September 18, 2019 4:18 am
NEW YORK (AP) – A new report shows that the number and rate of abortions across the U.S. have plunged to their lowest levels since the procedure became legal nationwide in 1973. The report from the Guttmacher Institute, a research group that supports abortion rights, counted 862,000 abortions in the U.S. in 2017. That’s down from 926,000 tallied in the group’s previous report for 2014. One reason for the decline is that fewer women are becoming pregnant. The Guttmacher Institute noted that the birth rate, as well as the abortion rate, declined during the years covered by the new report. Guttmacher is the only entity that strives to count all abortions in the U.S., making inquiries of individual providers. Federal data excludes California, Maryland and New Hampshire.
September 18, 2019 4:17 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The House Judiciary Committee’s first impeachment hearing against President Donald Trump has concluded on a combative note after six hours of testimony from Corey Lewandowski. Chairman Jerrold Nadler of New York gaveled the proceedings closed Tuesday after Republicans refused to offer up a staff member to question Trump’s former campaign chairman. Ranking Republican Doug Collins started to do so, but Nadler noted that Collins is a member of Congress, not a staff member. The proceedings ended with Collins refusing to yield to a staff questioner and vowing to “litigate” the GOP’s case in other ways. The closing squabble came after committee counsel Barry H. Berke sharply challenged Lewandowski on why he did not carry out Trump’s directive to deliver a message to then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions to encourage him to reverse himself and oversee the Russia investigation.
September 18, 2019 4:17 am
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) – U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says U.N. experts have already left for Saudi Arabia to investigate attacks on key Saudi oil installations. Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Monday it would “invite U.N. and international experts to view the situation on the ground and to participate in the investigations.” Guterres told reporters Wednesday the experts were sent under the U.N. Security Council resolution that endorsed the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and major powers. It requires the secretary-general to report every six months on the implementation of the nuclear agreement, which includes restrictions on arms-related transfers to and from Iran. U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said the experts sent to Saudi Arabia contribute to those reports and monitor sanctions against Yemen. Guterres again condemned Saturday’s attacks, calling them “a dramatic escalation in the Gulf” that must be halted. “We absolutely need to create the conditions to avoid a major confrontation in the Gulf,” he said. “As we have seen by the immediate impact on oil markets, if there would be a major confrontation in the Gulf it would have devastating consequences for the region and globally.”
September 18, 2019 4:15 am
JERUSALEM (AP) – Israel’s two main political parties are deadlocked after national elections, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu facing an uphill battle to keep his job. Seeming kingmaker Avigdor Lieberman says Wednesday he’ll insist upon a secular unity government between Netanyahu’s Likud and Benny Gantz’s Blue and White parties, who are currently tied. Lieberman says that is the “one and only option” on the table. Without Lieberman’s endorsement, both parties appear to have fallen well short of securing a parliamentary majority with ideological allies. Gantz, a former military chief, has ruled out sitting with a Netanyahu-led Likud at a time when the prime minister is expected to be indicted on corruption charges in the coming weeks. That could spell the end of Netanyahu’s lengthy rule. However, final results could still swing toward Netanyahu.
September 18, 2019 4:09 am
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) – West Virginia officials say a 40-year-old coal mine electrician has died in an accident. The West Virginia Office of Miners’ Health, Safety and Training says Steven Vernon Keeney of Sylvester died of injuries from an apparent electrical shock. The accident happened at 12:18 a.m. Tuesday at the Panther Creek Mining American Eagle Mine in the Kanawha County community of Cabin Creek. Keeney was a certified electrician at the mine. The agency’s inspectors are investigating. It is the third coal mining fatality in West Virginia this year and the 10th nationwide. The U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration says four have occurred in Kentucky, two in Pennsylvania and one in Illinois.
September 18, 2019 4:08 am
BLOOMSBURG, Pa. (AP) – The death of a Bloomsburg University student who fell over a ledge along a walking trail has been ruled accidental. An autopsy on Monday found 18-year-old Justin King died as a result of blunt force trauma consistent with a fall. A passerby found the freshman’s body along the Bloomsburg Walking Trail early Saturday. Authorities are trying to determine what King was doing in the area. The Gilbertsville resident had graduated from Boyertown Area Senior High School in June.
September 18, 2019 4:07 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Senate officials say a Pennsylvania state lawmaker who is facing child pornography possession charges has resigned. Sen. Mike Folmer’s apparent resignation Wednesday came hours after he was arrested by the state attorney general’s office. Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati and Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman said in statement that they received Folmer’s resignation letter after they spoke with him to insist on it. The state attorney general’s office charged Folmer late Tuesday with possession of child pornography and criminal use of a communication facility, both felonies. Investigators allegedly found two images of child pornography on Folmer’s cell phone after they asked him to turn it over at his house in Lebanon County. Authorities were acting on a tip from a social media website. The 63-year-old Folmer and his lawyer haven’t returned messages.
September 17, 2019 5:47 pm
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP) – A judge has cleared the way for OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma to stay in business while it pursues bankruptcy protection and settlement of more than 2,600 lawsuits filed over the opioid crisis. Purdue lawyers secured permission Tuesday for the company to maintain business as usual. That includes paying employees and vendors, supplying pills to distributors, and keeping current on taxes and insurance. Purdue Pharma declared bankruptcy late Sunday. Its continued viability is key to the company’s settlement offer. Under the proposal, the family that owns Purdue would turn the company over to a trust controlled by the very entities that are suing it. About half the states support the offer. It could be worth up to $12 billion over time.
September 17, 2019 12:35 pm
General Mills is pulling some bags of flour from store shelves over E. coli concerns, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The company announced it was voluntarily recalling five-pound bags of Gold Medal Unbleached All Purpose Flour. The recall only affects bags with a use by date of Sept. 6, 2020. According to officials with General Mills, the flour could potentially contain E. coli. The bacteria was discovered during sampling of the product.
September 17, 2019 12:29 pm
PITTSBURGH (WPXI) – A public letter is being distributed outlining claims that during a soccer match between Connellsville and Allderdice on Labor Day weekend, players were using racial slurs on the field. The letter, penned by the parents of the Allderdice school boys soccer team, said the other team “goaded a black and latino member of the soccer team with racial slurs.” The letter goes on to say “one of the Allderdice players responded in defense and was immediately ejected from the game.” The superintendent of Pittsburgh Public Schools, Anthony Hamlet, is calling for the WPIAL to investigate the claims. Hamlet said administrators from Connellsville met with players, coaches and game officials about the claims. This is not the first time these types of accusations have been levied against the Connellsville high school soccer program. During a match with Penn Hills in 2018, there were claims of racial slurs said on the field. WPIAL officials investigated and found the claims credible, but they could not be proven.
