January 30, 2020 9:22 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The U.S. economy grew at a moderate 2.1% rate in the final three months of 2019, capping a year when growth slowed significantly due to a weaker global economy and trade war uncertainties. The Commerce Department said the fourth-quarter increase in the gross domestic product, the economy’s total output of goods and services, matched the 2.1% gain of the third quarter. For the whole year, GDP increased 2.3%, the weakest performance in three years. Economists look for even slower growth in 2020 of around 1.8%. But that could be threatened by various threats from a spreading coronavirus to a flare-up in trade tensions between the United States and China
January 30, 2020 4:16 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Just as the outlook for the global economy had been brightening, a new threat has emerged in the form of the viral outbreak in China. That was the cautionary message Chairman Jerome Powell delivered after the Federal Reserve held interest rates low. Powell said the signing of a preliminary U.S.-China trade deal, the resolution of Brexit and low rates in the U.S. and abroad had suggested that the world economy would expand more quickly. That’s now threatened by the virus.
January 30, 2020 4:14 am
NEW YORK (AP) – For the first time in four years, life expectancy in the U.S. has gone up. The increase is small – just a month. But it marks at least a temporary halt to a downward trend. The rise is mostly due to lower death rates for cancer and drug overdoses. The government calculation released Thursday is for 2018. On average, an infant born that year is expected to live about 78 years and 8 months. For decades, U.S. life expectancy was on the upswing, but then for a four-year period it declined or held steady.
January 30, 2020 4:13 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Senate impeachment trial of President Donald Trump adjourned late Wednesday night with Republicans appearing focused on bringing the proceedings to a vote of acquittal, possibly in a matter of days. Revelations from former national security adviser John Bolton were countered by the president’s lawyers, who used Wednesday’s question-and-answer session to insist senators have heard enough. Democrats maintained that Bolton’s account in a forthcoming book could not be ignored and pushed to have him testify to Trump saying he wanted military aid withheld from Ukraine until it agreed to investigate Joe Biden and his son. The vote on calling witnesses is expected by Friday.
January 30, 2020 4:10 am
GENEVA (AP) – The World Health Organization has declared the outbreak of new virus from China a global emergency after the number of infected people spiked more than tenfold in a week. The United Nations health agency made the determination on Thursday as more cases of human-to-human transmission were being reported worldwide. To date, China has reported more than 7,800 cases, including 170 deaths. Eighteen other countries have reported cases, as scientists race to understand how exactly the virus is spreading and how severe it is.
January 30, 2020 4:08 am
Vanessa Bryant made her first public comment since the helicopter crash that killed her husband Kobe Bryant, one of their daughters and seven others. She took to Instagram to thank people for the global outpouring of support since the tragedy. Bryant also announced the formation of a fund to help support the other families that were affected by the crash. She said she is “completely devastated” by the loss of her husband and her “loving, thoughtful and wonderful” daughter, Gianna.
January 30, 2020 4:06 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Gov. Tom Wolf is unveiling a $1.1 billion package intended to help eliminate lead and asbestos contamination, primarily in Pennsylvania’s schools. The initiatives discussed Wednesday at a news conference in the Capitol includes money in the Democratic governor’s upcoming budget proposal and expanding existing grant programs. Top Republicans took no position on it, saying they’ll discuss it in budget negotiations. The proposal comes as school districts, including Philadelphia and Scranton, are increasingly grappling with environmental hazards, such as lead, mold and asbestos. Wolf has discussed the need in the past, but a sprawling infrastructure plan he floated last year never saw a vote.
January 30, 2020 4:05 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Package deliver company United Parcel Service is committing to spending $1.4 billion to expand its operations in Pennsylvania and hire more than 1,700 new, full-time employees. Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration said Wednesday it offered UPS $2.7 million in tax credits and more than $6 million in grants as part of the projects. The company says it’ll will expand its operations in Philadelphia and Cumberland, Dauphin and Northumberland counties, spending the money on building renovations, equipment and infrastructure improvements at each of the locations.
January 30, 2020 4:03 am
Monessen Residents attending the Wednesday night City Council meeting hoping for a more civilized atmosphere had their hopes dashed. Over 100 people crammed into council chambers to see just how Mayor Matthew Shorraw and City Council would govern going forward. To say the least residents were treated to a circus. Before the meeting even started, the Mayor and two council members were served subpoenas by a constable. Once the meeting started, an argument ensued regarding the Mayor’s wanting to ratify the appointments made during the reorganization meeting. No list of appointments was available and the motion was tabled due to lack of information. During Councilman Anthony Orzechowski’s report, he asked City Administrator John Harhai to resign over his use of volunteers in his office where those volunteers could have accessed sensitive information on residents. Orzechowski pointed to privacy laws that could have been violated and opened the city to lawsuits. Councilman Gil Coles came under fire for asking for bills to be paid with no list of bills that he wanted to be paid. And finally the Mayor had to table three of his agenda items due to his lack of due diligence study. Shorraw wanted to change vendors on a police department computer upgrade to a firm that does not have federally mandated credentials. Shorraw wanted to appoint a member to a Sewer Authority Board position that had been filled at the end of 2019. Had that motion been approved, that decision would have been challenged in court. The solicitor stated that there was no way that the City would win the case. Finally, after a night where council members detailed the fact that the city has no money and could be on the verge of Act 47 management from the state, Shorraw wanted to farm out payroll services for the city at the cost of $300 dollars per week. Councilman Orzechowski fought against this move because of the funding issue and that it could cause a grievance to be filed by the union workers in the city. All three of these motions were tabled and Shorraw stated that remedies would be available at the next council meeting on February 11.
January 30, 2020 2:48 am
(WPXI) – Mark Hall, who was missing in Pittsburgh, was found dead on Tuesday, according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office. The ME’s office said Hall, 47, was found unresponsive inside of a vehicle inside the Hot Metal Parking Garage on Sidney Street in the South Side around one-thirty. He was last seen Jan. 23rd in the West End, according to a post on the Pittsburgh Police Facebook page. Hall was the officer in charge for the Houston Borough Police Department. The Medical Examiner will perform an autopsy to determine the cause and manner of his death.
