News Of Western Pennsylvania And The World
The buzz has been building for years around Reese Youngn and now the rapper from Homewood is finally blowing up. The spark is the video for his ‘No More Parties Remix’.
Reese Youngn – “No More Parties” Remix (THE LET OUT …
Reese Youngn No More Parties Remix#TheLetOutOfficial VideoShot by @treeburkeFollow Reese @reeseyoungn
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — How much stuff is tucked away around your home and you have no idea where it is or even what is there?
Uncluttering our living space is no small challenge and Leslie McKee of McKee Organizing says start with a simple rule.
“I say if you haven’t touched it in a year you should really think about what you’re doing with it.”
Thinking “I might use that someday,” is the common downfall of the decluttering process. “We do hear that and then we try to do a reality check,” says McKee.
When they are asked to help someone McKee and her crew set up categories. “Everything is either active, reference, or archive. So we want your active things around you the things that you use all the time, and reference things put away, and then archive things put even in a less easy to access area.”
Anything outside those categories has to go. “If you can’t find it and it’s getting ruined and it’s not gaining value is not really a collection, and it’s time to start thinking about getting rid of it.”
McKee says there are an abundance of places that are ready and willing to take your stuff. “Goodwill, American Legion, Little Sisters of the Poor, St Vincent DePaul, and Construction Junction,” can take your things that could be used by someone else.
But first you have to commit to parting with something and McKee says often people hang onto things simply because they have for years and feel a commitment to keeping something they really don’t need or want.
Source: How To Organize, Declutter Your Home – CBS Pittsburgh
Ellen DeGeneres’ daytime talk show has dropped dramatically in viewership following the star’s toxic workplace scandal that dominated headlines last year.
Citing Nielsen ratings, the New York Times reports that “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” has lost over 1 million viewers over the course of the show’s 18th season.The program’s latest season kicked off in September 2020 with an apology from the comedian about claims of a toxic workplace that marred the show over the summer.
“I learned that things happen here that never should have happened,” DeGeneres said on the show at the time. “I take that very seriously. And I want to say I am so sorry to the people who were affected.”
According to the Times, the season 18 premiere had the highest ratings of any season opener in the last four years for “Ellen.” However, over the last six months, the show has averaged 1.5 million viewers.
Source: Ellen DeGeneres has lost over 1M viewers since addressing toxic workplace claims | Fox News
A forthcoming government report will detail a number of “difficult to explain” UFO sightings, former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe said in a recent report.
Source: Upcoming Pentagon report will detail ‘difficult to explain’ UFO
It remains unknown when all students will return.
But teachers and staff are scheduled to return to classrooms on Monday.
Source: Pittsburgh Public Schools teachers and staff return to the classroom on Monday
Known as ELSA-d, the mission will exhibit technology that could help capture space junk.
According to a recent report by NASA, at least 26,000 of the millions of pieces of space junk are the size of a softball. Orbiting along at 17,500 mph, they could “destroy a satellite on impact.” More than 500,000 pieces are a “mission-ending threat” because of their ability to impact protective systems, fuel tanks and spacecraft cabins.
A demonstration mission to test an idea to clean up space debris launched Monday morning local time from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Known as ELSA-d, the mission will exhibit technology that could help capture space junk, the millions of pieces of orbital debris that float above Earth.
The more than 8,000 metric tons of debris threaten the loss of services we rely on for Earth-bound life, including weather forecasting, telecommunications and GPS systems.
Source: New Effort To Clean Up Space Junk Reaches Orbit : NPR
About 150 protesters, some hoisting U.S. and other flags, marched into Downtown Pittsburgh to a mid-morning rally in Point State Park, airing grievances on topics ranging from the mask mandate to the 2020 presidential election.
The crowd, escorted by police on motorcycles and bicycles, set off from the North Shore near PNC Park a little after 9:45 a.m. and walked several abreast in chilly temperatures but bright sunshine, occasionally chanting “USA USA,” “What do we want? Freedom!” and “Impeach Wolf!” a reference to Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf.
They raised topics as they marched from gender identity to individual rights. They proceeded without incident and encountered no counter demonstrators.
