October 19, 2021 4:07 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – A House committee tasked with investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection is moving swiftly to hold at least one of Donald Trump’s allies in contempt. That’s happening as the former president is pushing back on the probe in a new lawsuit. Trump is aggressively trying to block the committee’s work by directing former White House aide Steve Bannon not to answer questions in the probe while also suing the panel to try to prevent Congress from obtaining former White House documents. Lawmakers on the House committee say they will not back down as they gather facts and testimony about the attack of Trump’s supporters.
October 19, 2021 4:06 am
BROOKSHIRE, Texas (AP) – Authorities say no one was seriously hurt when an airplane bound for Boston ran off a runway and burned near Houston. The Federal Aviation Administration says the McDonnell Douglas MD-87 was carrying 21 people when it rolled through a fence and caught fire while trying to take off from the Houston Executive Airport in Brookshire on Tuesday morning. The FAA says everyone made it off the plane safely. The only reported injury was a passenger with back pain. The Texas Department of Public Safety says the plane was headed to Boston. The aircraft is registered to a Houston-area investment firm. (Photo: CNN)
October 19, 2021 4:04 am
BRIDGEVILLE, Pa. — (WPXI) – A petition launched in opposition of the proposed tolls on the I-79 bridge has so far garnered more than 1,000 signatures. “Tell Harrisburg Bureaucrats that WE pay their salary and we refuse this new toll on I-79,” the petition reads. PennDOT has proposed tolling the bridge, along with eight others across the commonwealth as part of the “Major Bridge P3 Project.” The revenue, according to the department, would go towards repairing and improving the bridges. In regard to I-79, PennDOT has stated it plans to widen the interstate through Bridgeville and make traffic improvements. Toll rates would likely be between $1 to $2 and would “pay for the project and ensure PennDOT can use its other resources on other local projects. Otherwise, to make this project happen, PennDOT would have to pull the project costs from other highway and bridge needs,” the department previously said. Our news partners at Channel 11 reached out to PennDOT, with a spokesperson stating “no final decision” has been made regarding any of the nine proposed bridges. The statement claims public input is “critical” to any project, particularly one involving a toll.
October 19, 2021 3:59 am
The Peters Township School Board met Monday evening and compared to recent meetings, the tone of the meeting was much quieter. Much of the meeting was taken up by public comment. That comment centered on the district’s health and safety plan, push back on the mask mandate in schools and an effort to bring better dialogue between residents and the school board. Fifteen people spoke in two comment periods. The main topics were asking board members why they could not have a dialogue at the meeting instead of the public stating their concerns and waiting for an answer. Board members were called out in general for not responding to emails. The mask mandate continues to be a topic with some residents wondering why Peters Twp. does not push back against the mandate as other school districts allegedly are doing. The solicitor answered questions about the mandate indicating that the school district is following guidelines from the Department of Health and pointed out the penalties associated with not following the mandate, including loss of accreditation in certain areas and legal jeopardy for individual board members. Director Lisa Anderson pointed out that the district is tied up in litigation and certain questions simply cannot be answered until the litigation is complete. In the business section of the meeting, the agenda included a first reading of changes to the district’s policy manual. One of the policy items concerns revisions to the public participation in board meetings. Anderson explained that this was brought about by the recent changes in Pennsylvania’s Sunshine Act law. Anderson stated that the policy was derived from language provided by the Pennsylvania School Board Association and a study of surrounding area school districts policies on public comment. The board will vote on all policy changes at their November 15 voting meeting.
October 18, 2021 5:41 pm
MOLINE, Ill. (AP) – Contract talks between Deere & Co. and its 10,000 striking workers have resumed, but it wasn’t immediately clear how far apart the two sides remain. The strike began last Thursday after union members overwhelmingly rejected a proposed contract that would have delivered 5% raises to some workers and 6% raises to others depending on their positions in the factory. The last major strike at the maker of agricultural and construction equipment came in 1986. The contracts under negotiation cover 14 Deere plants, including seven in Iowa, four in Illinois and one each in Kansas, Colorado and Georgia. (Photo: CNN)
October 18, 2021 5:39 pm
UPPER DARBY, Pa. (AP) – Authorities in suburban Philadelphia say a woman was raped by a stranger on a commuter train in the presence of other riders who a police official says “should have done something.” Upper Darby police were called to the 69th Street terminal late Wednesday after the assault. A police official says a transit employee in the vicinity of a passing train reported that “something wasn’t right” with a woman who was aboard. Police say the entire episode was captured on surveillance video that showed other people on the train at the time. A 35-year-old man was arrested and has been charged.
October 18, 2021 1:51 pm
Congressman Mike Doyle, a Democrat from Forest Hills announced Monday that he will not be running for reelection next year. Doyle, who has spent fourteen-years in office, who was first elected in 1994 and will step down at the end of his term next year. At a press conference, Doyle said he’s not sure what he’s doing next, but he’s planning retirement with his wife Susan. “Suffice to say, the Pittsburgh region has changed a lot in the past 27 years and I’d like to think I played a part in that,” Doyle said. Doyle is the most senior member of Pennsylvania’s congressional district, and his retirement is expected to set off a major political battle to replace him. (Photo: WPXI)
October 18, 2021 8:42 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Colin Powell, former Joint Chiefs chairman and secretary of state, has died from COVID-19 complications, his family said Monday. In an announcement on social media, the family said Powell had been fully vaccinated. Powell was the first African American to serve as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and secretary of state. But his reputation also suffered a painful setback when, in 2003, Powell went before the U.N. Security Council and made the case for U.S. war against Iraq. He cited faulty information claiming Saddam Hussein had secretly stashed away weapons of mass destruction. Iraq’s claims that it had not represented “a web of lies,” he told the world body.
October 18, 2021 4:25 am
MOUNT AIRY, N.C. (AP) – Betty Lynn, who was best known as Barney Fife’s sweetheart Thelma Lou on “The Andy Griffith Show,” has died at the age of 95. The Andy Griffith Museum said in a statement that she died Saturday after a brief illness. Lynn appeared on the show from 1961 until 1966. Later, she was a mainstay at the annual Mayberry Days festival in Mount Airy, North Carolina, where she resided in her latter years. Lynn provided entertainment as a part of the USO during World War II. She moved to New York in the late 1940s and began an acting career in film and television. She is survived by several cousins.
October 18, 2021 4:24 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Former President Donald Trump has been questioned in a deposition for a lawsuit brought against him by protesters. They say Trump’s security team roughed them up in 2015 during the early days of his presidential campaign. A lawyer for the plaintiffs said Trump testified Monday under oath behind closed doors at Trump Tower in New York City for several hours. Video of the deposition will be played for a jury if the case goes to trial. The plaintiffs’ lawyer, Benjamin Dictor, said Trump was questioned on a variety of topics, including comments he’s made at campaign rallies in which he appeared to encourage security personnel to treat protesters harshly. A message seeking comment was left with a lawyer representing Trump in the lawsuit.
