July 6, 2023 9:00 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro is backing off his insistence on money for a new private-school funding program after it became a sticking point in a budget stalemate between Pennsylvania’s politically divided Legislature. Shapiro’s shift in position came Wednesday as state government plowed through its fifth day without full spending authority, and the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives prepared to respond to the budget deal between Shapiro and Republicans who control the state Senate. Shapiro says he’ll issue a line-item veto of the $100 million program should the House otherwise pass the Senate’s budget plan. Shapiro says he’s disappointed, but doesn’t want to plunge the state into a “painful, protracted budget impasse.”
July 6, 2023 5:08 am
Washington County 911 tells WJPA that at least one person was taken into custody early Thursday morning following a police chase through the city of Washington and part of South Strabane Township. According to dispatchers, the chase covered Chestnut Street, Maiden Street and South Wade Avenue before ending at North Avenue and Council Street in East Washington. Dispatchers confirm that the chase ended with a vehicle into a house in that location. They tell us a black male then fled on foot but was eventually taken into custody. There was at least one passenger in the vehicle – a female, but there’s been no word at this time – regarding her status in the chase. There were no injuries.
July 6, 2023 5:00 am
(WPXI) – If you have tickets to Beyoncé’s concert in Pittsburgh, you won’t be going. No one will be going. It’s been cancelled. Acrisure made the announcement on Twitter Wednesday morning, saying “Due to production logistics and scheduling issues, unfortunately the August 3rd Pittsburgh stop of the RENAISSANCEWORLD TOUR will not be taking place.” The post states that refunds will be automatically issued. No further information was released.
July 5, 2023 5:22 pm
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — A New Jersey fire chief says two firefighters were killed battling a blaze that broke out inside a cargo ship docked at Newark’s port. Fire Chief Rufus Jackson says responding firefighters found five to seven vehicles ablaze inside the ship Wednesday night. Jackson says they tried to put it out but were pushed back by the intense heat. The Newark Fire Department got support from other companies across New Jersey and New York. They were able to recover the two firefighters bodies. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka says the ship was carrying 5,000 cars.
July 5, 2023 2:54 pm
Route 19 (Washington Road) was shut down in both directions Wednesday afternoon in the 3000 block due to power lines down. Washington County 911 tells us that the closure came after a delivery truck knocked down a utility pole, pulling wires down across the road and igniting a small grass fire. Dispatchers say a vehicle then tried to drive over the wires and got stuck. An All Call was issued for emergency responders and medics. West Penn Power crews were called to the scene as well. Everyone in the vehicle got out safely, but, in addition to the downed lines, a transformer fell, leaving debris across the roadway. Crews estimated the road would be closed for six to eight hours. Detours are in place. If you’re going southbound, the detour is Moccasin to Old Washington and if you’re traveling north, you are asked to take Valley Brook Road to Old Washington to Moccasin.
July 5, 2023 5:09 am
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The U.S. citizenship test is changing, with rollout expected late next year. Under the proposed changes, the test would have a new English-speaking section and a new written multiple-choice format in the civics section. Some immigrants and advocates worry the changes will hurt test-takers with lower levels of English proficiency. Many are still shaken after former Republican President Donald Trump’s administration in 2020 made the test longer and more difficult to pass. In 2021, Democratic President Joe Biden ordered the U.S. to eliminate barriers to citizenship and changed the citizenship test back to its previous version, which was last updated in 2008.
July 5, 2023 5:09 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. job openings slipped in May but remained at levels high enough to show the American labor market remains resilient in the face of sharply higher interest rates. The Labor Department said Thursday that employers posted 9.8 million job vacancies, down from 10.3 million in April. But layoffs fell slightly, and more Americans quit their jobs — a sign they were confident they could find better pay or working conditions elsewhere. Job openings remain high by historic standards despite the Federal Reserve’s aggressive campaign to cool the American labor market and slow the economy to combat inflation that last year hit four-decade highs. The Fed has hiked its benchmark short-term interest rate 10 times since March 2022.
July 5, 2023 5:08 am
(AP) – Meta has unveiled an app called Threads to rival Twitter. It’s targeting users looking for an alternative to the social media platform owned — and frequently changed — by Elon Musk. Threads is billed as a text-based version of Meta’s photo-sharing app Instagram. It went live Wednesday in Apple and Google Android app stores in more than 100 countries. CEO Mark Zuckerberg says 10 million people had signed up in the first seven hours. It suggests Meta has been gearing up to directly challenge the platform after Musk’s tumultuous ownership has resulted in a series of unpopular changes that have turned off users and advertisers. But Threads has raised data privacy concerns and won’t launch in the European Union.
July 5, 2023 5:04 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A 40-year-old killed one man in a house before fatally shooting four others on the streets of a Philadelphia neighborhood, then surrendering along with a rifle, a pistol, extra magazines, a police scanner and a bulletproof vest, police said. A 2-year-old boy and a 13-year-old were also wounded in the Monday night violence that made the working-class area of Kingsessing the site of the nation’s worst violence around the July 4 holiday. The shooter fired at police in a pursuit for several blocks, and when they caught up, the suspect surrendered in an alley, Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said at a news conference. The shooter had no connection to the victims before the shooting, she said.
July 5, 2023 5:03 am
The State Police fire marshal is investigating a house fire early Wednesday morning in Buffalo Township. Washington County 9-1-1 dispatchers say it broke out just before 2 a.m. in the 100-block of Hathaway Road. Initial reports were that flames were showing from the home when firefighters arrived. No other information is being released at this time.