Source: Conservative rally in Downtown Pittsburgh targets masks, election results | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
German researchers have uncovered marine life along the Antarctic seafloor for the first time in decades after a massive iceberg calved from the Antarctic Ice Sheet last month.
Source: Scientists discover Antarctic marine life trapped under ice for half a century | Fox News
As crossings along the southern border surge to near-record levels, the Biden administration is considering flying migrants to states near the Canadian border, according to a report.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) requested the plane support from Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Friday after 1,000 migrant families and unaccompanied minors crossed the Rio Grande into South Texas Friday morning, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials told The Washington Post. Border agents still have another 1,000 migrants they were unable to process last night, according to communications reviewed by the Post.The backups at CBP are exacerbated by the nearly 4,500 unaccompanied children being held in detention centers and tent sites at the border, many beyond the legal three-day limit.
The Biden administration contends that the situation at the border is a “challenge,” not a “crisis.”
Five White House staffers have been fired because of their past use of drugs, including marijuana, press secretary Jen Psaki said on Friday.
Marijuana has become a delicate issue for President Joe Biden’s administration because 15 states and Washington, D.C., allow for recreational usage, despite a federal prohibition. The administration has tried not to automatically penalize potential staffers for legal behavior in their communities by developing a more flexible policy, Psaki said in a statement to The Associated Press.
Source: 5 White House staffers lose jobs over drugs, marijuana use
Washington — A coalition of attorneys general from 21 states sued President Biden and members of his administration for rescinding the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline, seeking to undo the president’s attempt to effectively nix the 1,200 mile-long pipeline.
Led by the attorneys general of Texas and Montana, the states argued in their complaint that the president exceeded his authority when he issued his executive order January 20 revoking permits for the oil pipeline. The order targeting Keystone was one of several executive actions Mr. Biden has taken since assuming the presidency that focus on the environment and addressing climate change.
“Revocation of the Keystone XL pipeline permit is a regulation of interstate and international commerce, which can only be accomplished as any other statute can: through the process of bicameralism and presentment,” the states argued in their complaint. “The president lacks the power to enact his ‘ambitious plan’ to reshape the economy in defiance of Congress’s unwillingness to do so.”
Source: 21 states sue Biden for revoking Keystone XL pipeline permit – CBS News
Most of the victims were women of Asian descent. Authorities say it’s too early to declare the attacks a hate crime – but advocates say there’s a pattern that can’t be ignored.
Asian Americans and their allies are calling for solidarity and a push against discrimination and racist violence after a gunman killed eight people at three Atlanta-area spas Tuesday. Most of the victims were women of Asian descent.
Authorities said it’s too early to declare the attacks a hate crime – prompting a debate over when that label should be used and how to present the gunman’s explanation. In an incident report filed by the Atlanta Police Department, officers checked “no” under whether the attacks were a suspected hate crime. But police said Thursday they are still investigating the attacker’s motive.
The suspect, Robert Aaron Long, 21, has confessed, according to police, who said Long denied being motivated by racial animus. Officials in Cherokee County cited sex addiction and a “bad day” as possible explanations for the crime. Police suspect Long was under the influence of alcohol, according to the Atlanta incident report. He is being held in Cherokee, the county northwest of Atlanta where the shootings started.
Atlanta’s Deputy Chief Charles Hampton told reporters on Thursday afternoon that Long had purchased the weapon the day of the attack. He also confirmed Long had frequented at least two of the spas.
Source: ‘Enough Is Enough’: Atlanta-Area Spa Shootings Spur Debate Over Hate Crime Label : NPR
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy on Thursday filed a resolution aimed at removing Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell from the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence over past ties to an alleged Chinese spy named Fang Fang.
The two-page resolution — obtained by Fox News — says Swalwell, D-Calif., “has not denied public reporting that a suspected Chinese intelligence operative helped raise money for Representative Swalwell’s political campaigns” and “other troublesome elements of public reporting.”The ties to Fang were first revealed by Axios, which reported that Fang helped raise money for Swalwell’s campaign and placed one or more interns in Swalwell’s office. Republicans have said that somebody who was so egregiously compromised by a foreign power should not remain on the critical intelligence panel.
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — The coronavirus pandemic caused a massive wave of unemployment in the Pittsburgh region.
