July 4, 2023 5:24 pm
(AP) – The planet’s temperature spiked on Tuesday to its hottest day in at least 44 years and likely much longer. Wednesday could become the third straight day that global temperatures unofficially hit a record-breaking high. The numbers from the University of Maine’s Climate Reanalyzer project come on top of months of record warmth in the North Atlantic, record low sea ice in Antarctica, and a strengthening El Nino. Temperatures in cities across the globe are setting high marks for heat, and Wednesday’s forecast shows little relief ahead. Higher temperatures translate into brutal conditions for people all over the world.
July 4, 2023 9:18 am
LONDON (AP) — Meta is poised to launch a new app that appears to mimic Twitter, marking a direct challenge to the social media platform owned by billionaire Elon Musk. A listing for the app, called Threads, appeared on Apple’s App Store, indicating it would debut as early as Thursday. It’s billed as a “text-based conversation app” that’s linked to Instagram. The listing teases a Twitter-like microblogging experience. Instagram users will be able to keep their user names and follow the same accounts on the new app. Threads could be the latest headache for Musk, who has faced backlash over new daily limits on the number of tweets that users can read.
July 4, 2023 9:16 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The reprieve is over. Just as the American economy is struggling with high inflation and interest rates, the coming resumption of student loan payments poses yet another potential challenge. The restart of those payments will force many people to start paying hundreds of dollars in loans each month — money they had been spending elsewhere for the past three years. Their pullback in spending on goods and services won’t likely make a serious dent in the $26 trillion U.S. economy, the world’s largest. Any pain instead will likely be concentrated in a few industries, notably e-commerce companies, bars and restaurants and some major retailers.
July 4, 2023 9:13 am
The Russian military says it has fended off a Ukrainian drone attack on Moscow that prompted authorities to briefly close one of the city’s airports. Ukrainian authorities didn’t claim responsibility for the raid. Tuesday’s attack, which follows previous similar raids on the Russian capital, comes after a mutiny launched by mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, which saw his Wagner troops approach Moscow in the biggest challenge to Russian President Vladimir Putin in more than two decades. The Russian Defense Ministry said in the new incident four drones were downed by air defenses on the outskirts of Moscow and one was jammed and forced down. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said there were no casualties or damage.
July 4, 2023 9:12 am
JENIN, West Bank (AP) — A Palestinian man drove his car into a crowded bus stop in Tel Aviv and then began stabbing people, wounding eight. The attack was praised by the Islamist militant group Hamas as a response to Israel’s ongoing military operation in the occupied West Bank. Police chief Kobi Shabtai told reporters at the scene that an armed civilian shot and killed the assailant. The attack came as Israeli troops pressed ahead with their hunt for Palestinian militants and weapons in a refugee camp. Thousands of residents have fled to safety. The two-day Palestinian death toll rose to 10. The large-scale raid of the Jenin camp is one of the most intense military operations in the occupied West Bank in nearly two decades.
July 4, 2023 4:19 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Police say a gunman in a bulletproof vest has opened fire on the streets of Philadelphia, killing five people and wounding two boys before he surrendered to responding officers. The shootings took place over several city blocks, and dozens of spent shell casings were found. No connection was immediately known between the victims and the shooter. Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said at a news conference Monday night that the gunman had an “AR-type” rifle, multiple magazines, a handgun and a police scanner. The violence marks the country’s 29th mass killing in 2023, according to a database maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University. That’s the highest on record.
July 4, 2023 4:14 am
PITTSBURGH —(WPXI)-Sheetz will celebrate the Fourth of July by offering all grades of gas for $1.776 a gallon.This limited-time promotion will begin at 12:01 a.m. on July 4 and will last all day, or while promotional gallons last. The discounted price will apply to regular, E85 (flex fuel), Unleaded 88, mid-grade and premium fuel grades at all of Sheetz locations in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Ohio, North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia.It will not apply to diesel or Ethanol Free (E0) fuel. The price commemorates the year 1776, when the Declaration of Independence was signed.
July 4, 2023 4:09 am
Gas prices are a slight bit lower in Western Pennsylvania according to AAA. This week gas prices averaged $3.63 per gallon. Last week they were $3.64 per gallon. Nationally, gas prices are $3.53 per gallon, two cents less than a month ago. Last year, drivers were paying $1.28 more per gallon. In Western Pennsylvania, drivers last year were paying $4.93 per gallon of gas.
July 4, 2023 4:01 am
Monday night, the Cecil Township Board of Supervisors held their monthly meeting. Two public hearings were announced. The first is for Cluster Home development on Profio and King Road. That hearing is scheduled for August 7th at 6 PM, an hour before the August monthly meeting. The second is for proposed amendments to a zoning ordinance in the township on August 14th at 7 PM. According to Supervisor Chairwoman Cindy Fisher, the zoning ordinances are for 3 to 4 mixed-use properties for residential, commercial, and industrial zoning. All five members of the board adopted an ordinance to protect six farmland owners under the Agricultural Area Security Act. The law has covered 4,000 acres of land and now at least 106 known tracts of land, according to Assistant Township Manager Jack King.
July 3, 2023 5:07 am
NEW DELHI (AP) — President Vladimir Putin will participate this week in his first multilateral summit since an armed rebellion rattled Russia. Analysts say his participation at a virtual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization on Tuesday is an opportunity to show he is in control after a short-lived insurrection by Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin. The security forum was founded by Russia and China in a bid to counter Western alliances from East Asia to the Indian Ocean. This year’s event is hosted by India as a way to burnish its global credentials. The group also includes the Central Asian nations of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, where Russian influence runs deep, as well as Pakistan. Iran is set to officially join at the summit.
