August 31, 2023 4:49 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s Republican-controlled Senate returned for an unusual August session mired in a two-month budget stalemate with the Democratic-controlled House. Two budget-related bills passed Wednesday, primarily on party lines, as Senate Republicans advanced provisions that have bipartisan support and others that do not. Neither bill has the agreement of House Democratic leaders. The House is not scheduled to reconvene until after a Sept. 19 special election that is expected to restore the chamber’s one-seat Democratic majority. Some programs were left without legislation on how to distribute funds after a fight over creating a $100 million program to send students to private schools.
August 31, 2023 2:30 am
A Bentleyville man is behind bars after a year-long investigation into drug trafficking at his home. On Tuesday, Bentleyville officers executed a search warrant on the home of Ronald David Jr., 49, at 240 Beallsville Road. They seized a large amount of suspected heroin/fentanyl, cocaine, marijuana, methadone, scales, packaging material and guns, according to the complaint. David is facing a list of charges including manufacture, delivery or possession with intent to deliver; possession of a controlled substance; possession of drug paraphernalia; and criminal use of a communication facility. He was placed in the Washington County Jail on $350,000 bond and is due in court in September. (Photo: Bentleyville Police)
August 31, 2023 2:04 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell appeared to briefly freeze up and was unable to answer a question from a reporter at an event in Kentucky on Wednesday. He had a similar episode weeks ago in Washington. According to video from a local news station, the 81-year-old McConnell was asked whether he’d run for reelection in 2026. The senator asked the reporter to repeat the question before trailing off and staring straight ahead. His office said afterward that McConnell was feeling “momentarily lightheaded” and would see a physician before his next event.
August 30, 2023 3:57 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge has held Rudy Giuliani liable in a defamation lawsuit brought by two Georgia election workers who say they were falsely accused of fraud. The court ruling says the former New York city mayor gave “only lip service” to complying with his legal obligations while trying to portray himself as the victim in the case. The judge says Giuliani ignored his duty as a defendant to turn over information requested in the case. An adviser to Giuliani says the ruling “is a prime example of the weaponization of our justice system.” The election workers say they’ve endured a “living nightmare” and an unimaginable “wave of hatred and threats” because of Giuliani’s comments.
August 30, 2023 5:09 am
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Authorities say a University of North Carolina graduate student walked into a classroom building, shot his faculty adviser and then left. Thirty-four-year-old Tailei Qi was charged Tuesday with first-degree murder in Monday’s killing of Zijie Yan inside of a science building at the state’s flagship public university. UNC Police Chief Brian James said at a news conference that Chapel Hill police arrested Qi in a residential neighborhood near campus. He says investigators are still trying to determine a motive for the attack and are still searching for the gun used to kill Yan. The attack led to a roughly three-hour lockdown on the UNC campus. No one else was hurt in the attack.
August 30, 2023 5:08 am
HONOLULU (AP) — Crews in Hawaii have all but finished searching for victims of the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century, and it is unclear how many people perished. Authorities said Tuesday the count of the dead stands at 115 three weeks after the fire devastated Maui’s historic seaside community of Lahaina. An unknown number of people are still missing. Officials suggested that responders likely have already recovered any remains that are recognizable as such, and they are shifting the response to focus on removing hazardous waste and making the area safe for residents to begin returning.
August 30, 2023 5:07 am
PERRY, Fla. (AP) — Hurricane Idalia made landfall as a dangerous Category 3 hurricane in the lightly populated Big Bend region, where the Florida Panhandle curves into the peninsula. Then it moved east of Tallahassee toward Valdosta, Georgia, where downed powerlines shut down part of the interstate highway into town. Coastal storm surge as high as 16 feet in places remained a major concern. More than 365,000 customers Florida and Georgia lost power as trees snapped in the winds and water turns roads into rivers. The National Weather Service says Idalia will hit the Carolinas as a tropical storm before moving out to sea. (Photo: ABC)
August 30, 2023 5:03 am
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian officials are accusing Ukraine of launching what appears to be the biggest nighttime drone attack on Russian soil since the war began 18 months ago. On the same night, the Kremlin’s forces hit Kyiv with what Ukrainian officials called a “massive, combined attack” that killed two people. Drones hit an airport in Russia’s western Pskov region near the border with Estonia and Latvia early Wednesday. Russia’s state news agency Tass reported damage to four Il-76 transport aircraft that can carry heavy machinery. Russia, meanwhile, used drones and missiles in its biggest bombardment of Kyiv in months, Ukrainian authorities said.
August 30, 2023 5:01 am
PETERS TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Peters Township High School has been ranked No. 1 in the Pittsburgh region by U.S. News and World Report. According to a social media post by the district, the schools are ranked based on their test scores, graduation rates and how well they prepare students for college. The high school is ranked No. 7 in Pennsylvania and 312th nationwide. “PTHS first earned this recognition in April of 2022 and we’re thrilled to be tops on the list again!” the post said. “Congratulations to our high school staff, students and families on this recognition!”
August 30, 2023 4:58 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania lawmakers are advancing legislation to hold the state’s 2024 presidential primary earlier. It wouldn’t, however, give the state’s voters much more say in deciding presidential nominees. A Senate committee on Wednesday passed a bill to change the state’s primary from April 23 to March 19. That still leaves highly populous states ahead of Pennsylvania and lawmakers say a final bill could move it later. Many state lawmakers want an early primary date, but not so early that it pushes the primary campaign into the winter holiday season. This year, more lawmakers are motivated to support a change because April 23 is the first day of Passover, a Jewish holiday.
