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)
September 25, 2024 3:29 pm
(WPXI) – An arrest warrant has been issued for the man accused of stealing a local veteran’s car with his dog inside. According to the criminal complaint, the car was stolen from the Tractor Supply in East Huntingdon Township at around 9 a.m. on September 23rd. The victim, Willard Martz, told police he parked his car and went into the store, leaving his dog Lucky inside the vehicle. Before he got into the store, a man forcibly removed his keys from his front pocket, the complaint said. The suspect then ran toward the car, got in and fled with Lucky still inside. The suspect was identified as Kenneth Wilson Crider through video surveillance from the Connellsville Walmart. Crider is seen arriving at the store in Martz’s car, letting Lucky out to pee, then going inside.
September 25, 2024 1:29 pm
(WPXI) – Former President Donald Trump will return to the Butler Farm Show grounds for an October 5th rally, marking the first time he’s visited the site since he was shot in an assassination attempt.Trump first announced in late July that he planned to return to Butler, after a gunman opened fire at his rally on July 13th. Corey Comperatore, a former fire chief, was killed at the rally and Trump says he plans to honor him and the two men who were injured in the assassination attempt when he returns. “I will be going back to Butler, Pennsylvania for a big and beautiful rally, honoring the soul of our beloved firefighting hero Corey and those brave patriots injured two weeks ago. What a day it will be – fight, fight, fight!” the former president said on Truth Social over the summer.
September 25, 2024 10:51 am
Emergency responders were called to a pair of accidents Wednesday morning. The first occurred along Clare Drive in South Strabane Township just before 7 a.m. Washington County 9-1-1 says it was a one-vehicle crash. The driver was transported by ambulance from the scene. The second happened about an hour later along Interstate 70 westbound near the Eighty Four exit. Dispatchers say two vehicles were involved including a tractor trailer. One person was transported from the scene by ambulance. No other details were available. There is no word on the identity or condition of those injured.
