December 8, 2022 3:35 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris has outpaced all her predecessors for the number of tiebreaking votes cast in the Senate. But now the pressure will be off because Democrats have expanded their majority to 51 seats with Sen. Raphael Warnock’s victory in the Georgia runoff. Although she could still be called upon in a pinch, her party will have more breathing room on close votes — meaning Harris will have more flexibility in her schedule. During her first two years in office, she’s often had to stick close to home in case she was needed to advance legislation or a nomination on Capitol Hill. (Photo: AP)
December 8, 2022 3:34 am
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — 2022’s most notable quotations include a tart retort by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to a U.S. offer of help. That’s according to a list compiled each year by Yale Law School librarian Fred Shapiro as a supplement to The New Yale Book of Quotations. Zelenskyy had the No. 1 quote, “I need ammunition, not a ride,” responding to a U.S. offer to transport him to safety days after Russia invaded Ukraine. Former U.S. President Donald Trump was No. 2, for repeating his lies about the 2020 election being stolen and calling for the “termination” of parts of the Constitution. Comedian Chris Rock also made the list, for describing how actor Will Smith slapped him during the Academy Awards ceremony. (Photo: AP)
December 8, 2022 3:32 am
LONDON (AP) — Britain’s monarchy is bracing for more bombshells to be lobbed over the palace gates as Netflix releases the first three episodes of a new series. The show “Harry & Meghan” promises to tell the “full truth” about Prince Harry and his wife Meghan’s estrangement from the royal family. The series debuts Thursday. It has been promoted with two dramatically edited trailers that hint at racism and a “war against Meghan.” The series is the couple’s latest effort to tell the world why they walked away from royal life and moved to Southern California almost three years ago. (Photo: AP)
December 8, 2022 3:30 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. — The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association has approved a final policy for high school student athletes to profit from their name, image and likeness. A spokesperson with the PIAA said the policy will take effect immediately. The policy will allow athletes to get commercial endorsements and earn money from promotional activities, including social media. For now, those agreements can’t make references to the PIAA or any school or team name. Students will be prohibited from endorsing adult entertainment, alcohol, casinos and gambling, tobacco and smoking devices, opioids and prescription drugs, controlled substances and weapons.
December 8, 2022 3:27 am
MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. (WPXI)– A loaded gun was found in a West Virginia man’s luggage at Pittsburgh International Airport. According to a news release, this was the second gun found at the security checkpoint on Wednesday. The guns found mark the 25th and 26th guns found at the airport so far in 2022. Officials said an antique .22-caliber handgun loaded with six bullets was found in the front pocket of a laptop bag that belonged to a man from Clarksburg, West Virginia. The man told officials that the gun belonged to his wife’s grandmother, and he did not know that he had it with him or how it ended up in his bag. The gun was confiscated by Allegheny County police. The incidents were not related.
December 8, 2022 3:21 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A Pennsylvania government panel is considering adding extensive definitions of sex, religious creed and race to nondiscrimination regulations. The proposal being voted on Thursday is a change some Republican lawmakers see as an overreach on a subject they think should not be addressed without legislation. It would clarify and enshrine into writing a set of definitions regarding the types of employment, housing, education and public accommodations discrimination complaints that can be brought before the Human Relations Commission. Advocacy groups say greater clarity about the terms sex, religious creed and race would be helpful and a step forward.
December 8, 2022 1:36 am
A Monongahela man accused of holding a woman against her will and potentially offering her out for prostitution had his preliminary hearing on Wednesday. Nikolaus Breland, 32 appeared via video facing charges of promoting prostitution, sexual assault and false imprisonment among others. He is accused of holding an 18 year old victim against her will in a boarded up home in Monongahela. Victim testimony stated that Breland and she connected on a relationship app and he traveled from Pennsylvania to New Jersey to retrieve her. The victim testified that they spent a period of time in Center Valley, PA before arriving in Monongahela. She stated that she told Breland multiple times that she did not wish to engage in sexual relations with him and wanted to leave. She stated that on several occasions he threatened her with a knife. She said she finally got a chance to contact police using Breland’s phone, texting 9-1-1 with the address and plea for help. Monongahela police responded with a search warrant and SWAT. The incident ended within an hour with the victim and defendant exiting the home quietly. All charges were held for court. Breland faces four felony charges and 5 misdemeanor charges. He will be arraigned on January 19.
December 7, 2022 3:41 pm
State Rep. Austin Davis is resigning his seat in the Pennsylvania State House of Representatives effective immediately to focus on his new role as the state’s lieutenant governor and assist in the transition to the administration of Gov. Josh Shapiro. “It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve in the state House of Representatives and to be the voice of my community in Harrisburg,” Davis said in a prepared statement “If you had told me as a 16-year-old teen, driven to my first city council meeting to protest gun violence that had reached my own block, that I would have the privilege to represent my hometown and neighboring communities in our state Capitol, and the opportunity to take those issues head on and improve lives, I wouldn’t have believed it.” A Democrat, Davis became the first African American to serve as state representative for the 35th Legislative District in Allegheny County.
December 7, 2022 1:54 pm
(AP) – Electronic cigarette maker Juul Labs has reached settlements covering more than 8,000 cases brought by about 10,000 plaintiffs related to its vaping products. Financial terms of the settlement were not disclosed, but Juul said that it has secured an equity investment to fund it. The company has been buffeted by lawsuits and chances that it would seek bankruptcy protection, or a buyer, were elevated last month as Juul announced hundreds of layoffs and secured new financing to continue operations.
December 7, 2022 9:59 am
PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii (AP) — A handful of centenarian survivors of the attack on Pearl Harbor are expected to gather at the scene of the Japanese bombing on Wednesday to commemorate those who perished 81 years ago. That’s fewer than in recent years, when a dozen or more traveled to Hawaii from across the country to pay their respects at the annual remembrance ceremony. Part of the decline reflects the dwindling number of survivors as they age. The youngest active-duty military personnel on Dec. 7, 1941, would have been about 17, making them 98 today. Many of those still alive are at least 100. About 2,400 servicemen were killed in the bombing, which launched the U.S. into World War II. The USS Arizona alone lost 1,177 sailors and Marines, nearly half the death toll.
