February 13, 2024 7:59 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI)- Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen will be in Pittsburgh on Tuesday to highlight the Biden Administration’s efforts to lower health care costs and support small businesses. Yellen will tour the Skin Cancer Center at Allegheny Health Network West Penn Hospital in Bloomfield followed by a roundtable discussion on health care economy. She will also deliver remarks on the administration’s economic plan. Yellen will be joined by Congresswoman Summer Lee and several physicians and officials from Allegheny Health Network and its parent company Highmark Health.
February 13, 2024 5:06 am
HOUSTON (AP) — Authorities say the shooter who opened fire at a Texas megachurch over the weekend had a history of mental illness and used an AR-style rifle in the attack that also critically injured their 7-year-old son. Police identified the shooter as 36-year-old Genesse Ivonne Moreno. They noted Monday that Moreno sometimes used both male and female aliases. Investigators have not yet established a motive in the shooting at celebrity pastor Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church. They are looking into a dispute involving Moreno and the family of Moreno’s ex-husband. Moreno was killed by off-duty officers working security. Police say Moreno’s son remains in critical condition with a gunshot wound to the head.
February 13, 2024 5:05 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has passed a $95.3 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan after almost a week of debate and growing political divisions in the Republican Party over the role of the United States abroad. A small group of Republican senators who are strongly opposed to the $60 billion for Ukraine held the Senate floor through the night, arguing that the U.S. should focus on its own problems before sending more money overseas. But 22 Republicans voted with nearly all Democrats in the early morning Tuesday to pass the package 70-29, with supporters arguing that abandoning Ukraine could embolden Russian President Vladimir Putin and threaten national security across the globe.
February 13, 2024 5:04 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Inflation may have fallen below a 3% annual rate last month, which would be the lowest level in nearly three years and a potentially significant milestone as the Biden administration seeks to bolster Americans’ views of the economy before the November elections. Economists have estimated that when the government issues the latest consumer price index Tuesday, it will show that prices rose just 0.2% from December to January for a third month in a row. Falling gas prices are expected to have slowed overall inflation. And compared with a year earlier, inflation is thought to have cooled to 2.9%, down sharply from 3.4% in December. That would be the lowest year-over-year inflation since March 2021.
February 13, 2024 5:03 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Having failed to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas the first time, House Republicans are determined to try again. But it’s not at all certain Tuesday’s scheduled do-over will produce a better tally. The evening vote is expected to be tight, even with the arrival of Majority Leader Steve Scalise, who has been away from Washington for cancer care. Speaker Mike Johnson’s threadbare majority cannot spare defections or absences in the face of staunch Democratic opposition to impeaching Mayorkas. After last week’s embarrassing setback, Republicans are trying to make good on their priorities as they criticize the Biden administration’s handling of the record number of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border.
February 13, 2024 5:01 am
MOSCOW (AP) — Russia has put Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas on a wanted list, The move by the country’s Interior Ministry marks the first time that a foreign leader has been put on a wanted list in Russia. It appears to reflect an attempt by Moscow to up the ante as it faces pressure from NATO allies as fighting in Ukraine nears the two-year mark. Kallas has been a strong supporter of Ukraine, spearheading efforts to increase military assistance to Kyiv and tighten sanctions against Russia. She also has angered Moscow by pushing for the removal of monuments to Soviet World War II soldiers. Russia has laws criminalizing the “rehabilitation of Nazis” that include clauses punishing the desecration of war memorials.
February 13, 2024 4:58 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. — (WPXI) – If you drive down the road, you’ll see school buses all across the region. Big, yellow and considered one of the safest vehicles on the road. “If we can add more safety to it, I’ll be the first one in line no doubt about it,” said DJ Frye who owns Frye Transportation. Frye is a third-generation school bus owner in Beaver County. He’s heard the topic of seatbelts in large school buses debated for years. The latest conversation comes from 40th Legislative District Republican State Representative Natalie Mihalek who represents Allegheny County and Peters Township in Washington County. She is introducing a bill to add the three-point seatbelts to all new buses. “I say it’s sort of priceless when you are talking about the safety of our children. So it’s estimated it would be $7,000 to $10,000 for a new school bus, I’m not looking to retrofit the school buses already in service and it would be starting in the year 2029 or later depending on the timing,” Mihalek said. Those costs are just the upfront costs, according to Frye. He said the biggest hurdle for the bus companies will actually come from the capacity because right now you sit three kids a seat with seatbelts it takes it to two. Plus, drivers won’t be able to double up on routes, meaning you’ll need more drivers. Frye said the logistical costs will be passed on to the taxpayers, but the one thing he’d want no matter what for safety is an extra adult to help enforce, because why have the seatbelts if the kids won’t wear them? Frye hopes he can sit down with Mihalek to include his perspective in the bill to make sure it creates the safest situation for all the kids.The bill is currently still being drafted with the hopes to introduce and move to committee soon.
February 13, 2024 4:49 am
The long story of an aquatic center in Peters Township took another turn during the council meeting Monday night. On the agenda was an item to approve a design contract for a splash pad in phase one of the development of the aquatic center. The measure passed narrowly 3-2. Councilmen Tom Pirosko, Frank Kosir and Bob Lewis voted in favor of the contract. Voting no were Frank Arcuri and Gary Stiegel. Absent from the meeting were councilpersons Allison Shanafelt and Matt Rost. The authorization gives engineering and architecture firm Kimmel Bogrette the go ahead to design the project and implement bidding services. Phase one of the project will be the construction of a splash pad, a building that houses a party room, rest rooms, shelters and parking. Kimmel Borgett estimates the project to be in the range of $5.5-$6.4 million. A matching funds grant and available bond monies will be used to finance the project. One resident spoke out against the project. Eileen Burkhardt says that she feels that the project is not a good use of township funds given the limited amount of time the splash pad would be used because of weather and the number of people that would be using that type of facility.
February 12, 2024 5:18 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has been hospitalized again following symptoms pointing to an “emergent bladder issue.” In a statement, the Pentagon said Austin was transported by his security detail to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center around 2:20 p.m. Sunday. Austin has now transferred authorities to Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks and remains in the hospital. Austin was diagnosed with prostate cancer in December and continues to deal with complications from his treatment.
February 12, 2024 5:15 am
JERUSALEM (AP) — Egypt has threatened to void its decades-long peace treaty with Israel if Israel begins a large-scale offensive on Rafah, where some 1.4 million Palestinians are sheltering in densely packed tent camps on the border with Egypt. The landmark treaty took shape during the Camp David Accords, brokered by President Jimmy Carter. It was the first time an Arab country recognized Israel and the treaty has served as an important source of stability in a volatile region. If the treaty is nullified, it may bode serious ramifications for Israel, which has relied since its signing on calm along its southern border.
