August 21, 2023 4:56 am
CAMDEN, N.J. (AP) — Starbucks has been ordered to pay an additional $2.7 million in lost wages to a former regional manager who was fired after two Black men were arrested at a Starbucks in 2018. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Wednesday that the judge’s ruling was over past and future lost compensation, as well as tax damages. The ex-manager Shannon Phillips was awarded $25.6 million in June. She alleged that she and other white employees were unfairly punished after the high-profile arrests. A jury found that race was a determinative factor in Phillips’ firing, in violation of federal and state anti-discrimination laws.
August 20, 2023 7:40 am
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Two Philippine security officials said that the United States, Japan and Australia are planning a joint navy drill this week in the South China Sea off the western Philippines after a recent show of Chinese aggression in the disputed waters. The drill will include three aircraft and helicopter carriers sailing together in a show of force and undertaking joint drills. The three countries expressed concern and support for the Philippines after Chinese coast guard ships used water cannons against Philippine vessels in an Aug. 5 confrontation in the contested waterway where disputes have long become a fault line in the rivalry between the U.S. and China in the region.
August 20, 2023 7:38 am
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An American-owned oil tanker long suspected of carrying sanctioned Iranian crude oil has begun offloading its cargo near Texas. That’s according to tracking data analyzed late Saturday. The fate of the cargo aboard the Suez Rajan has become mired in the wider tensions between the U.S. and the Islamic Republic, even as Tehran and Washington work toward a trade of billions of dollars in frozen Iranian assets in South Korea for the release of five Iranian-Americans held in Tehran. U.S. and Iranian officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment Sunday.
August 20, 2023 7:37 am
CABO SAN LUCAS, Mexico (AP) — Meteorologists say Hurricane Hilary held a maximum sustained wind speed of 85 mph at 2 a.m. Sunday as the storm was located 30 miles from Punta Eugenia, Mexico, and 385 miles from San Diego. The storm continues moving toward Mexico’s Baja California peninsula as a weakened Category 1 hurricane that is still likely to bring “catastrophic and life-threatening” flooding to the region and cross into the southwest U.S. as a tropical storm, dumping up to 10 inches of rain. Forecasters say the storm is expected to enter the history books as the first tropical storm to hit southern California in 84 years, bringing high winds, flash floods, mudslides, isolated tornadoes and widespread power outages.
August 20, 2023 7:36 am
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has vowed stern retaliation for a Russian missile strike in the center of the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv that killed seven people and wounded almost 150 others the day before. The region’s governor said Sunday that the total number of people known to have been wounded in the attack has risen to 148. Meanwhile, in Russia, five people were wounded when a Ukrainian drone hit a train station in the city of Kursk, the regional government said. The defense ministry said Russian air defenses also thwarted an attack by a Ukrainian drone flying toward the capital early Sunday, briefly causing two of Moscow’s airports to close.
August 20, 2023 7:33 am
PLUM, Pa. (WPXI) — Allegheny County authorities have released an update on where the investigation into a house explosion in Plum Borough last Saturday stands. The Allegheny County Fire Marshal remains the lead investigator on the case and is working to determine the origin and cause of the explosion on Rustic Ridge that killed six people, destroyed three homes and damaged at least a dozen more. ACFM now says 38 fire agencies from Allegheny and Westmoreland counties responded to the scene on the day of the explosion. In addition, three police departments and eight EMS agencies from the same counties responded. ACFM says the six victims were all found on the same property. One victim was found in the garage, and four others in the basement. Paul Oravitz was rescued from the rear yard and transported to the hospital, where he later died. Three houses will be torn down once released by ACFM. Another 10 are currently uninhabitable but aren’t necessarily going to be torn down. Plum Borough says property owners will have to work with a structural engineer to determine next steps. ACFM says it’s using a systemic approach in its investigation and is currently “identifying heat sources, first fuel ignited, and the act/circumstances that brought them all together.” Additionally, ACFM says Peoples Gas has worked with deputies daily and included them in system testing.
August 20, 2023 7:31 am
CANTON TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Multiple fire crews were called out to the scene of a house fire Saturday morning. According to reports, many callers alerted 911 operators to the fire at the corner of East Wayne Street and Buena Vista Street just before 5:00 a.m. Canton Township Fire crews responded with South Strabane and North Franklin Township Fire Departments. Ambulance and Chair also assisted at the scene. There were no reports of any injuries.
August 20, 2023 4:53 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – A Code Orange Air Quality Alert will be in effect Monday for Washington, Allegheny, Butler, Beaver, Armstrong, Westmoreland and Fayette counties. Unhealthy air quality for people with asthma, lung disease, heart disease, young children, and older adults. If you are in this group, you may want to limit your time outside. The humidity will increase overnight, and the heat turns up Monday. Make sure to find a way to stay cool on Monday with highs expected to be in the upper 80s near 90 degrees. It won’t be as warm Tuesday and Wednesday with highs reaching the low 80s. The heat and humidity return again Thursday with highs in the mid to upper 80s with the chance of a few showers or storms in spots for the end of the work week.
August 20, 2023 3:00 am
WASHINGTON, Pa. — Someone hit big on a scratch-off lottery ticket in Washington County! A $5 million-winning Five Million Fabulous Fortune ticket was sold at the Hollywood Casino at the Meadows on Racetrack Road. The casino will receive a $10,000 bonus for selling the ticket. Five Million Fabulous Fortune is a $50 game that offers top prizes of $5 million.
August 19, 2023 7:57 am
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Lawyers and unions representing rail workers say there is a clear pattern across the industry of railroads retaliating against workers who report safety violations or injuries on the job. Often these workers run afoul of managers who don’t want to jeopardize their bonuses. The examples of retaliation discourage other workers from speaking up, out of fear they also could be disciplined or fired. The railroads say they are trying to eliminate the practice by prohibiting retaliation and creating multiple ways for workers to report safety concerns. The number of cases are down over the past five years, but government statistics show whistleblower cases continue to be filed every year.
