December 15, 2019 8:12 am
PITTSBURGH, Pa. (WPXI) — Nearly every major presidential candidate on the Democratic side was in Pittsburgh on Saturday at the convention center talking about an issue some feel has been overlooked: education. Seven of the Democratic presidential candidates spoke directly to more than 1,000 educators and students about public education as part of a forum hosted by MSNBC at the convention center downtown. Organizers say they chose Pittsburgh to host the forum for convenience for the candidates and because Pennsylvania is a critical battleground state. But National Education Association President Lily Eskesen Garcia says the forum was about more than just welcoming the candidates. For some of these candidates, it was their first time in Western Pennsylvania, but it likely won’t be their last. Pennsylvania is a critical battleground state, which means they will be making plenty of visits here before the April 2020 primary. The Republican National Committee released a statement about Saturday’s education forum saying: “While Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Pete Buttigieg campaign on socialist policies that will harm hardworking Pennsylvanians, President Trump continues to fight for Americans with policies that have delivered a stronger economy and a better trader deal to the state.”
December 15, 2019 4:30 am
PETERS TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Officials in Peters Township have entered into a purchase agreement for land located on Bebout Road for the construction of a new fire station. According to Township Manager Paul Lauer, new home construction on the eastern side of the township has caused the need for a new fire station. Design is in the very early stages and cost estimates are not available. No timeline has been set for the completion of the project.
December 15, 2019 4:26 am
Another member of the Pagan Motorcycle Club has reached a plea agreement in a brutal beating earlier this year in Charleroi. Jason Huff, 40 of Plum pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and conspiracy to commit aggravated assault. Washington County Judge John F. DiSalle sentenced Huff to 8-16 years in prison according to online court records. Huff and six others were initially charged with attempted homicide in the assault of Troy Harris at the Charleroi Slovak Club. Twelve people have been charged in the case. Two club members, Matthew James Vasquez of Monessen and Joseph Olinsky III of McKeesport have rejected plea deals and await trial in front of DiSalle on February 3, 2020
December 14, 2019 7:24 am
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – North Korea says it successfully performed another “crucial test” at its long-range rocket launch site that will further strengthen its “reliable strategic nuclear deterrent.” The announcement on Saturday comes as North Korea continues to pressure the Trump administration over an end-of-year deadline set by leader Kim Jong Un to salvage faltering nuclear negotiations. North Korea’s Academy of Defense Science did not specify what was tested on Friday. Just days earlier, the North said it conducted a “very important test” at the site, prompting speculation that it involved a new engine for either a space launch vehicle or an intercontinental ballistic missile.
December 14, 2019 7:20 am
LONDON (AP) – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is heading to northern England to meet newly elected Conservative lawmakers. Johnson is going to the country’s working class heartland that turned its back on the opposition Labour Party in Thursday’s elections and helped give him an 80-seat majority. Following that sweeping victory, Johnson is calling for an end to the acrimony that has festered throughout the country since the divisive 2016 Brexit referendum and is urging the country to “let the healing begin.” There is little sign of healing in the defeated Labour Party, though. Ousted lawmakers are laying the blame squarely at the feet of leader Jeremy Corbyn.
December 14, 2019 7:15 am
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – In Iowa, where nearly 17,000 residents work in the health insurance industry, candidates are facing questions about how their health care plans could affect jobs in the state. Des Moines is home to Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield’s health insurance headquarters. Some candidates have already faced questions about the issue on the campaign trail. This week, South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg went on the offensive. Referencing Sen. Bernie Sanders’ and Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s “Medicare for All” plans, he argued that some candidates’ health care plans would “eliminate the job of every single American working at every single insurance company in the country.”
December 14, 2019 4:29 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. The remaining $2 million would go to area residents and their lawyers. The company is facing other lawsuits over pollution from the Clairton facility.
December 13, 2019 3:34 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump reacted quickly after the House Judiciary Committee approved two articles of impeachment against him. Using the words he’s embraced nearly every day for weeks, he called the proceedings “a witch hunt, a scam, a hoax.” The charges approved Friday now go to the full House for an expected vote next week. They were approved strictly along party lines, 23 Democrats to 17 Republicans. Trump is accused of abuse of power, a charge stemming from his July phone call pressuring the Ukrainian president to announce an investigation of Democrats as Trump was withholding US aid. He’s also accused of obstructing Congress’ investigation.
December 13, 2019 3:29 pm
NEW YORK (AP) – Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg has released a plan to eliminate all coal power plants and slow the expansion of the natural gas sector. It’s part of a sweeping policy to fight climate change that he says would cut carbon emissions across the U.S. economy by 50% over the first 10 years. The New York billionaire on Friday said his new plan is the first of several that would ultimately move the nation toward phasing out fossil fuels completely “as soon as humanly possible” – ideally before 2050. The plan is a sharp shift away from President Donald Trump’s moves to weaken environmental safeguards. But Bloomberg’s plan is not likely to win over his party’s loudest environmental activists. It stops well short of the goals of the so-called “Green New Deal.”
December 13, 2019 2:45 pm
PITTSBURGH (AP) – At least eight Democratic presidential candidates plan to participate in a forum Saturday in Pittsburgh to answer questions about their plans for public schools. Organizers of the Public Education Forum 2020 say the committed candidates are Michael Bennet, Joe Biden, Cory Booker, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders, Tom Steyer and Elizabeth Warren. Organizers include labor unions and the NAACP. They say topics will include school investment, student services, special education, student debt, teaching conditions, and education equity and justice issues. The event is at the city’s convention center but isn’t open to the public.
