February 15, 2024 5:39 pm
(AP) – Fewer Americans filed for jobless claims last week as the labor market continues to show resilience in the face of elevated interest rates. Applications for unemployment benefits fell by 8,000 to 212,000 for the week ending Feb. 10, the Labor Department reported Thursday. In total, 1.9 million Americans were collecting jobless benefits during the week that ended Feb. 3, an increase of 30,000 from the previous week. Weekly unemployment claims are seen as a proxy for the number of U.S. layoffs in a given week. They have remained at extraordinarily low levels despite efforts by the U.S. Federal Reserve to cool the economy.
February 15, 2024 3:50 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House has publicly confirmed that Russia has obtained a “troubling” emerging anti-satellite weapon, but says it cannot directly cause “physical destruction” on Earth. White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said Thursday that U.S. intelligence officials have information that Russia has obtained the capability but that such a weapon is not currently operational. U.S. officials are analyzing the information they have on the emerging technology and have consulted with allies and partners on the matter.
February 15, 2024 3:48 pm
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Police say the shooting that left one person dead and nearly two dozen injured after the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade appeared to stem from a dispute between several people. Police Chief Stacey Graves said Thursday that the victims ranged between the ages of 8 and 47 years old, and half of the 22 injured people were under the age of 16. A mother of two was killed. Police said three people were detained and firearms were recovered. Investigators are calling for witnesses and victims to call a dedicated hotline. The shooting outside the city’s historic Union Station happened despite the presence of more than 800 police officers. (Photo: AP)
February 15, 2024 12:30 pm
(WPXI) – A homicide suspect was taken into custody at Pittsburgh International Airport Wednesday morning. Allegheny County police said they were dispatched to the parking garage at Pittsburgh International Airport just before 8 a.m. for reports of a man who jumped from the second floor. Officers weren’t able to locate the person until a short time later when they received a call for medical assistance from a stairwell in the parking garage. The man was taken to a local hospital with serious injuries, police said. The man was identified as Joshua Leyo, 30, from Altoona.
Altoona police contacted Allegheny County police that afternoon looking for assistance in finding Joshua Leyo in connection with a homicide that happened earlier in the day. Officers in Altoona also said there was reason to believe Leyo’s last know location was Pittsburgh International Airport, police said. Allegheny County police detained Leyo at the hospital. He remains in custody while he’s being treated and Allegheny County police are working with Altoona police to extradite him back to Blair County when he’s released.
February 15, 2024 9:49 am
NEW YORK (AP) — A New York judge says former President Donald Trump’s hush-money trial will go ahead as scheduled with jury selection starting on March 25. Judge Juan Manuel Merchan said Thursday he made the decision after speaking with the judge in Trump’s now-delayed federal election interference case in the nation’s capital. In leaving the trial date intact, Merchan took advantage of a delay in a separate prosecution in Washington charging Trump with plotting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. That case has been effectively on hold pending the outcome of an appeal from Trump.
February 15, 2024 5:14 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer says Democrats plan to “constantly over the next year” remind voters that it was Donald Trump, the likely Republican presidential nominee, who torpedoed a bipartisan bill on border enforcement. They say the strategy has already paid dividends, with Democrat Tom Suozzi, who campaigned on tougher border enforcement, winning a special election this week in New York, flipping a House seat away from Republicans. It’s a strategy with significant political risk. Republicans have campaigned on border security for years, and public frustration is running high with the record number of illegal U.S. border crossings.
February 15, 2024 5:09 am
RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli forces have stormed the main hospital in southern Gaza in what the army says is a limited operation seeking the remains of hostages taken by Hamas. Thursday’s raid came a day after the army sought to evacuate thousands of displaced people who had taken shelter at the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. The southern city has been the main target of Israel’s offensive against Hamas in recent weeks. Separately, Israeli airstrikes on Wednesday killed at least 10 civilians in southern Lebanon, just hours after a rocket attack killed an Israeli soldier. Negotiations over a cease-fire in Gaza appear to have stalled, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue the offensive until Hamas is destroyed.
February 15, 2024 5:07 am
PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron will sign a bilateral security agreement with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Paris. The French presidency did not release specific details about the agreement, which is to be signed on Friday at the Elysee presidential palace. It says this will be the third visit by Zelenskyy to Paris since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine almost two years ago, following ones in February and May 2023. Macron said earlier this year that France was negotiating a bilateral deal on the model the one Ukraine recently agreed with the United Kingdom, which covers 10 years.
February 15, 2024 5:05 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – Several local lawmakers joined together Wednesday to announce funding that will be used to modernize the Pittsburgh International Airport. Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA-12) joined U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and John Fetterman (D-PA) and U.S. Representative Chris Deluzio (D-PA-17) in announcing $5.3 million in infrastructure funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Airport Terminal Program. “As Pittsburgh International Airport continues to grow, improving the passenger experience is critical,” Casey said. “This funding not only gets passengers where they’re going faster but helps secure PIT’s role as a gateway to Southwestern Pennsylvania’s future economic success.” The funding will go towards the construction of a 700,000-square-foot terminal that the lawmakers say will improve passenger experience by reducing the proximity between ticketing, security, and gates by half a mile and improve the airport’s ability to add new flights.
February 15, 2024 5:01 am
Two Pennsylvania residents who bought tickets for Tuesday’s Mega Millions drawing won large prizes. The numbers drawn Tuesday night were 1-3-19-25-58 and the Megaball was 20. The multiplier was 3X. No one took home the $425 million jackpot, but according to the Pennsylvania Lottery players in the state matched four of the five white balls and the Megaball, winning $10,000 each. The next jackpot is estimated to be worth $457 million.
