October 27, 2022 4:17 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The problems have hardly gone away. Inflation, still near a 40-year high, is punishing households. Rising interest rates have derailed the housing market and threaten to inflict broader damage. And the outlook for the world economy grows bleaker the longer that Russia’s war against Ukraine drags on. But for now anyway, the U.S. economy has likely returned to growth after having shrunk in each of the first two quarters of 2022. At least that’s what economists expect to see Thursday when the Commerce Department issues its first of three estimates of gross domestic product – the broadest measure of economic output – for the July-September period.
October 27, 2022 4:16 am
CHISINAU, Moldova (AP) – Europe’s energy crisis is forcing some people to turn to cheaper sources to stay warm as the weather gets colder. After Russia slashed natural gas flows to Europe amid its war against Ukraine, demand for wood is surging in poorer nations like Moldova and Kosovo as well as in the richer nations of Western and central Europe. It’s led to higher prices, growing concerns about theft and even scams. Some German foresters are putting GPS devices into logs to track the valuable stocks and deter theft. There are also environmental risks to burning firewood, from the particles that people breathe to increased felling of trees.
October 27, 2022 4:15 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Election Day is 12 days away. But in courtrooms across the country, efforts to sow doubt over the outcome have already begun. Since the start of this year, more than 100 lawsuits have been filed largely by Republicans around the upcoming midterm election. The call into question mail-in voting rules, voter access, voting machines, voting registration, the counting of mismarked absentee ballots and access for partisan poll watchers. It’s the most litigation ever before an election – and it’s a strategy shift born of the failures of allies of former President Donald Trump in 2020 to challenge the results of the presidential election.
October 27, 2022 4:08 am
WHITEHALL, Pa. — Police in Whitehall are warning people to be aware of a bizarre new scheme in which fraudsters send letters purporting to be from Walmart. According to a social media post from the borough’s police department, a resident recently received a package containing a check for $3,800 and a note with a Walmart letterhead. That letter reads “congratulations on your achievement” and claims that the recipient has been chosen to complete a paid customer service assignment. It states “there has been complains [sic] in our money order section which is why you are to survey any Walmart or CVS store close to you.” It instructs the recipient to purchase three $1,000 money orders from one of the stores and then call or text a number to retrieve information on where to send the payments. According to police, the letter and packaging appear to be real but “this is a scam attempting to get money from you.” The department’s police chief told Channel 11 that he did not believe the victim actually fell for the scam and suffered a loss. It’s unclear what occurs if a recipient attempts to cash the $3,800 check, which the letter claims is meant to “cover the expenses” of the assignment. A spokesman for Walmart told out news partners at WPXI, “Walmart has been very direct in dealing with fraud,” as outlined here: https://corporate.walmart.com/privacy-security/fraud-alerts/
October 27, 2022 4:04 am
WESTMORELAND COUNTY, Pa. — A woman died in a single-vehicle crash in Westmoreland County Wednesday afternoon. According to a release from the Westmoreland County coroner’s office, the crash happened at 2:35 p.m. on Garvers Ferry Road in Allegheny Township. The coroner’s office said the driver was traveling north and the vehicle went across the road while she was trying to make a right turn. The car struck a tree, and the driver was pronounced deceased at the scene. She was not wearing a seatbelt. Officials said weather conditions and speed may have been a factor in the crash. The victim has been identified as 45-year-old Sarah Bowser of Allegheny Township.
October 27, 2022 2:12 am
A Washington man faced his preliminary hearing on an aggravated assault charge and decided to make a plea deal. West Jones, 52 will enter a fast track plea to felony aggravated assault and three other misdemeanors for his actions during an altercation on October 15. Police were called to a residence on E. Hallam Avenue where Jones allegedly threatened Avery Turner with a golf club and attempted to kick down a door. No injuries were reported. Jones’ plea court hearing is scheduled for December 20.
October 26, 2022 1:54 pm
CLEVELAND (AP) – Two men accused of stuffing five walleye with lead weights and fish fillets during a lucrative fishing tournament on Lake Erie have pleaded not guilty to cheating and other charges. Forty-two-year-old Jacob Runyan, of Broadview Heights, Ohio, and 35-year-old Chase Cominsky, of Hermitage, Pennsylvania, were arraigned Wednesday in common pleas court in Cleveland. Their attorneys declined to comment after the hearing. The cheating allegations surfaced Sept. 30 when Lake Erie Walleye Trail tournament director Jason Fischer became suspicious because Runyan and Cominsky’s fish were significantly heavier than walleye of that length normally are. A crowd watched Fischer cut open the walleye and announce there were weights and walleye fillets stuffed inside them.
October 26, 2022 12:51 pm
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – A jury has convicted a Wisconsin man of killing six people when he drove his SUV into a Christmas parade last year. Darrell Brooks was found guilty Wednesday of six counts of first-degree intentional homicide. He drove into the parade in Waukesha on Nov. 21 after fleeing a domestic disturbance with an ex-girlfriend. Dozens of other people were hurt. Brooks dismissed his public defenders days before his trial began in early October and defended himself throughout the proceedings. He was removed from the courtroom at times for his erratic outbursts and confrontational exchanges with the judge.
October 26, 2022 4:22 am
A new report from doctors and other health experts says the world’s fossil fuel addiction is making the world sicker and is killing people. Tuesday’s report in the prestigious medical journal Lancet says extreme weather from climate change triggered hunger in nearly 100 million people. It also says that heat deaths are up 68% among vulnerable groups and that each year pollution from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas kills 1.2 million people worldwide. The Lancet report looks at 43 different health indicators. Report authors say global health problems from global warming are getting worse.
October 26, 2022 4:21 am
UMM AL FAHM, Israel (AP) – The voices of Israel’s Palestinian citizens are often drowned out or delegitimized in the country’s noisy politics. Yet in the upcoming general election, they could hold the key to breaking an entrenched political deadlock. Israelis vote Tuesday for the fifth time in less than four years. The country remains as divided as ever over former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s fitness to serve while on trial for corruption. Polls show those numbers haven’t budged. What could tip the scales is the vote of the one-fifth of Israelis who are of Palestinian descent. High turnout could swing the elections in favor of Netanyahu’s opponents, while a drop could pave the way for Netanyahu’s return.
