September 11, 2019 4:23 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Income for the median U.S. household last year finally matched its previous peak set in 1999 after growing at the slowest annual pace since 2014. Government figures show that after more than a decade of economic growth – the longest expansion on record – Americans are earning no more than they did two decades ago once inflation is taken into account.
The Census Bureau says that median household income rose 0.9% in 2018 to an inflation-adjustedá$63,179 from $62,626 in 2017. The poverty rate fell to 11.8%, the lowest annual level since 2001. That improvement reflects increased income over the past several years for many workers in low-wage jobs. At the same time, the proportion of Americans with health insurance fell to 91.5% from 92.15 in 2017.
September 11, 2019 4:21 am
BEIJING (AP) – China has announced some U.S. industrial chemicals will be exempt from tariff hikes imposed in a trade war with Washington but maintained penalties on soybeans, pork and other farm goods. The Ministry of Finance’s announcement Wednesday came ahead of October talks aimed at ending the fight over trade and technology that threatens global economic growth.
The ministry’s first list of goods exempted from tariff hikes imposed in response to President Donald Trump’s penalty duties on Chinese imports includes industrial grease and some other chemicals. But penalties of up to 25% stayed in place on soybeans and hundreds of other goods.
September 11, 2019 4:20 am
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (AP) – Conservative Republican Dan Bishop has won a special election for an open House seat in North Carolina, averting a demoralizing Democratic capture of a district the GOP has held for nearly six decades. But Bishop’s narrow victory over centrist Democrat Dan McCready didn’t erase questions about whether President Donald Trump and his party’s congressional candidates face troubling headwinds approaching 2020. Bishop is a state senator best known for a North Carolina law dictating which public bathrooms transgender people can use. He tied himself tightly to Trump, who staged an election-eve rally for him, and Tuesday’s voting seemed no less than a referendum on the president. Trump quickly took credit for the triumph, proclaiming a “BIG NIGHT FOR THE REPUBLICAN PARTY” on Twitter.
September 11, 2019 4:14 am
North Franklin Township Supervisors have not been sitting on their hands this summer. Township officials are in early talks about possible renewed interest in housing development around the former Pennsylvania American Water lakes. Supervisors are also trying to contact owners of the Washington Crown Center to see how they may be able to advise mall owners about their ideas to help them to better target new tenants for the mall. The mall has been losing tenants, most recently Sears, and supervisors feel that input from the township is vital in keeping what could be the township’s largest employer in business. Tax savings were also announced. The Township will save approximately $200,000 on the 2020 Minimum Municipal Obligation for pensions because of an overpayment to the police force funds. Supervisors also are advertising a new ordinance called “The Quality of Life” ordinance. Director of Planning, Erin Dinch described the ticketing process as one that will significantly streamline the current nuisance property maintenance ordinance. Currently, offending properties could go all summer without addressing the maintenance concern. Dinch hopes that the new ordinance could have problems rectified in 30 days. Supervisors will vote on the new ordinance at a future meeting.
September 11, 2019 4:12 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is cutting its ranks after 63 legislative employees jumped on the chance to be paid a bonus to quit their jobs. Pennlive.com reported that 31 Republican staffers, 21 Democratic staffers and 11 who work under the House chief clerk and comptroller’s offices took the offer for $1,000 payments for each year of service, up to 25 years. The offer was open to those with at least five years’ experience. It expired at the end of August. Those who took the voluntary buyout can’t return to House employment for a decade but are free to find work elsewhere in state government. The goal is to replace senior workers with lower-paid employees, and to reap savings by eliminating an unspecified number of positions.
September 11, 2019 4:11 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – A proposal to allow limited hunting in Pennsylvania on Sundays is running into opposition that could prevent its final passage in the state House. Game and Fisheries Committee Chairman Keith Gillespie said Tuesday after a contentious informational hearing in the Capitol that supporters will need to engage in some “damage control” if they hope to see the bill enacted. The state Senate voted 36 to 14 in June to permit hunting on one Sunday during deer rifle season, one during deer archery season, and on a third Sunday. It’s touted as a way to make it easier for younger people and those who work during the week to hunt. Pennsylvania has long banned Sunday hunting, although there are exceptions for crows, foxes and coyotes.
September 11, 2019 4:08 am
New England Patriots wide receiver Antonio Brown is facing rape accusations by a former trainer. According to a lawsuit filed Tuesday in the Southern District of Florida, Britney Taylor says Brown sexually assaulted her on three occasions. Brown has denied the allegations. Darren Heitner, a lawyer representing Brown, told The Associated Press his client plans to countersue. Heitner said Brown and Taylor had “a consensual personal relationship.” Taylor also said in the statement she will cooperate with the NFL and any other agencies. A spokesman for the NFL declined comment, but the Patriots say the league told the team it will launch an investigation.
September 10, 2019 5:46 pm
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) – A Turkish newspaper says in his final words, slain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi urged his killers not to cover his mouth because he suffered from asthma and could suffocate. The Sabah newspaper this week published new excerpts of a recording of Khashoggi’s conversation with members of a Saudi hit squad sent to kill him. The paper says the recording of Khashoggi’s grisly Oct. 2, 2018, killing and dismemberment at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul was obtained by Turkey’s intelligence agency. According to the reported transcript, a member of the hit squad tells Khashoggi that he has to be taken back to Riyadh because of an Interpol order. The man is also heard trying to force Khashoggi to send his son a message telling him not to worry if he doesn’t hear from him.
September 10, 2019 5:42 pm
CUPERTINO, Calif. (AP) – Apple’s new iPhones will resemble recent models, but with better cameras and new colors. The most-expensive models, the iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max, will now have three cameras on the back, including a new, wider-angle one to squeeze more of the landscape into the picture. They start at $1,000, the same as before. The cheaper model called the iPhone 11 will start at $700, down from $750 for the iPhone XR. It now gets two lenses instead of one. The lower price reverses a trend in which premium phones get more expensive as people upgrade them less often. The new phones come out Sept. 20. Apple unveiled the new phones, along with a new iPad and Apple Watch, at a product event Tuesday at its Cupertino, California.
September 10, 2019 5:25 pm
NEW YORK (AP) – Americans are commemorating 9/11 with mournful ceremonies, volunteering, appeals to “never forget” and rising attention to the terror attacks’ extended toll on responders. A crowd of victims’ relatives is expected at ground zero Wednesday. President Donald Trump is scheduled to join an observance at the Pentagon. Vice President Mike Pence is to speak at the third attack site, near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Here in Washington, services will be held at the 9/11 Memorial in the parking lot of the Old Washington Mall in South Strabane Township. The service will begin at exactly 8:46 a.m., the time the first plane hit the World Trade Center. Nearly 3,000 people were killed in the hijacked-plane attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.
