August 3, 2024 5:26 am
Governor Josh Shapiro and the Pennsylvania Department of Education Secretary Dr. Khalid N. Mumin were joined by state and local legislators, higher education leader and students at Cheyney University for a ceremonial bill signing of the higher education reforms that the governor signed into law as part of the 2024-25 budget. The budget for 2024-25 makes for the first significant progress on higher education in three decades and helps give Pennsylvanians the freedom to chart their own course and success that Governor Shapiro hold as his key priorities. This budget creates a new State Board of Higher Education that will coordinate every sector of higher education in Pennsylvania and utilize student-level data to make decisions on what works and what does not. The budget will also invest in public higher education institutions including a $15.7 million increase for community colleges and $35.1 million for schools in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. Also, it will make higher education more affordable to students with over $120 million in increased funding for scholarships and grants. The budget also looks to double funding for student teacher stipends for a total of $20 million to ensure student teachers are compensated for their work.
August 3, 2024 5:12 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy suffered an unexpected setback in July, as hiring fell sharply and the unemployment rate rose for the fourth straight month in a sign that higher interest rates may be taking a bigger toll on businesses and consumers. Friday’s report from the Labor Department showed that employers added just 114,000 jobs in July — far fewer than the 175,000 forecasters had expected — and that unemployment rose to 4.3%, highest since October 2021. The news shook financial markets around the world. The S&P 500 index ended Friday down 2%
August 3, 2024 5:10 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon has announced that the U.S. will move a fighter jet squadron to the Middle East and maintain an aircraft carrier in the region. President Joe Biden is making good on his promise to beef up the American military presence to help defend Israel from possible attacks by Iran and its proxies and to safeguard U.S. troops. Friday’s announcement also said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has ordered additional ballistic missile defense-capable cruisers and destroyers to the European and Middle East regions. The shifts come as U.S. leaders worry about escalating violence in the Middle East in response to recent attacks by Israel on Hamas and Hezbollah leaders.
August 3, 2024 5:09 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris says she’s ready for the fight against Republican Donald Trump after securing enough votes from Democratic delegates to become her party’s presidential nominee. The Democratic Party chair announced Friday that Harris had the votes. The online voting process doesn’t end until Monday, but Harris’ campaign marked the moment Friday when she crossed the threshold to have the majority of delegates’ votes. Harris says she’s “honored to be the presumptive Democratic nominee.” Harris is poised to be the first woman of color at the top of a major party’s ticket. The Democratic Party’s convention in Chicago begins Aug. 19.
August 3, 2024 5:04 am
In the biggest East-West prisoner swap since the Cold War, Russian President Vladimir Putin is sending a clear, morale-boosting message to his security services: If you get caught, Russia will bring you home. For the Kremlin, Vadim Krasikov, the hitman imprisoned in Germany for killing a former Chechen militant in Berlin, was perhaps the key component in the exchange that saw eight Russians swapped for 16 Westerners and Russian dissidents who had been imprisoned in recent years. In exchange for Krasikov and seven others, those freed by Moscow included American journalists Evan Gershkovich and Alsu Kurmasheva and former Marine Paul Whelan.
August 3, 2024 4:47 am
LAS VEGAS (WPXI) — John Chapman was sentenced to life in prison on Friday for kidnapping Jaime Feden, driving her to Nevada and killing her in the desert. Chapman was found guilty of Feden’s murder in April 2024 after an eight-day trial. Chapman and Feden knew each other for about 10 years and their relationship was very on-again, off-again. Photos on Chapman’s cell phone showed Feden zip-tied to a signpost in the Nevada desert with duct tape covering her mouth and nose, where she was left to die. Officers found her body days later. The defense argued that Feden consented to be tied up and duct taped when she was intimate with Chapman and that’s what the two were doing in the desert when she died.
August 2, 2024 2:45 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris says she’s “honored” to be the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison said Friday that Harris had secured enough votes from delegates to become the party’s nominee. The online voting process doesn’t end until Monday, but the campaign marked the moment Friday when she crossed the threshold to have the majority of delegates’ votes. Harris is poised to be the first woman of color at the top of a major party’s ticket. The Democratic Party’s convention in Chicago begins Aug. 19. Harris was endorsed by President Joe Biden after he left the race, catapulting her to the forefront of the campaign to beat Republican Donald Trump.
August 2, 2024 8:43 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – U.S. hiring decelerated sharply last month in the face of high interest rates as employers added a weak 114,000 jobs. Friday’s Labor Department report showed a drop from the 179,000 jobs created in June. Forecasters had expected to see 175,000 jobs in July. The unemployment rate rose to 4.3%. The economy has proven unexpectedly sturdy in the face of the Federal Reserve’s campaign to tame inflation with high interest rates. The Fed raised its benchmark rate 11 times in 2022 and 2023, taking it to a 23-year high. But the higher borrowing costs appear to be taking a toll.
August 2, 2024 5:07 am
SAN DIEGO (AP) — U.S. arrests for illegally crossing the border from Mexico during July have plummeted to a new low for Joe Biden’s presidency, raising prospects a temporary ban on asylum may be lifted soon. The Border Patrol is expected to arrest migrants 57,000 times during the month, down 30% from June and the lowest tally since September 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic slowed movement across borders. Two Customs and Border Protection officials provided numbers to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the numbers hadn’t been publicly disclosed. San Diego was the busiest corridor for illegal crossings in July.
August 2, 2024 5:03 am
Few Americans have high confidence in the Secret Service’s ability to keep presidential candidates safe after last month’s attempt on Donald Trump’s life. That’s according to a new poll from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Only around three in 10 Americans are extremely or very confident that the Secret Service can keep the presidential candidates safe from violence before the election. The law enforcement agency tasked with protecting presidents for more than a century is under intense scrutiny after a gunman got within 150 yards of Trump and fired several bullets from an AR-style rifle.
