August 8, 2024 9:09 am
The number of Americans filing for jobless benefits fell last week but remain at slightly elevated though not troubling levels. Jobless claims for the week of Aug. 3 fell by 17,000 to 233,000 last week, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That’s fewer than the 240,000 analysts surveyed by FactSet were expecting. Weekly unemployment claims are widely considered representative of layoffs, and though they have trended higher recently, they remain at historically healthy levels. Continuing claims, which represent the total number of Americans collecting unemployment benefits, rose by 6,000 to 1.88 million for the Week of July 27. That the most since the week of Nov. 27, 2021.
August 8, 2024 4:50 am
The Canon-McMillan School District held a public hearing regarding the construction of the new Wylandville Elementary School. School administrators, engineers and financial experts laid out the details of the project. What is proposed is a three story building that will hold grades kindergarten through four and is more than four times bigger than the current building. It will replace the current one story building that was built in 1962 and employs a portable trailer for needed classroom space. Aside from space constraints, the current building does not meet ADA codes nor current fire, plumbing, electrical and other codes. Many of the current aspects of the facility are at or near the end of their expected lifespan. The new building will be built behind the current building on the 14.2 acre site. Total cost of the project is estimated at $76,120,675. The financing for the project will be a 20 year bond with a $19 million dollar cash contribution coming from the district’s available funds. As for taxes, the new building could come with a .78 mill tax increase. Superintendent Dr. Greg Taranto cautioned that that number could be less as the district continues to grow and revenues grow also. Taranto also said that the completion of this project will allow Canon-McMillan to move forward with its goal to offer full day kindergarten. Construction is expected to begin in January of 2025 with an anticipated completion date of July 2026.
August 8, 2024 5:49 pm
(AP) – Federal food safety officials say three people have now died in a listeria food poisoning outbreak linked to Boar’s Head deli meats. The overall number of people sickened has risen to 43. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a news release Thursday that the additional death happened in Virginia. The other two deaths were in New Jersey and Illinois. The CDC also said nine more cases were reported since a July 31 release about the outbreak, which started in late May. Boar’s Head recalled 7 million pounds of deli meats on July 30th. (Photo: AP)
August 8, 2024 5:00 am
HUGER, S.C. (AP) — Tropical Storm Debby has made a second landfall in South Carolina on its way up the East Coast, where residents as far north as Vermont could get several inches of rain this weekend. The National Hurricane Center says Debby came ashore early Thursday near Bulls Bay, South Carolina. The storm is expected to keep moving inland, spreading heavy rain and possible flooding all the way up through the mid-Atlantic and the Northeast by the weekend. Debby first made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane early Monday on the Gulf Coast of Florida.
August 8, 2024 4:54 am
ALLEGHENY COUNTY, Pa. — (WPXI) – A local softball coach is accused of sexually assaulting a teen girl over the last three years. James Muir, of Blawnox, served as an assistant softball coach with multiple local organizations including Fox Chapel Area High School and Penn State New Kensington. According to Allegheny County Police, the girl, who is currently 17, told investigators about the alleged sexual abuse last month, saying it began as inappropriate sexually explicit comments when she was just 14 and soon escalated to physical contact. Channel 11 has learned Muir served as an assistant softball coach with multiple organizations including Fox Chapel Area High School and Penn State New Kensington. According to the police report, Muir would give the teen girl vapes or alcohol in exchange for sexual favors. She told police Muir would record video of the sexual encounters. Investigators found multiple nude images of the victim on his phone as well as videos of them having sex. Muir was denied bail and is being held at the Allegheny County Jail.
August 8, 2024 4:57 am
MONROEVILLE, Pa. — (WPXI) – An 18-year-old was reported missing two hours before police say they found her shot to death in Monroeville. Emergency crews were called to Cambridge Square Apartments around 3:15 p.m. Wednesday. Once on scene, they found the victim, Joselyn Thomas, 18, shot to death. Thomas was reported missing to North Versailles police at 1:20 p.m. Wednesday. Detectives say Albert Williams, 18, of Wilkinsburg, is responsible for the deadly shooting. Williams has been arrested and detectives are working with the DA’s office on appropriate charges. A motive has not been revealed.
August 7, 2024 5:03 am
ROMULUS, Mich. (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris has declared herself and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz “joyful warriors” as they spent their first full day as running mates rallying Democrats across the Midwest. But they got an idea of just how hotly contested the region would be when they overlapped on a Wisconsin tarmac with Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance. Meanwhile, the Harris campaign said it had raised $36 million in the first 24 hours after the vice presidential announcement. Wednesday’s trip aimed to shore up support among the younger, diverse, labor-friendly voters who were instrumental in helping President Joe Biden win the 2020 election. That coalition has shown signs of fraying over Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas conflict.
August 8, 2024 5:06 am
NEW YORK (AP) — A new poll shows that most Americans believe this year’s presidential race will be crucial for the future of the country’s democracy. The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs survey finds that they see the threat differently based on their political leanings. Nearly 6 in 10 Democrats say the November election is “extremely important” to the future of U.S. democracy, compared to about 4 in 10 independents and Republicans. Many Democrats continue to view former President Donald Trump as a threat to democracy after he tried to overturn the results of the 2020 election. But the results also suggest that many of Trump’s supporters agree with him that President Joe Biden is the real threat to democracy.
August 8, 2024 5:07 am
VIENNA (AP) — Austria’s intelligence chief says chemical substances were found at the house of a 19-year-old Austrian suspected of planning an attack on upcoming Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna. The public security director at Austria’s Interior Ministry says investigators found chemical substances and and technical devices at the 19-year-old suspect’s house. Just a few weeks ago, the suspect had uploaded an oath of allegiance to the current leader of the Islamic State group militia to an internet account. The concerts’ cancellations devastated Swifties across the globe, many of whom had dropped thousands of euros on travel and lodging for the sold-out Eras Tour shows on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
August 7, 2024 5:00 am
CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — Tropical Storm Debby pushed bad weather up the East Coast and brought no respite to residents as far away as the Great Lakes and New Jersey, where heavy rain flooded highways and streets and stranded motorists. Officials in New York told people in basement apartments to prepare to flee as forecasters warned of flash flooding. The center of Debby was over the Atlantic Ocean east-southeast of Charleston, South Carolina, by Wednesday afternoon. The storm has brought heavy rain to Florida, Georgia and North and South Carolina since coming ashore on the Gulf Coast of Florida early Monday. However, moisture from Debby strengthened another storm system, causing strong thunderstorms across the Great Lakes and eastward Tuesday evening.
