September 26, 2024 2:52 pm
CRAWFORDVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Helene has strengthened into a major hurricane as it barrels across the Gulf of Mexico on a path to Florida. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Thursday afternoon that the hurricane is about 195 miles southwest of Tampa and has become a Category 3 hurricane with sustained winds of at least 111 mph. The huge storm’s center is expected to make landfall in the Big Bend area of Florida’s northwestern coast Thursday evening. Hurricane warnings and flash flood warnings extended far beyond the coast up into south-central Georgia. The governors of Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas and Virginia have all declared emergencies in their states
September 26, 2024 10:52 am
NEW YORK (AP) — New York City Mayor Eric Adams has been indicted on federal charges alleging that he took bribes and illegal campaign contributions from foreign sources. The indictment unsealed Thursday contends that Adams “compounded his gains” from the illegal contributions by gaming the city’s matching funds program, which provides a generous match for small dollar donations. Prosecutors allege that Adams also “solicited and demanded” bribes, including free and heavily discounted luxury travel benefits from a Turkish official, saying the official was seeking Adams’ help pertaining to regulations of the Turkish consulate in Manhattan. FBI agents seized Adams’ phone early Thursday, hours before the indictment was made public. Adams vowed Wednesday to fight any charges.
September 26, 2024 9:27 am
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits last week fell to the lowest level in four months. The Labor Department reported Thursday that applications for jobless claims fell by 4,000 to 218,000 for the week of Sept. 21. That’s fewer than the 224,000 analysts were expecting. The four-week average of claims, which evens out some of weekly volatility, fell by 3,500 to 224,750. The total number of Americans collecting jobless benefits rose by 13,000 to about 1.83 million for the week of Sept. 14. Applications for jobless benefits are widely considered a proxy for U.S. layoffs.
September 26, 2024 9:26 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The American economy expanded at a healthy 3% annual pace from April through June, boosted by strong consumer spending and business investment, the government said, leaving its previous estimate unchanged. The nation’s gross domestic product — the nation’s total output of goods and services — picked up sharply in the second quarter from the tepid 1.6% annual rate in the first three months of the year. Consumer spending, the primary driver of the economy, grew last quarter at a 2.8% pace, down slightly from the 2.9% rate the government had previously estimated. The final GDP estimate for the April-June quarter included figures showing that inflation continues to ease, to just above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target.
September 26, 2024 4:56 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Left-leaning groups and voting rights advocates are asking Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court to stop counties from throwing out what could be thousands of mail-in ballots in November’s election in the presidential battleground state. The lawsuit was filed Wednesday directly to the state’s highest court. It is the latest attempt by the groups to ensure counties don’t reject mail-in ballots that have an incorrect or missing date on the ballot envelope. The suit is at least the third election-related case now pending before the state Supreme Court as Democrats, Republicans and voting-rights groups fight over voting laws. Justices don’t have to take the case.
September 26, 2024 4:53 am
Derided by Donald Trump as a “communist,” Vice President Kamala Harris is playing up her street cred as a capitalist. Attacked by Harris as a rich kid who got $400 million from his father on a “silver platter,” Trump is leaning into his raw populism. The two presidential candidates delivered dueling speeches Wednesday that reflect how they’re honing their economic messages for voters in battleground states. Both are trying to counter criticism of them while laying out their best case for a public that still worries about the economy’s health.
September 26, 2024 4:51 am
A federal judge has approved a $600 million class-action settlement involving last year’s disastrous derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. Attorneys for the residents and a railroad spokesperson says the judge approved it Wednesday despite the objections of a few residents who questioned the deal. Most residents supported it although a vocal group of objectors questioned whether the deal will provide enough and whether it was rushed through too quickly. The approval clears the way for payments to start going out quickly. The lawyers previously said they hoped to get the first checks in the mail before the end of the year.
September 26, 2024 4:48 am
A pipe replacement project in South Strabane Township will result in a road closure Friday. Officials say Berry Road will be closed between the entrance to Strabane Square by Giant Eagle and Kohl’s from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. The township’s Public Works Department will be completing the work. Motorists are asked to avoid the area and seek alternate routes, preferably Route 19. Motorists can still reach the Giant Eagle side of Strabane Square coming from Locust Avenue. Motorists can also reach the Kohl’s side on Berry when approaching from Manifold Road.
September 26, 2024 2:39 am
(AP) – An arbitration board has ruled that U.S. Steel may proceed with its proposed acquisition by Nippon Steel. The board, which was jointly chosen by U.S. Steel and the United Steelworkers to decide disputes between them, said Wednesday that U. S. Steel has satisfied each of the conditions of the successorship clause of its basic labor agreement with the union and that no further action under the agreement was necessary in order to proceed to closing the proposed transaction with Nippon Steel. (Photo: AP)
September 25, 2024 5:29 pm
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris is pledging to build an economy that is both pro-business and helps the middle class as she pushes back against Republican nominee Donald Trump’s claims that she’s advancing “communist” ideas. The Democratic nominee stressed in remarks at the Economic Club of Pittsburgh that she “would take good ideas from wherever they come” as she works to double the number of people being trained in registered apprenticeships and outlined her support for more home ownership. Trump offered his own competing vision of the economy during a visit to a furniture-maker in Mint Hill, North Carolina. He pledged tariffs high enough that there would be an “exodus” of auto factory jobs from Japan, Germany and South Korea. (Photo: AP)
