January 30, 2024 5:22 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden says he has decided how to respond to the killing of three American service members in Jordan, noting that he does not want to expand war in the Middle East but demurring on the specifics of how the U.S. will proceed. U.S. officials say they are still determining which of several Iran-backed groups was responsible for the killings, the first since a wave of attacks on U.S. forces in the region since the Oct. 7 Hamas assault on Israel. Biden has spoken with the families of the service members and will attend the dignified transfer of their remains at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware with the blessings of the families.
January 30, 2024 4:00 pm
JENIN, West Bank (AP) — Israeli forces disguised as civilian women and medical workers stormed a hospital in the occupied West Bank and killed three Palestinian militants. Tuesday’s dramatic raid underscored how deadly violence has spilled into the territory from the war in Gaza. The Palestinian Health Ministry says Israeli forces opened fire inside the wards of the Ibn Sina Hospital in the town of Jenin. A hospital spokesperson says there was no exchange of fire, indicating it was a targeted killing. The military says the militants were using the hospital as a hideout, without providing evidence. It has alleged that one of those targeted in the raid transferred weapons and ammunition to others for a planned attack.
January 30, 2024 3:08 pm
NEW YORK (AP) — Chita Rivera, the dynamic dancer, singer and actress who garnered 10 Tony nominations, winning twice, in a long Broadway career that forged a path for Latina artists and shrugged off a near-fatal car accident, died Tuesday. She was 91. Rivera first gained wide notice in 1957 as Anita in the original production of “West Side Story” and was still dancing on Broadway with her trademark energy a half-century later in 2015’s “The Visit.” In August 2009, Rivera was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor the U.S. can give a civilian. (Photo: AP)
January 30, 2024 12:22 pm
(AP) – UPS said on Tuesday that it will cut 12,000 jobs and released a revenue outlook for this year that sent its shares down sharply. The company also hinted that its Coyote truck load brokerage business may be put up for sale. UPS acquired the Chicago-based company for $1.8 billion in 2015. The Teamsters in September voted to approve a tentative contract agreement with UPS, putting a final seal on contentious labor negotiations that threatened to disrupt package deliveries for millions of businesses and households nationwide. The contract includes pay raises for full- and part-time union workers, the creation of 7,500 full-time jobs and the filling of 22,500 open positions, allowing more part-timers to transition to full-time. On a conference call Tuesday morning, CEO Carol Tome said that by reducing the company’s headcount UPS will realize $1 billion in cost savings. The job eliminations are anticipated to be among management roles and contractors, the company said. With Tuesday’s announcement, the company joined several others in announcing layoffs in the new year, including eBay, Wayfair, Macy’s, Amazon, Google and Meta. (Photo: AP)
January 30, 2024 5:07 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has made it clear the U.S. will strike back after a deadly drone attack killed three service members and wounded more than 40 at a small base in Jordan over the weekend. What isn’t yet clear is who will be hit, where, and how hard. Biden has a wide array of options, but the U.S. must also walk a fine line: A weak response will do little to deter further attacks by Iran-backed militia groups, while a major assault risks expanding the turmoil in the Middle East and drawing America into a wider conflict.
January 30, 2024 5:04 am
Ukrainian strikes on a Russian border city, as well as attacks elsewhere on fuel facilities and arms producers, have damaged President Vladimir Putin’s attempts to reassure his countrymen that their lives have been largely untouched by the nearly 2-year-old war. As he ramps up his reelection campaign ahead of a presidential vote in March, the Kremlin wants to maintain an air of normalcy. The Dec. 30 missile attack on the city of Belgorod that killed 25 people and injured more than 100 marked a bloody escalation in the minds of many Russians. Residents in the city say they flinch at any loud noise these days and are afraid to venture outside.
January 30, 2024 5:04 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Donald Trump is meeting with members of the Teamsters Union in Washington as he looks past the GOP primary and towards a general election rematch against President Joe Biden. The former president will participate in a roundtable Wednesday afternoon with the group’s executive board, its president and rank-and-file members. The meeting is part of Trump’s effort to win over the blue-collar workers who fueled his 2016 victory and who are expected to play a major role in November, particularly in critical Midwestern swing states like Wisconsin and Michigan.
January 30, 2024 4:40 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — U.S. Steel has agreed to settle a lawsuit that accused the Pittsburgh-based steel producer of violating federal clean air laws by operating plants without its desulfurization controls for more than three months, emitting clouds of sulfurous gas into surrounding towns. Environmental groups Clean Air Council and PennEnvironment said the settlement was filed in federal court Monday for a judge to review. They put the value of the settlement at $42 million, including $37 million worth of improvements to U.S. Steel’s Mon Valley Works plants. The groups say an additional $5 million penalty is one of the largest-ever nationally in a citizen-enforced lawsuit under federal clean air laws.
January 30, 2024 4:38 am
Washington City Council held their agenda meeting on Monday and departmental discussions were highlighted by the Washington Business District Authority. Main Street Manager, Shana Brown told council that they have mapped out the upcoming year and are looking forward to a successful year, a year that will bring changes. The biggest change, according to Brown, is the re-imagining of the Christmas holiday celebrations. Unlike last year where Small Business Saturday, Light Up Night, the Holiday Market and the annual Christmas Parade were held on consecutive weekends in 2024, all of the holiday events will occur on one weekend. This year, the Saturday after Thanksgiving, November 30th, The Home for the Holidays extravaganza will have all holiday events take place that day. Other changes occurring this year is a change to the “Passport Program.” Participants will no longer need to fill out their passports over the course of one event. They will have all year to visit vendors and participate in events sponsored by the authority. Once passports are filled out, they may be turned in for a prize t-shirt. The first event participants may use their passports is at the Love Local Cocoa Tour that takes place on February 10th. Brown also said that approximately six new businesses will be opening over the next three months.
January 30, 2024 2:16 am
City of Washington Mayor JoJo Burgess held a press conference Tuesday to offer his view on the proposed merger of the Washington Health System and UPMC. Burgess, a steel worker and organizer with the United Steel Workers union stood in support of the merger. He indicated that he met with WHS and UPMC leaders and came away understanding that all commitments to labor will be honored. He also said that he looks forward to labor negotiations between the SEIU and UPMC in 2025. He said it is an opportunity for the SEIU to grow. Burgess urged the SEIU and UPMC to halt their standoff in negotiations in Pittsburgh and sit down to the bargaining table. Burgess indicated that the $300 million that UPMC has committed to invest in the hospital will help all unions especially construction unions that will perform the improvement work. Burgess said it is important that everyone get behind the effort to merge so southwestern Pennsylvania will not lose its local access to world class care and patients would be forced to travel to Pittsburgh to obtain that care.
