June 28, 2023 5:19 am
BEIJING (AP) — Threatened by possible shortages of lithium for electric car batteries, automakers are racing to lock in supplies of the once-obscure “white gold” in a politically and environmentally fraught competition from China to Nevada to Chile. General Motors Co. and the parent company of China’s BYD Auto Ltd. are going straight to the source and buying stakes in lithium miners, a rare step in an industry that relies on outside vendors for copper and other raw materials. Others are investing in lithium refiners or recycling technology. A shortfall in supplies would be an obstacle for government and industry plans to ramp up sales to tens of millions of electric vehicles a year.
June 28, 2023 5:18 am
The U.S. Supreme Court has shot down a legal theory that could’ve changed the way elections are run across the country. But the court has left the door open to more limited challenges that could increase its role in deciding voting disputes during the 2024 presidential election. The court’s 6-3 ruling Tuesday drove a stake through the most extreme version of the so-called independent state legislature theory, which holds that legislatures have absolute power in setting the rules of federal elections. But the court didn’t settle the question of when state courts need to stay out of federal elections. The issue may only get resolved in a last-minute challenge during the presidential election.
June 28, 2023 5:17 am
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A Russian missile attack that hit a crowded pizza restaurant in an eastern Ukrainian city killed at least nine people, including three children. Authorities said Wednesday that rescue workers are still sifting through the destroyed building’s rubble. The Tuesday evening attack on Kramatorsk wounded another 56 people. Officials say two sisters, both age 14, died as result of the attack. The other dead child was said to be 17. It is the latest bombardment, a regular feature of Russian tactics in the 16-month-old war.
June 28, 2023 5:16 am
MUSKOGEE, Okla. (AP) — Police in Muskogee, Oklahoma, are investigating the shooting deaths of three relatives of NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson. Muskogee police spokesperson Lynn Hamlin says the bodies of Jack Janway; his wife, Terry Janway; and their 11-year-old grandson, Dalton Janway, were discovered Monday at a home in Muskogee. Hamlin confirmed the three are the parents and nephew of Johnson’s wife, Chandra Janway. Hamlin says investigators believe Terry Janway shot and killed her husband and grandson before shooting herself. Johnson’s race team has announced it is withdrawing his No. 84 Carvana Chevrolet from this weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series event in Chicago.
June 28, 2023 5:12 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s State Senate has approved legislation that’s designed to reduce the number of people on probation and in jail. The bill limits the length of probation and prevents people from being sent back to jail for minor violations. It was approved Tuesday and now goes to the House of Representatives. The legislation has emerged as part of a nationwide reconsideration of probation and parole measures. The case of rapper Meek Mill helped shine a light on it after he spent most of his adult life on probation before a court overturned his conviction in a drug and gun case in Philadelphia.
June 28, 2023 5:08 am
A girl is hospitalized after accidentally shooting herself here in the City of Washington Tuesday night. Washington County 9-1-1 tells WJPA News it happened around 9:30 p.m. in the 200-block of Ridge Avenue. Dispatchers say the unidentified girl was reportedly playing with the gun when it happened. She was transported by ambulance to a Pittsburgh hospital. At this time, no other information is available including her condition. Washington Police say the girl suffered non life-threatening injuries and the investigation continues.
June 28, 2023 5:00 am
Township Manager Brandon Stanick is officially resigning. The South Strabane Board of Supervisors unanimously accepted his resignation at their latest meeting. Stanick says he wanted to work on more development-focused efforts in Findlay Township. The board has set up an Interview Committee and has appointed interim township positions to maintain responsibilities before a new township manager is selected.
June 28, 2023 4:52 am
The safety of the intersection of Garden Street with State Route 980 in North Strabane Township has been at issue since several traffic studies were performed in conjunction with the proposed expansion of Greenwood Village. Those traffic studies showed that the sight distance required to make a left turn onto Rt. 980 is deficient and puts the township at a liability risk. At their legislative meeting on Tuesday, supervisors decided to enforce a measure adopted in June of 2022 but never enforced. Garden Street will now be a one way street. Traffic will no longer be allowed to access Rt. 980 from Garden Street. Supervisors received an opinion from PennDot that would allow a no left turns to onto Rt. 980 from Garden Street. Some traffic questions remained such as would drivers still be allowed to directly access Boone Avenue and Vance Drive from Garden Street or would they be forced to travel into Canonsburg and turn around. The one way street designation will also allow residents to park their vehicles on Garden Street. This issue is important as two homes built there have no driveways.
June 27, 2023 5:27 pm
ERIE, Pa. (AP) — A Pennsylvania state trooper who was shot and killed earlier this month when he went to work on his day off after learning his barracks had been attacked by an armed man was lauded during his funeral as a hero who only wanted to serve his community. The service for 29-year-old Jacques “Jay” Rougeau Jr. was held Tuesday at Bayfront Convention Center in Erie. Rougeau was shot June 17 by 38-year-old Brandon Stine of Thompsontown, who also critically wounded another trooper that day in a separate incident before he was shot and killed himself after a manhunt and a fierce gunbattle, Stine’s motive remains under investigation. Rougeau was killed by a gunshot through the windshield of his patrol car. (Photo: AP)
June 27, 2023 10:57 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has ruled that North Carolina’s top court did not overstep its bounds in striking down a congressional districting plan as excessively partisan under state law. The justices on Tuesday rejected the broadest view of a case that could have transformed elections for Congress and president by leaving state legislatures virtually unchecked by their state courts when dealing with federal elections. The high court did, though, strongly suggest there are limits on what state courts can do. Another redistricting case from Ohio is pending, if the justices want to say more about the issue before next year’s elections.
