November 5, 2024 4:44 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate race between three-term Democratic Sen. Bob Casey and Republican David McCormick will help determine control of the chamber. Casey is seeking a fourth term after facing what he has called his toughest reelection challenge yet. McCormick is making his second Senate run after losing narrowly to Dr. Mehmet Oz in 2022’s Republican primary. He left his job as CEO of the world’s largest hedge fund to run. The race ran on national themes, from abortion rights to inflation. But it also turned on local ones, too, such as Casey’s accusation that McCormick is a rich carpetbagger from Connecticut trying to buy Pennsylvania’s Senate seat.
November 5, 2024 2:08 am
Cecil Township Supervisors finished seven months of research, public hearings and debate about revisions to their gas and oil ordinance. A 3-1-1 vote authorized changes to the existing ordinance that allows wells to operate within 500 feet of a structure. By the same vote, supervisors repealed the ordinance that created the oil and gas overlay districts. The new ordinance will require new wells to be 2500 feet away from any protected structure and 5000 feet away from schools and hospitals. Operation hours will change from the current 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM time frame to 7:00 AM to 11:00 PM. The new ordinance also contains a clause that if a property owner is within the 2500 foot setback, that owner can negotiate with their neighbors to form a consensus to allow drilling closer than the required 2500 feet. Additional sound and vibration restrictions have also been added. A capacity crowd was on hand to witness the approval. Not one resident was identified to be against the approval. The final vote saw Supervisors Tom Casciola, Cindy Fisher and Frank Egizio vote in favor of the changes. Supervisor William Ciaffoni abstained and Supervisor Darlene Barni recused. In a public hearing held immediately before the voting meeting, Supervisor Cindy Fisher delivered an emotional statement summing up what the supervisors had been through over the last seven months. She called out a representative of Range Resources in the audience for what she described as harassment of her and two other supervisors for charges filed against them regarding the Sunshine Law. That representative was identified as Andrew Ritter, Vice President of Legislative & Regulatory Affairs. Ritter declined to comment on the board’s action.
November 4, 2024 2:20 am
HARRISBURG – Attorney General Michelle Henry announced Monday that a federal district court has granted the Office of Attorney General’s motion for a temporary restraining order that will pause the shuttering of the Pyrex glass manufacturing plant in Washington County, pending further order of the court. The federal court’s ruling prevents owner Anchor Hocking Holdings, and its private equity partner, Centre Lane Partners, from removing equipment and other materials from the Charleroi Plant in relocation efforts before the next scheduled hearing. The court agreed with the Office of Attorney General, that at this stage in the case, “immediate and irreparable injury will result” from such actions, according to an order issued Thursday. “The closure of this longtime manufacturing hub will have permanent impact on the Charleroi community and surrounding neighborhoods, which depend on the plant for employment that is vital to the local economy and prosperity of families living there,” Attorney General Henry said. “My office intervened in plans to close what is the only large-scale manufacturing operation in that area, and we are very pleased that the federal district court agreed with our position.” A hearing on the motion for preliminary injunction is scheduled for Nov. 12th. Owner/operators Anchor Hocking recently announced plans to close the Charleroi Pyrex Plant and move equipment to Anchor Hockings facilities in Lancaster, Ohio. About 300 employees were expected to be impacted by the closure. The Office of Attorney General’s Antitrust Section is litigating the matter.
November 5, 2024 4:59 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The final day of voting in the 2024 presidential election arrives with tens of millions of Americans having already cast their ballots. Those include record numbers in battleground states like Georgia and North Carolina. As of Monday, Associated Press tracking of advance voting nationwide showed over 80 million ballots cast. That’s slightly more than half the total number of votes in the last presidential election. Despite long lines in some places and a few hiccups common to all elections, early in-person and mail voting has proceeded without major problems. The absence of any significant, widespread problems has not stopped former President Donald Trump from making claims of fraud or election interference, a likely prelude to challenges after Election Day.
November 5, 2024 5:01 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Control of Congress is stake this election. Races for the House and Senate will determine which party holds the majority — and the power to boost or block a new president’s agenda. Key contests are playing out alongside the White House race but also in unexpected corners of the country. In New York and California, Democrats are trying to win back Republican-held seats and House control. Vote counting in some races could extend well past Tuesday. Senate attention is focused on Montana and the “blue wall” turf of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, as Republicans try to wrest the majority from Democrats. A few seats could determine the outcome.
November 5, 2024 4:57 am
SEATTLE (AP) — A strike by 33,000 Boeing factory workers is coming to an end after more than seven weeks. The aerospace giant’s unionized machinists voted on Monday to accept a company contract offer that includes a 38% wage increase over four years. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers says 59% of its members who cast ballots agreed to approve the third Boeing offer put to a vote. The strike started in mid-September and deprived the company of much-needed cash by shutting down production at its factories in the Pacific Northwest. The union says the machinists it represents can return to work as soon as Wednesday. President Joe Biden congratulated the two sides.
November 5, 2024 5:02 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation’s federal law enforcement and election security agencies are debunking two new examples of Russian election disinformation on the eve of Election Day. In a joint statement late Monday, they pointed to a recent article posted by Russian actors falsely claiming that U.S. officials across presidential swing states were orchestrating a plan to commit fraud, as well as a video that falsely depicted an interview with an individual claiming election fraud in Arizona. The effort described by federal officials is part of a wide-ranging influence operation by Russia designed to undermine confidence in the electoral process. The officials also drew fresh attention to Iran’s attempts to interfere in the election.
November 5, 2024 5:02 am
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Palestinian officials say an Israeli airstrike in northern Gaza has killed at least 20 people, mostly women and children. Israel is waging a nearly monthlong air and ground operation in what was already the most isolated and heavily destroyed part of the territory. The strike late Monday hit a home where several displaced families were sheltering in the town of Beit Lahiya, near the border with Israel. That’s according to the director of the recently raided and barely functioning Kamal Adwan Hospital, which received the casualties. Health oficials say separate strikes elsewhere in Gaza early Tuesday killed another 10 people.
November 5, 2024 5:03 am
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s military says North Korea has fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles toward its eastern sea as the country continues its weapons demonstrations ahead of the U.S. presidential election. Japan says at least seven North Korean missiles flew as far as 250 miles and landed in the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan. The launches come days after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised a flight test of the country’s newest intercontinental ballistic missile designed to reach the U.S. mainland. North Korea claimed that the Hwasong-19 it tested on Oct. 31 was “the world’s strongest ICBM,” but experts say the solid-fuel missile was too big to be useful in war.
November 4, 2024 7:42 am
CHARLEROI, Pa. — The driver of a garbage truck was hurt this morning when his vehicle rolled over, closing Route 88 between the I-70 east ramps and Stableins Wholesale Store. Charleroi Fire Chief Bob Whiten tells WJPA News that the driver suffered non life-threatening injuries when the truck rolled over. Whiten says there was a significant hydraulic leak from the crash and the road was briefly closed while crews worked on cleaning it up. Whiten says the road reopened around eight o’clock. Authorities continue to investigate the cause of the crash. (Photo: Charleroi Fire Department)
