May 16, 2024 4:58 am
WASHINGTON COUNTY, Pa. — (WPXI) – Governor Josh Shapiro is working to get help for the congregation of a Union Township church after an EF-2 tornado touched down in the area, ripping off the roof. At the Crossroads Church, workers have installed new windows and are putting on a new roof, after it was ripped off during church services with nearly 100 people inside. Two days later, the pastor’s phone rang with a private number. “I answer and he goes, ‘Hello, this is Governor Shapiro,’ I said, ‘Oh wow, Gov. Shapiro, is this a prank call?’” said Ken Barner, Crossroads Ministry pastor. The governor retweeted a post about the tornado damage, adding that he wants these communities to know his administration has their back and they’ll do everything they can to help people recover. “He offered his prayer and support, on behalf of him and his wife, he’s praying, he basically just listened and I thought it was very kind,” Barner said. “Right after it occurred, on Monday, Governor Shapiro called, he wanted to know what was going on,” said County Commissioner Larry Maggi. “It was reassuring to know we haven’t been forgotten on this end of the state, glad he called and is attempting to help somewhat.” The county did not declare a state of emergency, which is where any offers of help become tricky. “It’s good and bad to be declared a state of emergency or federal or state disaster, had to reach an amount of damage. We didn’t reach that, although for the people it occurred to it was pretty catastrophic,” Maggi explained.
May 16, 2024 4:53 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Natural gas producer CNX Resources says it plans to build a $1.5 billion facility at Pittsburgh’s airport to make hydrogen-based fuels. But, in its plan unveiled Wednesday, it says it will only build it if President Joe Biden’s administration allows coal mine methane to qualify for hydrogen production tax credits. Biden’s administration is deciding how to tailor billions in tax credits. CNX said the facility would remove coal mine methane from the atmosphere and blend it with natural gas to produce hydrogen-based airline fuel. Climate change activists say producing hydrogen from fossil fuels, instead of from carbon-free electricity, would undermine the purpose of the hydrogen program to displace fossil fuels.
May 15, 2024 5:26 pm
NEW YORK (AP) — The number of U.S. fatal overdoses fell last year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention posted the numbers Wednesday. CDC officials noted the data is provisional and could change after more analysis, but that they still expect a drop when the final counts are in. The agency says about 107,500 people died of overdoses in the U.S. last year. That’s down 3% from 2022. It’s too soon to know what spurred the decline, but experts reacted cautiously. They say the decline as relatively small. They also note that the last time a decline occurred — in 2018 — drug deaths shot up afterward.
May 15, 2024 5:24 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have agreed to hold two campaign debates, on June 27 hosted by CNN and on Sept. 10 hosted by ABC. CNN says its debate will be held in its Atlanta studios with no audience present. The Democratic president earlier Wednesday announced he won’t participate in fall presidential debates sponsored by the nonpartisan commission that’s organized them for more than three decades. Biden proposed two debates with the Republican ex-president, excluding third-party candidates. Trump says, “Let’s get ready to Rumble!!!” CNN holds open the door to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s participation if he or any other third-party candidate meets polling and ballot access requirements.
May 15, 2024 10:33 am
PRAGUE (AP) — Slovakia’s populist Prime Minister Robert Fico is in life-threatening condition after being wounded in a shooting Wednesday afternoon, according to his Facebook profile. The message posted to his account said that Fico “has been shot multiple times and is currently in life-threatening condition. At this moment he is transported by helicopter to Banská Bystrica, because it would take too long to get to Bratislava due to the necessity of an acute procedure. The next few hours will decide.” Reports on TA3, a Slovakian TV station, said that Fico, 59, was hit in the stomach after four shots were fired outside the House of Culture in the town of Handlova, some 150 kilometers northeast of the capital, where the leader was meeting with supporters. A suspect has been detained, it said.
May 15, 2024 8:43 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Consumer inflation in the United States cooled slightly last month after three elevated readings, likely offering a tentative sigh of relief for officials at the Federal Reserve as well as President Joe Biden’s re-election team. Prices rose 0.3% from March to April, down slightly from 0.4% the previous month. Measured year-over-year, inflation ticked down from 3.5% to 3.4%. And a measure of underlying inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy costs, also eased in April. Inflation had been unexpectedly high in the first three months of this year after having steadily dropped in the second half of 2023. The elevated readings had dimmed hopes that the worst bout of inflation in four decades was being rapidly tamed.
May 15, 2024 5:08 am
BEIJING (AP) — Russia’s Putin has expressed gratitude to Xi Jinping for China’s initiatives to resolve the Ukraine conflict. His remarks came at a summit with Xi where the Chinese leader said China hopes Europe will return to peace and stability soon and that China will play a constructive role. Putin on Thursday began a two-day state visit to Beijing as Moscow presses forward on a new offensive in Ukraine. China issued a broad proposal for peace in Ukraine in 2023. China has significant influence as a critical supporter of Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. It continues to supply Russia with key components that Moscow needs for its productions of weapons, and its purchase of Russian oil and gas has helped boost the Russian economy.
May 15, 2024 5:07 am
OCALA, Fla. (AP) — Investigators say a man with a long record of dangerous driving told them he smoked marijuana oil and took prescription drugs hours before he sideswiped a bus. Eight farm workers from Mexico were killed and dozens more were injured. Bryan Maclean Howard pleaded not guilty Wednesday to driving under the influence-manslaughter, and a judge denied bail. The Florida Highway Patrol says the 41-year-old drove his pickup into the center line on a two-lane road early Tuesday and hit the farmworker bus, causing it to veer off the road, strike a tree and flip over. Howard’s arrest report says he had bloodshot and watery eyes and slurred speech after the crash.
May 15, 2024 5:04 am
BANSKA BYSTRICA, Slovakia (AP) — A hospital official says Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico is in serious but stable condition. The populist leader was shot multiple times in an assassination attempt Wednesday that shook the small country and reverberated across the continent weeks before European elections. He is being treated Thursday at an intensive care unit. A suspect was in custody, and the interior minister said that an initial investigation found “a clear political motivation” behind the attack. The minister did not specify what the motivation was. Fico has long been a divisive figure in Slovakia and beyond. His return to power last year on a pro-Russian, anti-American message led to even greater worries among fellow European Union members that he would abandon his country’s pro-Western course.
May 15, 2024 5:03 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration has told key lawmakers it is sending a more than $1 billion in additional arms and ammunition to Israel. That’s according to three congressional aides who spoke of condition of anonymity to discuss an arms transfer that has not yet been made public. It’s not immediately known how soon the weapons would be delivered. It’s the first arms shipment to Israel to be revealed by the administration since it put another arms transfer — consisting of 3,500 bombs — on hold this month. President Joe Biden’s administration has said it paused that earlier transfer to keep Israel from using the bombs in its growing offensive in the crowded southern Gaza city of Rafah.
