June 27, 2024 11:35 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Supreme Court has cleared the way for Idaho hospitals to provide emergency abortions for now in a procedural ruling that leaves key questions unanswered. Thursday’s ruling could mean the issue ends up before the conservative-majority court again soon. The ruling came after an opinion was briefly posted on the court’s website accidentally and quickly taken down, but not before it was obtained by Bloomberg News. The Biden administration had argued doctors must be allowed to provide emergency abortions when a pregnant patient’s health is at serious risk. But Idaho said its law does allow abortions to save the life of a pregnant woman and federal law doesn’t require wider exceptions.
The Supreme Court has rejected a nationwide settlement with OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma that would’ve shielded Sackler family members who own the company from civil lawsuits over the toll of opioids but also would’ve provided billions of dollars to combat the epidemic. The justices Thursday blocked an agreement hammered out with state and local governments and victims. The Sacklers would’ve contributed up to $6 billion and relinquished ownership of the company but kept billions more. The agreement provided that the Connecticut-based company would emerge from bankruptcy as a different entity, with its profits used for treatment and prevention. The high court had put the settlement on hold last summer, after the Biden administration objected.
The Supreme Court is putting the Environmental Protection Agency’s air pollution-fighting “good neighbor” plan on hold while legal challenges continue. It’s the conservative-led high court’s latest blow to federal regulations. The justices Thursday rejected arguments by the Biden administration and Democratic-controlled states the plan was cutting air pollution and saving lives in 11 states. The regulation will remain on hold while the federal appeals court in Washington considers a challenge to the plan from industry and Republican-led states. The rule is intended to restrict smokestack emissions from power plants and other industrial sources that burden downwind areas with smog-causing pollution. Energy-producing states Ohio, Indiana and West Virginia challenged it.
June 27, 2024 4:42 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — America’s auto industry has grown concerned that Chinese carmakers may be preparing to set up shop in Mexico to exploit North American trade rules. The Chinese could then send ultra-low-priced electric vehicles streaming into the United States, devastating the U.S. auto industry, which envisions American EVs as the core of their business in the coming decades. To defuse the threat, the U.S. does have a range of options that it might be forced to deploy. Whatever steps the U.S. government might take, though, would likely face legal challenges from companies that want to import the Chinese EVs.
June 27, 2024 4:40 am
NOGALES, Mexico (AP) — The Biden administration’s asylum halt that has led to a 40% drop in arrests for illegal border crossings this month falls hardest on nationalities most susceptible to being deported. The asylum halt applies that took effect June 5 to all nationalities. But Mexicans and those Mexico agrees to take back are most likely to be deported. That includes Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans. Lack of money for charter flights, sour diplomatic ties and other operational challenges make it more difficult to deport people to many countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and South America. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas says the U.S. is working with countries around the world to accept more of their deported citizens.
June 27, 2024 4:36 am
ATLANTA (AP) — Both President Joe Biden and his Republican rival, Donald Trump, hope to jolt a campaign that many voters are just beginning to watch. Thursday’s debate in Atlanta offers unparalleled opportunities for both candidates to try to shape the political narrative. For Biden, the debate gives him the chance to reassure voters that, at 81, he’s capable of guiding the U.S. through a range of challenges. The 78-year-old Trump, meanwhile, could use the moment to try to move past his recent felony conviction in New York. Their performances have the potential to alter the trajectory of the election.
June 27, 2024 4:24 am
WASHINGTON, Pa. -(WPXI)- A Washington man has been arrested in connection to a homicide in Braddock Hills. Abdullaah Francken, 23, is charged with criminal homicide after a shooting on June 7. The shooting happened early in the morning in the parking lot of J Cats Bar. William Coffey, 24, was killed. Detectives identified Francken through interviews with witnesses and surveillance video. He was arrested on Wednesday and taken to the Allegheny County Jail.
June 27, 2024 4:20 am
City of Washington officials are alerting residents of paving work that continues on Locust Avenue. Locust Avenue will be milled and resurfaced from Highland Avenue to Oak Springs Road. The project will take several days. Work will begin at 7:30 AM and end at 4:30 PM each day. Parking will be prohibited on Locust Avenue between Highland Avenue to Wilson Avenue during operational hours. Officials warn of traffic congestion and ask residents to seek an alternative route.
June 27, 2024 4:01 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal judge presiding over the classified documents case of Donald Trump has granted the former president’s request for a hearing on whether prosecutors were permitted to improperly breach attorney-client privilege when they obtained crucial evidence from one of his ex-lawyers. The order from U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon ensures further delays in a criminal case that’s been snarled by significant postponements. They’ve led to the indefinite postponement of a trial that had been set to begin on May 20 in Fort Pierce, Florida. Cannon will revisit a different judge’s order from last year that permitted prosecutors to get testimony and other evidence from a Trump attorney that wound up being cited in Trump’s indictment.
June 27, 2024 3:55 am
ATLANTA (AP) — A raspy and sometimes halting President Joe Biden repeatedly sought to confront Donald Trump in their first debate ahead of the November election. But Biden’s uneven performance crystallized the concerns of many Americans that at, age 81, he is too old to serve as president. It sparked a fresh round of calls for the Democrat to step aside. Meanwhile, the 78-year-old Trump’s rhetoric offered Americans an unwelcome reminder of the bombast he launched daily during his tumultuous four years in office, as he struggles to win over skeptical voters. He declined to clearly state he would accept the results of the November election.
June 27, 2024 1:49 am
North Strabane Residents that live along North Spring Valley Road have appealed a conditional land use approval granted to Laurel Communities to build a development called the Collective At Peters Lake. Linda Lopez and Matthew and Pamela Maniet have engaged Joshua Ash at the University of Pittsburgh Environmental Law and Policy Clinic to help them with the appeal. Lopez and the Maniets are concerned about their water supply. They currently have wells and worry about impurities from earth moving during the construction phase and future impurities that may result from future fertilizer use. North Strabane has conditioned that the developer run public water lines to their street, but residents on North Spring Valley Extension would need to run their own piping to access the main pipe and pay tap in fees. According to Matt Maniet, early estimates are in the $10,000 to $30,000 range to access public water. They feel that they are being taken for granted because they may be forced into purchasing public water when it was not their wish to do that. The environmental non-profit group Friends of Peters Lake support the residents’ efforts as they wish to maintain the natural environment of Peters Lake Park. North Strabane Township officials referred comment to their solicitor. The solicitor said they just received the large packet of information and have not had time to review it. Additionally, they do not comment on pending litigation. The case is in the early stages and hearings have yet to be scheduled.
June 27, 2024 1:35 am
The Greene County Coroner released information regarding a fatal car accident that occurred on June 25 at approximately 12:38 PM. Linda Phillips, 76 was a passenger in a car travelling south on Rt. 19 in Franklin Township. The vehicle that she was riding in crashed with another vehicle travelling north on Rt. 19. Phillips was pronounced dead at the scene. According to police, 70 year old Denny Phillips also died from injuries sustained in the accident at Ruby Memorial Hospital. Police identified 52 year old Stacey Lewis as the driver of the vehicle. She sustained minor injuries. Fifty Six year old Angela Miltz was also riding Lewis’ vehicle, she also sustained minor injuries. It is not clear if Lewis will face charges for the accident.
