September 2, 2023 4:24 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. –(WPXI)- A state senator is proposing legislation that would eliminate the state’s annual vehicle safety inspections, arguing that the requirement is “excessive” and “unnecessary.” Drivers and mechanics who spoke with Channel 11 on Friday, however, find the proposal concerning. This week, Senator Marty Flynn, a Democrat representing parts of Northeast Pennsylvania, unveiled plans to change the legal requirement so that drivers would only need to inspect a vehicle when it’s sold or the title is transferred. Senator Flynn, in his memorandum, cites a 2015 report that found “the value” of annual inspections “hard to quantify.” He notes that only 14 states still require annual safety inspections. His memorandum states that inspections don’t financially benefit the state’s Motor License Fund, which “is in dire need of additional funding.” While proposing to do away with the inspection requirement, he is proposing a new $15 registration fee for drivers instead, which would generate money for the state. Flynn calls it a “win-win” for drivers and Pennsylvania’s infrastructure.
September 1, 2023 9:14 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation’s employers added a healthy 187,000 jobs in August in a sign of a still-resilient labor market despite the high interest rates the Federal Reserve has imposed. The job increase marked an increase from July’s revised gain of 157,000 but still pointed to a moderating pace of job growth compared with earlier this year. The unemployment rate rose from 3.5% to 3.8%, the highest level since Feb. 2022 though still low by historical standards. A decelerating job market could help shift the economy into a slower gear and reassure the Federal Reserve that inflation will continue to decelerate.
September 1, 2023 5:03 am
ATLANTA (AP) — In the final hours before Hurricane Idalia struck Florida, experts say its eye experienced a phenomenon that kept it from further intensifying. Just after came another twist: A last-minute turn sparing the state’s capital city of Tallahassee from far more serious devastation. Idalia had grown into a Category 4 monster lurking off Florida’s west coast before dawn Wednesday, and the forecast called for it to continue intensifying up until landfall. But as the sun rose an hour later, there was evidence the hurricane began replacing the wall around its eye — and maximum winds had dropped to near 125 mph.
September 1, 2023 5:01 am
HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii is opening several investigations into people who allegedly have made unsolicited offers for property in the fire-stricken town of Lahaina in violation of a new emergency order. Gov. Josh Green prohibited such offers by signing an emergency proclamation on Aug. 19 aimed at preventing land in the historic coastal community from flowing into the hands of outside buyers. Green told The Associated Press the order aims to give residents some “breathing room” as they decide what to do next. Earlier this month Green said he wanted to impose a moratorium on Lahaina land sales. He says the prohibition on unsolicited offers is a “de facto” moratorium.
September 1, 2023 5:00 am
Russian officials say air defenses intercepted drones heading toward three of the country’s western regions. Meanwhile, satellite images indicate that a major drone barrage earlier this week destroyed at least two Ilyushin Il-76 military transport planes at a Russian air base. Regional governors said Friday that defense systems stopped three drones in the Kursk, Belgorod and Moscow regions. Moscow airports briefly halted flights but Russian authorities reported no major damage or injuries. Drones aimed at targets inside Russia — and blamed by Moscow on Ukraine — have become a daily occurrence as the war has entered its 19th month and Kyiv’s forces pursue a counteroffensive. The drones have reached deeper into Russia recently.
September 1, 2023 4:50 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – A man was killed and two people were hospitalized after a shooting in Downtown Pittsburgh Thursday night. According to Allegheny County 911, the shooting happened on Smithfield Street near 6th Avenue at around 10:38 p.m. Pittsburgh police said an officer working at Mellon Square Park heard shots fired in the area and found two people down near Strawberry Way. A man who was shot was pronounced dead. Another man and a woman were taken to the hospital in stable condition after being shot in the foot. A man police identified as the suspect is currently at police headquarters being questioned. Police said another person may have been involved in the shooting.
September 1, 2023 2:52 am
The co-defendant in a child rape case from 2018 entered a guilty plea on Thursday. Joanna Wheatley, 34 of Fredericktown was charged along with her boyfriend, 33 year old Russell Jolliffe of Fredericktown of raping a child in their care. Wheatley pled guilty to one charge of child endangerment. She faced conspiracy charges of child rape, aggravated assault and involuntary deviate sexual intercourse as well. She was sentenced to one year minus one day to two years minus two days in jail plus 3 years probation to be served after her release. Wheatley has been in jail for more than 800 days so she was immediately released. Her probation begins immediately. Wheatley’s plea comes one week after her co-defendant, Jolliffe was convicted in a jury trial. Jolliffe will be sentenced in November on child rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child and aggravated assault of a child charges.
September 1, 2023 2:46 am
ATLANTA (AP) — Former President Donald Trump has pleaded not guilty and says he’ll skip a hearing next week in the case accusing him and others of illegally trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election in Georgia. Trump’s decision Thursday to waive arraignment means he won’t have to show up for the hearing a Fulton County Superior Court judge set for Sept. 6, averting the dramatic arraignments that accompanied Trump’s other criminal cases. Trump and 18 others were charged earlier this month in a 41-count indictment outlining an alleged scheme to subvert the will of Georgia voters who had chosen Democrat Joe Biden over the Republican incumbent in the presidential election.
September 1, 2023 2:19 am
Police in Washington are investigating a shooting Thursday morning around ten-thirty in the one-hundred block of Hart Avenue in the city’s West End. Chief Dan Rush says a black male shot an eighteen-year-old white male who was sitting in a car. Rush says the teen suffered an insignificant injury and refused treatment. Police have not identified the victim or the shooter.
September 1, 2023 2:18 am
Emergency responders were called out late Thursday afternoon for an accident in Amwell Township involving a school bus. Washington County 911 reported that a school bus went off the road and landed on its side on Hackney Station Road. There were no students on board and there was no word on injuries. Earlier Thursday morning – Washington County 911 reported that a GG&C School Van was involved in a rollover crash, also in Amwell Township. It happened at 38 Sturge Hollow Road. There were no children on board but the driver reportedly was hurt. There’s been no word on the extent of the injuries.
