June 18, 2022 3:34 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – The Pennsylvania Senate is advancing two competing plans to slash the state’s corporate net income tax rate. Democrats warn the bills are premature because there’s no agreement with Gov. Tom Wolf. The bills passed Wednesday on a nearly party-line basis in twin votes in the Republican-controlled chamber. The Democratic governor has said he is optimistic about coming to an agreement with Republicans on a plan to cut taxes for corporations that pay Pennsylvania’s 9.99% tax rate. That’s one of the nation’s highest. Wolf has yet to agree to a plan as part of this month’s budget negotiations. The state House in April passed yet another plan.
June 18, 2022 2:47 am
(WPXI) – Allegheny County police are investigating the death of a three-month-old boy. Officers were called to the 300 block of Fort Couch Road in Upper Saint Clair around 5 p.m. Thursday. Once they were on scene, officers found an unresponsive infant, later identified as Kayden Nguyen by the Medical Examiner’s Office. Paramedics attempted to save the infant but he was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said investigators determined the little boy was left inside a parent’s vehicle for several hours. Homicide detectives are assisting in the investigation and put out the following statement: “Detectives are working to confirm the timeline of events through surveillance video in the area. They are also downloading and reviewing data from the vehicle’s on board computer. Our department is working closely with the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office and the Medical Examiner’s Office. When the Medical Examiner’s Office determines the cause and manner of death a charging decision will be made.” Anyone with information is asked to call the County Police Tip Line at 1-833-ALL-TIPS.
June 18, 2022 2:43 am
Vice President Kamala Harris was in Homewood on Friday to talk about the White House’s Build Back Better Plan. She met with members of the community and other leaders to talk about how the plan could help replace lead water lines in the area. Harris was accompanied by Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Marcia Fudge and EPA Administrator Michael Regan. Harris told the gathering that Pittsburgh is a “model of what can and will happen around the country.”
June 18, 2022 2:43 am
WASHINGTON, Pa. — A local defense attorney who represented a current inmate at the Washington County Jail was charged with felony interception of communications charges on Thursday. Kimberly Ann Furmanek was appointed in March of 2021 as conflicts counsel to John Lazear who is in jail facing multiple drug and weapons charges dating back to 2020. Furmanek represented Lazear until December of 2021 when she withdrew as Lazear’s attorney and James Jeffries was appointed as Lazear’s counsel. In May of 2022 Furmanek and Lazear were still in communication and on a recorded telephone line in the jail. Furmanek contacted Jeffries on a separate phone and began discussing Lazear’s case with Lazear listening in on the recorded line. Furmanek never disclosed to Jeffries that the other line was in use and that Jeffries was being recorded on that other line. Later in May, Lazear contacted Jeffries’ office and spoke with his secretary and made threats to her over the phone. This call was recorded at the jail also. The Washington County District Attorney issued an arrest warrant for Furmanek on Tuesday. On Thursday she was charged with felony interception of communications and conspiracy to intercept communications. Lazear was charged with the same charges and an additional misdemeanor terroristic threats charge. The investigation into this case is ongoing. District Attorney Jason Walsh is looking into the possibility of an inappropriate relationship between Furmanek and Lazear. Lazear remains in the Washington County Jail. Furmanek is free on a $25,000 bond. Both will appear for preliminary hearings on June 29.
June 17, 2022 12:20 pm
(AP) – U.S. regulators have authorized the first COVID-19 shots for infants and preschoolers. That paves the way for vaccinations for children under 5 to begin next week. The Food and Drug Administration’s emergency use authorization Friday follows a unanimous recommendation by its advisory panel. The kid-sized shots are made by Moderna and Pfizer. The FDA’s action allows the companies to begin shipping millions of pre-ordered doses across the country. A final sign-off from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected this weekend. The nation’s vaccination campaign began with adults in late 2020, about a year into the coronavirus pandemic.
June 17, 2022 3:30 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden says the American people are “really, really down” after a tumultuous two years with the coronavirus pandemic, volatility in the economy and now surging gasoline prices that are hitting family budgets. But in an interview with The Associated Press, Biden says a recession is not inevitable and he bristles at claims by Republican lawmakers that last year’s COVID-19 aid plan was fully to blame for inflation reaching a 40-year high. He calls that argument “bizarre.” Biden adds that while people are feeling down, he sees reason for optimism with the 3.6% unemployment rate and America’s relative strength in the world.
June 17, 2022 3:28 am
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) – Montana’s largest city has restarted its water plant after shutting it down amid record flooding that’s caused widespread damage in Yellowstone National Park and surrounding communities. The city of Billings had asked residents to conserve water because it was down to a limited supply after shutting its treatment plant when the Yellowstone River hit record high levels. City officials said Thursday the plant was back to full capacity. But the slug of floodwater from rain and melting snow continued to move downstream. By Friday morning it was expected to reach Miles City in eastern Montana. Local authorities said there was no immediate risk to the city of more than 8,000 people.
June 17, 2022 3:28 am
BOSTON (AP) – A father has been acquitted of paying off a Georgetown University tennis coach to get his daughter into the school in the final trial linked to the college admissions bribery scandal. Amin Khoury’s case is the 57th stemming from the investigation to come a conclusion and is the only one to end in an acquittal at trial. Khoury was not found guilty Thursday on all counts. Khoury’s attorneys argued his daughter was properly admitted to the school. A defense attorney says the government’s case was seriously damaged by the testimony of the daughter. She told jurors she didn’t know anything about the payment.
June 17, 2022 3:27 am
SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) – Incarcerated lawyer Michael Avenatti has pleaded guilty to four counts of wire fraud and a tax-related charge in a Southern California federal court case accusing him of cheating his clients out of millions of dollars. Avenatti made the plea during a court hearing Thursday in Santa Ana. The 51-year-old lawyer said earlier this week that although he didn’t reach a deal with federal prosecutors he wanted to change his plea to be accountable and spare his family further embarrassment. Avenatti is serving five years in prison in a federal facility in California for convictions in two cases in New York.
June 17, 2022 3:26 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The chairman of the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection says the panel will ask Virginia Thomas for an interview. Thomas says she will comply. A conservative activist and the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, “Ginni” Thomas communicated with people in President Donald Trump’s orbit ahead of the attack and on the day of the insurrection. Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson said Thursday that “it’s time” for her to come talk to the committee after investigators discovered information that refers to Thomas in communications they have obtained relating to one of Trump’s lawyers, John Eastman.
