March 7, 2024 4:58 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House has passed a $460 billion package of spending bills that would keep money flowing to key federal agencies through the remainder of the budget year. The Senate is expected to take up the legislation before a midnight Friday shutdown deadline. And lawmakers are negotiating a second package of six bills, including defense. A significant number of House Republicans opposed the first measure, forcing House Speaker Mike Johnson to use an expedited process to bring the bill up for a vote. Johnson says the bill gives Republicans some wins on spending and says Republicans “have to be realistic” about what they can achieve in such a closely divided government.
March 7, 2024 4:55 am
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The trial against an armorer in a fatal shooting on the set of the Western movie “Rust” has given Alec Baldwin’s team a window into how his own trial could unfold. A New Mexico jury convicted Hannah Gutierrez-Reed on Wednesday of involuntary manslaughter in cinematographer Halyna Hutchins’ death in October 2021. Alec Baldwin had pointed a gun at Hutchins, and it went off, killing her and wounding director Joel Souza. Baldwin factored prominently into 10 days days of testimony in Gutierrez-Reed’s trial. He has pleaded not guilty to an involuntary manslaughter charge. His trial is scheduled to begin in July.
March 7, 2024 4:53 am
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama has a new law protecting in vitro fertilization providers from legal liability. Gov. Kay Ivey signed legislation Wednesday that shields IVF providers from possible lawsuits and criminal prosecutions stemming from a court ruling that equated frozen embryos to children. Three major IVF providers paused services after the state Supreme Court ruled last month that three couples who had frozen embryos destroyed in an accident at a storage facility could pursue wrongful death lawsuits. The ruling raised concerns about civil liabilities for clinics and prompted an outcry from patients and other groups.
March 7, 2024 4:52 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is set to use his State of the Union address to promote his vision for a second term to a dispirited electorate who questions whether he’s up to the job and to warn that GOP front-runner Donald Trump would be a dangerous alternative. Biden’s third such address from the House rostrum on Thursday will be something of an on-the-job interview, as the nation’s oldest president tries to quell voter concerns about his age and job performance. The president hopes to showcase his accomplishments on infrastructure and manufacturing, and push for action on aid to Ukraine, tougher migration rules, restoring access to abortion, and lowering drug prices, among other issues.
March 7, 2024 4:50 am
Egyptian officials said Thursday that negotiations over a cease-fire in Gaza are at an impasse as Hamas insists on a process to end to the war. After nearly five months of war, much of Gaza is in ruins, and international pressure is growing for Israel and Hamas to reach a deal that would halt the fighting and release the remaining Israeli hostages held by Hamas. The U.S., Egypt and Qatar have been trying to broker an agreement that would stop the fighting for six weeks, and include the release of 40 hostages held in Gaza in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned in Israel.
March 7, 2024 4:45 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Authorities say eight teenagers in northeast Philadelphia have been injured in another shooting involving a city bus. Wednesday’s shooting is the fourth shooting on the transit system in as many days. Philadelphia’s police commissioner Kevin Bethel says students from Northeast High School were waiting for a bus when three people emerged from a car and fired more than 30 shots. Bethel says one student was critically wounded: a 16-year-old who was hit nine times. The others are in stable condition. Transit spokesperson John Golden says the injured were taken to two hospitals. Two buses were hit by gunfire, but there were no reports of passengers or the driver being hurt.
March 7, 2024 2:51 am
Washington County District Attorney Jason Walsh announced on Wednesday that 53-year-old Wayne Fedrick of Monongahela plead guilty to criminal attempt homicide and aggravated assault charges in connection with an incident that occurred on September 2, 2023. Walsh says the Carroll Township Police Department responded to 83 Grant Road after a call to 911 stating that a woman was standing outside of the home yelling for someone to call 911. Police say that upon arrival they found a female covered in blood and subsequently learned that Fedrick had assaulted her (his girlfriend) and his seventy-eight-year-old mother. Authorities say his mother suffered significant injuries from being kicked and hit repeatedly by her son. They say she suffered acute blood loss, a brain hemorrhage and femur and facial fractures. Fedrick’s girlfriend suffered multiple head-related injuries, including concussion induced vertigo. Washington County Judge Brandon Neuman sentenced Fedrick to ten to twenty-years in a state prison.
March 7, 2024 2:29 am
The Washington City Mission may get another chance to receive Local Share Account Funding (LSA) this year. At the Washington County Commissioner’s Agenda meeting on Wednesday, Democrat Larry Maggi requested that a $500,000 grant for the mission’s women’s shelter project be put on the agenda for their regular meeting on Thursday. The women’s shelter project was removed from the LSA’s final list of recipients that was approved by the commissioners last month. Republican chairman Nick Sherman, however, said the grant request needs to be sent back to the LSA Board to see if they would agree to reconsider it – and possibly – vote on it. Fellow Republican Electra Janis also agreed with that action. Commissioners say they plan to contact LSA Committee Chairman Jeff Kotula and request that the board reconvene. In an email to WJPA Thursday morning, Kotula said he has not been contacted by Commissioners concerning the City Mission project. Commissioners meet Thursday at 2 p.m.
March 6, 2024 12:37 pm
(WPXI) – A Delta flight heading to Dallas diverted to Pittsburgh International Airport Wednesday morning. Delta flight 534 from LaGuardia to Dallas/Ft. Worth reported a mechanical issue and diverted to Pittsburgh at around 10 a.m. Delta Airlines told our news partners at Channel 11 that the plane had a performance issue with one of its jet engines. The plane landed safely and taxied to the gate, officials from PIT said. Two pilots, three flight attendants and 64 passengers were on board. “Nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and people and we apologize to our customers for the delay in their travels,” Delta said in a statement to Channel 11. Delta teams worked to get customers to their final destinations as quickly as possible, the airline said.
March 6, 2024 6:41 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Nikki Haley will suspend her presidential campaign. That’s according to three people with direct knowledge of her decision. The decision by the former South Carolina governor and U.N. ambassador on Wednesday will leave Donald Trump as the last remaining major candidate for the 2024 Republican nomination. Haley was Trump’s first GOP challenger and the only woman in the race. Haley argued that she was a fresh alternative to the former president and that it was time to move past the “chaos” of the Trump era. Haley’s candidacy was slow to attract support. But Haley ultimately outlasted other high-profile candidates, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former Vice President Mike Pence.
