June 14, 2022 5:36 pm
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – President Joe Biden has told the largest federation of labor unions that he’s rebuilding the U.S. economy around workers. He’s drawing a contrast with Republicans who have increasingly attracted blue-collar votes. Biden says, “We should encourage unions.” His speech Tuesday at the AFL-CIO convention in Philadelphia was an attempt to reset the debate on the economy. His approval ratings have slid as consumer prices and the cost of gasoline have surged. That’s overshadowed strong job gains and a healthy unemployment rate. Biden says the GOP is focused on cutting taxes for companies and the wealthy. Republicans argue that their 2017 tax overhaul helped growth by reducing corporate tax rates, making U.S. companies more competitive.
June 14, 2022 12:59 pm
HELENA, Mont. (AP) – Communities bordering Yellowstone National Park are isolated and tourists stranded after record floodwaters knocked out roads and bridges in Wyoming and Montana and forced the closure of all entrances to the park. There were no immediate reports of injuries and water levels were dropping Tuesday but it was unclear when the park could reopen. National Park Service photos showed a landslide, washed-out bridges and roads undercut by floodwaters. Roads through the park’s northern entrance are washed out and hundreds of tourists remained stuck in and around the town of Gardiner. The flooding triggered evacuations in the park and several Montana towns. (Photo: ABC News)
June 14, 2022 4:21 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Federal Reserve is expected to announce its largest interest rate hike since 1994 – a bigger increase than it had previously signaled and a sign that the central bank is struggling to restrain stubbornly high inflation. The central bank is considered likely to raise its benchmark short-term rate by three-quarters of a percentage point, far larger than the typical quarter-point increase. It will also likely forecast additional large rate hikes through the end of the year. A flurry of large Fed rate hikes will heighten borrowing costs for consumers and businesses, likely leading to an economic slowdown and raising the risk of a recession.
June 14, 2022 4:19 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has announced his support for his chamber’s emerging bipartisan gun agreement. The Kentucky Republican’s endorsement Tuesday boosted momentum for modest but notable election-year action by Congress on an issue that’s deadlocked lawmakers for three decades. An outline of the accord was released Sunday by 10 Democrats and 10 Republicans. Leaders hope it can be translated into legislation in days and voted on by Congress before lawmakers’ July 4 recess. McConnell’s backing was the latest indication that last month’s gun massacres in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas, had reconfigured the political calculations for some in the GOP.
June 14, 2022 4:18 am
More than 100 million Americans are being warned to stay indoors if possible as a heat wave settles over states stretching through parts of the Gulf Coast to the Great Lakes and east to the Carolinas. The National Weather Service Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland, said Monday that a combination of heat advisories, excessive heat warnings and excessive heat watches will impact 107.5 million people, and record-setting temperatures are expected to last through midweek. St. Louis, Memphis, Minneapolis and Tulsa are among several cities under excessive heat warnings, with temperatures expected to reach above 100 in some areas. High humidity is forecast to accompany the heat, adding to the dangerous conditions.
June 14, 2022 4:16 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol has postponed a hearing that was to feature Trump-era Justice Department officials. The hearing had been set for Wednesday, but the committee on Tuesday morning said that it had been postponed. It did not give a reason or a new date for the hearing. The witnesses at Wednesday’s hearing were to include Jeffrey Rosen, who was the acting attorney general at the time of the Capitol insurrection, as well as two other former top officials, Richard Donoghue and Steven Engel. Lawyers for all three men did not immediately return messages seeking comment.
June 14, 2022 4:11 am
Severe storms moved through Washington and southern Allegheny counties around 1:30 Tuesday morning, packing lightning and strong winds. There have been numerous reports of trees down and some minor flooding. There were no reports of any injuries. Washington County 9-1-1 tells WJPA News that lighting did strike a home in Cecil Township around 2 a.m. Dispatchers say the strike blew out the windows in the attic of the home and a small fire did result. Firefighters quickly extinguished that blaze. As of noon, West Penn Power was reporting just over 160 customers still without power. The outages are widespread throughout the county.
June 14, 2022 4:05 am
ALLEGHENY COUNTY, Pa. — (WPXI) – Thieves are targeting families along the busy Montour Trail in South Allegheny and Washington Counties and it is not sitting well with many. “It’s shocking because I literally come here all the time,” Kacy Capozzoli tells Channel 11. “I’m kind of nervous because I never thought it would happen here.” “I get angry because I wouldn’t want anyone breaking into my car,” Joseph Amico adds. On Friday, two cars were broken into in the trail parking lot off Valley Brook Road in Peters Township. Police say the suspect’s car is a black Toyota RAV4 rental car with Florida plates JAL J62. A similar incident happened at the Upper Saint Clair Rec Center not long after and police believe it may be connected. Police want to give families a warning to double-check their locks and leave valuables out of plain sight.
June 14, 2022 4:03 am
In what has become a bit of a hot button issue, Peters Township council adopted a resolution opposing the current realignment plan of magisterial courts in Washington County. Township Manager Paul Lauer and Police Chief Doug Grimes met with President Judge John DiSalle and court administrator Patrick Grimm to voice their concerns and opposition to a plan that would move the court to Cecil Township and combine it with McDonald Borough. Township officials indicated to the court that their preferred choice would be an alignment plan previewed in January that showed Peters Township combining with North Strabane Township and Houston Borough. Court administration has offered to reevaluate the plan. In other business, the township awarded a contract for $146,548 to Pavement Technology, Inc. to apply pavement rejuvenator to township roads. They also rejected a bid of $886,865 from Alex E. Paris Contracting for a storm sewer project on Marlboro Dr. That bid was more than $330,000 over budget and will be rebid over the winter.
June 13, 2022 4:26 pm
NEW YORK (AP) – Philip Baker Hall, the prolific character actor of film and theater who starred in Paul Thomas Anderson’s early movies and who memorably hunted down a long-overdue library book in “Seinfeld,” has died. He was 90. Holly Wolfle Hall, the actor’s wife of nearly 40 years, says Hall died Sunday surrounded by loved ones in Glendale, California. She says Hall had been well until a few weeks earlier, and spent his final days in warm spirits, reflecting on his life. Hall played the library detective Lt. Joe Bookman on “Seinfeld” and appeared in Anderson’s “Hard Eight,” “Boogie Nights” and “Magnolia.” (Photo: youtube)
