July 12, 2022 4:16 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The administration of Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf asked the state’s high court Monday to weigh in on a legal battle over Pennsylvania’s plan to charge power plants for their emissions of planet-warming carbon dioxide. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection appealed lower court rulings that temporarily block the Wolf administration from implementing its carbon pricing policy, under which power plants fueled by coal, oil and natural gas are required to buy a credit for every ton of carbon dioxide they emit. The Wolf administration estimates that the initiative — the centerpiece of Wolf’s plan to fight global warming — will reduce Pennsylvania’s carbon dioxide emissions by up to 225 million tons through 2030. Power plant operators say the regulation will dramatically raise their costs and consumers’ electricity bills. Fossil-fuel interests and Republican leaders of the state Senate have been waging a legal battle against Pennsylvania’s entry into the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a multistate consortium that sets a price and declining limits on carbon dioxide emissions from power plants run by coal, oil and natural gas. On Friday, Commonwealth Court granted a preliminary injunction that prohibits the state from “implementing, administering, or enforcing” the new regulation while a lawsuit by power plants, labor unions and coal mine owners is ongoing. The lower court granted a second injunction to GOP lawmakers in a related case.
July 12, 2022 4:11 am
Rumors have been circulating around Peters Township regarding the status of Peters Lake Park. Some of the most drastic rumors had the township draining the lake that is home to many species of wildlife both on the ground and in the air. Council was updated by Township Manager Paul Lauer and Township Engineer Mark Zamaitis. They say none of the rumors are valid. In 2012, the township was notified by the DEP that the earthen dam and spillway containing the lake’s water was deficient if a disastrous rainfall were to occur. The DEP determined that the rainfall measurement was 32 inches of rain in 24 hours. Pushback from several organizations caused a recalculation of those numbers to be 17.5 inches in a two hour storm. Lauer stated that the largest rainfall on record in western Pennsylvania was during Hurricane Ivan where 6.5 inches of rain fell during 24 hours. The township has finished engineering studies and sent off the results to the DEP and are now waiting their reply. Six alternatives have been included in the study, Lauer states that the one that is preferred is an armoring of the dam. That would require covering the total earthen dam with a solid covering so that if the rainfall were to reach the disaster level, the dam would remain intact. Lauer went on to say that each of the alternatives will cost between $4.5 to $5.5 million. Grants for cost assistance cannot be applied for until a response from the DEP and engineering and design plans have been drawn.
July 12, 2022 4:09 am
Washington City Council was updated by community leaders on events happening throughout the city from the beginning of the month. Parks Director DeAnna Martin led the speakers by telling council that 4000 guests entered the swimming pool from its opening on Memorial Day weekend through the month of June. The Fourth of July weekend was a success as the Spark In The Park event hosted 1600 people throughout the course of the day. Martin stated that several residents felt like the park was the park of their youth with the activities and fireworks display. They told their kids that this is the way the park was when they were a kid. The next event will be July 30 when the park puts on its Shark In The Park event. Contestants will build cardboard boats that they will row across the pool for prizes. Main Street Manager Shana Brown congratulated the Whiskey Rebellion Committee for their efforts on a successful weekend. She reported that business owners were quite happy with the event. The next event for Brown will be a Kitchen Clash where members of the police, fire department and ambulance crew will compete to determine who are the best cooks. A dunk tank and touch a truck display will coincide with the event. The Kitchen Clash will take place on August 6 at the main pavilion.
July 12, 2022 3:54 am
(WPXI) – The Pittsburgh Steelers have confirmed that after more than two decades, Heinz Field will be no more. Officials say, in a new naming rights deal, that Kraft-Heinz elected not to continue its deal to secure the naming rights for the stadium, so Heinz Field will now become Acrisure Stadium. Acrisure is a Michigan-based insurance brokerage firm with ties to Thomas Tull, one of the Steelers’ minority owners. The Steelers didn’t disclose the financial terms of the 15-year deal that will change Heinz Field to Acrisure Stadium.
