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.
December 13, 2019 7:21 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Elizabeth Warren’s campaign is moving to become the first in the Democratic presidential primary to hire field staff and open field offices in Pennsylvania. It’s a late primary state that could become an important prize. Warren’s campaign said it has hired a Pennsylvania campaign strategist and will bring on staff and open a field office in Philadelphia in the coming weeks. Pennsylvania’s primary is April 28. It has the fifth-most Democratic primary delegates. Warren may have ground to make up in Pennsylvania. Former Vice President Joe Biden has his campaign headquarters in Philadelphia and deep political inroads in the state.
December 13, 2019 7:17 am
(AP) With Christmas less than two weeks away, finding the perfect tree might take some searching. The availability of real Christmas trees is tight across the United States, especially for procrastinators looking for a certain type of tree. But industry officials say everyone who wants a tree should be able to find one, they just might have to pay a little more. Merchant Sandy Parsons of Charleston, West Virginia, says she never got her order for 350 trees from a North Carolina farm, citing short supply. But local seller Robert Cole, whose business supplies its own trees, has never been busier.
December 13, 2019 4:23 am
(AP) British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says the largest Conservative majority since the 1980s shows that getting Brexit done has now proved to be the will of the British people. In a jubilant speech to party supporters early Friday, Johnson has stressed that Britain will leave the European Union by Jan. 31. Johnson’s Conservative Party secured a majority by winning more than 326 seats out of 650 in the House of Commons. The victory makes Johnson the most electorally successful Conservative leader since Margaret Thatcher.
December 13, 2019 4:23 am
(AP) The House Judiciary Committee has approved two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump. The charges now go to the full House for an expected vote next week. The abuse of power charge stems from Trump’s July phone call with the Ukraine president pressuring him to announce an investigation of Democrats as he was withholding US aid. The obstruction charge involves Trump’s blocking of House efforts to investigate his actions. Trump has denied wrongdoing.
December 13, 2019 4:20 am
(AP) Expectations of a U.S.-Chinese trade truce are rising, though Beijing accused Washington of unfairly attacking its economy. A Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman said any deal to settle their 17-month-old tariff war must be “mutually beneficial, win-win.” President Donald Trump said in Twitter a deal was “very close,” but the Chinese spokeswoman gave no confirmation of that. Investors are hoping an interim deal will persuade Washington to postpone a planned tariff hike Sunday on $160 billion of Chinese imports. China’s foreign minister complained Washington has imposed “unjustified restrictions and crackdowns” on the Chinese economy and trade.
December 13, 2019 4:19 am
(AP) Grieving families sang traditional Maori songs as New Zealand military specialists went to a volcanic island and recovered six bodies of the 16 people who died in an eruption. The bodies will be transferred to the mainland later for identification. Toxic gases are being emitted on the island and scientists warn another eruption is possible. Police said the families cheered when they were told of the successful recovery of the six bodies and expressed joy and relief. Divers are working at sea and a flight is planned later to look for the last two victims.
December 13, 2019 4:16 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Pittsburgh police shot and killed a pit bull after it charged at an officer following a fight with a poodle. Officers found a woman caring for her poodle, which was covered in blood, when they responded to a report of dogs fighting Wednesday. Police say the pit bull’s owner told them he had stabbed his pet and used pepper spray to get it to release the poodle. When the wounded pit bull lunged at police, an officer shot it to death. The poodle was taken to a veterinarian.
December 13, 2019 4:15 am
HARRISBURG (AP) – Faculty at Pennsylvania state universities will go without a pay raise this year but see their pay climb at least 12% over the next three years. The four-year contract approved Wednesday covers about 5,000 professors and instructors at 14 schools. Spokesman David Pidgeon of the state System of Higher Education says the raises are expected to cost about $22 million.? A similar deal has been reached with about 700 other employees who work in student services. The agreement comes three years after prolonged contract talks between the educators’ association and the state led to a three-day faculty strike.
