July 11, 2019 4:10 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania students who attend one of the 14 state-owned universities won’t see higher tuition next year, the first such freeze in more than 20 years. The State System of Higher Education’s board on Wednesday voted for to keep in-state tuition flat at about $7,700. Most of the system’s students are from Pennsylvania. The system’s last tuition freeze was for the 1998-99 school year, when the cost for in-state students was less than half what it is today. The universities have seen total enrollment fall over the past eight years from about 112,000 to just over 90,000. The state government’s support for the system is rising by about 2 percent this year, to $477 million.
July 11, 2019 4:08 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania’s elected fiscal watchdog is urging state officials to end the Keystone Exams, saying they’re not federally required and it’s costing taxpayers nearly $100 million between 2015 and 2021. Auditor General Eugene DePasquale said Wednesday that Pennsylvania should instead consider using a nationally recognized standardized high school test. DePasquale says many states use the SAT or ACT to meet the federal requirement for a secondary-level standardized test. DePasquale says at least 12 other states have phased out the state-specific tests while Pennsylvania keeps paying millions of dollars to Minnesota-based Data Recognition Corp. each year to administer and score the Keystone Exams. The Department of Education says it’s willing to consider a high school exam other than the Keystones, but says notes any change in the assessment requires federal approval.
July 11, 2019 4:04 am
WEST MIFFLIN, Pa. – (WPXI) – A normal trip to Walmart took an unexpected turn for one woman after she discovered something other than cards inside the UNO game that she bought . The woman says inside the box, she discovered prescription fentanyl. The woman who found the drugs did not want to go on camera but said she bought the game at the Walmart in West Mifflin. A police report was filed in Clairton, where police said they plan to destroy the packet of fentanyl. Walmart sent our news partners at Channel 11 the following statement . “The safety of our customers is a top priority and we take this seriously. We’re looking into this and will work with the supplier as well as the Clairton Police Department to find out what happened.” (Photo: WPXI)
July 10, 2019 5:14 pm
NEW ORLEANS (AP) – Mississippi Gulf Coast residents are preparing for heavy rain as a tropical storm system causes flooding in New Orleans and other parts of south Louisiana. Coastal Mississippi is under a flood watch until Thursday night. Harrison County Emergency Management Director Rupert Lacy said Wednesday that free sandbags are available in several places. He said residents can pick them up to protect their property. Lacy said that such preparations are normal during hurricane season. He says, “when you live in paradise, you have to expect some days like this.” Harrison County is the largest of Mississippi’s three coastal counties. It includes Biloxi and Gulfport. (Photo: CNN)
July 10, 2019 12:28 pm
LIGONIER, Pa. (WPXI) – A woman was killed Wednesday morning after she became pinned beneath a FedEx truck in Ligonier. The crash happened on North Market and East Church streets just after 9 a.m. Drivers and public works employees reportedly tried to help Pamela Barkley, 54, of New Florence, but couldn’t free her. She died at the scene. Police at this point in time are calling the incident an “unfortunate accident.”
July 10, 2019 10:35 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell says “many” Fed officials believe a weakening global economy and rising trade tensions have bolstered the case for looser interest-rate policies. Delivering the Fed’s semi-annual monetary report to Congress, Powell sends the strongest signal yet that the central bank is ready to cut interest rates for the first time in a decade, possibly as soon as the July meeting. Powell says that since Fed officials met last month, “uncertainties around trade tensions and concerns about the strength of the global economy continue to weigh on the U.S. economic outlook.” Meanwhile, inflation has fallen further below the Fed’s annual target of 2%. Many investors have put the odds of a rate cut this month at 100%. Powell, who has been under increasing attack by President Donald Trump, makes no mention of the president’s criticism in his prepared testimony but does thank Congress for the “independence” it has given the central bank to operate.
July 10, 2019 9:37 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Authorities in western Pennsylvania say a driver was rescued after a tri-axle dump truck rolled over and went down a hillside in Pittsburgh. Officials in Allegheny County said the truck was carrying a load of asphalt at the time of the accident shortly before 11 a.m. Wednesday in the city’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood. The truck went about 50 feet down the hillside in the Panther Hollow area of Schenley Park. Trees were holding the truck in place when emergency crews arrived. Crews had to stabilize the truck before they could remove the driver. Officials said he was conscious but complained of aches and pains and was taken to a hospital to be examined. A police spokesman said initial reports indicated that part of the hillside gave way
July 10, 2019 9:34 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Joe Biden is releasing his presidential financial disclosure, which shows that the former vice president earned millions of dollars, including more than $2.7 million for book deals and speaking engagements over the past year and a half. During a four-decade political career, Biden brought home little more than his government salary. But since leaving the White House in January 2017, Biden has become a millionaire. His newfound wealth stems from a lucrative publishing deal, publicity tours and other speaking engagements. Biden’s first book, an account of his son Beau’s death from cancer, briefly topped bestseller lists in 2017. Biden also earned $540,000 as a professor and namesake of the University of Pennsylvania’s Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement. He is now seeking the 2020 Democratic nomination for president.
July 10, 2019 9:31 am
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) – Diplomats are gathering in Vienna for a special meeting of the board of the U.N. atomic watchdog requested by the United States to discuss Iran’s nuclear program.
U.S. and Iranian envoys to the International Atomic Energy Agency are expected to address the group Wednesday. The U.S. called for the meeting after Iran announced last week that it had exceeded the amount of low-enriched uranium it is allowed to stockpile under the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. Since then, it also announced it has started enriching uranium past the 3.67% purity allowed, to 4.5%. The IAEA has verified both developments. Iran says it is justified in breaching the limits because the U.S. withdrew from the agreement last year and imposed sweeping sanctions. The other parties to the deal – Russia, China, Germany, France, Britain and the European Union – have called for Iran to stick to its commitments.
July 10, 2019 7:28 am
LONDON (AP) – The U.K. Foreign Office says Britain’s ambassador to the United States has resigned just days after diplomatic cables criticizing President Donald Trump were leaked. Kim Darroch said in a letter Wednesday that even though his posting was due to end this year, he believed “in the current circumstances the responsible course is to allow the appointment of a new ambassador.” Darroch said he is “grateful to all those in the UK and the US, who have offered their support during this difficult few days.” Prime Minister Theresa May said it was a “matter of regret” that Darroch resigned. Darroch’s forthright, unfiltered views on the U.S. administration – meant for a limited audience and discreet review – appeared in leaked diplomatic documents that were published in Britain’s Mail on Sunday newspaper.
