May 17, 2023 4:16 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Debt limit talks have entered an encouraging new phase as President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy have tapped top emissaries to negotiate a deal to avert an unprecedented national default. The president also cut his upcoming overseas trip short in hopes of closing out a deal before the end of the month. The fresh set of negotiators means that the scope of the discussions is now largely narrowed to what White House and McCarthy will agree to as part of a deal that would allow lawmakers to raise the debt limit in the coming days. The speaker said after a meeting with Biden and congressional leaders that a deal was “possible” by week’s end.
May 17, 2023 4:13 am
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Legislation banning most abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy is becoming law in North Carolina after the state’s Republican-controlled General Assembly successfully overrode the Democratic governor’s veto. The House completed the second and final part of the override Tuesday night after a similar three-fifths majority voted for the override earlier Tuesday in the Senate. The outcome represents a major victory for Republican legislative leaders who needed every GOP member on board to enact the law over Gov. Roy Cooper’s opposition. The vote comes as abortion rights in the U.S. faced another tectonic shift with lawmakers also debating laws to sharply limit abortion in South Carolina and Nebraska.
May 17, 2023 4:09 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Democrat Dan McCaffery and Republican Carolyn Carluccio have won their parties’ primaries for a vacant seat on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. The two will face each other in a fall contest for the court, which is at the center of cases on guns, abortion and elections in a presidential battleground state. Each nominee won a two-way primary race. McCaffery defeated Deborah Kunselman, a colleague on the Superior Court, and Carluccio defeated Patricia McCullough, a Commonwealth Court judge who lost a primary for a high court seat in 2021. Party allies reported spending nearly $1 million to help her beat McCullough.
May 17, 2023 2:39 am
The City of Washington will have a Democratic Mayoral candidate not named Scott Putnam. With all precincts reporting, JoJo Burgess will be the nominee in November. Burgess has beaten the incumbent Putnam 478-406.
May 17, 2023 2:33 am
The Democratic Candidates for Washington County Commissioner have been called. Incumbent Larry Maggi and his running mate Cindy Fisher will be on the ballot in November. Maggi stated that he looks forward to bringing civility back to county government if he is elected. Fisher agrees with Maggi. Fisher has been called anti oil and gas as a Cecil Township Supervisor. Fisher responded that nothing could be further from the truth about those claims. Maggi and Fisher handily defeated the third Democratic candidate Randy Barli.
May 17, 2023 2:20 am
Republican nominations for several row offices are set. Incumbent Coroner Tim Warco, who switched his party registration prior to this election, defeat newcomer Marc Zmijowski. Ray Phillips defeated incumbent Brenda Davis for Clerk of Courts. Laura Hough, incumbent Prothonotary, easily outdistanced Kevin Hill. Register of Wills James Roman (incumbent) beat Christine Wiles Thomas. District Attorney Jason Walsh and Treasurer Tom Flickinger were unopposed in the primary.
Coroner: Warco 9,837 Zmijowski 7,554
Clerk of Courts: Phillips 9,330 Davis 7,328
Prothonotary: Hough 8,888 Hill 6,901
Register of Wills: Roman 9,065 Wiles-Thomas 7,358
May 16, 2023 9:46 pm
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Dan McCaffery has won the Democratic primary in Pennsylvania for a vacant seat on the state Supreme Court, which is playing a prominent role in settling disputes over voting rights, abortion rights and gun rights in the presidential battleground. McCaffery defeated Deborah Kunselman in the two-way race. Both currently sit on the state Superior Court, a statewide appellate body that handles appeals from county courts in criminal and civil cases. McCaffery will face the winner of the Republican primary for the seat in the November general election. Democrats currently hold a 4-2 majority on the court, which has an open seat following the death last fall of Chief Justice Max Baer, a Democrat. The court has handled a number of hot-button issues over the past few years. It is currently examining a challenge to a state law that restricts the use of public funds to help women get an abortion as well as Philadelphia’s challenge to a state law that bars it and other municipalities from restricting the sale and possession of guns.
May 16, 2023 12:00 pm
The Main Street Farmer’s Market in downtown Washington will open for the season on Thursday. The market is held at the community pavilion on South Main Street across from the Observer Reporter building. It will be held on Thursdays from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. through October. Market organizers say they are looking forward to another outstanding season with old and new vendors in attendance. They say their goal is to see farmers and local small businesses thrive along with offering the community access to the freshest local products and welcoming SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) customers to shop with added savings. Organizers say there will be plenty of new and old activities throughout the season, including a First Responders Day.
May 16, 2023 4:17 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden will discuss the debt limit with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and congressional leaders at the White House. It’s a high-profile Tuesday afternoon session with reverberations across the globe ahead of the president’s trip to the Group of Seven summit in Japan. Early outlines of a potential deal are beginning to emerge despite the painstakingly slow negotiations. But expectations are low for an agreement as staff talks are expected to continue. McCarthy is prodding Biden to move faster toward a deal. The U.S. Treasury is warning that the U.S. could run out of cash to keep paying the nation’s bills as soon as June 1 if there is no agreement.
May 16, 2023 4:17 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — An investigation into the origins of the FBI’s probe into ties between Russia and Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign has finally been concluded. The prosecutor leading the inquiry has submitted a much-awaited report that found major flaws. It is the culmination of a four-year investigation into possible misconduct. It contained withering criticism of the FBI but few significant revelations. Nonetheless, it will give fodder to Trump supporters who have denounced the Russia investigation, as well as as Trump opponents who say Durham’s meager court record — one guilty plea and two acquittals at trial — shows his probe was a politically motivated farce.