Now that the economy is coming back, employers face a new problem — not enough workers. KDKA investigator Andy Sheehan looks into why employers now can’t fill positions.
READ MORE:Pittsburgh Weather: Rain, Wind, And Snow All Possible
After a year of shutdowns and indoor dining restrictions, the lunchtime crowd at the Juniper Grill in Cranberry is picking up. The problem now is a shortage of cooks, bartenders and waitstaff to serve them.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Pat McDonnell with Atria’s Restaurants. “We have eight restaurants and we need employees at all eight restaurants.”
Employers throughout the region have the same lament. Now that the economy is springing back, they can’t find the workers to fill the positions.
“People call for interviews and they don’t show up for interviews,” said McDonnell. “We’ve gone every place we could go to advertise, to get the word out we are hiring. It’s just been very, very difficult.”
“The labor force is down. The people looking for work is down. I think a lot of folks have moved on,” said University of Pittsburgh researcher Chris Briem.
READ MORE:Pa. State House Passes Bike Lane Safety Bill
At the onset of the pandemic, the region lost 200,000 jobs but got all but 78,000 back over the last year. Now that many of those jobs are returning, about 50,000 people have left the workforce and, according to Briem, are no longer available.
“I think some of our workers have retired early,” said Briem. “I think a lot of our younger workers include students. I think there are tremendous issues with folks taking care of children or other folks at home not being able to jump back into the labor force.”
“It’s a challenge to get them back because of the increased money they get,” said Chief Operating Officer of St. Moritz Security Services Chris Hansen.
Source: Pittsburgh-Area Business Owners Say They Cannot Fill Open Positions
Bezos declined to testify at a hearing on income inequality, which included testimony from a pro-union Amazon worker in Alabama.
- Bezos declined Sanders’ invitation to testify at a hearing, but the senator had harsh words for him.
- Sanders criticized Amazon’s countering of a union drive in Alabama despite the CEO’s record wealth.
- The hearing included testimony from a pro-union worker at Amazon’s Bessemer warehouse.
- See more stories on Insider’s business page.
he murder trial of ex-cop Derek Chauvin in George Floyd’s death hit a new snag Wednesday when a Minneapolis judge was forced to dismiss two jurors who had already been seated in the high-profile case.
Hennepin District Judge Peter Cahill questioned the seven jurors who had been seated before news broke of a $27 million settlement of a civil wrongful death lawsuit filed by Floyd’s family — and determined that two of the panelists could no longer be impartial.
“It will impact it a lot,” one juror, identified as Juror 36, told Cahill on Wednesday morning.
“So, last time I was asked about my strong opinions about Chauvin,” he told the judge. “Clearly, the city of Minneapolis has some strong opinions as well. And this kind of confirms my opinions that I already had.”
The second juror, Juror 20, conceded that the amount of the settlement “shocked me” and “kind of swayed me a little.”
Only two of the seven said they had not heard of the settlement, and three others said they knew of it but it had not changed their opinion of the case.
Source: Derek Chauvin jurors dismissed over $27M George Floyd settlement
A GoFundMe page set up to pay off the mortgage on Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s $14.6 million California estate has gone bust — after raising a measly $110, a report says.
Anastasia Hanson, 56, of California told Britain’s the Sun that she started the fundraising effort because she seriously felt sorry for the multimillionaire royal couple — after Harry publicly whined to Oprah Winfrey about being financially cut off by Buckingham Palace.
“When they came to the USA, they were without jobs and with limited funds,” said Hanson, who lives about 25 minutes from the princely pair’s palatial estate in swanky Montecito.
“They’ve stated that they’ve had a very rough time, so this fundraiser is a way to give help, compassion, and love by paying their home loan in full.”
The U.S. and China are setting vastly different expectations for their first high-level meeting under the Biden administration, casting a chill on the talks set to begin in Alaska on Thursday.
American officials set to attend the summit — including National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Secretary of State Antony Blinken — have characterized the meeting as a one-off event where the U.S. will confront the Chinese on a range of security and human rights issues that Beijing will need to address before it can improve relations with Washington.