July 11, 2022 5:39 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) – A federal judge has declined to delay the upcoming trial of Steve Bannon, an adviser to former President Donald Trump who faces contempt of Congress charges after refusing for months to cooperate with the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection. Bannon is still scheduled to go on trial next week. That’s despite telling the House committee late Saturday that he is now prepared to testify. It’s unclear whether Bannon will again refuse to appear before the committee with the trial pending. U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols also ruled against several requests by Bannon’s attorneys to seek the testimony of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi or the committee chairman, Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi.
July 11, 2022 1:51 pm
DENVER (AP) — A shotgun blast that shattered the early-morning tranquility of a remote southern Africa national park nearly six years ago, killing a U.S. hunting enthusiast, resonates again in a Denver courtroom this week as the founder of a Pennsylvania dental franchise goes on trial for allegedly killing his wife and collecting nearly $5 million in insurance proceeds. Federal prosecutors allege that Lawrence “Larry” Rudolph, 67, himself a big game hunter and former head of an international safari club, killed his wife, Bianca, 56, at the end of a 2016 safari trip in Zambia and later cashed in life and accidental death insurance policies in the United States. He’s charged with murder and mail fraud. Prosecutors also allege that Lori Milliron, Rudolph’s alleged mistress and a former hygienist and manager of his Pittsburgh-area business, lied to a federal grand jury about the case and her relationship with Rudolph, who was arrested in December. She’s charged with perjury and being an accessory after the fact. Their trial begins with jury selection Monday in U.S. District Court in Denver. The wide-ranging case – involving the 2016 death of a U.S. citizen, the purchase of a residence in Arizona, and Rudolph’s surprise arrest in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico – is being tried in Colorado because several insurers tied to the payout were based here.
July 11, 2022 8:48 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – A drug company is seeking U.S. approval for the first birth control pill that women could buy without a prescription. The request from a French drugmaker on Monday sets up a high-stakes decision for the Food and Drug Administration amid the political fallout from the Supreme Court’s recent decision overturning Roe v. Wade. If the FDA grants the company’s request, women would be able to buy the pill from HRA Pharma over the counter, similar to common pain relievers. Birth control pills are available without a prescription in many parts of the world.
July 11, 2022 4:18 am
MEXICO CITY (AP) – Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador is visiting Washington on Tuesday to meet with President Joe Biden. The trip comes a month after López Obrador snubbed Biden’s invitation to the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles. And the Mexican leader has called U.S. support for Ukraine “a crass error.” On the other side, U.S. officials want López Obrador to retreat on his preference for fossil fuels. The U.S.-Mexico relationship was a straightforward tradeoff during the Trump administration, with Mexico tamping down on migration and the U.S. not pressing on other issues. Now it has become a wide range of disagreements over trade, foreign policy, energy and climate change.
July 11, 2022 4:16 am
The quickly changing coronavirus has spawned yet another super contagious omicron mutant that’s worrying scientists as it gains ground in India and pops up in numerous other countries, including the United States. Scientists say the variant, which is called BA.2.75, may be able to spread rapidly and get around immunity from vaccines and previous infection. It’s unclear whether it could cause more serious disease than the globally dominant omicron variant BA.5. But scientists are concerned about the fact that it’s geographically widespread. It’s been detected in distant states in India as well as about 10 other nations.
July 11, 2022 4:15 am
TOKYO (AP) – Public outrage, handwringing and vows of defiance in media and among political commentators are widespread in Japan following the daylight assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Part of the collective shock is because crime is so rare in Japan. But it can also be traced to the setting. Abe was killed on the street near a crowded train station, in the middle of a campaign speech for parliamentary elections, something that Japan, despite a long history of one-party political domination and growing voter apathy, takes seriously. One academic called it the first assassination of a former or serving leader in postwar Japan. It could lead to an emergency review of the way Japan guards its officials, and a tightening of security at large-scale events.
