June 15, 2023 4:55 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A group of migrants who arrived by bus in downtown Los Angeles were sent from Texas. LA Mayor Karen Bass called the move a “despicable stunt” by a Republican governor. Forty-two people, including some children, were dropped off at Union Station around 4 p.m. Wednesday and were being cared for at a church. Immigrant rights workers say many were from Latin American countries, including Honduras and Venezuela. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said the migrants were sent to Los Angeles because California had declared itself a “sanctuary” for immigrants.
June 15, 2023 4:53 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Moments after Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to federal charges that he hoarded classified documents and then conspired to obstruct an investigation about it, the Republicans in Congress had his back. Trump’s mounting legal jeopardy has quickly become a political rallying cry as they rush to stand by the indicted former president. Many Republicans say they haven’t fully read the 49-page indictment against Trump. But they are adopting his grievances against the federal justice system as their own. It’s an example of how Trump has transformed the Republican Party that was once the party of “law and order,” but is now attacking the very justice system at the foundation of U.S. democracy.
June 15, 2023 4:52 am
LONDON (AP) — Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson deliberately misled Parliament about the lockdown-flouting parties that undermined his credibility and contributed to his downfall. That’s according to a report from a committee of lawmakers released Thursday after a year-long investigation. The scathing report from the House of Commons Privileges Committee found that Johnson’s actions and his response to the committee were such a flagrant violation of the rules that they warranted a 90-day suspension from Parliament. It’s a condemning indictment of the former prime minister’s conduct. But the recommendation is largely symbolic because Johnson angrily quit as a lawmaker Friday after the committee informed him of its conclusions.
June 15, 2023 4:49 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Measures to raise fees on millions of phone bills in Pennsylvania passed the state House of Representatives on Wednesday in a bid to bolster funding for county-run emergency communication centers and the state’s 988 suicide hotline. Both measures, which were backed by every Democrat and a handful of Republicans, would annually adjust the fees with inflation. The legislation now goes on to the Republican-controlled Senate.
June 15, 2023 4:45 am
The Canon-McMillan School Board held their agenda meeting Wednesday night. The biggest agenda item that will be voted on at the next meeting will be the Operating Budget for the 2023-2024 academic year. According to information supplied by Director of Business and Finance, Joni Mansmann, the final budget proposal is for $107,757,359. That is a $6.8 million increase over last year. The budget will necessitate a tax increase of .26 mills. What that means to district residents is that school taxes will increase $26 for every $100,000 of assessed value of their home. The budget as proposed will have a $111,000 fund balance. Mansmann indicated that contractual obligations, transportation and utility costs are drivers to budget increases. Also on the agenda for consideration is an offer to sell the middle school building in Canonsburg. Council is scheduled to vote on these items at their next meeting on June 21.
June 15, 2023 2:54 am
WJPA News was alerted on Thursday to a major problem in the Washington County Recorder of Deeds Office in which more than fifty-eight-hundred properties were mistakenly transferred from private owners to a local gas company. Recorder of Deeds Carrie Perrell issued an emailed statement saying her office was aware of the issue and has already taken corrective measures with their software provider Landex. She says a new category for recording will prevent this from happening in the future and the tax office is currently working with Tyler software system to ensure that this court ordered recording is a transfer of oil and gas leases only.
June 15, 2023 2:21 am
Pennsylvania’s plan for rebuilding a collapsed section of Interstate 95 in Philadelphia involves tons of small glass nuggets, each one about an inch wide and light as Styrofoam. Gov. Josh Shapiro won’t say how long it’ll take to get traffic flowing again, but he says union crews will work nonstop until the job is done. The plan is to fill the space where a gasoline truck fire destroyed an overpass with 2,000 tons of recycled glass recovered from landfills. Workers will pave over it to reopen the critical East Coast highway. After that, they’ll build another bridge to reroute traffic so they can remove the fill and reopen the underpass.
June 14, 2023 5:58 pm
(AP) – After more than two decades as America’s best-selling beer, Bud Light has slipped into second place. Mexican lager Modelo Especial overtook Bud Light in U.S. retail dollar sales in the month ending June 3, according to Bump Williams Consulting. Modelo controlled 8.4% of U.S. grocery, convenience and liquor store sales; Bud Light fell to 7.3%. It’s a milestone in Bud Light’s months-long sales decline since early April, when critics vowed to boycott the beer after the company sent a commemorative can to a transgender influencer. Bud Light’s U.S. sales were down 24% in the week ending June 3.
June 14, 2023 4:13 pm
(WPXI) – Closing arguments are set to begin Thursday in the trial of a Baldwin truck driver accused in the mass shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Squirrel Hill in 2018. On Tuesday, the jury heard from white supremacy and terrorism experts who reviewed Robert Bowers’ Gab posts, communications with police, and selfies on his phone. Bowers trial began eleven days ago. The fifty-year-old has pleaded not guilty to 63 charges, including obstruction of free exercise of religious beliefs resulting in death and hate crimes resulting in death. Eleven people were killed and several others injured. If convicted of any of the capital charges, the trial will move to a separate penalty phase, in which the same jury will listen to further evidence and decide whether to sentence him to death.
June 14, 2023 5:10 am
LONDON (AP) — Paul McCartney says artificial intelligence has been used to extract John Lennon’s voice from an old demo to create “the last Beatles record,” decades after the band broke up. McCartney told the BBC on Tuesday that the technology was used to separate the Beatles’ voices from background sounds during the making of director Peter Jackson’s 2021 documentary series “The Beatles: Get Back.” He said the new song is set to be released later this year. McCartney told BBC radio that Jackson was “able to extricate John’s voice from a ropey little bit of cassette and a piano.” He said: “We were able to take John’s voice and get it pure through this AI so then we could mix the record.”
