December 17, 2024 2:45 am
(WPXI) – Transportation Security Administration officers at Pittsburgh International Airport stopped a .25 caliber handgun at the security checkpoint on Monday. The handgun, which was loaded with six bullets, was in a Washington County man’s backpack. Police confiscated the gun after the bag was removed from the X-ray machine. Monday marked the 41st firearm that TSA officers have intercepted at Pittsburgh so far this year.
December 18, 2024 5:11 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate by a quarter-point — its third cut this year — but also signaled that it expects to reduce rates more slowly next year than it previously envisioned, mostly because of still-elevated inflation. The Fed’s policymakers projected that they will cut their benchmark rate by a quarter-point just twice in 2025, down from their estimate in September of four rate cuts. Their new projections suggest that consumers may not enjoy much lower rates next year for mortgages, auto loans and credit cards. The Fed’s expectation of just two rate cuts in 2025 rattled Wall Street, sending stock prices plummeting in the worst day for the market in four months.
December 18, 2024 5:13 am
NEW YORK (AP) — The man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare’s CEO is charged with murder as an act of terrorism. Prosecutors disclosed the indictment Tuesday as they worked to bring Luigi Mangione to New York from a Pennsylvania jail. The 26-year-old already had been charged with murder in the Dec. 4 killing of Brian Thompson. But the terror allegation is new. New York law allows prosecutors to bring such a charge when an alleged crime is “intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population, influence the policies of a unit of government by intimidation or coercion and affect the conduct of a unit of government by murder, assassination or kidnapping.” Mangione’s New York lawyer declined to comment.
December 18, 2024 5:14 am
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Community members in Wisconsin are continuing to wrestle with grief and calling for change in the aftermath of a school shooting that killed a teacher and a student and wounded six others. Investigators are trying to determine a motive. The police chief says it appears to be a “combination of factors.” He’s urging anyone who knew the 15-year-old shooter’s feelings to reach out. The shooting occurred Monday at Abundant Life Christian School. The shooter died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Barnes said police are talking with the shooter’s father and other family members, who are cooperating.
December 18, 2024 4:54 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A federal appeals court is reversing lower court decisions that had blocked Pennsylvania from siphoning cash from a state-chartered medical malpractice insurer of last resort. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday against the Pennsylvania Professional Liability Joint Underwriting Association. It says state government created the insurer and holds the only interest in it. The decision came seven years after the underwriting association first sued the state. For three years, from 2017 to 2019, state lawmakers and then-Gov. Tom Wolf had sought at least $200 million from the association to help plug a deficit in the state’s operating budget. The association can appeal.
December 18, 2024 5:09 am
MICHIGAN CITY, Ind. (AP) — Indiana has carried out its first execution in 15 years by putting to death a man convicted of killing four people decades ago, including his brother and his sister’s fiancé. The Indiana Department of Correction said in a statement that 49-year-old Joseph Corcoran was pronounced dead at the state prison in Michigan, City Indiana. Corcoran was scheduled to be executed with the powerful sedative pentobarbital, but the state agency’s statement did not mention that drug. Court records indicate that before Corcoran fatally shot the four men, he was under stress because the forthcoming marriage of his sister and her fiancé would necessitate him moving out of the home he shared with his brother and sister. (Photo: AP)
December 17, 2024 5:10 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Elon Musk’s attachment to President-elect Donald Trump has created an unprecedented alliance between America’s most powerful politician and its richest businessman. Roughly the same percentages of Americans have favorable views of both of them, according to a new poll from the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Experts are split on whether that overlap in public opinion is a good or bad thing for Musk’s businesses or for Trump’s politics. But it could have far-reaching effects in both realms. Musk, whose net worth tops $400 billion, oversees six businesses while continuing to work closely with Trump. And for Trump, Musk is an important validator with his conservative base. (Photo: AP)
December 17, 2024 3:43 pm
NEW YORK (AP) — The man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare’s CEO has been charged with murder as an act of terrorism. Prosecutors disclosed the indictment Tuesday as they worked to bring Luigi Mangione to a New York court from a Pennsylvania jail. The 26-year-old Mangione already had been charged with murder in the Dec. 4 killing of Brian Thompson. But the terror allegation is new. Under New York law, such a charge can be brought when an alleged crime is “intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population, influence the policies of a unit of government by intimidation or coercion and affect the conduct of a unit of government by murder, assassination or kidnapping.” Mangione’s New York lawyer hasn’t commented. (Photo: AP)
December 17, 2024 3:45 pm
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Investigators in Wisconsin are trying to determine a motive in a school shooting that left a teacher and a student dead and two other children in critical condition. Shon Barnes, the police chief in Madison, Wisconsin, says it appears to be a “combination of factors.” He’s urging anyone who knew the 15-year-old girl’s feelings to reach out. The shooting occurred Monday at Abundant Life Christian School. The shooter died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Six people were wounded.
December 17, 2024 2:48 am
Peters Township Council adopted their budget for 2025. There will not be a tax increase on the balanced budget. The numbers come in at $29.5 million in revenue and $43.8 in expenditures. The gap between revenue and expenditures will be made up from previously borrowed funds and funds that will be borrowed if council approves capital projects throughout the year. According to Council Chairman Dr. Tom Pirosko, council is pleased to hold the line on taxes but that may not be the case next year. According to Township Manager Paul Lauer, real estate development has leveled off compared to previous years. The earned income tax has remained flat also. Recreational projects will highlight the township’s spending this year. Artificial turf will be installed on baseball fields 1 and 2 at Peterswood Park. A splash pad is being built at Rolling Hills Park. Phase 2 of the development of Rolling Hills Park will also be considered. Amenities that could be included in that expansion are increased parking, basketball courts, pickleball courts and dek hockey. A dog park is also under consideration. The splash pad could open in early summer of 2025. If council approves any or all of the Rolling Hills Park expansion, those improvements could begin in early fall of 2025.
