March 21, 2024 3:18 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawmakers have introduced a $1.2 trillion spending package that sets the stage for avoiding a partial government shutdown for several key federal agencies this weekend. The bill unveiled Thursday comes nearly six months into the current budget year and would allow Congress to complete its work in funding the government through September. Democrats were largely able to swat back scores of policy mandates and some of the steeper budget cuts that House Republicans were seeking to impose on nondefense programs. Among the policy wins that House Speaker Mike Johnson is highlighting for Republicans is a nearly 24% increase in detention beds for migrants awaiting their immigration proceedings or removal from the country.
March 21, 2024 3:21 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — Apple says a Justice Department antitrust lawsuit accusing it of engineering an illegal monopoly in smartphones in the U.S. is “wrong on the facts and the law.” The lawsuit was filed Thursday in federal court in New Jersey. The suit alleges Apple uses its control over the iPhone to engage in an “illegal course of conduct.” The lawsuit is the latest example of the Justice Department’s approach to aggressive enforcement of federal antitrust law that officials say is aimed at ensuring a fair and competitive market. Apple has defended the digital fortress known as its walled garden as a feature prized by consumers who want to protect their personal information. (Photo: AP)
March 21, 2024 12:51 pm
(WPXI) – Allegheny County police have charged an Etna woman in the drowning death of her one-year-old son. On the afternoon of July 13, County 911 was notified of an unresponsive one-year-old child in the 30 block of Sycamore Street in Etna. First responders performed life-saving measures and transported the child to an area hospital in critical condition. On July 27, the child was pronounced dead at the hospital. Detectives interviewed the child’s mother, Brittany Garrison, 28, and learned Garrison had taken the child and a sibling outside to swim in an above-ground pool. Garrison left the child alone in a flotation device inside the pool and went inside the residence with the sibling, according to a police report. A short time later, the child was found unresponsive outside of the flotation device in the pool. Police determined the child was not wearing any additional flotation device or life jacket. Police have filed charges against Garrison including involuntary manslaughter, endangering the welfare of children and recklessly endangering another person. She was taken into custody Thursday morning and released on non-monetary bond.
March 21, 2024 4:51 am
JEANNETTE, Pa. — (WPXI) – The community of Jeannette is grief-stricken after a fire killed a young father and four of his six children Wednesday. Westmoreland County Coroner Tim Carson said Tyler King, 27, Kyson John, 7, Kinzleigh John, 6, Keagan John, 3, and Korbyn John, 1-month, were all killed. The mother and two other children were taken to the hospital but survived. Firefighters say they ran into issues with water from a hydrant. The Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County tells our news partners at Channel 11 they are in charge of the water for the hydrants in Jeannette. They said to their knowledge they work properly and are regularly maintained. These hydrants, according to MAWC, were last checked six to eight months ago. They said there could be a lot of circumstances that led to a water problem. The ATF’s fire investigators are assisting state police and Jeannette Police in this investigation.
March 21, 2024 1:50 am
A Monongahela man was charged with five felony counts of dissemination of photos or films of child sex acts and one felony count of criminal use of a communications device. Caleb Beers, 32 will face trial after all of his charges were held for court without a hearing on Wednesday. According to the criminal complaint, on December 3, alleged child pornography was downloaded from a person to person file sharing account that was traced to an address in Monongahela. A February 28 search warrant to the home allowed police to uncover a computer belonging to Caleb Beers that was found to have the content police obtained and multiple other suspected child pornography files. Beers admitted to viewing child pornography to police. Beers is in the Washington County Jail on $50,000 bond. His formal arraignment will be April 25.
March 20, 2024 4:55 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Gov. Josh Shapiro’s plan to boost funding for public transportation systems has been approved by Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives. But it faces tough odds in the Republican-controlled Senate. The Democratic-controlled House voted 106-95 on Wednesday, nearly along partisan lines. The Democratic governor wants the 20% increase for transit systems still trying to recover pre-pandemic ridership numbers and facing a drop-off in federal funding. Republicans, however, are protesting the amount of the funding increase and say public transit systems have structural problems that can’t be fixed by more money alone. Democrats defended the increase as an economic good and necessary to keep transit systems from cutting services or increasing fares.
March 21, 2024 4:54 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Employers in Pennsylvania could get a tax credit if they make contributions to their employees’ tuition savings account, under a Pennsylvania House of Representatives bill. The legislation passed out of the chamber unanimously on Wednesday. It now goes to the state Senate. The bill would allow employers to contribute up to $500 to an employee’s tuition savings account for a tax credit equal to 25% of the employer’s total contributions. Sponsors for the bill say that with student debt totaling $1.77 trillion nationally, the legislation would help reduce the financial burden on students.
March 21, 2024 4:53 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — For Democrats trying to defend the White House and Senate majority, Democratic Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania is emerging as the tip of the spear in trying to reframe the election-year narrative around inflation. It’s a key soft spot in 2024 for Democrats and President Joe Biden. Casey argues that consumer prices are high primarily because of “greedflation,” a term that describes profiteering corporations jacking up prices. Casey’s opponent, Republican David McCormick, calls Casey’s contentions “nonsense” and blamed federal spending under Biden and rising energy prices. Economists tend to list many forces behind global inflation, including pandemic-fueled supply-chain shortages, a strong labor market and Russia’s attack on Ukraine.
March 21, 2024 2:52 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The United Steelworkers Union has endorsed President Joe Biden, giving him support from another large labor union. The announcement Wednesday by the Pittsburgh-based union came less than a week after Biden voiced opposition to the planned sale of U.S. Steel to Nippon Steel of Japan. The USW represents 850,000 workers in metals, mining, rubber and other industries. It said that Biden has a track record of supporting retirement security, affordable health care and laws that support workers. The union said those issues are important to its members. The AFL-CIO, United Auto Workers, and several other unions previously endorsed Democrat Biden in his race against Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee. The Teamsters union has yet to announce its pick. (Photo: AP)
March 21, 2024 5:02 am
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the “gaps are narrowing” in indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas over another cease-fire and hostage release that the U.S., Egypt and Qatar have spent several weeks trying to broker. Blinken’s sixth visit to the region since the start of the Israel-Hamas war began in Saudi Arabia and will take him to Egypt on Thursday and Israel on Friday. In an interview Wednesday with the Al-Hadath network in Saudi Arabia, Blinken said he thinks an agreement is very much possible. Gaza’s Health Ministry says over 31,800 Palestinians have been killed since the war began. Palestinian militants killed some 1,200 people in the surprise Oct. 7 attack out of Gaza that triggered the war, and abducted another 250 people.
