December 22, 2022 8:50 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Slightly more Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week as the labor market continues to show strength even as the Federal Reserve has tried for nearly a year to slow the economy by raising its main lending rate. The Labor Department reported Thursday that applications for jobless claims for the week ending Dec. 17 inched up by 2,000 to 216,000 from the previous week’s 214,000. Jobless claims are generally viewed as a representation of layoffs. The four-week moving average of claims, which smooths out some of the week-to-week swings, fell by 6,250 to 221,750.
December 22, 2022 6:22 am
WASHINGTON COUNTY, Pa. – (WPXI) – A driver was flown to a hospital after a semi truck rolled over in Washington County. According to Bentleyville Fire-Rescue on Facebook, the crash happened at around 6:45 a.m. near mile marker 33.8 on Interstate Highway 70 east. Emergency crews updated the call to entrapment when they saw the tractor trailer on its roof on the side of the road. The driver was flown to a local trauma center. There’s no word on their condition.
December 22, 2022 4:27 am
NEW YORK (AP) – A federal prosecutor says two associates of Sam Bankman-Fried have pleaded guilty to criminal charges in cooperation deals related to the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said Wednesday night that Carolyn Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda Research, a trading firm started by Bankman-Fried, and Gary Wang, who co-founded FTX along with Bankman-Fried, pleaded guilty to charges “related to their roles in the fraud that contributed to FTX’s collapse.” The guilty pleas were announced as Bankman-Fried was being flown to the U.S. from the Bahamas by U.S. law enforcement to answer to charges tied to his role in FTX’s failure.
December 22, 2022 4:26 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – An 800-page report set to be released by House investigators will conclude that then-President Donald Trump criminally plotted to overturn his 2020 election defeat and “provoked his supporters to violence” at the Capitol with false claims of voter fraud. The resulting Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection threatened democracy and the lives of lawmakers and police. The report is expected to be released by the House Jan. 6 committee in full on Thursday. It will largely mirror nine hearings that laid out evidence from live testimony, 1,000 private interviews and millions of pages of documents. Trump still falsely disputes his 2020 loss.
December 22, 2022 4:25 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy has paid a defiant wartime visit to Washington to thank Americans for helping to fund the war against Russia. In a speech to Congress, he said the money is “not charity” but an “investment” in global security and democracy. The whirlwind visit was his first known trip outside his country since Russia invaded in February. It was aimed at reinvigorating support for Ukraine at a time when there is concern that allies are growing weary of the costly war and its disruption to global food and energy supplies. Zelenskyy met earlier in the day with President Joe Biden in the White House.
December 22, 2022 4:23 am
PITTSBURGH — As if the upcoming holiday weekend weren’t hectic enough, a big winter storm is threatening to delay and cancel flights across the country. Luggage was packed, and lines were long at the Pittsburgh International Airport as travelers tried to make it out of town before storm makes its way in. Airport executives predict Thursday and Friday to be the busiest travel days.
December 22, 2022 4:16 am
PITTSBURGH — “This is probably one of the worst times to have a storm,” said Hollie Geitner, the senior communication officer for Duquesne Light. Duquesne Light and West Penn Power said they will have crews working around the clock beginning Friday morning, which is when experts predict that the wind will be so powerful it may knock out power lines across the region leaving many stuck in the dark over the holiday weekend. “There is always somebody working, and they will just keep working until it’s done,” said Todd Meyer, the spokesperson for West Penn Power. But with mass power outages anticipated energy providers said it’s also important for residents to be prepared with flashlights, batteries, non-perishables and charged cellphones. “Make sure that you have plenty of blankets on hand and sleeping bags. Things to keep you warm if we have a longer outage,” Meyer said. Officials are urging people to get ready now.
December 22, 2022 4:14 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – Grab the umbrella as you head out Thursday and gear up for the first round of weather impacts from a major winter storm. Showers may start as a brief mix north of Pittsburgh with a longer period of ice east and in the ridges. The next round of impacts comes as a powerful cold front arrives before sunrise Friday rapidly turning rain to snow showers and dropping temperatures nearly 30 degrees in two hours. Wet roads will freeze very easily causing a skating rink impact Friday morning for commuters. As temperatures drop into the single digits during the day wind chills will head below zero. Wind chills will say below zero into Christmas day with winds gusting to 50 mph at times Friday night and Saturday.
December 22, 2022 4:10 am
An Avella man was pronounced dead in the emergency room at Canonsburg Hospital following a two-vehicle, head-on collission Wednesday morning. The Washinton County Coroner’s office says 37 year old Joesph Ayre Jr. was pronounced dead a short time after the crash around 8:45 a.m along Thomas Road in North Strabane near the intersection with Springdale Road. He was not wearing a seatbelt. A cause and manner of death are pending investigation. No other information is currently being released. North Strabane Township Police are investigating.
December 21, 2022 4:47 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is paying a defiant wartime visit to Washington to thank U.S. leaders and “ordinary Americans” for their support in fighting off Russia’s invasion and to press for continued aid in the brutal months to come. President Joe Biden and Congress responded with billions in new assistance and a pledge to help Ukraine pursue a “just peace.” Biden welcomed Zelenskyy to the Oval Office on Wednesday, saying the U.S. and Ukraine would continue to project a “united defense” as Russia wages a “brutal assault on Ukraine’s right to exist as a nation.” Zelenskyy is expected to address Congress in the evening.
