June 23, 2023 5:05 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s campaign is banking on reproductive rights to be an early galvanizing issue for voters in the 2024 presidential election. He’s collecting a trio of top-level endorsements and hosting a rally Friday, one day ahead of the anniversary of the Supreme Court decision that overturned federal abortion protections. The endorsements are coming from Planned Parenthood Action Fund, NARAL Pro-Choice America and Emily’s List. The groups are throwing their early support behind Biden’s reelection effort in part to highlight the importance of the issue for Democrats heading into the election year.
June 23, 2023 5:03 am
The search for a missing Titanic-bound submersible has become an investigation and salvage mission that will take an indefinite amount of time, while tributes from around the world poured in for the five people killed when the vessel imploded deep in the North Atlantic. The announcement Thursday that all aboard perished when the submersible imploded near the site of the iconic shipwreck brought a tragic end to a five-day saga that included an urgent around-the-clock search and a worldwide vigil for the missing vessel known as the Titan. The U.S. Coast Guard said the investigation into what happened was already underway.
June 23, 2023 4:59 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Interstate 95 is set to reopen to traffic less than two weeks after a deadly collapse in Philadelphia shut down a heavily traveled stretch of the East Coast’s main north-south highway. Crews worked around the clock and are poised to finish ahead of schedule. The interim six-lane roadway is set to reopen at noon Friday. It will serve motorists during construction of a permanent bridge. An elevated section of I-95 collapsed June 11 after a tractor-trailer hauling gasoline flipped on an off-ramp and caught fire. The driver was killed. The closure snarled traffic in and around Philadelphia and threatened to raise the cost of consumer goods as truckers detoured around the area.
June 23, 2023 4:56 am
Washington County Commissioners took on a lengthy agenda and found solutions to two issues. Commissioners approved a draft settlement with the Washington County Board of Assessment Appeals, The City of Washington and the Washington School District on a property assessment appeal regarding the county’s purchase of the Crossroads Building at 95 West Beau Street. The county will pay the school district $164,000 and the city $104,000. That is in exchange for a mutually agreed upon exemption status going forward. The dispute arose over just how much of the building should be subject to tax because of the large portion of it being used for governmental purpose. Commissioners also approved the hire of local attorney James McCune to fill the role of chief of staff until the end of the year. According to Chairwoman Diana Irey-Vaughan, McCune is a former county solicitor and will be able to handle the responsibility on day one. In salary board actions, court administration streamlined its budgetary process by wiping out nearly 40 positions and recreating the exact same positions. They effectively took 11 separate budgets and combined them into one.
June 23, 2023 2:55 am
UNIONTOWN, Pa. — (WPXI) – A Uniontown and State police investigation is underway after a scary situation Thursday afternoon at the Fayette County courthouse in Uniontown. Officials say someone fired a gun outside the building around 3:00 pm, sending a bullet through an upper-floor window in the back of the courthouse. According to Uniontown Police, a juvenile suspect is in custody. Their name and age have not been released. The charges they could face are not currently known. Uniontown police confirm no one was hurt. Officers say the courthouse is not believed to be the intended target, but it’s still unclear what led up to a shot being fired.
June 23, 2023 2:49 am
The Montour trail added a new pathway in Southpointe on Thursday, with Klinger park being the connecting point in Cecil Township. The addition allows residents to have access to recreational activities while also connecting businesses in Southpointe to the trail. The project began in 2012, but construction on the trail didn’t occur until 2019 due to funding. Financial backing came from both private and public sectors and once the support came, it took one year for the completion of the trail.
June 22, 2023 5:47 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — Hard-right House Republicans pressing to impeach President Joe Biden forced a vote Thursday that sends an impeachment measure to House committees. But they’re under no obligation to act on the resolution from Rep. Lauren Boebert. Her effort is a clear demonstration of the challenge that Speaker Kevin McCarthy faces in controlling the majority party. Boebert’s resolution charges Biden with “high crimes and misdemeanors” over his handling of the U.S. border with Mexico. Many of her colleagues view the matter as a political distraction from other priorities. Democrats said the case against Biden made a mockery of the seriousness of impeachment and was merely an attempt to distract from the twice-impeached Donald Trump.
June 22, 2023 4:57 pm
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Amid the rising numbers of teachers leaving the field in Pennsylvania, a measure that would give student teachers a stipend while they’re in the classroom for their degree passed the state House of Representatives on Thursday. The legislation seeks to remove the barriers for prospective teachers, as their work in the classroom currently goes unpaid as they finish their education. The program would award student teachers in Pennsylvania a minimum grant of $10,000. It now goes on to the state Senate.
June 22, 2023 5:06 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — With inflation in the United States still too high, most Federal Reserve officials expect to raise interest rates further this year, Chair Jerome Powell said in prepared testimony to be delivered to a House committee. “Inflation pressures continue to run high, and the process of getting inflation back down to 2% has a long way to go,” Powell said on the first of two days of semi-annual testimony on Capitol Hill. Even so, the Fed last week kept interest rates unchanged after 10 straight hikes so it could take time to gauge how higher borrowing rates have affected the economy, Powell said.
June 22, 2023 5:04 am
MATADOR, Texas (AP) — A line of severe storms has produced multiple tornadoes on the Rolling Plains in Texas, killing at least three people and causing significant damage around the northern town of Matador. The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal reports that Wednesday evening’s storms also produced softball-size hail and wind gusts topping 100 mph in other communities including Jayton, which also was under a tornado warning as the line moved southeast Wednesday night. Matador Mayor Pat Smith said that at least three people had been killed, that others may be injured and that there was “a whole lot of damage.”
