November 5, 2024 5:01 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Control of Congress is stake this election. Races for the House and Senate will determine which party holds the majority — and the power to boost or block a new president’s agenda. Key contests are playing out alongside the White House race but also in unexpected corners of the country. In New York and California, Democrats are trying to win back Republican-held seats and House control. Vote counting in some races could extend well past Tuesday. Senate attention is focused on Montana and the “blue wall” turf of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, as Republicans try to wrest the majority from Democrats. A few seats could determine the outcome.
November 5, 2024 4:59 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The final day of voting in the 2024 presidential election arrives with tens of millions of Americans having already cast their ballots. Those include record numbers in battleground states like Georgia and North Carolina. As of Monday, Associated Press tracking of advance voting nationwide showed over 80 million ballots cast. That’s slightly more than half the total number of votes in the last presidential election. Despite long lines in some places and a few hiccups common to all elections, early in-person and mail voting has proceeded without major problems. The absence of any significant, widespread problems has not stopped former President Donald Trump from making claims of fraud or election interference, a likely prelude to challenges after Election Day.
November 5, 2024 4:57 am
SEATTLE (AP) — A strike by 33,000 Boeing factory workers is coming to an end after more than seven weeks. The aerospace giant’s unionized machinists voted on Monday to accept a company contract offer that includes a 38% wage increase over four years. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers says 59% of its members who cast ballots agreed to approve the third Boeing offer put to a vote. The strike started in mid-September and deprived the company of much-needed cash by shutting down production at its factories in the Pacific Northwest. The union says the machinists it represents can return to work as soon as Wednesday. President Joe Biden congratulated the two sides.
November 5, 2024 4:55 am
WASHINGTON COUNTY, Pa. — (WPXI) – Washington County is expecting high voter turnout on Election Day, comparable to the last presidential election which saw 78%. Elections leaders say some areas of the county will see long lines, including Southpointe where voters experienced two-hour waits in 2020. “I think we had extraordinary turnouts in the last two presidential elections and I don’t see why this would be any different, and a lot more money is being spent, we are all getting 30-plus texts a day,” voter William Minor said. At the Washington County Board of Elections, workers were sorting ballots in precinct order on Monday. Mail-in ballots came in from Oct. 7 through 29. More than 33,000 voters requested them in Washington County, and 24,000 have come in. More than 2,000 people came to request a ballot in person, fill it out and submit it, which is the closest option the state has to early voting. Washington County’s Director of Elections Melanie Ostrander is encouraging voters to double-check they have the correct precinct. Knowing there could be long lines, she doesn’t want voters to get to the front of the line and discover they were at the wrong place. “We feel good about tomorrow here in Washington County, we expect voter turnout to be high, at about 78%, which is comparable to 2020,” Ostrander said. “We are encouraging people to be patient, there will be lines with the turnout as high as we expect. There were lines in past presidential elections as well, our poll workers are prepared and equipped to handle the line.” Ostrander wants voters to know… anyone in line at 8 p.m. when the polls close will be able to vote, but you have to be in line at 8 p.m. If you arrive after polls close you cannot vote.
November 5, 2024 4:44 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate race between three-term Democratic Sen. Bob Casey and Republican David McCormick will help determine control of the chamber. Casey is seeking a fourth term after facing what he has called his toughest reelection challenge yet. McCormick is making his second Senate run after losing narrowly to Dr. Mehmet Oz in 2022’s Republican primary. He left his job as CEO of the world’s largest hedge fund to run. The race ran on national themes, from abortion rights to inflation. But it also turned on local ones, too, such as Casey’s accusation that McCormick is a rich carpetbagger from Connecticut trying to buy Pennsylvania’s Senate seat.
November 5, 2024 4:28 am
The presidential campaign comes down to a final push across a handful of states on the eve of Election Day. Kamala Harris spent all of Monday in Pennsylvania, whose 19 electoral votes offer the largest prize among the states expected to determine the Electoral College outcome. Donald Trump held four rallies in three states, beginning in Raleigh, North Carolina, stopping twice in Pennsylvania with events in Reading and Pittsburgh, then ending in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
November 5, 2024 2:08 am
Cecil Township Supervisors finished seven months of research, public hearings and debate about revisions to their gas and oil ordinance. A 3-1-1 vote authorized changes to the existing ordinance that allows wells to operate within 500 feet of a structure. By the same vote, supervisors repealed the ordinance that created the oil and gas overlay districts. The new ordinance will require new wells to be 2500 feet away from any protected structure and 5000 feet away from schools and hospitals. Operation hours will change from the current 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM time frame to 7:00 AM to 11:00 PM. The new ordinance also contains a clause that if a property owner is within the 2500 foot setback, that owner can negotiate with their neighbors to form a consensus to allow drilling closer than the required 2500 feet. Additional sound and vibration restrictions have also been added. A capacity crowd was on hand to witness the approval. Not one resident was identified to be against the approval. The final vote saw Supervisors Tom Casciola, Cindy Fisher and Frank Egizio vote in favor of the changes. Supervisor William Ciaffoni abstained and Supervisor Darlene Barni recused. In a public hearing held immediately before the voting meeting, Supervisor Cindy Fisher delivered an emotional statement summing up what the supervisors had been through over the last seven months. She called out a representative of Range Resources in the audience for what she described as harassment of her and two other supervisors for charges filed against them regarding the Sunshine Law. That representative was identified as Andrew Ritter, Vice President of Legislative & Regulatory Affairs. Ritter declined to comment on the board’s action.
November 4, 2024 7:42 am
CHARLEROI, Pa. — The driver of a garbage truck was hurt this morning when his vehicle rolled over, closing Route 88 between the I-70 east ramps and Stableins Wholesale Store. Charleroi Fire Chief Bob Whiten tells WJPA News that the driver suffered non life-threatening injuries when the truck rolled over. Whiten says there was a significant hydraulic leak from the crash and the road was briefly closed while crews worked on cleaning it up. Whiten says the road reopened around eight o’clock. Authorities continue to investigate the cause of the crash. (Photo: Charleroi Fire Department)
November 4, 2024 5:17 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Election Day is nearly upon us. In a matter of hours, the final votes in the 2024 presidential election will be cast. History will be made regardless of who wins. America will either elect its first woman president in Democrat Kamala Harris or its first person convicted of a felony in Republican Donald Trump. And in a deeply divided nation, the election is a true toss-up. We know that there are seven battleground states that will ultimately decide the outcome. But major questions loom about the timing of the results, the makeup of the electorate, the influx of misinformation — even the possibility of political violence.
November 4, 2024 5:15 am
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — On the last Sunday before Election Day, Democrat Kamala Harris did not mention Donald Trump’s name. When she did tacitly acknowledge the former president, it was to urge voters to turn the page and not be fooled by his disparagement of the electoral system that he falsely claims is rigged against him. The vice president made the latest iteration of her closing arguments in Michigan. She began her day at the pulpit of a Black church in Detroit. She ended it with a rally at Michigan State University. Michigan is part of the Democrats’ so-called “blue wall” that offers Harris her smoothest potential path to an Electoral College majority.
