November 19, 2024 4:56 am
BEIRUT (AP) — A United States envoy has returned to Beirut, where Lebanese officials have tentatively welcomed a proposal for an Israel-Hezbollah cease-fire. There was no such optimism in the Gaza Strip, where the mass looting of aid trucks by armed men worsened an already severe food crisis. Amos Hochstein, the Biden administration’s pointman on Israel and Lebanon, arrived Tuesday as Hezbollah’s allies in the Lebanese government said it had responded positively to the proposal. It’s unclear how close they are to clinching an agreement, which would likely entail both the militants and Israeli ground forces withdrawing from a U.N. buffer zone in southern Lebanon. Israel has requested a stronger enforcement mechanism.
November 19, 2024 4:55 am
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a revised nuclear doctrine declaring that a conventional attack on Russia by any nation that is supported by a nuclear power will be considered a joint attack on his country. Putin’s endorsement of the new nuclear deterrent policy on Tuesday comes on the 1,000th day after he sent troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. It follows U.S. President Joe Biden’s decision to let Ukraine strike targets inside Russia with U.S.-supplied longer-range missiles. The signing of the doctrine, which says that any massive aerial attack on Russia could trigger a nuclear response, reflects Putin’s readiness to threaten use of the country’s nuclear arsenal to force the West to back down as Moscow presses a slow-moving offensive in Ukraine.
November 19, 2024 4:52 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The recount underway in Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate race marks the end of a chaotic post-election period that has become the latest example of how disputed election rules can expose weak points in a core function of American democracy. The ballot-counting process in the race has become a spectacle of hours-long election board meetings, social media outrage, lawsuits and accusations that some county officials are openly flouting the law. A big part of the dispute has centered around the envelopes that contain mail ballots, including whether they should be counted if the voter didn’t write the correct date. It evokes the battles that have erupted in other states over the role of local election boards in certifying results.
November 19, 2024 4:46 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s state Supreme Court is weighing in on a flashpoint amid ongoing vote counting in the U.S. Senate election between Democratic Sen. Bob Casey and Republican David McCormick. On Monday, it ordered counties not to count mail-in ballots that lack a correct handwritten date on the return envelope. It’s a win for McCormick and a loss for Casey as the campaigns prepare for a statewide recount. The Associated Press called the race for McCormick, concluding that not enough ballots remained to be counted in areas Casey was winning for him to take the lead. As of Monday, McCormick led by about 17,000 votes out of almost 7 million ballots counted.
November 19, 2024 2:45 am
Attorney General Michelle Henry announced that a former certified registered nurse practitioner from western Pennsylvania was sentenced Thursday to 11.5 to 23 months followed by 8 years of probation for writing fraudulent prescriptions for thousands of Oxycodone pills. Joseph G. Sapp, 56, previously pleaded guilty to possession with intent to deliver, Medicaid fraud, forgery, and related charges. A collaborative investigation led by the Office of Attorney General’s Bureau of Narcotics Investigations and Medicaid Fraud Control Unit revealed Sapp wrote prescriptions to be filled at pharmacies in Westmoreland, Allegheny, Fayette, and Washington counties. Sapp wrote the prescriptions for himself and for others, in exchange for money, defrauding Medicaid in the process. “The defendant had a professional responsibility to prescribe medications for people in need, and instead, betrayed his duties by contributing to the opioid epidemic and expanding access to Oxycodone,” Attorney General Henry said. “Those who administer these powerful medications will be held to the highest standard, and remain accountable when they break the law.” During an interview, Sapp admitted to using Medicaid fraudulently to submit false claims for prescriptions that were not medically necessary, and to illegally picking up prescriptions under false identities. He also confessed to forging prescriptions and providing drugs to others in exchange for money.
November 19, 2024 2:42 am
The Peters Township School Board ratified a labor agreement with their clerical unit, paraprofessionals and bus drivers. The group was represented by the Peters Township Federation of Teachers and they agreed to a four year contract. Walt Michalski was the Chief Negotiator for the group, he said that they won 4% raises in each of the four years of the contract. The negotiations were characterized as long by both parties. According to Michalski, working on improvements to a tiered system of pay was very tedious but the union was able to revise a system that many times had an employee in a tier for up to ten years. Brad Rau, Business Manager for the school district said that they were able to achieve concessions on health benefit payments from the group. He stated that inflationary pressures have become extremely expensive for the district. The vote was 8-0 with one abstention by Rolf Briegel due to a possible conflict of interest. Both sides congratulated each other on what they both called a very fair contract for both sides. This deal combined with a five year deal with teachers back in July will bring the district labor peace for a good period of time.
November 18, 2024 5:35 pm
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s state Supreme Court is weighing in on a flash-point amid ongoing vote counting in the U.S. Senate election between Democratic Sen. Bob Casey and Republican David McCormick. On Monday, it ordered counties not to count mail-in ballots that lack a correct handwritten date on the return envelope. It’s a win for McCormick and a loss for Casey as the campaigns prepare for a statewide recount. The Associated Press called the race for McCormick, concluding that not enough ballots remained to be counted in areas Casey was winning for him to take the lead. As of Monday, McCormick led by about 17,000 votes out of almost 7 million ballots counted. (Photo: AP)
November 18, 2024 1:52 pm
(AP) -The United States Postal Service might have found a way to unite a nation bitterly divided after this month’s election: It’s releasing a Betty White stamp. The beloved actor known for roles in “The Golden Girls,” “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “Boston Legal,” and others will be on a 2025 Forever stamp. White died in late December 2021, less than three weeks before her 100th birthday. The Postal Service called White “an icon of American television” and said she “shared her wit and warmth with viewers for seven decades.” The stamp will depict a smiling White based on a 2010 photograph by celebrity photographer Kwaku Alston. (Photo: AP)
November 18, 2024 8:45 am
Spirit Airlines has filed for bankruptcy protection and will attempt to reboot as it struggles to recover from the pandemic-caused swoon in travel and a failed attempt to sell the airline to JetBlue. Spirit is the biggest U.S. budget airline. It has lost more than $2.5 billion since the start of 2020 and faces looming debt payments totaling more than $1 billion over the next year. Spirit says it expects to operate as normal as it works its way through a prearranged Chapter 11 bankruptcy process and that customers can continue to book and fly without interruption.
November 18, 2024 5:16 am
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump has named the senior Republican on the Federal Communications Commission as the new chairman of the agency tasked with regulating broadcasting, telecommunications and broadband. Brendan Carr is a longtime member of the commission and served previously as the FCC’s general counsel. He has been unanimously confirmed by the Senate three times and was nominated by both Trump and President Joe Biden to the commission. Carr made past appearances on “Fox News Channel,” including when he decried Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris’ pre-Election Day appearance on “Saturday Night Live.” He wrote an op-ed last month defending a satellite company owned by Trump supporter Elon Musk.
