December 9, 2023 4:55 am
BULLSKIN TOWNSHIP, Pa. — (WPXI) – A building was reduced to rubble after flames tore through it in Fayette County. Emergency crews were called to the 700 block of Kreinbrook Hill Road in Bullskin Township at 1:45 p.m. on Friday. The building collapsed at some point during the response. Dispatchers say there were no injuries as far as they were aware.
December 9, 2023 4:51 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Harvard University’s president apologized as pressure mounted for the University of Pennsylvania’s president to resign over their testimony at a congressional hearing on antisemitism. Critics from the White House on down say they failed to demonstrate that they would stand up to antisemitism on campus. Now, Harvard President Claudine Gay says she failed to properly denounce threats of violence against Jewish students. Meanwhile, lawyers for a major donor to Penn are threatening to withdraw a $100 million gift unless Penn President Liz Magill is replaced. The university presidents’ congressional testimony has drawn intense national backlash, as did a similar response from the president of MIT.
December 9, 2023 2:16 am
The Voices For Independence/TRPIL Community Center welcomed guests to its grand opening on Friday. Elected officials, businesses and other community partners were able to tour the fully renovated 28,000 square foot facility, located in the former YWCA building at 42 W. Maiden St. Shona Eakin, CEO of Voices For Independence (VFI) spoke of how proud the organization is for being able to repurpose the building instead of tearing it down and building new. She spoke of how VFI goes above and beyond government guidelines to provide services to people with disabilities. She spoke of assistive technology programs that help people with any disability adapt to be able to live independently at home. Simple tech products like can openers and grocery bag holders can easily be supplied, many by an on site 3-D printer. High tech offerings include pairing electronic tablet and Alexa devices to make living at home easier and enjoyable. Smart technology such as microwaves that speak, paired with color coded labels help vision impaired people cook for themselves. Classes like cooking classes are conducted to allow guests to prepare and consume healthier meals. Guests toured the internet café, accessible kitchen and work out facility that includes an accessible scale to allow patrons to monitor their weight. Eakin said that anyone with any disability or caregiver should reach out to VFI if they have any question about disability. They can either answer the question or they will work until they find the answer.
December 8, 2023 4:21 pm
PONTIAC, Mich. (AP) — A teenager has been sentenced to life in prison for killing four students, wounding more and terrorizing Michigan’s Oxford High School in 2021. A judge Friday rejected pleas for a shorter sentence and ensured that Ethan Crumbley, 17, will not get an opportunity for parole. Life sentences for teenagers are rare in Michigan since the U.S. Supreme Court and the state’s highest court said the violent acts of minors must be viewed differently than the crimes of adults.Judge Kwame Rowe’s decision followed anguished remarks by families of the deceased and survivors who spoke about how the tragedy has affected them. (Photo: AP)
December 8, 2023 3:23 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — Harvard University’s president apologized as pressure mounted for the University of Pennsylvania’s president to resign over their testimony at a congressional hearing on antisemitism. Critics from the White House on down say they failed to show that they would stand up to antisemitism on campus. Now, Harvard President Claudine Gay says she failed to properly denounce threats of violence against Jewish students. Meanwhile, lawyers for a major donor to Penn are threatening to withdraw a $100 million gift unless Penn President Liz Magill is replaced. The university presidents’ congressional testimony has drawn intense national backlash, as did a similar response from the president of MIT.
December 8, 2023 3:21 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. employers added a healthy 199,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate fell, fresh signs that the economy could achieve an elusive “soft landing,” in which inflation would return to the Federal Reserve’s 2% target without causing a steep recession. The unemployment rate dropped from 3.9% to 3.7%, not far above a five-decade low of 3.4% in April. The jobless rate has now remained below 4% for nearly two years, the longest such streak since the late 1960s. Last month’s job gain was inflated by the return of about 40,000 formerly striking auto workers and actors, who were not at work in October but were back on the job in November.
December 8, 2023 3:19 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal appeals court in Washington has upheld a gag order on former President Donald Trump in his 2020 election interference case but has narrowed the restrictions on his speech. The three-judge panel’s ruling Friday modifies the gag order to allow the Republican 2024 presidential front-runner to make disparaging comments about special counsel Jack Smith. Trump has described the gag order as unconstitutional muzzling of his political speech. Trump could appeal the ruling to the full court or to the Supreme Court. Prosecutors say the restrictions are necessary to shield potential witnesses from harassment and threats inspired by Trump’s social media posts. The appeals court says Trump “does not have an unlimited right to speak.”
December 8, 2023 5:14 am
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — One of the biggest and brightest stars in the night sky will momentarily vanish. That’s because an asteroid will pass in front of it in a one-of-a-kind eclipse. The rare event will occur late Monday into early Tuesday. Weather permitting, it should be visible to millions of people along a narrow path stretching from central Asia and southern Europe to parts of Florida and Mexico. The star is Betelgeuse, a red supergiant in the constellation Orion. The asteroid is Leona, a space rock in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Astronomers hope to learn more about both through the secondslong eclipse.
December 8, 2023 5:13 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Hunter Biden has been indicted on nine tax charges in California as a special counsel investigation into the business dealings of President Joe Biden’s son intensifies against the backdrop of the looming 2024 election. The indictment Thursday includes three felonies and six misdemeanors. Special counsel David Weiss says Hunter Biden “spent millions of dollars on an extravagant lifestyle rather than paying his tax bills.” Defense attorney Abbe Lowell argues prosecutors bowed to political pressure in the case, which had been expected to end with a plea deal before it imploded over the summer. The new charges are in addition to federal firearms charges in Delaware alleging Hunter Biden broke laws against drug users having guns in 2018.
December 8, 2023 5:11 am
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Police say a gunman who killed three faculty members at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, was an unemployed professor who stuffed his waistband with loaded handgun magazines before beginning the attack. Authorities say 67-year-old Anthony Polito brought more than 150 rounds of ammunition and a list of targets — although those shot weren’t on that list. Polito died in a shootout with police Wednesday minutes after opening fire inside a building housing a business school. A fourth victim, a visiting professor, is hospitalized with life-threatening injuries. Authorities say Polito appeared to be struggling financially. He taught some classes last year at Roseman University in Henderson, where he lived, but was let go after his program was canceled.
