December 20, 2019 4:13 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The federal government is reporting a 2.7% increase in the nation’s homeless population based on its annual count taken in January 2019. The Department of Housing and Urban Development says it is the third consecutive uptick in homelessness and was driven by a 16.4% increase in California. President Donald Trump has been highly critical of the homeless problem in California, and HUD Secretary Ben Carson says homelessness is at a crisis level in the state. While the overall homeless count increased, there are pockets of progress. The HUD count found declines in the number of homeless veterans and homeless families.
December 20, 2019 4:12 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Trump administration is celebrating the launching of Space Force, the first new military service in more than 70 years. It is authorized in the 2020 national defense bill that President Donald Trump is signing into law Friday. Space Force has been a priority for Trump, who speaks of it as part of his vision for reinvigorating America’s role in space. Although historic, Space Force will start out small. In its first year it will likely have only about 200 people and a budget of $40 million. By comparison, the Army has 480,000 active-duty soldiers and a budget of $181 billion.
December 20, 2019 4:12 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The U.S. is closely watching North Korea for signs of a possible missile launch or nuclear test in the coming days that officials are referring to as a “Christmas surprise.” A substantial launch or test could signal a decision by Pyongyang to end its self-imposed moratorium on nuclear and long-range missile tests. That would deal a significant blow to one of the Trump administration’s major foreign policy initiatives: the drive to get North Korea back to negotiations on ending its nuclear weapons program.
December 20, 2019 4:07 am
The National Weather Service has added snow squalls to the dangerous events that trigger cellphone warnings, along with tornadoes and flash floods. The goal is to prevent deadly highway crashes like the one triggered by a whiteout on Interstate 78 in Pennsylvania in February 2016. Cellphones from Maine to West Virginia buzzed a startling warning Wednesday afternoon as a cold front from Canada triggered squalls as it moved through the Northeast. Researchers say improvements in radar technology and computer modeling are allowing better short-term forecasting that enables the warnings.
December 20, 2019 4:06 am
ECORSE, Mich. (AP) – U.S. Steel Corp. says it will indefinitely idle major operations at factories near Detroit. The company said it would send notices to 1,545 employees at Great Lakes Works, although it anticipates that the actual number of people affected will be lower. Great Lakes Works, which serves the auto industry, is along the Detroit River in River Rouge and Ecorse. U.S. Steel said it expects to begin idling the iron and steel-making facilities around April 1 and the hot strip mill rolling facility before the end of 2020.
December 20, 2019 3:53 am
DETROIT (AP) – A Pittsburgh-area official accused of obstructing police at a Detroit hotel will face a second trial in April on the felony charge. A jury in November couldn’t reach a unanimous verdict in the trial of Chelsa Wagner, the elected controller in Allegheny County. She was acquitted of disturbing the peace, a separate misdemeanor. Wagner, a Democrat, was accused of interfering with police as officers tried to remove her husband from the Westin Book Cadillac hotel last March. They were in Detroit to attend a concert. A judge set a new trial for April 20.
December 19, 2019 5:26 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is insisting that before she will send the Republican Senate the articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, GOP leaders must provide more detail about how they will handle the expected trial. At the same time, the top Senate Republican is denouncing the impeachment and reassuring the president’s supporters that the Senate’s best role would be to get things calmed down so the nation can move on. Even if Pelosi gains some leverage with her procedural tactics, Trump would be expected to win a relatively rapid acquittal in the Republican-majority chamber.
December 19, 2019 5:21 pm
ERIE, Pa. (AP) – A coke plant in northwestern Pennsylvania has shut down. Erie Coke turned away employees who showed up for work Thursday morning. The company has faced mounting regulatory pressure over its environmental record. The city of Erie had recently forced Erie Coke to halt the discharge of wastewater into the municipal sewer system. That came after Pennsylvania environmental officials denied the renewal of the company’s operating permit and took legal action to get the plant shutdown, citing years of environmental violations. Erie Coke employed more than 130 people at the plant, which produces a key ingredient in the steelmaking process.
December 19, 2019 8:46 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Senate has voted to advance a $1.4 trillion government spending package. It’s a last, bipartisan burst of legislating before the end-of-the-year holidays. The legislation gives President Donald Trump a victory on his U.S.-Mexico border fence. It also gives Democrats long-sought domestic spending increases and a repeal of Obama-era taxes on high-cost health insurance plans. The first bill in the two-bill package passed easily Thursday by a 71-23 vote. A vote on a Pentagon and homeland security measure is expected later Thursday. The compromise bill would avert a possible government shutdown this weekend.
December 19, 2019 5:38 am
No injuries are reported following a fire early Thursday morning in Marianna. Washington County 9-1-1 says the blaze broke out around 12:30 a.m. in the one-thousand block of Oak Street. Firefighters battled the flames and the bitter cold temperatures for some time. There is no word on what may have caused the fire. No other information is being released at this time.
