September 20, 2024 5:11 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Nearly 138,000 platform beds sold at major retailers including Amazon and Walmart are being recalled across the U.S. and Canada. That’s because they can collapse, posing fall and injury risks. Utah-based importer CVB Inc. is recalling the Lucid-branded platform beds with an upholstered square tufted headboard. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Health Canada, the beds can sag, break or collapse during use. To date, there have been 245 incidents of this occurring in the U.S., causing 18 injuries. An additional 11 reports of bed failures have been reported in Canada. Owners of the platform beds under recall are urged to stop using them immediately and contact Lucid for a free replacement frame.
September 20, 2024 5:09 am
CACONDE, Brazil (AP) — Brazilian coffee farmers are grappling with above-average temperatures as the country, the world’s largest coffee producer, faces its worst drought in more than seven decades. Vietnam, the second-largest coffee producer, is also experiencing heat and drought, affecting its coffee crops. As a result, potential supply shortages in both countries have driven up global coffee prices. Prices prices haven’t reached the record highs the world saw in the late 1970s, after a severe frost wiped out 70% of Brazil’s coffee plants. But they have been soaring in recent years.
September 19, 2024 2:52 am
Two people were injured in a crash Wednesday night involving a City of Washington police cruiser and an SUV. Authorities say that just before eleven o’clock, police were called to a stabbing in the 1200 block of Summerlea Avenue. As they were responding, one of the officers was involved in a crash at the intersection of Jefferson and Hall avenues in front of Washington Junior/Senior High School. State Police said the police cruiser was going through the intersection along Jefferson Avenue with its emergency lights activated when it was hit by the SUV coming from Hall Avenue. The woman driving the car was ejected during the crash. She was flown to UPMC Presbyterian Hospital in Pittsburgh, while the officer was taken by ambulance to the same hospital. Washington Mayor JoJo Burgess tells WJPA that the officer has since been released. State Police say their investigation is ongoing. No identities have been released.
September 19, 2024 5:38 pm
NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street romped to records as a delayed jubilation swept markets worldwide following the Federal Reserve’s big cut to interest rates. The S&P 500 jumped 1.7% Thursday for one of its best days of the year and topped its last all-time high set in July. The Dow Jones Industrial Average leaped more than 500 points, or 1.3%, to beat its own record set on Monday, and the Nasdaq composite led the market with a 2.5% spurt. Treasury yields were mixed in the bond market as economic reports helped bolster hopes that the economy can avoid a recession with the help of lower rates.
September 19, 2024 8:59 am
Three helicopters were called to the scene of a two-vehicle, head-on collision in North Bethlehem Township Thursday morning. Washington County 9-1-1 tells WJPA News it happened around 7 a.m at State Route 40 and Route 917. The crash did close the roadway in that area. A landing zone was set up in Cokeburg and all three patients were taken to hospitals in Pittsburgh. There is no word on the identity or condition of any of those injured.
September 19, 2024 4:57 am
The Washington County Coroner’s Office has identified a man found dead Wednesday in Smith Township. He is 59 year old Raymond Gilpin Sr. The coroner’s office says he barricaded himself in his Vance Drive residence following a confrontation with Washington County Adult Probation. State Police were then dispatched and used a drone which observed the deceased unresponsive with an apparent gun shot wound. A cause and manner of death are pending. State Police are not releasing any additional information at this time.
September 19, 2024 4:48 am
On September 12, Donegal Township Supervisors voted unanimously to lay off their four person road crew. The reason for the layoffs according to township supervisors was lack of productivity by the road crew. On September 18, labor negotiators for the township and the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 66 held an effects bargaining meeting to discuss the ramifications to the road crew regarding the supervisors decision to call for the layoff. According to Phil Binotto, the Labor Negotiator for the township, they are waiting for a proposal from the union regarding terms of the layoff. He expects to hear from the union in a day or so. The layoff takes effect on Friday. Contract negotiations between the township and the union have been ongoing for several years. The road crew has been working under the terms of a contract that expired on December 31, 2022. Efforts to reach Union Representative Larry Cardillo for comment have been unsuccessful.
September 19, 2024 2:17 am
(AP) – Voters in Pennsylvania are not yet able to cast ballots, despite confusion over a state law concerning applications for mail ballots. Pennsylvania counties have been waiting for the state Supreme Court to rule in multiple cases regarding whether third-party candidates could be listed on the ballot, and the last ruling came Monday. County election officials say they will need time to test, print and mail the ballots — a process that could stretch into October. Experts say confusion over the availability of ballots in Pennsylvania stems from a law that requires that counties start processing voters’ applications for mail ballots by Sept. 16. But counties didn’t need to have ballots ready by that date.
September 18, 2024 5:14 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate by an unusually large half-point, a dramatic shift after more than two years of high rates that helped tame inflation but also made borrowing painfully expensive for consumers. The rate cut, the Fed’s first in more than four years, reflects its new focus on bolstering the job market. Coming just weeks before the presidential election, the Fed’s move also has the potential to scramble the economic landscape just as Americans prepare to vote. The policymakers signaled that they expect to cut their key rate by an additional half-point in their final two meetings this year, in November and December. And they envision four more rate cuts in 2025 and two in 2026.
September 19, 2024 5:12 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — A new poll finds voters view Vice President Kamala Harris slightly more favorably than they did in July, just after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race. The survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that the Democratic presidential nominee is now seen more positively than negatively. Former President Donald Trump’s favorability ratings remained steady, although the poll was conducted prior to the apparent assassination attempt of the Republican nominee on his golf course in Florida on Sunday. Even a small uptick in Harris’ favorability rating is a positive sign for the Democratic candidate. Shifts in favorability ratings for national figures like Biden or Trump have been rare over the past few years. (Photo: AP)