September 12, 2019 4:08 am
DENVER (AP) – Several Democratic presidential candidates are running on a promise to ban fracking and stepping on unstable political ground as they do so. Must-win Pennsylvania has gotten an economic boost from fracking, the technique used by the energy industry to extract oil and gas from rock. The procedure is also vital in swing state Colorado and in the Democrats’ dream state of Texas, the headquarters of the energy industry. Fracking has become steadily less popular as worries about the side effects of the energy extraction technique have increased. It’s been linked to water contamination, air pollution and even earthquakes. But it’s also helped bring down the cost of natural gas and the use of dirtier-burning coal. Even most environmentalists have proposed regulating it rather than banning it.
September 12, 2019 4:07 am
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) – A third family has come forward in an investigation of multiple suspicious patient deaths at a Veterans Affairs hospital in West Virginia. Attorney Tony O’Dell says Thursday he’s representing the family of Navy veteran John Hallman after the 87-year-old died at the Louis A. Johnson VA Medical Center in Clarksburg last year. Federal prosecutors are probing the deaths of up to 11 patients at the facility. Attorneys representing the families of men who died say at least two of the deaths have been ruled homicides, with both veterans dying from wrongful insulin injections. O’Dell says Hallman died suddenly after his blood sugar spiked, indicting another wrongful insulin injection. Separately, the VA inspector general this week confirmed an investigation of multiple sexual assaults at another VA facility in West Virginia.
September 12, 2019 4:06 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Animal welfare officers and emergency responders have removed over 100 dogs, ranging from puppies to elderly animals, from a filthy home near Pittsburgh where the owner had been hoarding them. Ross Township Police Chief Brain Kohlhepp says officers had to enter the home in hazmat suits and use breathing apparatuses, since the ammonia levels were dangerously high. He says the dogs, mostly Australian shepherd mixes, were never allowed outside. Animal Friends of Pittsburgh have taken them in, and say in a Facebook post that many were emaciated and in need of immediate medical attention. They say the final count was 117 dogs inside the home. The owner of the house had been charged in 2008 for hoarding animals, including chickens and goats. Officials say she’ll likely be charged again.
September 11, 2019 5:29 pm
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) – Nearly half the states and some 2,000 local governments have agreed to a tentative settlement with OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma over the toll of the nation’s opioid crisis. Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich said the agreement reached Wednesday included more money from the family that owns Purdue than had been offered previously. He told The Associated Press the tentative settlement deal was the quickest way to get relief for communities devastated by the opioid epidemic. Sources with direct knowledge of the talks say that Stamford, Connecticut-based Purdue will pay up to $12 billion over time and that the Sackler family will give up control of the company. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. Paul Farrell is an attorney for several local governments. He said in a text message that they have agreed to a deal that has been on the table for several weeks. Even with Wednesday’s development, roughly half the states had not signed on. Several state attorneys general vowed to continue their legal battles against the company and the Sacklers.
September 11, 2019 3:43 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump says his administration will propose banning thousands of flavors used in e-cigarettes amid an outbreak of breathing problems tied to vaping. State and federal health authorities are investigating hundreds of breathing illnesses reported in people who have used e-cigarettes and other vaping devices. No single device, ingredient or additive has been identified. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar says the Food and Drug Administration will develop guidelines to remove all e-cigarette flavors from the market, especially those favored by children. The FDA regulates e-cigarettes and has authority to ban vaping flavors, but has resisted calls to take that step. Instead, the agency has said it is studying the role of flavors in vaping products, including whether they help adult smokers quit traditional cigarettes.
September 11, 2019 3:39 pm
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – T. Boone Pickens, who amassed a fortune as an oil tycoon and corporate raider and gave much of it away as a philanthropist, has died. He was 91. Spokesman Jay Rosser confirmed Pickens’ death Wednesday to The Associated Press. Pickens made his first millions in oil, burnishing an image as a maverick, unafraid to take on giants in the oil patch. Even his name seemed to fit, like central casting’s idea of what an oilman should be named. Starting in the 1980s, he became known for launching hostile corporate takeover bids that often resulted in a huge payoff. His fortune soared into the billions. Pickens flirted with the idea of marketing water from West Texas to the state’s metropolitan areas. In a break from his past, he also developed wind farms. (Photo: CNN)
September 11, 2019 1:39 pm
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) – A suspect was in custody after multiple stabbings in an industrial area of Florida’s capital city, authorities said Wednesday. The Tallahassee Police Department said in an online news release that they were called to an industrial area in the city for a stabbing Wednesday morning. When they arrived, they found multiple people with stab wounds. The stabbing victims required immediate medical attention, according to police. No further details were immediately given. The stabbing took place at Dyke Industries, according to the police. The business distributes residential and commercial building supplies, such as doors and windows, according to the company’s website. A company representative didn’t immediately return a request for comment.
September 11, 2019 9:18 am
The State Police Fire Marshall is investigating after a pair of fires broke out at the same Canonsburg home. Canonsburg Volunteer Fire Chief Tim Solobay tells WJPA News that firefighters were called to 240 Lincoln Avenue just after 8:30 p.m Tuesday night. He says the home was heavily involved when they arrived but crews were able to knock it down quickly. An initial investigation determined that wiring in the home likely caused the blaze. The occupant was not home at the time and no injuries resulted. Crews then taped off the scene and left. Solobay, however, says the occupant then returned to retrieve belongings from the home around 2 a.m. A second fire then broke out just after 4 a.m. about an hour after the occupant had left. Solobay calls that suspicious especially given how intense the second fire was. He also points out that power to the home had been turned off. The Fire Marshall is, again, investigating. The identity of the occupant has not been released.
September 11, 2019 4:23 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Income for the median U.S. household last year finally matched its previous peak set in 1999 after growing at the slowest annual pace since 2014. Government figures show that after more than a decade of economic growth – the longest expansion on record – Americans are earning no more than they did two decades ago once inflation is taken into account.
The Census Bureau says that median household income rose 0.9% in 2018 to an inflation-adjustedá$63,179 from $62,626 in 2017. The poverty rate fell to 11.8%, the lowest annual level since 2001. That improvement reflects increased income over the past several years for many workers in low-wage jobs. At the same time, the proportion of Americans with health insurance fell to 91.5% from 92.15 in 2017.
September 11, 2019 4:21 am
BEIJING (AP) – China has announced some U.S. industrial chemicals will be exempt from tariff hikes imposed in a trade war with Washington but maintained penalties on soybeans, pork and other farm goods. The Ministry of Finance’s announcement Wednesday came ahead of October talks aimed at ending the fight over trade and technology that threatens global economic growth.
The ministry’s first list of goods exempted from tariff hikes imposed in response to President Donald Trump’s penalty duties on Chinese imports includes industrial grease and some other chemicals. But penalties of up to 25% stayed in place on soybeans and hundreds of other goods.
