October 5, 2023 5:09 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Some 75,000 Kaiser Permanente workers are taking to picket lines in multiple states over wages and staff shortages. Unions representing the workers who walked off the job Wednesday approved a strike for three days in California, Colorado, Oregon, Washington, and one day in Virginia and the District of Columbia. Doctors are not participating, and the company says it will keep its 39 hospitals open. Kaiser union members say understaffing is boosting the hospital system’s profits but hurting patients, while Kaiser say they offer better compensation than competitors. There have been work stoppages within multiple industries this year in the U.S.
October 5, 2023 5:08 am
NEW YORK (AP) — The trial that could block former President Donald Trump from doing business in New York is drilling down on a major question: Was it his company or was it hired accountants that bore responsibility for financial statements that the state calls fraudulent. Accountants were on the witness stand Wednesday, with Trump at the defense table for part of a third day. Lawyers for state Attorney General Letitia James are seeking to show that the accountants relied entirely on information supplied by Trump and his company. His attorneys are trying to pin blame on accounting firms for any problems with the statements. Outside the courtroom, Trump’s lawyers appealed a key pretrial ruling that he engaged in fraud by puffing up the values of prized assets. Trump denies any wrongdoing.
October 5, 2023 5:04 am
Ask Americans what their religion is, and nearly 1 in 3 say this — none. That’s according to the U.S. adults surveyed by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. They’re called the “nones” – not religious sisters, but N-O-N-E-S. Other surveys show they’ve been growing steadily for the past 30 years. Half of the nones call themselves atheists of agnostics, but another half just say they’re “nothing in particular.” Many believe in God, heaven, prayer, astrology, karma or reincarnation. But the nones really, really don’t like organized religion. They span class, gender, race, ethnicity and age. More than 4 in 10 young adults are nones. Researchers say that’s a sign they’ll continue to grow.
October 5, 2023 5:01 am
After a record-smashing hot summer, Earth’s warming somehow got even worse in September. The European climate agency says temperatures last month set a new mark for how far above normal they hit. The month’s average temperature was 0.93 degrees Celsius (1.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above its average from 1991-2020. That’s the warmest margin above average for a month in 83 years of records kept by the European Space Agency’s Copernicus Climate Change Service. Copernicus officials say 2023 is now on track for the hottest year on record, about 1.4 degrees Celsius (2.5 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than pre-industrial times.
October 5, 2023 4:59 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Some in the GOP are wondering if anyone can take Kevin McCarthy’s place as a fundraising dynamo and party builder. His ouster as House speaker also leaves a void atop the groups that raise tens of millions of dollars to elect Republicans. McCarthy spent years raising mountains of campaign cash, recruiting top candidates, and painstakingly building political relationships. Says one of his supporters, Rep. Kelly Armstrong of North Dakota: “Nobody can raise money like him.” Already, the national committee raising money for House Republicans has postponed a fundraiser McCarthy was to headline.
October 5, 2023 4:56 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania lawmakers are advancing legislation to authorize the Department of Revenue to go after the lottery winnings and income tax returns of turnpike toll scofflaws. The bill was passed unanimously by the Senate Wednesday and now goes to the House of Representatives. The Associated Press reported in 2021 that the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission found that $104 million in tolls went uncollected over a 12-month period. An audit said that amount grew to $155 million over a subsequent 12-month period, or 10% of what was expected. Under the bill, the Department of Revenue could divert money from someone’s lottery prize of more than $2,500 or their income tax return.
October 5, 2023 4:47 am
The North Strabane Township Zoning Hearing Board met Wednesday to entertain requests for variances submitted by Giant Eagle Incorporated. Those variances were centered on the lot that currently contains the Kings Restaurant at the corner of Rt. 19 and McClelland Road. Giant Eagle would like to build a Get Go convenience store and gas station. A variance requested were for building size. The current zoning ordinance limits the square footage to 4000 square feet. Giant Eagle is proposing a building more than 2800 square feet bigger. They also requested variances pertaining to parking lot setbacks, minimum required loading zones and other setback encroachments. Before a roll call vote on each of the individual variances, board member Michael Proctor offered a motion to deny all variances applied for. A roll call vote narrowly approved the blanket denial 3-2 with board chairman Matt Adams and Vice Chairman Robert Shader agreeing with Proctor. Proctor indicated that the hardships that Giant Eagle was seeking relief from were all hardships created by them and therefore there was no basis to grant relief from any of their hardships. Some two dozen residents that showed up at the meeting were pleased with the decision. Representatives from Giant Eagle did not wish to comment. If Giant Eagle were to adjust their plans, the project could be approved at a later date.
October 5, 2023 1:53 am
A Washington man accused of robbing the then BP convenience store on Murtland Avenue in 2017 pleaded guilty on Tuesday. Darnell Brown II, 23 pleaded guilty to felony robbery and firearms possession charges and a misdemeanor receiving stolen property charge. Brown entered the convenience store in November of 2017 wearing a Guy Fawkes mask and pointed a gun at an attendant, robbing her of $269. It took until September of 2021 for DNA tests on the mask to determine that Brown was the culprit. Brown will spend the next 3½ to 7 years in state prison. Because of the structure of the plea deal he will spend two years on probation after his release. Brown will also pay $269 in restitution.
October 4, 2023 5:15 am
NEW YORK (AP) — A New York judge has imposed a limited gag order with a stern warning after Donald Trump disparaged a key court staffer during his civil business fraud trial. Judge Arthur Engoron issued the order Tuesday. The order, pertaining to all court staff, came after Trump recirculated a social media post assailing Engoron’s principal law clerk. Trump deleted the post after the judge called him and all the lawyers into a closed-door session.
October 4, 2023 5:13 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has been voted out of the job in an extraordinary showdown, a first in U.S. history. The 216-210 vote was forced by a contingent of hard-right conservatives and throws the House and its Republican leadership into chaos. It’s the end of the political line for McCarthy, who has said repeatedly that he never gives up, but now has almost no options remaining. Neither the right-flank Republicans who engineered his ouster nor the Democrats who piled on seem open to negotiating. McCarthy told lawmakers Tuesday evening he would not run again for speaker. There is no obvious successor to lead the House Republican majority.
