April 13, 2024 5:03 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump is holding a rally in northeast Pennsylvania, his last before his criminal hush money trial begins next week. The presumptive Republican nominee and former president is scheduled to speak Saturday at the Schnecksville Fire Hall in Lehigh County. It will be Trump’s third visit this year to a vital swing state, one that could decide who wins this year’s presidential race. He also plans to attend a fundraiser in nearby Bucks County before the event. Pennsylvania is a critical battleground in the rematch between Trump and Biden, with both candidates expected to visit the state frequently through November.
April 13, 2024 5:02 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — U.S. Steel shareholders have overwhelmingly approved the firm’s sale to Nippon Steel of Japan for $14.1 billion in cash, voicing unequivocal support for a combination that has drawn opposition from the Biden administration on economic and national security grounds. More than 98% of the shares voted Friday at a special investor meeting approved the takeover, according to a preliminary count of ballots announced by U.S. Steel. The deal has raised concerns about what the sale could mean for unionized workers, supply chains and U.S. national security, and is opposed by President Joe Biden.
April 13, 2024 4:59 am
PennDOT says most roads that were closed because of flooding or debris issues after the recent storms have reopened. In their most recent update later Friday afternoon they listed just two road closures;
· Route 1010 (Georgetown Road) between Spring Avenue in Cecil Township and Buckeye Street in Peters Township.
· Route 2019 (Almond Road) between Route 917 (Main Street) in Ellsworth Borough and Wherry Road in Somerset Township.
April 12, 2024 3:46 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. House has passed a bill to reauthorize and reform a key U.S. government surveillance tool without including broad restrictions on how the FBI uses this crucial program to search for Americans’ data. But despite passage with bipartisan support, opponents of the final proposal forced a vote on a procedural motion to be taken early next week, further delaying the legislation being sent to the Senate. It is the latest in a series of hurdles for Speaker Mike Johnson who has been negotiating with far-right detractors of the legislation for weeks. The program is set to expire on April 19 if Congress does not act in time.
April 12, 2024 5:08 am
NEW YORK (AP) — A dozen Manhattan residents are soon to become the first Americans ever to sit in judgment of a former president charged with a crime. Jury selection is set to start Monday in former President Donald Trump’s hush-money trial. The presumptive Republican nominee has pleaded not guilty. The proceedings present a historic challenge for the court, the lawyers and the everyday citizens who find themselves in the jury pool. Those problems include finding people who can be impartial about one of the most polarizing figures in American life and detecting any bias among prospective jurors without invading the privacy of the ballot box.
April 12, 2024 5:06 am
ASTANA, Kazakhstan (AP) — Growing numbers of Russian soldiers are trying to get out of the war in Ukraine. Overall asylum claims from Russians have surged in the U.S., France and Germany since Russia’s full-scale invasion two years ago, but few are getting in. Russian soldiers present particular concern: Are they spies? War criminals? Or heroes? The Associated Press spoke with five officers and one soldier who deserted, some through underground networks of Russian activists who guided them on secret escape routes. Facing criminal charges in Russia, all but one live in hiding as they wait for a welcome from the West that hasn’t arrived. They argue that helping deserters is in the West’s own interest and less costly than shipping weapons to Ukraine.
April 12, 2024 5:04 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate rose to its highest level in five weeks, a setback for prospective homebuyers during what’s traditionally the busiest time of the year for home sales. The average rate on a 30-year mortgage rose to 6.88% from 6.82% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.27%. Rates have been mostly drifting higher in recent weeks as stronger-than-expected reports on employment and inflation. Many economists still expect that mortgage rates will ease moderately later this year, though most forecasts call for the average rate on a 30-year home loan to remain above 6%.
April 12, 2024 5:03 am
DENVER (AP) — Lawmakers in at least 12 states are debating bills that would legalize physician-assisted death. The laws would allow terminally ill patients under specified conditions to end their lives with a doctor’s help. Physician-assisted death is contentious and only 10 states and Washington, D.C., allow it. Patients must be at least 18 years old, within six months of death and be assessed by doctors to ensure they are capable of making an informed decision. Two states have gone in the opposite direction. Kansas has a bill to further criminalize those who help someone with their physician-assisted death. West Virginia is asking voters to enshrine its current ban into the state constitution.
April 12, 2024 5:02 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – A new poll from the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that more than half of U.S. adults think Joe Biden’s presidency has hurt the country on cost of living and immigration. Meanwhile, nearly half think Donald Trump’s presidency hurt the country on voting rights and election security, relations with foreign countries, abortion laws and climate change. The poll numbers also show Americans generally think that in the White House, both did more harm than good. Meanwhile, when asked which president did more to help people like them, roughly one-third say Donald Trump and about one-quarter say Joe Biden. Yet roughly 30% of adults said neither Biden nor Trump benefitted them.
April 12, 2024 4:59 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) — O.J. Simpson died without having paid the lion’s share of the $33.5 million judgment a civil jury awarded to the families of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman. The panel found Simpson liable in a wrongful death lawsuit in 1997. Now, his money is likely to go into the court probate process. And the Goldman and Brown families could be at the front of the line to get paid a piece of whatever Simpson left behind. If he had any meaningful assets at all, his four children will have to let a court look at them before they can receive it.
