July 28, 2023 4:58 am
(AP) – Nearly 200 million people in the United States are under either a heat advisory or flood warning of some kind, as high temperatures and severe storms are to continue blazing and battering the nation. The National Weather Service says a “dangerous” heat wave began blanketing the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic on Thursday and will continue into the weekend. Severe thunderstorms and flash floods are possible for parts of the Northeast and South, in New England and South Florida. And record-breaking temperatures will persist in the Southwest and Midwest. Due to the widespread extreme heat, many of the nation’s largest power grids are under stress.
July 28, 2023 4:55 am
ATLANTA (AP) — Authorities in Alabama say they have filed criminal charges against a woman who confessed to fabricating a story that she was kidnapped after stopping to check on a toddler she saw walking on the side of the interstate. Carlee Russell turned herself in Friday on charges of false reporting to law enforcement and falsely reporting an incident. She was released on bond. Both charges are misdemeanors that carry up to a year in jail. Russell disappeared after calling 911 on July 13 to report a toddler wandering beside a stretch of interstate. She returned home two days later and told police she had been abducted. Her attorney later said she made the story up.
July 28, 2023 4:52 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Democratic lawmakers in Pennsylvania say they are angry that millions of dollars to expand adult mental health services got cut out of state spending legislation, and are pushing to get it included now that the legislation is held up in a month-old partisan stalemate. The fight over the money comes as schools and counties report spikes in demand for mental health services on the heels of the COVID-19 pandemic, and say they don’t have the resources to support those in need. Funds for adults were left on the cutting room floor in a budget bill that Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro says he will sign. The Senate Republican-authored budget bill instead pushed those dollars to student mental health. Democrats say that both should be funded.
July 28, 2023 4:51 am
PITTSBURGH – (WPXI) – A heat advisory is in effect through Friday evening. High temperatures Friday will be in the lower 90s, but the high humidity will make it feel close to 100°. Have a backup plan for outdoor events as heat will take its toll if you’re active outdoors for any length of time. Find ways to stay cool if you have to be outside. A few rounds of showers and storms are expected this weekend. Storms are possible Friday evening and will last on and off through Saturday. There will be many dry hours, however, any storm can bring damaging winds and very heavy rain. By Sunday, we’ll see a drier push of air from the north which will lower the humidity and cool us below average for early next week.
July 28, 2023 1:51 am
A Canton Township couple who drove around road closed signs at the intersection of Routes 18 and 50 while it was under construction in Mt. Pleasant Township pleaded guilty on Thursday. John Riggle, 50 and Tonya Riggle 46 were scheduled to appear for a summary trial. To avoid trial, John Riggle pleaded to summary offenses of criminal mischief and obedience to traffic control devices. He was fined $250 total for both offenses. Tonya Riggle pleaded guilty to criminal mischief and received a $100 fine. According to the criminal complaint, the couple were on their way home on May 15 when their motorcycle became submerged in freshly poured cement after Tonya Riggle moved the road closed signs so John Riggle could pass through. More than $44,000 in damages will be paid by their insurance company. In a related case, Douglas Harlan who 4 hours earlier drove his tractor trailer through the same intersection had his case continued for 90 days. He faces felony criminal mischief and summary obedience to traffic control device charges.
July 27, 2023 5:40 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — July has been so hot so far that scientists calculate that this month will be the globally hottest on record and likely the warmest human civilization has seen, even though there are several days left to sweat through. Thursday’s announcement by the World Meteorological Organization and the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service says July’s heat is beyond record-smashing. They say Earth’s temperature has been temporarily passing over a key global warming threshold. July is about six-tenths of a degree Fahrenheit warmer than the old record set in 2019. Scientists say this month may be the hottest in 120,000 years.
July 27, 2023 10:24 am
The number of Americans applying for jobless benefits slid last week to its lowest level in five months, further evidence that the U.S. labor market continues to defy the Federal Reserve’s attempts to cool it off. U.S. applications for unemployment benefits fell by 7,000 to 221,000 for the week ending July 22, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That’s the fewest since February. Jobless claim applications are broadly seen as a proxy for the number of layoffs in a given week. Overall, 1.69 million people were collecting unemployment benefits the week that ended July 15, about 59,000 fewer than the previous week and the fewest since January.
July 27, 2023 10:23 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy surprisingly accelerated to a 2.4% annual growth rate from April through June, showing continued resilience in the face of steadily higher interest rates resulting from the Federal Reserve’s 16-month-long fight to bring down inflation. The gross domestic product — the economy’s total output of goods and services — picked up from the 2% growth rate in the January-March quarter. Last quarter’s expansion was well above the 1.5% annual rate that economists had forecast. Driving the gain was a burst of business investment, which surged at a 5.7% annual pace, the fastest rate since late 2021. Companies plowed more money into factories and equipment. Increased spending by state and local governments also helped fuel growth.
July 27, 2023 6:59 am
The occupants of a Fayette County home were able to escape an overnight fire. The fire broke out in the 600 block of Water Street in Brownsville around 3:20 a.m. Thursday. All the occupants were able to make it out safely. Fire crews at the scene told our news partners at Channel 11 they were able to rescue three dogs from the home but a cat died in the fire. The fire is not believed to be suspicious.
July 27, 2023 5:08 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The unraveling of Hunter Biden’s plea agreement has thrust his criminal case into uncertain waters and given new fodder to Republican critics in Congress as they push ahead with investigations into the president’s youngest son. Biden was supposed to plead guilty Wednesday to misdemeanor charges for failing to pay taxes. But U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika put the brakes on the guilty plea after raising concerns during a hearing about the structure and terms of the agreement and another deal that would allow him to avoid prosecution on a gun charge if he meets certain conditions. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Thursday that President Joe Biden would not pardon his son.
