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​Pittsburgh, PA – PennDOT District 11 is announcing overnight inspection work on I-376 (Fort Pitt Tunnel) in the City of Pittsburgh, Allegheny County will begin Sunday night, November 3 weather permitting.

Pittsburgh, PA – PennDOT District 11 is announcing lane closures on I-376 (Beaver Valley Expressway) in Vanport Township, Beaver County, will occur Monday through Wednesday, November 4-6 weather permitting.

Pittsburgh, PA – PennDOT District 11 is announcing deck repair work on the northbound Interstate 79 Neville Island Bridge in Robinson and Neville townships, and Glenfield Borough, Allegheny County will occur Friday through Monday, November 1-4 weather permitting.

FILE – Performers lead the Tom Turkey float down Central Park West at the start of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade, Thursday, Nov. 23, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/Jeenah Moon, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — A eclectic group of stars — including reality TV’s Ariana Madix, Broadway belter Idina Menzel, hip-hop’s T-Pain, members of the WNBA champions New York Liberty and country duo Dan + Shay — will feature in this year’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Music performers The War and Treaty, Lea Salonga, Kylie Cantrall, The Temptations, Chlöe, Charli D’Amelio, Jimmy Fallon & The Roots, Coco Jones, Walker Hayes, Rachel Platten, Bishop Briggs, Joey McIntyre, Natti Natasha and ballet dancers Tiler Peck and Roman Mejia, are also slated to perform. The Associated Press got the list early.

The holiday tradition will begin at 8:30 a.m. on Nov. 28 in all time zones and will be kicked off by actor Alison Brie, the “Glow” star currently starring in Peacock’s “Apples Never Fall.”

This year’s parade will feature 17 giant character balloons, 22 floats, 15 novelty and heritage inflatables, 11 marching bands, 700 clowns and 10 performance groups.

“The work that we do, the opportunity to impact millions of people and bring a bit of joy for a couple of hours on Thanksgiving morning, is what motivates us every day,” Will Coss, Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade executive producer, said in an interview.

The parade airs on NBC and streams on Peacock. Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb and Al Roker from “Today” will host and a Spanish language simulcast on Telemundo will be hosted by Carlos Adyan and Andrea Meza.

There will be six new featured character balloons, including Minnie Mouse, Extraordinary Noorah” with The Elf on the Shelf, “Gabby’s Dollhouse,” “Goku” and “Spider-Man.”

The “Gabby’s Dollhouse” float will include a 55-foot-tall (17-meter-tall) balloon featuring Gabby and Pandy Paws that will have 10 different shades of pink.

“As a little girl growing up in New Jersey, the Thanksgiving Day parade was what you always tuned into and the balloons were, of course, the best part,” says Traci Paige Johnson, the co-creator of “Gabby’s Dollhouse” with Jennifer Twomey.

“That little 7-year-old girl in me is just like, ‘Oh my God!’ — something from your brain that you created that all the world watches floating down New York City is just absolutely incredible.”

She and Twomey, who also produced “Blue’s Clues,” are the rare creators who get to celebrate having a second balloon in the parade. Johnson advises watchers this time to look for all the hidden cats in Gabby’s sneakers and costume.

The Macy’s parade has been a traditional holiday season kickoff and spectators line-up a half-dozen deep along the route to cheer the floats, entertainers and marching bands. The parade has lately asked icons to be the last guest before Santa, with last year Cher fitting the bill. This year’s headliner will be revealed later.

Broadway will be represented by performances from “Death Becomes Her,” “Hell’s Kitchen” and “The Outsiders,” as well as the iconic Radio City Rockettes and “Riverdance” dancers.

New floats include ones from brands like Disney Cruise Line, Haribo, “Wednesday” from Netflix,” Universal Orlando Resorts and “The Grannies Car” from BBC Studios’ “Bluey.” Nickelodeon and Paramount’s “Dora the Explorer” will have both a float and a balloon.

One new float will spotlight the Rao’s food brand, featuring a knight and a dragon in battle made with actual pasta elements.

“It’s one of those opportunities to really combine the whimsy and the artistry of our great artists and artisans at our studio and deliver on that iconic spectacle that’s known and loved of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade,” said Coss.

The marching bands will hail from Massachusetts, Indiana, Tennessee, Texas, Arkansas, South Dakota, Georgia, South Carolina, West Virginia and New York.

Members of the New York Liberty, who earlier this month won their first-ever WNBA Championship, will march alongside their popular mascot, Ellie the Elephant.

The Macy’s parade team, if you can believe it, are already working on sketches and ideas for the next parade, since each cycle takes 18 months. Coss calls it “the largest variety show on television.”