Chinese officials, by contrast, have spun the meeting as an opportunity for Washington and Beijing to reset their relationship and, as the world’s leading powers, hash out the new international order. China’s Yang Jiechi, a member of the Chinese Communist Party’s Politburo and the country’s top diplomat, and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will be meeting with Blinken and Sullivan in Anchorage over two days.
Competing statements from both sides last week emphasized the rift: “This is not a strategic dialogue,” Blinken said of the meeting in testimony to the House Foreign Affairs Committee. A spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry, Zhao Lijian, quickly contradicted him: “China, invited by the United States, will have a high-level strategic dialogue with the U.S. side in the coming days.”
Source: China and U.S. appear set for a frosty Alaska summit – POLITICO
Washington (CNN)Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korea‘s leader, warned the Biden administration against “causing a stink at its first step” on Monday, hours after the White House said it had not received a response to its outreach to Pyongyang.
“We take this opportunity to warn the new US administration trying hard to give off powder smell in our land,” she said in a statement, according to the country’s state news agency.“If it wants to sleep in peace for (the) coming four years, it had better refrain from causing a stink at its first step,” she said. The warning comes as the US and South Korea conduct scaled-down, simulated military exercises and US Secretary of State Tony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin have touched down in the region for meetings with their Japanese and South Korean counterparts.
Source: North Korea’s Kim Yo Jong breaks silence to warn US against ‘causing a stink’ – CNNPolitics
First it was Huck Finn. Then it was JK Rowling. Last week it was “The Muppet Show.” This week it’s Dumbo. It’s only a matter of time before “Star Wars” gets canceled and you know it.
Will Gen X please stand up? I have something I want to say to you — to us.
We grew up in a country that didn’t ban books. We all agreed that witch hunts and blacklists were bad. Censorship was an outrage. The 1980s were not that long ago. Don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about.
So obviously we’ve got a problem here. Everybody can see it. Everybody knows where it’s heading. What we don’t have — yet — is a group of people who are willing to do something about it.
I nominate us.
The generation that fought for its right to party should be leading the charge against these millennial Maoists terrorizing the culture via social media. Why aren’t we?
The reason is as obvious as it is unacceptable: We’re terrified of getting canceled ourselves. The kid who stands up to the neighborhood bully may end up a hero, but he may take a humiliating beating first. Most of us are like that character in “Raiders of the Lost Ark” who saw the pit full of snakes and said to Indiana Jones: “Very dangerous. You go first.”
Tears for Fears was wrong when they said everybody wants to rule the world. Only people between the ages of 23 and 33 want that kind of trouble. Once you reach 40, ruling the world sounds like too much work. People with jobs and families and mortgages want a quiet life. We want to find time to watch “Nomadland,” maybe save a little cash to redo the basement.
Source: Cancel culture is out of control — and Gen X is our only hope
“A Border Patrol facility is no place for a child,” said Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency will help shelter and transfer a record number of child migrants showing up at the U.S.-Mexico border, the Homeland Security secretary said Saturday,
While the administration of President Joe Biden has avoided calling the situation a national emergency as former President Donald Trump declared in 2019 , it acknowledged a rising number of “encounters” at the border since April.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas said FEMA would help children found at the border avoid being treated as detainees of Customs and Border Protection and move them more quickly into the care of the Department of Health and Human Services
Source: FEMA ordered to help with influx of migrant children at U.S.-Mexico border
There’s a new grab-and-go lunch option in downtown Greensburg.
Henry’s Hoagies opened March 2 in the downstairs space at 16 W. Second St.
For now, the food service is all takeout, offering eight sandwich options, four varieties of pepperoni rolls, two daily soups, snacks, fresh fruit, yogurt and bottled drinks.
Owners Henry Johnson and Holly Hull hope to add indoor dining when pandemic restrictions ease.
The Greensburg couple is new to the restaurant business, but not strangers to preparing food for others to enjoy.
They honed their hoagie-making skills by supplying party eats to their friends and families. They also cook for family holiday dinners.
Current hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays-Fridays, although the couple is considering adding Saturday hours due to interest expressed by customers.
Details: 724-221-6999 or Facebook.
Source: Henry’s Hoagies adds new lunch option to downtown Greensburg | TribLIVE.com
A new allegation of inappropriate conduct has been leveled against embattled New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who on Tuesday pushed back against what he termed “minor allegations.”
