October 4, 2019 10:20 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The U.S. unemployment rate fell in September to a new five-decade low of 3.5%, while employers added a modest 136,000 jobs. The Labor Department says that despite the ultra-low unemployment rate, which was down from 3.7% in August, average hourly wages slipped by a penny. Hourly pay rose just 2.9% from a year earlier, lower than 3.4% at the beginning of the year. Hiring has slowed this year as the U.S.-China trade war has intensified, global growth has slowed, and businesses have cut back on their investment spending. Still, hiring has averaged 157,000 in the past three months, enough to lower the unemployment rate over time. The unemployment rate for Latinos fell to 3.9%, the lowest on records dating from 1973.
October 4, 2019 4:51 am
Washington taxpayers will be getting good news soon. Washington City Council is looking to approve two measures to help save money. First, Council is looking to approve a reduction in the earned income tax for workers that are not city residents. Council wants to reduce the rate from .4 to .2 in the collection of the Distressed Pension Finance tax. This is the second reduction in this tax in the last three years. Mayor Scott Putnam looks at the reduction as a benefit to employees and business owners. The second cost saving measure would be council’s approval to act as guarantor for the refinance of a City of Washington Parking Authority Bond. The current bond ends in 2030. The refinance would not extend the term of the loan but would significantly reduce the annual payment. Putnam indicates that the city has been called on to bail out the Parking Authority when revenues did not meet the needs of the current loan. It is hoped that this refinance will eliminate any need for the City to come to the aid of the Parking Authority. In other city business, council approved nearly $300,000 in road improvements for the remainder of this year. The most important project is improvements to Allison Ave. Councilman Ken Westcott highlighted the importance of repaving Allison Ave. now because it will be an important detour when a 2 ½ year PennDot project along Jefferson, Wylie and Allison begins in 2020.
October 4, 2019 4:19 am
BAGHDAD (AP) – Iraq’s prime minister has addressed the nation over the turmoil gripping the country, calling on protesters to go home and saying their demands have been heard. Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi says that the security measures imposed in the wake of this week’s violence, including the temporary curfew, are “difficult choices” but are needed like “bitter medicine” that has to be swallowed. Iraqi security forces have imposed a round-the-clock curfew in Baghdad. Since Tuesday, they fired live rounds and tear gas every day to disperse anti-government protests, leaving 33 people dead and wounding hundreds. The prime minister’s speech was televised early on Friday. He told protesters their “legitimate” demands in countering corruption and providing jobs have been heard and that it’s “important to help the government perform its duty toward you.”
October 4, 2019 4:16 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump said Friday the White House is preparing a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi formally objecting to the Democrats conducting their impeachment inquiry without an official vote. The letter is expected to say the administration won’t cooperate with the probe without that vote – but Trump also said he believes it will pass. Trump acknowledged that Democrats in the House “have the votes” to begin a formal impeachment inquiry, but said he is confident they don’t have the votes to convict in the GOP-controlled Senate. And he said he believes the move will backfire on Democrats politically.
October 4, 2019 4:12 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Three House committees have released dozens of texts between U.S. diplomats in Ukraine discussing how to handle a response to President Donald Trump’s demands that the country launch an investigation into Joe Biden’s family. The release follows an almost 10-hour interview with former Ukrainian envoy Kurt Volker. Volker provided the text messages to the committees. In the texts, Volker and two other diplomats discuss how to navigate Trump’s requests for the probe into his political rival. In one exchange, Volker and Ambassador Gordon Sondland discussed a draft statement in which the Ukraine government would announce an investigation into the 2016 U.S. presidential election and into a company whose board Biden’s son served on. Trump’s pressure on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is the subject of the House Democrats’ impeachment investigation.
October 4, 2019 4:10 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf is taking a big step in his effort to fight climate change in the nation’s fourth-biggest emitter of greenhouse gases. The Democratic governor on Thursday ordered his administration to start working on regulations to bring Pennsylvania into a nine-state consortium that sets a price and limits on greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. Joining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative could face pushback from the Republican Legislature and the coal and gas industries.
October 4, 2019 4:07 am
ROSTRAVER, Pa. – Rostraver police are investigating an incident that happened at a school bus stop Thursday morning. School district officials told news partners at Channel 11 that a student had a knife in his backpack when he went to a bus stop along Mathews Road in Belle Vernon. According to district officials, the student had a steak knife in his backpack. However, the response from other students and adults was so quick that the knife never made it onto school property or on the bus. One parent says she stopped her son from getting on the bus once she was alerted about the student with a knife. She called police, but officials said it was students who first alerted nearby adults. The school district issued a statement regarding the incident below: “We are very proud of the students that chose to do the right thing and get an adult involved. The administration investigated and will take steps to ensure the safety of all of our students. It is our number one priority.” It is unclear what, if anything, will happen to the student who had the knife, but police said they are still in the process of fact-finding. The incident is still under investigation.
October 3, 2019 4:19 pm
NEW YORK (AP) – The outbreak of U.S. vaping-related illnesses has surpassed 1,000 cases. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday that 1,080 confirmed and probable cases have been reported in 48 states and one U.S. territory. The count includes 18 deaths in 15 states. The first illnesses occurred in late March. Recently, 200 or more cases have been reported each week. Only Alaska and New Hampshire have yet to report cases. Doctors say the illnesses resemble an inhalation injury. Symptoms include severe shortness of breath, fatigue and chest pain. So far, officials have not identified a particular electronic cigarette, vaping device, liquid or ingredient behind the outbreak. But most who got sick said they vaped products containing THC, the ingredient that gives marijuana its high.
October 3, 2019 12:39 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) – The government’s consumer watchdog agency is ordering Juul and five other vaping companies to hand over information about how they market e-cigarettes. The move from the Federal Trade Commission comes amid a nationwide crackdown on e-cigarettes as lawmakers and health authorities try to reverse an explosion of underage vaping. The agency said Thursday it is scrutinizing vaping sales and promotion, including the use of online influencers. The government order was also sent to R.J. Reynolds Vapor Company, Fontem US, Logic Technology Development, Nu Mark and NJOY. More than 1 in 4 high school students reported vaping in the past month, according to the latest government survey data. Juul already faces multiple investigations by Congress, the Food and Drug Administration and several states attorneys general.
October 3, 2019 7:13 am
HATTIESBURG, Miss. (AP) – At least 22 soldiers training at a Mississippi military base have been injured during a night parachuting exercise. U.S. Army spokesman John Pennell tells WDAM-TV that at least 15 people hurt at Camp Shelby were treated by medics and another seven were hospitalized. Staff Sgt. John Healy says none of the injuries are considered to be life-threatening. Camp Shelby Cmdr. Col. Bobby Ginn says the troopers belong to the 4th Brigade of the 25th Infantry Division stationed at the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska. Pennell says about 89 paratroopers were on the plane for the Wednesday night exercise. Healy says about 650 soldiers were involved in the exercise. About 3,000 troops from the Alaska base are at monthlong training at Camp Shelby called “Operation Arctic Anvil.”
