could threaten the recent but fragile improvements in U.S.-China relations. Then there’s the outcome of the November vote. Neither candidate is particularly appealing to Beijing. While Biden has looked for areas of cooperation, Beijing is concerned about his efforts to unite allies in the Indo-Pacific in a coalition against China and his support for Taiwan. Trump might be more hesitant to defend Taiwan, but nothing can be ruled out given his unpredictability and his tough rhetoric on China.
January 29, 2024 5:02 am
RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel says “significant gaps” remain after cease-fire talks with the United States, Qatar and Egypt, but it calls them constructive and says they will continue in the week ahead. It’s a tentative sign of progress on a potential agreement that could see Israel pause military operations against Hamas in exchange for the release of remaining hostages. Meanwhile, the U.S. announced its first military deaths in the region since the war began and blamed Iran-backed militants amid concerns about a wider conflict. Gaza’s 2.3 million people face a deepening humanitarian crisis as the U.N. urges supporters to resume funding its agency helping Palestinians.
