December 16, 2023 4:18 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — It was the most painful inflation Americans had experienced since 1981, when “The Dukes of Hazzard” and “The Jeffersons” were topping the TV charts. Yet the Federal Reserve now seems on the verge of defeating it — and without the surge in unemployment and the deep recession that many economists had predicted would accompany it. Inflation has been falling more or less steadily since peaking in June of last year at 9.1%. And when the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge for November is reported next week, it’s likely to show that in the past six months, annual inflation actually dipped just below the Fed’s elusive target of 2%, economists at UBS estimate.
December 16, 2023 4:14 am
PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona’s governor has ordered the state’s National Guard to send troops to the border with Mexico to help federal officials manage an influx of migrants. Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs issued her executive order Friday, saying the federal government is not keeping Arizona’s border communities safe. Hobbs asked President Joe Biden’s administration a week ago to mobilize Arizona National Guard troops to help Customs and Border Protection reopen the crossing in Lukeville, Arizona. The U.S. government closed the crossing on Dec. 4. so personnel stationed there could support Border Patrol agents scrambling to apprehend hundreds of migrants crossing daily into the U.S.
December 16, 2023 4:12 am
CORALVILLE, Iowa (AP) — Donald Trump is pushing his supporters to deliver a blowout win in next month’s Iowa caucuses. A myriad of well-qualified GOP challengers has struggled to gain traction despite crisscrossing the state over the last year. Rival campaigns have spent more than $70 million in Iowa on advertising. And unlike his first time in the caucuses, Trump’s campaign is now run by Iowa veterans who are not just locking in caucus commitments but building a formidable organization to try to lock in his lead. His dominance reflects what one strategist called his “quasi-incumbent” status and his continued support in the GOP base.
December 16, 2023 4:08 am
RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — A prolonged communications blackout is compounding the misery in the besieged Gaza Strip where a United Nations agency says hunger levels have spiraled. An internet access advocacy group said Saturday that internet and telephone lines are still inaccessible two days after they went down. The two-month war has seen more than 85% of Gaza’s roughly 2.3 million people displaced, with most cramming into the southern part of the territory after Israel ordered the northern section evacuated. With only a trickle of aid able to enter, the U.N.’s World Food Program reported a surge from 38% to 56% in the number of displaced households experiencing severe levels of hunger in under two weeks.
December 16, 2023 4:04 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) — An autopsy report on “Friends” star Matthew Perry says he died from the acute effects of the drug ketamine. The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner said in the autopsy report released Friday that Perry also drowned in the heated end of his pool, but said that was a secondary factor in his death deemed an accident. The report says coronary artery disease also contributed. Perry was declared dead at age 54 after being found unresponsive at his home in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles on Oct. 28. Investigators performed an autopsy the following day.
December 16, 2023 2:54 am
Washington County Commissioners ended 2023 on a high note on several levels. The county passed a $168 million budget with no tax increase in 2024. Additionally, Commissioners helped the Washington County Library System with their funding crisis due to a budget stall in Harrisburg. Commissioners, using a memorandum of understanding advanced the library system all of its $200,000 allotment immediately. It also is loaning the system $165,000 of the anticipated $660,000 that they would receive from Harrisburg. Interim System Administrator of the Washington County Library System, Diane Ambrose thanked Commissioners for their fast action in getting the funding together. Ambrose says that now all 14 libraries will make it until the end of the year and into next year when the funding will be allocated. The Pennsylvania Legislature adopted the spending plan that covers libraries late on Wednesday night. Ambrose says it is not clear when the funding from Harrisburg will arrive. During public comment, several people addressed the board pleading with them to somehow remove April Sloane from her position as Controller. Sloane is facing charges of animal neglect after police and animal control officers found an emaciated dog enclosed in a plastic bag in her garage. Muse resident A.C. Rowland went further, asking that her office be audited. Her reasoning is that if Sloane did this to an animal, what harm could she have done to county funds. Commissioner Diana Irey-Vaughan says that there is no way for the county to remove her. If Sloane were to resign, Commissioner Nick Sherman says they are examining what the procedure would be to replace her. Sloane did not attend Thursday’s commissioners meeting.
December 16, 2023 2:51 am
(WPXI) – UPMC will soon require face masks again in all of its healthcare facilities. “UPMC is seeing an increase in cases of respiratory viruses, including Covid, influenza and RSV,” a UPMC spokesperson said in a statement. Beginning Dec. 20, all employees, patients and visitors will be required to wear a face mask. The spokesperson said UPMC will continue to monitor cases and adjust protocols as the situation changes. Back in May, UPMC dropped its universal masking policy that was in place for three years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
December 15, 2023 5:10 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House has passed a defense policy bill that authorizes the biggest pay raise for troops in more than two decades. Supporters overcame objections from some conservatives concerned it didn’t do enough on cultural issues, such as restricting the Pentagon’s diversity initiatives and gender-affirming health care for transgender service members. The Senate had already overwhelmingly passed the bill on Wednesday, so now it goes to President Joe Biden’s desk to be signed into law. One of the most divisive aspects of the bill is a short-term extension of a surveillance program aimed at preventing terrorism and catching spies. Opponents of the extension wanted changes designed to boost privacy protections for Americans.
December 15, 2023 5:08 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — A jury has awarded $148 million in damages to two former Georgia election workers who sued Rudy Giuliani for defamation over lies he spread about them in 2020 that upended their lives with racist threats and harassment. Friday’s damages verdict comes after Wandrea “Shaye” Moss and her mother, Ruby Freeman, tearfully testified about becoming the target of a false conspiracy theory pushed by Giuliani and other Republican allies of Donald Trump that made them fear for their lives. Giuliani says he will appeal the ruling, calling the amount awarded “absurd.” The former New York mayor previously conceded in court documents that he falsely accused the women of ballot fraud in the election Trump lost.
December 15, 2023 5:08 am
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (AP) — The mother of a 6-year-old who shot his teacher in Virginia has been sentenced to two years in prison for felony child neglect. Friday’s punishment for Deja Taylor comes nearly a year after her son used her handgun to critically wound teacher Abby Zwerner. The classroom shooting shocked the nation and roiled the military shipbuilding city of Newport News. Zwerner was shot in the hand and chest. She has since undergone multiple surgeries and frequent psychological counseling. Taylor’s son told authorities he took the gun from his mother’s purse on top of a dresser.
