December 16, 2019 10:51 am
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) – Senator Lindsey Graham says President Donald Trump will announce a U.S. troop drawdown later this week. Graham says the drawdown could begin before the end of the year. He says the president may lower troop numbers to 8,600, down from the current 12,000. Still, Graham has opposed a full withdrawal of U.S. troops. Speaking in Kabul on Monday, he said America’s withdrawal from Afghanistan has to be “condition based,” and that the Taliban must keep the promises they make during talks. Recently-resumed peace negotiations between the U.S. and Taliban are again “paused” after an attack Friday outside Bagram Air Base, north of Kabul.
December 16, 2019 9:35 am
BASTOGNE, Belgium (AP) – Allies and former enemy Germany together marked the 75th anniversary of one of the most important battles in World War II. At dawn on Dec. 16, 1944, Adolf Hitler launched a last-ditch offensive to turn the tide of the war after the allies had pushed German forces back across France, Belgium and the Netherlands. At first Hitler’s surprise offensive pierced the front line so deeply it came to be known as the Battle of the Bulge. Then, American troops launched a counteroffensive and by Christmas fortunes started to change. After the month-long battle, the move into Germany was unstoppable.
December 16, 2019 9:28 am
CHICAGO (AP) – Boeing Co. will temporarily stop producing its grounded 737 Max jet starting in January as it struggles to get approval from regulators to put the plane back in the air. The company says it will halt production at its plant with 12,000 employees in Renton, Washington, near Seattle. It says, however, it doesn’t immediately expect any layoffs as a result of the production halt. But layoffs could ripple through some of the 900 companies that supply parts for the plane. The Max has been grounded since March after two deadly crashes.
December 16, 2019 5:37 am
The National Weather Service has issues a ‘Winter Weather Advisory’ for our area until 11 a.m. Tuesday morning. A wintry mix is expected with total snow accumulations of around an inch in some locations. A light glaze of ice is also possible from freezing rain. Be prepared for slippery road conditions with hazardous conditions possible through your Tuesday morning commute. This advisory includes; Washington, Allegheny, and Westmoreland Counties. Tune to WJPA 95.3 FM/1450 AM for the very latest.
December 16, 2019 4:13 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Five aides to a House Democrat who plans to switch and become a Republican say they are resigning. The five have written a letter saying they can no longer work for New Jersey Rep. Jeff Van Drew because his party switch “doesn’t align with the values we brought to this job.” Van Drew has said he plans to vote this week against impeaching President Donald Trump. That puts him at odds with nearly every other House Democrat. The freshman represents a southern New Jersey district that Trump carried in 2016 and was expected to face a difficult reelection next year.
December 16, 2019 4:11 am
NEW YORK (AP) – The Hallmark Channel says it will reinstate commercials featuring same-sex couples that it had pulled from the network. Hallmark Cards CEO Mike Perry said in a statement Sunday that pulling the commercials “was the wrong decision.” Several of the ads for the wedding planning site Zola featured two brides kissing at the altar. The network had pulled the ads following a complaint from the conservative group One Million Moms, and protest was swift. A BoycottHallmarkChannel hashtag was trending on Twitter at one point, and celebrities including Ellen DeGeneres, William Shatner and Sandra Bernhard blasted the decision on Twitter.
December 16, 2019 4:10 am
PADADA, Philippines (AP) – Rescuers have pulled out two bodies from a three-story building that collapsed in a strong earthquake in the southern Philippines and are scrambling to find at least seven more people who were trapped inside. Army troops, police, firefighters and volunteers located a third body on Monday in the rubble of the building in Davao del Sur province’s Padada town but could not immediately extricate the pinned remains, according to Padada Mayor Pedro Caminero. At least five people died from Sunday’s magnitude 6.9 quake that struck Padada and outlying rural towns, cities and provinces. The region has been battered by three deadly earthquakes in recent months.
December 16, 2019 4:09 am
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) – New Zealanders have observed a minute’s silence at the moment that a volcano erupted a week earlier, killing 18 people. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern led the call for the moment of reflection at 2:11 p.m. Monday, saying that wherever people were in New Zealand or around the world, it was an opportunity to stand alongside those who had lost loved ones in the tragedy. She said it was a chance to express sorrow for those who died and were hurt, and to show support for their grieving families and friends. Two bodies have yet to be recovered from the White Island eruption site.
December 16, 2019 4:04 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Officials at two military academies say the schools are looking into hand signs flashed by students during the Army-Navy football game that can be associated with “white power.” Officials tell The Wall Street Journal that cadets at West Point and midshipmen at the Naval Academy in the stands both appeared to display the sign during Saturday’s broadcast. Spokespeople say school officials are trying to determine what the hand signals were meant to convey. The hand sign is similar to the one often used to indicate “OK,” but the Anti-Defamation League says it has lately been used as an extremist meme.
December 16, 2019 4:03 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – U.S. Steel Corp. is agreeing to pay $8.5 million to settle a 2017 class-action lawsuit that accused the steelmaker of negligence in allowing air pollution emissions from its Clairton Coke Works. The proposed agreement was filed in Allegheny County Court and a hearing on it is scheduled for Feb. 24. Under the settlement agreement, U.S. Steel must spend at least $6.5 million to reduce soot emissions and noxious odors from the the Clairton coke-making facility. áThe remaining $2 million would go to area residents and their lawyers. The company is facing other lawsuits over pollution from the Clairton facility.