FILE – Kegan Ward, assistant manager of Swami Spirits, walks through debris of the damaged store in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, in Cedar Key, Fla., on Sept. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — America’s employers added just 12,000 jobs in October, a total that economists say was held down by the effects of strikes and hurricanes that left many workers temporarily off payrolls. The report provided a somewhat blurry view of the job market at the end of a presidential race that has pivoted heavily on voters’ feelings about the economy.

Last month’s hiring gain was down significantly from the 223,000 jobs that were added in September. But economists have estimated that Hurricanes Helene and Milton, combined with strikes at Boeing and elsewhere, had the effect of pushing down net job growth by tens of thousands of jobs in October.

Friday’s report from the Labor Department also showed that the unemployment rate remained at 4.1% last month. The low jobless rate suggests that the labor market is still fundamentally healthy, if not as robust as it was early this year. Combined with an inflation rate that has tumbled from its 2022 peak to near pre-pandemic levels, the overall economy appears to be on solid footing on the eve of Election Day.

The government did not estimate how many jobs were likely removed temporarily from payrolls last month. But economists have said they think the storms and strikes caused up to 100,000 jobs to be dropped. Reflecting the impact of the strikes, factories shed 46,000 positions in October.

In a cautionary sign for future hiring, though, temporary job placement firms 49,000 jobs last month. Companies often take on temporary workers before committing to full-time employees. On the other hand, healthcare companies added 52,000 jobs in October, and state and local governments tacked on 39,000.

The employment report for October also revised down the government’s estimate of the job gains in August and September by a combined 112,000, indicating that the labor market wasn’t quite as robust then as initially thought.

“The big one-off shocks that struck the economy in October make it impossible to know whether the job market was changing direction in the month,’’ Bill Adams, chief economist at Comerica Bank, wrote in a commentary. “But the downward revisions to job growth through September show it was cooling before these shocks struck.’’

Still, economists have noted that the United States has the strongest of the world’s most advanced economies, one that has proved surprisingly durable despite the pressure of high interest rates. This week, for example, the government estimated that the economy expanded at a healthy 2.8% annual rate last quarter, with consumer spending — the heart of the economy — helping drive growth.

Yet as voters choose between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, large numbers of Americans have said they are unhappy with the state of the economy. Despite the plummeting of inflation, many people are exasperated by high prices, which surged during the recovery from the pandemic recession and remain about 20% higher on average than they were before inflation began accelerating in early 2021.

With inflation having significantly cooled, the Fed is set to cut its benchmark interest rate next week for a second time and likely again in December. The Fed’s 11 rate hikes in 2022 and 2023 managed to help slow inflation without tipping the economy into a recession. A series of Fed rate cuts should lead, over time, to lower borrowing rates for consumers and businesses.

In the meantime, there have been signs of a slowdown in the job market. This week, the Labor Department reported that employers posted 7.4 million job openings in September. Though that is still more than employers posted on the eve of the 2020 pandemic, it amounted to the fewest openings since January 2021.

And 3.1 million Americans quit their jobs in September, the fewest in more than four years. A drop in quits tends to indicate that more workers are losing confidence in their ability to land a better job elsewhere.

Story by Sandy Giordano – Beaver County Radio. Published November 1, 2024 12:07 P.M.

(Aliquippa, Pa) Aliquippa responded to a one vehicle accident behind the Aliquippa  Shopping Center on Calvert Street. According to the police report the driver struck a barn in the rear of a nearby home.  Police found the male driver inside was unresponsive and the vehicle running and smoking. They broke the passenger window to gain access to the unidentified patient. Police said first responders determined the male had a medical episode and had recently had open heart surgery. Police and Medic-Rescue removed the male from the vehicle. Paramedics and the Aliquippa Fire Department executed life saving measures, and he was transported to the Medical Center in Brighton Township where he was pronounced dead at 4:15pm.

Pittsburgh, PA – PennDOT District 11 is announcing sign inspection activities on I-376 (Parkway West) in Moon Township, Allegheny County, will occur Monday through Friday, November 4-8 weather permitting.

The State of Early Care and Education report from Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children suggests providing additional opportunities for professional development and career advancement for Pennsylvania’s child care and early education workforce. (Halfpoint/Adobe Stock)
Danielle Smith – Keystone State News Connection

Pennsylvania is facing what children’s advocacy groups call a historic child care crisis, leaving thousands of young children without access to early learning programs.

A new report estimates Pennsylvania loses $6.65 billion annually when families do not have child care and preschool options.

Kari King, president and CEO of Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children, said the report examines the policies on child care and pre-K, and highlights workforce challenges affecting many families with young children.

“Both in terms of parents and families in the workforce, and the need for child care to be able for parents to work,” King outlined. “We know in the report, just over 70% of families with children currently have both parents or caregivers in the workforce.”

In his latest budget proposal, Gov. Josh Shapiro addresses some of the workforce challenges with a $17.7 million boost to early childhood education. $15 million is proposed for Pre-K Counts and $2.7 million for Head Start Supplemental Assistance, investments he said are crucial for working parents’ economic stability.