The woman, who is a member of Cuomo’s Executive Chamber staff, claims Cuomo touched her inappropriately last year, according to the Albany Times Union, which cited as its source “an official close to the matter.” Further details were not revealed.
The report said that the incident took place at the Executive Mansion, where the woman had been summoned as part of her job.
Source: Cuomo Was Just Hit with Another Accusation – This Time from Within His Own Mansion
The Pentagon has approved a request to continue National Guard support at the U.S. Capitol through May 23, 2021. About 2,300 troops will remain at the Capitol, which is about half the number currently deployed, the Department of Defense said Tuesday evening.
The National Guard personnel were expected to leave the Capitol on March 12 after remaining there since the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection attempt. But U.S. Capitol Police last week requested a 60-day extension following intelligence that showed a possible security threat from an identified militia group.
That threat led the House of Representatives to cancel its March 4 session, though no attack occurred.
The U.S. Capitol Police said in a statement it is “extremely grateful” for the Defense Department’s partnership in protecting Congress.
The National Guard has been sharply criticized for its handling of the Jan. 6 riots and, in particular, a delayed response that left troops standing by for hours before being authorized to intervene.
The D.C. National Guard’s commanding general testified last week that the Department of Defense took more than three hours to approve a “frantic request” for support from USCP.
Source: National Guard Will Extend Deployment At U.S. Capitol : NPR
The dogs joined the Bidens at the White House shortly after the Bidens relocated to Washington. Since then, they have been allowed to roam unleashed on the White House grounds.
President Joe Biden’s two dogs have been moved away from the White House after one of the dogs showed aggressive behavior to White House staff, according to a report first published by CNN.The Bidens have two German shepherds — a 13-year-old named Champ and 3-year-old named Major. Reports indicate that it was Major who was involved in a “biting incident” with a “member of White House security.”
The condition of the biting victim is unclear, but the dogs were moved back to Biden’s home in Delaware shortly after the incident and have not returned.
The Bidens adopted Major in 2018 from a dog shelter in Delaware. According to a Facebook post from the Delaware Humane Society at the time, Major was born to a litter of pups “that were surrendered and not doing well at all.”
Source: Biden’s Dogs Moved After a ‘Biting Incident’ – The New York Times
The US secretary of state seeks to jump start stalled talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has made a blunt new push for a UN-led peace effort in Afghanistan.
In a letter to the Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, Mr Blinken called for a 90-day reduction in violence and a transitional government formed from both sides.
Mr Blinken also said no decision had been made about whether to stick to a planned US troop withdrawal by 1 May.
He called on President Ghani to show “urgent leadership”.
A deal struck with the Taliban during the Trump administration in February 2020 committed the US to withdrawing by 1 May, but Afghan officials fear the move would create enormous security challenges.
Mr Blinken warned in his letter that the Taliban could make “rapid territorial gains” across the country in a “spring offensive”.
Source: Afghanistan conflict: US makes new push for UN-led peace process – BBC News
- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Sunday at a high-level press conference that the U.S. needs to remove “unreasonable restrictions” and stop interfering in what Beijing considers its domestic affairs.
- U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration has maintained a tough position on China and raised concerns about Beijing’s stance around Taiwan, Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet.
- Wang did not specify what the restrictions were, and pointed to a phone call between the two countries’ leaders in February as a positive basis for rebuilding the bilateral relationship.
Source: Chinese foreign minister calls for ‘non-interference’ between China, U.S.
The Governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, was the subject of a series of barbs from comedian Bill Maher during his HBO show on Friday night while Maher dicussed him with Charlamagne Tha God.
Breaking with other Southern GOP governors, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey extended her state’s mask order for another month Thursday but said the requirement will end for good in April. Following the recommendations of medical officials, Ivey said she will keep the mask order that was set to expire Friday in place until April 9. Texas and neighboring Mississippi are easing health restrictions as vaccination numbers rise and illnesses linked to the coronavirus decline.
Source: Bucking Republican trend, Alabama governor extends mask order
Dr. Seuss Enterprises, the business running the late author’s estate, said it made the decision last year to cease publication and licensing of six of his books.
Source: Dr. Seuss books shoot to the top of Amazon’s bestseller list
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