November 15, 2023 5:37 pm
NEW YORK (AP) — Americans cut back on retail spending in October, ending six straight months of gains, though the decline was partly driven by falling prices for both gasoline and cars. Retail sales declined 0.1% last month after jumping a strong 0.9% in September, according to a report released Wednesday by the Commerce Department. September’s figure was revised higher from an initial report of a 0.7% gain. Excluding sales of gas and autos, retail sales ticked up 0.1%.
November 15, 2023 4:55 pm
DETROIT (AP) — Voting on the tentative contract agreement between General Motors and the United Auto Workers union appears to be too close to call as tallies at more factories were announced. The union on Wednesday hadn’t posted final vote totals yet, but workers at several large factories who finished voting in the past few days have turned down the four year and eight month deal by fairly large margins. A factory in Arlington, Texas, with about 5,000 workers voted more than 60% in favor of the deal, however. Voting continues at Ford. The contract was passing overwhelmingly in early voting at Stellantis. The union’s vote tracker shows that 79.7% voted in favor with many large factories yet to finish.
November 15, 2023 2:27 pm
Washington County 911 says Route 519 between Christy Road and Route 136 in North Strabane Township was shut down for several hours on Wednesday due to an accident. Dispatchers say the crash was in front of the corporate offices of Eighty Four Lumber and involved a semi-truck and a vehicle. The driver of the vehicle was reportedly flown from the scene. No further information was made available.
November 15, 2023 5:14 am
Nearly nine out of 10 parents believe their child is performing at grade level despite standardized tests showing far fewer students are on track. That’s according to a poll released Wednesday by Gallup and the nonprofit Learning Heroes. Many parents rely on report cards for a sense of their children’s progress, but researchers say they might be missing the whole picture. Without that knowledge, parents may not seek opportunities for extra support for their children. In a federal survey, school officials said half of all U.S. students started last school year behind grade level in at least one subject.
November 15, 2023 5:12 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Supporters of Israel have rallied by the tens of thousands on Washington’s National Mall, voicing solidarity in the fight against Hamas and crying “never again.” The “March for Israel” offered a resounding and bipartisan endorsement of one of America’s closest allies as criticism has intensified over Israel’s offensive in Gaza, set off by the bloody Oct. 7 Hamas incursion. Overlooking a sea of Israeli and U.S. flags, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Speaker Mike Johnson, House Democratic leader Hakeem Jefferies and Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa joined hands on the stage. Schumer repeatedly chanted, “We stand with Israel.”
November 15, 2023 5:10 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House has voted overwhelmingly to prevent a government shutdown. New Republican Speaker Mike Johnson (pictured) was forced to reach across the aisle to Democrats when hard-right conservatives revolted against his plan. Johnson’s proposal to temporarily fund the government into the new year passed on a bipartisan 336-95 tally, with 93 Republicans voting against it. He showed a willingness to leave his right-flank Republicans behind and work with Democrats — the same political move that cost the last House speaker, Kevin McCarthy, his job just weeks ago. Johnson’s approach, which the Senate is expected to approve by week’s end, effectively pushes a final showdown over government funding to the new year.
November 15, 2023 5:08 am
WOODSIDE, Calif. (AP) — President Joe Biden and China’s Xi Jinping have plunged into their first-face-to-face meeting in more than a year. The two leaders are working to stabilize fraught relations during the talks that have far-reaching implications for the world. They’re meeting Wednesday at a bucolic Northern California estate during the annual conference of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. Biden says there is no substitute for face-to-face communications. Xi told Biden that ‘Planet Earth is big enough for the two countries to succeed.’
November 15, 2023 5:06 am
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli forces are raiding Gaza’s largest hospital, where hundreds of patients, including newborns, have been stranded with dwindling supplies and no electricity. Wednesday’s raid at Shifa hospital came as the army extended its control across Gaza City and the north. Shifa has become a symbol of the widespread suffering of Palestinian civilians during the war between Israel and Hamas. The hospital is also at the heart of clashing narratives over who is to blame for the thousands of deaths and widespread destruction in the besieged territory. Israel accuses Hamas of using Palestinians as human shields, while Palestinians and rights groups say Israel has recklessly endangered civilians.
November 15, 2023 5:04 am
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Authorities say a Las Vegas high school student was killed when 10 students between the ages of 13 and 17 beat him in an alleyway around the corner from campus in a prearranged fight over a pair of headphones and a vape pen. Eight of the 10 teenagers were arrested Tuesday by Las Vegas police and the FBI on suspicion of murder in the Nov. 1 beating of their classmate, who died a week later. Authorities say two more students whom they haven’t yet identified also face murder charges. The victim’s father says his son Jonathan Lewis Jr. was attacked while standing up “for one of his smaller friends.”
November 15, 2023 5:03 am
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — A heavily armed gang surrounded a hospital in Haiti, trapping women, children and newborns inside until police rescued them. That’s according to the director of the medical center, who pleaded for help via social media. The Fontaine Hospital Center in the capital of Port-au-Prince is considered an oasis and a lifeline in a community overrun by gangs that have unleashed increasingly violent attacks against each other and residents. Hospital Director Jose Ulysse told The Associated Press that gangs were torching homes around the hospital and preventing people inside from leaving. He said it appeared that none of the gang members entered the hospital.