King pointed out Pennsylvania child care workers earn just over $15 an hour, or less than many retail jobs, and half of pre-K programs are delivered through child care centers. But some centers struggle to attract and keep qualified staff.

King observed the wage gap leaves some centers with not enough revenue to pay competitive salaries and keep care affordable.

“That’s where we’ve seen there’s been quite an impact since the pandemic, with quite a few programs that have actually closed their doors,” King noted. “Over 600 child care providers have been lost since right before the pandemic. So, I think you’re seeing a lot of those businesses again in that untenable situation.”

The report pointed out pre-K teachers in Pennsylvania earn annual salaries about half those of kindergarten teachers. One recommendation is to provide pay for pre-K teachers on a par with elementary school educators.

FILE – Chester County, Pa., election workers process mail-in and absentee ballots at West Chester University in West Chester, Pa., Nov. 4, 2020. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A divided Pennsylvania appeals court ruled Wednesday that the envelopes voters use to send in mail ballots do not need to have been accurately hand-dated, weighing in after the state Supreme Court sidestepped the issue and six days before the end of voting in the presidential election.

The 3-2 decision by Commonwealth Court upheld a Philadelphia judge’s ruling that 69 mail ballots should be counted in a pair of single-candidate state House of Representatives special elections held in September.

The majority said the mandate for exterior envelope dates, which are not needed to determine if a ballot has arrived in time, violates a state constitutional provision that says elections must be free and equal and no civil or military power can interfere with the “free exercise of the right of suffrage.”

The majority opinion by Judge Ellen Ceisler said the envelope dating rules “restrict the right to have one’s vote counted in the special election to only those voters who correctly handwrite the date on their mail ballots and effectively deny the right to all other qualified electors who sought to exercise the franchise by mail in a timely manner but made minor mistakes or omissions.”

Ceisler, in a footnote, urged the national and state Republican parties, which lost the case, “to proceed expeditiously should they wish to appeal this decision.”

A lawyer for the Republican parties, Linda A. Kerns, said an appeal will be filed in the coming days.

“We know that the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania has already spoken on this issue,” Kerns said Wednesday. “Pennsylvania law requires voters to sign and date mail ballots — that is an important election integrity safeguard.”

Lawyers for the two Philadelphia voters who sued to have their ballots counted hailed the decision but acknowledged it may not be the last word.

“We hope that every county will abide by this ruling in its processing of mail ballots next month,” Mimi McKenzie, legal director of the Public Interest Law Center, said in a statement. She advised voters to still date their return envelopes and fix any balloting mistakes if they can.

In a dissent, Judge Matthew Wolf said his colleagues should have simply forwarded the case to the state Supreme Court or at least waited until after the election.

“The majority, in no uncertain terms, concludes that any county board of elections’ decision not to count undated or incorrectly dated mail-in and absentee ballots violates the free and equal elections clause of the Pennsylvania Constitution,” Wolf wrote.

Another dissent, by Judge Patricia McCullough, called the majority decision “a substantial change to voting rules at the eleventh hour and on specious grounds.”

“Wrong decisions issued at the wrong time are doubly threatening to the integrity of Pennsylvania’s elections and the public’s confidence in them,” McCullough said.

The state Supreme Court earlier this month rejected a request by voting rights and left-leaning groups to stop counties from throwing out mail-in ballots without the accurate, handwritten dates, citing earlier rulings that courts should avoid confusing voters close to elections.

A self-driving tractor trailer maneuvers around a test track in Pittsburgh, Thursday, March 14, 2024. The truck is owned by Pittsburgh-based Aurora Innovation Inc. Late this year, Aurora plans to start hauling freight on Interstate 45 between the Dallas and Houston areas with 20 driverless trucks. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Autonomous truck company Aurora Innovation says it won’t start hauling freight without humans on board until April of next year, a delay from previous statements that commercial service would begin by the end of 2024.

The Pittsburgh company on Wednesday said the April launch of driverless semis traveling from Dallas to Houston will be “modestly later” than the company had intended.

The company told investors on its third-quarter earnings conference call that it has made progress toward ensuring its trucks will operate safely.

Remaining obstacles are “primarily in the areas of some elements of surface street driving and some elements of construction that we see on the freeway,” CEO Chris Urmson said. “We want to have extremely high confidence in the system as we as we go forward.”

The company will start with about 10 autonomous tractor-trailers and move to “tens” of trucks by the end of next year, Urmson said.

“This shift to our timeline will have a negligible financial impact and does not affect our scaling efforts on our path to self-funding,” Urmson said.

Aurora also intends to haul freight without human drivers from Fort Worth, Texas, to Phoenix later in 2025, Urmson said.

Aurora in August added nearly $500 million to its balance sheet with a capital raise in August, which the company expects to fund the initial phases of its strategy to scale up driverless trucking.