August 2, 2019 4:10 am
HYANNIS PORT, Mass. (AP) – Robert F. Kennedy’s granddaughter, Saoirse Kennedy Hill, has died at 22. The Kennedy family released a statement on Thursday night, following reports of a death at the family’s compound in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts. The statement was issued by Brian Wright O’Connor, a spokesman for former congressman Joseph P. Kennedy II. Hill was the daughter of Robert and Ethel Kennedy’s fifth child, Courtney, and Paul Michael Hill, who was one of four falsely convicted in the 1974 Irish Republican Army bombings of two pubs. The statement says Saoirse Hill was passionate about human rights and women’s empowerment and that she worked with indigenous communities to build schools in Mexico. The statement quoted her 91-year-old grandmother, Ethel Kennedy, as saying “the world is a little less beautiful today.” Further details weren’t released.
August 2, 2019 4:08 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – A landmark arms control treaty that President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev signed three decades ago is dead. The United States and Russia both walked away from the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces treaty on Friday. And if they choose not to extend or replace the larger New START treaty when it expires in early 2021, there will be no legally binding limits on the world’s two largest nuclear arsenals for the first time in nearly a half-century. The U.S. says Russia has been violating the treaty for years by developing and fielding weapons that threaten the U.S. and its allies, particularly in Europe. President Donald Trump says he wants a new arms control treaty signed by China as well as the U.S. and Russia.
August 2, 2019 4:07 am
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – South Korea’s military says North Korea fired unidentified projectiles twice into the Sea of Japan in its third weapons tests in just over a week. The Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff on Friday said the launches were conducted from an eastern coastal area but did not immediately confirm how many projectiles were fired or how far they flew. The North also conducted fired short-range ballistic missiles last Thursday and conducted what it described as a test firing of a new multiple rocket launcher system on Wednesday. Experts say the North is demonstrating its frustration over planned U.S.-South Korea military exercises and stalled nuclear negotiations with the United States and that its weapons tests could intensify if negotiations do not proceed rapidly over the next few months.
August 2, 2019 4:06 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says he’s worried about tensions between the world’s two largest global economies – the United States and China. The U.N. chief told reporters Thursday: “We need to learn the lessons of the Cold War and avoid a new one.” “Looking into the not so distant future,” Guterres said, “I see the possibility of the emergence of two competing blocs — each with their own dominant currency, trade and financial rules, their own internet and artificial intelligence strategy, and their own contradictory geopolitical and military views.” The secretary-general said there is still time to avoid this scenario, reiterating that “with leadership committed to strategic cooperation and to managing competing interests, we can steer the world onto a safer path.” Guterres spoke shortly before Trump’s tweet on tariffs against China.
August 2, 2019 4:02 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – The Pennsylvania Lottery is reporting record highs in revenue and profits, after concerns that it was slumping spurred lawmakers to expand its offerings to the internet and bars. The agency said Thursday it recorded $4.5 billion in sales in the 2018-19 fiscal year, an increase of 7%. Profits were $1.14 billion, an increase of 4.5%. It paid out $2.9 billion in prizes.
Lottery profits go to services for the elderly. Gov. Tom Wolf and lawmakers expanded the lottery’s offerings in late 2017 after year-over-year sales shrank, adding online games and monitor games played in bars. The lottery says iLottery games played on a computer, tablet or mobile device sold $381 million, while 91,000 players created online accounts. Keno and virtual sports games totaled almost $47 million in sales.
August 2, 2019 3:58 am
Just after Columbia Gas took responsibility for an explosion that leveled a home in North Franklin Township, township Supervisors held a press conference to make their statement regarding that blast. Speaking for the township, Supervisor Bob Sabot announced a Cease and Desist Order halting all upgrade work being done in the township. Sabot went on to explain the displeasure that the township has had recently with communications with Columbia Gas with regards to that upgrade work and scheduling. Township Supervisors are also holding Columbia Gas responsible for all repairs necessary to restore township property that was damaged during that blast. They are also seeking reimbursement for all first responders that arrived to help. Fire Chief Dave Bane was also on hand to inform that all those injured in that blast, including himself are now at home and resting. He was especially appreciative of all the help his department received from the surrounding communities. Township Supervisors announced a public hearing in conjunction with the regular Supervisors Meeting on August 13 at 5:00 PM. Columbia Gas has been scheduled to respond to resident’s concerns and announce a plan to remediate the damages and compensate all first responders.
August 2, 2019 3:50 am
Columbia Gas admits they missed the home in North Franklin Township that exploded while during upgrade work in the area. President Michael Huwar (pictured) says the installation of pressure regulators on each home was part of the modernization work that had been taking place in the township. He says they missed the home along Park Lane in both thier initial design work and during a secondary field survey. He called the homes remote location from the main “an anomaly”. According to Huwar, when the new system was engaged the lack of a pressure regulator on the home led to a leak which then caused the explosion. The home owner had called 9-1-1 to report the smell of gas and two township firefighters came to the home and shut off gas service. They were standing just outside the home a short time later when it exploded. All three have since been released from the hospital. Columbia Gas says its investigation continues. State Police are also investigating. (Photo: WPXI)
August 1, 2019 5:25 pm
SHADY GROVE, Pa. (AP) – Vice President Mike Pence is in Pennsylvania again to urge Congress to pass President Donald Trump’s rewrite of a trade pact with Canada and Mexico. Pence toured a crane manufacturing facility in southern Pennsylvania on Thursday, a few miles from the Maryland border, and told hundreds of workers there the pact is a good deal for American manufacturing. It was Pence’s second visit in two months to the presidential battleground state of Pennsylvania, after he visited a York-based robotics maker in June. The visit comes as House Democrats and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer report progress toward a deal that would clear the way for Congress to approve Trump’s U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Pennsylvania is important to Trump’s re-election campaign next year, a state where he scored a surprise win in 2016’s presidential election.
August 1, 2019 5:23 pm
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – The Pennsylvania Lottery is reporting record highs in revenue and profits, after concerns that it was slumping spurred lawmakers to expand its offerings to the internet and bars. The agency said Thursday it recorded $4.5 billion in sales in the 2018-19 fiscal year, an increase of 7%. Profits were $1.14 billion, an increase of 4.5%. It paid out $2.9 billion in prizes. The lottery’s profits go to services for the elderly. Gov. Tom Wolf and lawmakers expanded the lottery’s offerings in late 2017 after year-over-year sales shrank, adding online games and monitor games played in bars. The lottery says iLottery games played on a computer, tablet or mobile device sold $381 million, while 91,000 players created online accounts. Keno and virtual sports games totaled almost $47 million in sales.
August 1, 2019 4:51 pm
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) – A ban on electronic cigarettes and vaping products has started at West Virginia University. The WVU Board of Governors in February approved the ban that took effect Thursday. The policy applies to WVU properties in Morgantown, Beckley and Keyser. The only exception will be in designated smoking areas at large athletic events. Students found in violation of the policy are subject to conduct proceedings and sanctions. Faculty and staff members would also face disciplinary actions, while visitors in violation will be asked to leave campus. The university passed a smoking ban earlier this decade.
