May 20, 2023 3:43 am
The intersection of State Routes 18 and 50 in Hickory will reopen this weekend, on schedule. The intersection has been closed for the past 12 days as crews rebuilt the roadway, and the newly-constructed section faced not one but two wayward drivers who ignored road closed signage on Monday and drove onto the still-wet cement. The Observer-Reporter reports that Mount Pleasant Township Police responded to a tractor-trailer headed south on Route 18 that went around road closed signs and caused deep ruts in the newly-poured cement. Just hours later, a motorcycle with two occupants got stuck after moving signs and then driving onto the wet cement. Police say charges are pending against both drivers.
May 19, 2023 4:12 pm
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina made it official Friday: He’s running for president. The Senate’s only Black Republican has filed paperwork with the Federal Election Committee declaring his intention to seek his party’s nomination. His candidacy will test whether a more optimistic vision of America’s future can resonate with GOP voters who have elevated partisan brawlers in recent years. The deeply religious 57-year-old former insurance broker has made his grandfather’s work in the cotton fields of the Deep South a bedrock of his political identity. Scott is scheduled to make a formal announcement on Monday in his hometown of North Charleston.
May 19, 2023 4:18 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — A new poll finds that most U.S. adults say they are highly concerned about the impact on the national economy if the U.S. debt limit is not increased and the government defaults on its loans. That’s according to a survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. The poll shows 6 in 10 adults say they want any increase in the debt limit to be coupled with agreed-upon terms for reducing the federal budget deficit. At the same time, Americans are more likely to disapprove than approve of how President Joe Biden and congressional negotiators on both sides of the aisle are handling negotiations. Still, slightly more approve of Biden’s handling of the situation than of congressional Republicans.
May 19, 2023 4:15 am
HIROSHIMA, Japan (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will join leaders of the world’s most powerful democracies in Hiroshima, Japan, making his furthest trip from of his war-torn country as leaders are set to unveil new sanctions on Russia for its invasion. Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, confirmed on national television that Zelenskyy would attend the summit. Danilov said Zelenskyy would be wherever Ukraine needed him and that important matters will be decided at the summit in Japan.
May 19, 2023 4:14 am
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — A 7.7 magnitude earthquake caused a small tsunami to wash ashore on South Pacific islands Friday. No damage has been reported, and the threat passed in a few hours. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said waves 2 feet above tide level were measured off Lenakel, a port town in Vanuatu. Smaller waves were measured by coastal or deep-ocean gauges elsewhere off Vanuatu and off New Caledonia and New Zealand. Vanuatu’s National Disaster Management Office advised people to head to higher ground. New Zealand’s emergency agency expected experience strong currents with unpredictable surges at the shoreline. Waves 8 inches above tides were measured at North Cape, New Zealand. The quake’s epicenter was near the Loyalty Islands, part of New Caledonia.
May 19, 2023 4:08 am
Investigators looking into the collapse of a Pittsburgh bridge last year want transportation officials nationwide to examine more than 10,000 other bridges with similar steel construction. The National Transportation Safety Board says in a report Thursday it wants states and cities to make sure their bridges don’t have corrosion like what they found on the bridge that collapsed. The safety board says drainage problems on the weathered steel bridge caused parts of it to deteriorate over time. It says Pennsylvania neglected for years to clear the debris, dirt and leaves that were causing the problem, even though inspectors noted the issue. The Pennsylvania Transportation Department didn’t immediately respond to the recommendations.
May 19, 2023 4:04 am
MONACA, Pa. — (WPXI) – Shell’s Beaver County Cracker Plant will be in “shutdown mode” for a few more weeks, according to the company. The plant began operations in November 2022 but has already been cited numerous times by state regulators. According to the company, the shutdown is to fix flaring and wastewater issues, which they were cited for. It’s unclear how long maintenance will take. A Shell spokesperson shot down the notion that the plant could be idled for months or longer in an email to our news partners at Channel 11. “Not true. We are still in shutdown mode, but fully expect to be back in operation in the next few weeks, if not sooner,” the statement read.
May 18, 2023 2:29 pm
(AP) The Supreme Court has sided with Google, Twitter and Facebook in lawsuits seeking to hold them liable for terrorist attacks. The justices sidestepped the big issue hovering over the cases — namely the federal law that shields social media companies from being sued over content posted by others. The cases were brought by families of victims killed in the terrorist attacks. The justices unanimously rejected a lawsuit alleging that the companies allowed their platforms to be used to aid and abet an attack in Turkey. In the case of an American college student who was killed in an Islamic State terrorist attack in Paris, a unanimous court returned the case to a lower court, but said there appeared to be little, if anything, left of it.
May 18, 2023 1:40 pm
Police arrested two men in connection with a shooting that occurred in Washington on Wednesday night. The men were identified as 20-year-old Tyler Shrieve and 18-year-old T’kai Jett. The victim was identified as 22-year-old Zackary Harmon who is currently being treated for his injuries and is expected to make a full recovery. Police say that the shooting occurred at the 8th Ward playground and officers were called to the scene after a report of shots being fired. The police ask that anyone who has information on the incident contact them at (724) 223-4226.
May 18, 2023 4:23 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden says he’s confident the U.S. will avoid an unprecedented debt default, saying talks with congressional Republicans have been productive. Biden made his remarks as he left for a global summit in Japan. He’ll return Sunday in hopes of approving a final deal. “I’m confident that we’ll get the agreement on the budget and America will not default,” Biden said at the White House. He said he and lawmakers will come together “because there’s no alternative.” Speaker Kevin McCarthy agreed, though he was more combative, saying Biden had “finally backed off” and come to the negotiating table. Top negotiators continued talks late into the evening at the Capitol.
