March 27, 2021 4:22 am
BESSEMER, Ala. (AP) – Amazon workers and labor advocates are making a final push for the union vote at the company’s warehouse outside Birmingham, Alabama. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont headlined a Friday rally. He says a labor victory against the tech and retail giant would resonate across the country. If voted down, it would be another loss for organizers hoping to win a rare labor victory in the Deep South. Workers supporting the union say they face relentless quotas and poor working conditions. Amazon is fighting the union effort. The company argues the warehouse created jobs with an average pay of $15.30 per hour and benefits including health care, vision and dental insurance.
May 28, 2020 4:13 pm
BOSTON (AP) – The Boston Marathon has been canceled for the first time in its 124-year history. Organizers said Thursday that they instead will have a “virtual event” in which participants who verify that they ran 26.2 miles on their own will receive their finisher’s medal. The race had originally been scheduled for April 20 before being postponed for five months because of the coronavirus pandemic. The longest-running annual marathon in the world, the Boston Marathon began in 1897.
August 9, 2019 4:07 am
MONONGAHELA, Pa. – (WPXI) – Police in Allegheny and Washington counties are investigating a series of bomb threats that occurred between 8 and 9:30 p.m. on Thursday. Three of the threats were targeted to hospitals; St. Clair Hospital in Mt. Lebanon, Allegheny Valley Hospital in Harrison and Monongahela Valley Hospital in Monongahela. The other two threats were made to the Benedum Theater in Pittsburgh and D’s Six Pax and Dogz in Swissvale. At 10:15 p.m. Mon Valley Hospital posted on Facebook saying: “A confirmed bomb threat was made to Monongahela Valley Hospital. Patient care is not being affected and safety measures are in effect.” Allegheny County Police said it is working with police in each community to coordinate the investigations.
September 22, 2024 4:06 am
CALIFORNIA, Pa. —(WPXI)- The California Area School District is warning parents after students were potentially exposed to whooping cough. The district did not say which school or building the potential exposure is impacting. Whooping cough begins with cold symptoms and a cough, which becomes worse over the next couple of weeks. Any parent whose child is coughing is encouraged to contact their pediatrician. Students who come down with whooping cough can return to school after taking medication for five days, the district said. Anyone with questions about whooping cough can call the Pennsylvania Department of Health at 1-877-PA-HEALTH.
November 23, 2023 4:16 am
NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (AP) — Authorities say there is no indication of a terrorist attack in the vehicle crash and explosion that left two people dead at a checkpoint on the American side of a U.S.-Canada bridge. The vehicle was speeding Wednesday from Niagara Falls, New York, toward the Rainbow Bridge, which connects the two countries across the Niagara River. The crash raised concerns on both sides of the border. But the FBI said its investigation found no explosive materials or “terrorism nexus.” It added that it had turned the matter over to local police “as a traffic investigation.”The incident prompted the closing of the border crossing and three others in the area. The other three later reopened.
January 2, 2023 3:30 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (WPXI) — The Pennsylvania Turnpike’s “Toll by Plate” electronic method is designed to make life easier for drivers, turnpike workers, and the Commonwealth as a whole. But millions of dollars in uncollected tolls caused lawmakers to take action. Drivers are supposed to get an invoice in the mail after they pass through a toll area, and a camera takes a picture of their license plate. But Turnpike officials said people aren’t paying up, so now, they’re cracking down. The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission now has more authority to crack down on thousands of drivers who don’t pay: repeat offenders, specifically those who owe $250 or more, which is a lower amount than the previous $500 threshold, or those who owe at least four tolls – previously set at six. In a press release, Turnpike officials said while most drivers do the right thing and pay on time, this new law allows the state to hold those accountable who intentionally cheat the system. The Turnpike estimates that 25,000 additional vehicle registrations would qualify for suspension due to unpaid toll invoices, which are also turned into a collection agency after 60 days. Lawmakers in support of the bill believe that this is a step in the right direction to continuing to maintain the Turnpike and keep people safe. The commission plans to start notifying drivers this month.
February 20, 2022 1:34 am
The parents of a baby whose body was found hidden in the wall of a home in Charleroi could face the death penalty. Twenty-five-year-old Kylie Wilt and 27-year-old Alan Hollis are facing 17 identical charges for the death and concealment of their infant son Archer. Felony counts of Criminal homicide and conspiracy to commit homicide and aggravated assault lead the laundry list of charges that both face. The two will be tried together. During their arraignment on Friday, the district attorney announced that he had filed notice of aggravating factors and announced said the commonwealth will be seeking the death penalty. Hollis, who is being held in SCI Pine Grove on unrelated charges, appeared at the arraignment via video and Wilt appeared in person. Wilt is being held in the Washington County Jail without bond. No trial date has been set.
March 27, 2021 4:20 am
KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) – Kenosha police say 55 people are facing charges related to violent demonstrations after the police shooting of Jacob Blake last summer. Kenosha Officer Rusten Sheskey shot Blake seven times in August, leaving him paralyzed. Blake, who is Black, was holding a pocket knife. The shooting spurred several nights of violent protests. Kenosha Police Chief Daniel Miskinis said Friday that 49 adults and six minors are facing charges. The tally does not include charges against Kyle Rittenhouse, an Illinois teenager accused of shooting and killing two protesters and injuring a third. Sheskey has not been charged in Blake’s shooting, but Blake has filed a civil lawsuit accusing him of using excessive force.
May 28, 2020 8:45 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Roughly 2.1 million people applied for U.S. unemployment benefits last week, a sign that companies are still slashing jobs in the face of a deep recession even as more businesses reopen and rehire some laid-off employees. About 41 million people have now applied for aid since the virus outbreak intensified in March, though not all of them are still unemployed. The Labor Department’s report Thursday includes a count of all the people now receiving unemployment aid: 21 million. That is a rough measure of the number of unemployed Americans. áThe national jobless rate was 14.7% in April, the highest since the Great Depression.
August 8, 2019 4:53 pm
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) – The latest mass shootings in the United States have triggered three countries to warn their citizens about the risks of traveling there. It’s a sharp reversal from when America took a leading role in calling out the world’s most dangerous places. Venezuela, Uruguay and Japan issued warnings following the deaths of 31 people over the weekend in Dayton, Ohio, and El Paso, Texas. At least one of the warnings was laced with a dose of political payback. Without directly naming President Donald Trump, the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro blamed the surge in violence on speeches from Washington that featured racial discrimination and “hatred against immigrants.” Maduro is presiding over the worst economic crisis in Venezuelan history amid a political battle with the White House.
