March 30, 2024 5:08 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign is raising gobs of cash. And it has an election-year strategy that aims to spend more — and spend faster. His campaign is making significant early investments both on the ground and on air and hopes to create a massive organizational advantage that leaves Republican Donald Trump scrambling to catch up. But while the money pouring in has given Biden and the Democrats a major cash advantage, it’s also becoming clear Biden will need it. Throughout his life in business and politics, Trump’s provocations have earned him near limitless free media attention. Robby Mook, campaign manager for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential bid, says, “It’s one of the stubborn challenges of Trump.”
March 30, 2024 5:09 am
Televised images have swept Peru of government agents from an investigative team breaking into the president’s residence with a sledgehammer. The raid was authorized by the judiciary at the request of the attorney general’s office. Dina Boluarte is being preliminarily investigated for possessing an undisclosed collection of luxury watches since she came to power in July 2021 as vice president and Social Inclusion minister, and then as president in December 2022. Earlier in the week, the attorney general criticized Boluarte’s request to delay her appearance before the court for two weeks, emphasizing her obligation to cooperate with the investigation. Critics accuse Boluarte’s government of taking an increasingly authoritarian bent as it staves off demands for early elections.
March 30, 2024 5:10 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reiterated a message he has sounded in recent weeks: While the Fed expects to cut interest rates this year, it won’t be ready to do so until it sees “more good inflation readings’’ and is more confident that annual price increases are falling toward its 2% target. Speaking at a conference at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, Powell said he still expected “inflation to come down on a sometimes bumpy path to 2%.″ But the central bank’s policymakers, he said, need to see further evidence before they would cut rates for the first time since inflation shot to a four-decade peak two years ago.
March 30, 2024 5:07 am
JERUSALEM (AP) — A dramatic decision by Israel’s Supreme Court on drafting ultra-Orthodox men into the Israeli military could spell political trouble for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The ruling Thursday calls for an end to state subsidies for ultra-Orthodox men who do not serve in the country’s military, beginning next week. Netanyahu’s fragile coalition is split into two camps: ultra-Orthodox lawmakers who say they will fight any attempt to compel their base to serve, and popular centrist leaders who believe that all sectors of Israeli society should contribute equally to the war effort. Netanyahu has until Monday to come up with a plan to present to the court.
March 29, 2024 8:58 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – A measure of inflation that is closely tracked by the Federal Reserve slipped last month in a sign that price pressures continue to ease. The government reported that prices rose 0.3% from January to February, decelerating from a 0.4% increase the previous month in a potentially encouraging trend for President Joe Biden’s re-election bid. Compared with 12 months earlier, though, prices rose 2.5% in February, up slightly from a 2.4% year-over-year gain in January. Excluding volatile food and energy costs, so-called core prices rose 0.3% from January to February, down from 0.5% in the previous month. Core prices rose 2.8% from a year earlier last month, down from a revised 2.9% in January.
March 29, 2024 8:45 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and some big names from the entertainment world have delivered a rousing New York embrace of President Joe Biden at a campaign fundraiser that hauled in a record-setting $26 million-plus for the incumbent’s reelection campaign. The mood at Radio City Music Hall on Thursday night was electric as Obama said he was offering a “positive case” for someone who’s been an outstanding president. Clinton urged people to “stay with what works” in this election. Democrat Biden has a significant fundraising advantage over Republican rival Donald Trump, with more than four times as much cash on hand at the end of February.
March 29, 2024 4:53 am
The Penn Highlands Mon Valley Hospital sponsored an educational event Thursday. The “Breaking Barriers: Understanding Substance Use Disorder, Trauma and Stigma” allowed addiction and recovery experts to weigh in on issues that hinder recovery for addicts. Leading off the discussion was Joey Pagano. He is a licensed social worker and Project Supervisor for SPHS and author of the book “No Addict Left Behind”. Pagano spoke of his experiences in trying to break his addiction and the stigma he faced from not only people in the general public, but from medical personnel that would tell him that he would never get clean. He also spoke of education. He stressed that in 2024, children are much more advanced and prevention education must be integral not only in high schools, but in middle schools as well. Dr. Gopi Vadlamudi is the Medical Director of hospital’s CNX Foundation Substance Recovery Unit. He spoke of to the way substances affect the brain. He stated that it could take up to five years from the first SUD event before someone actually seeks treatment. If that person maintains sobriety, they are still susceptible to relapse for an additional five years. He says that it takes that long for the brain to recover from the damage caused by the abuse of the chosen substance. Adam Gillingham is the Lead Counselor for the Substance Recovery Unit. He says that it is important for the hospital to build a solid base for a patient to recover, but it is equally important for that patient to find appropriate surroundings once they leave to continue their recovery. Rachel Carpenter from the University of Pittsburgh Program Evaluation and Research Unit presented information that reminded the community that addiction is a disease. It is initially set off by some sort of trauma and that stigma about addiction is the main reason that it takes so long for addicts to seek treatment.
March 29, 2024 4:59 am
GREENSBURG, Pa. — (WPXI) – A Duquesne man sentenced on drug charges Tuesday is behind bars facing additional charges after sheriff’s deputies say he assaulted one of their officers Tuesday after his hearing. Jerome Felton, 22, is accused of assaulting a female Westmoreland County Sheriff’s Deputy as he was being escorted to a holding cell after a plea and sentencing hearing, where he was sentenced to one to two-and-a-half years behind bars on drug charges. According to the criminal complaint, the female deputy was escorting Felton – who was shackled – to the inmate-designated elevator after his hearing. Once inside the elevator, the deputy told investigators Felton looked at her and said, “If I give you a kiss, it can be our secret” The deputy told Felton to face the wall and stop talking to her. The two then got off the elevator, and the deputy walked Felton to the holding cell. According to court documents, the deputy told Felton to stand to the right of the cell as she unlocked the door – which the sheriff’s office says is standard protocol. While she was unlocking the door, the deputy said Felton walked behind her and pushed the top part of his torso into her back. The deputy said Felton grabbed her buttocks and made an explicit comment about his own body. Felton is due back in court to face these charges on April 4.
March 29, 2024 5:05 am
BALTIMORE (AP) — The largest crane on the Eastern Seaboard is arriving by barge so crews can begin removing the wreckage from the deadly Baltimore bridge collapse. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore says the crane can lift up to 1,000 tons. It will be used to clear the channel in order to resume the search for four workers who remain missing and reopen the key shipping route. Another crane is also on the way. Moore says “the best minds in the world” are working on plans to remove the twisted metal and concrete remains of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge. It was struck early Tuesday by a cargo ship and quickly fell into the river.
March 29, 2024 5:03 am
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Authorities say a bus carrying worshippers headed to an Easter weekend church gathering plunged off a bridge on a mountain pass and burst into flames in South Africa, killing at least 45 people. The only survivor of Thursday’s crash was an 8-year-old child, who was receiving medical attention. The Limpopo provincial government said the bus veered off the bridge and plunged into a ravine before busting into flames. The victims appeared to be from Botswana. They had been on their way to the town of Moria for a popular Easter pilgrimage that attracts hundreds of thousands of worshippers who follow the Zion Christian Church. This year’s pilgrimage is the first since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.
