Breaking News

Local Business

US 250th calls for more to volunteer

NEW YORK — The U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission wants to turn America’s 250th birthday celebration into the country’s single biggest year for volunteering. But America Gives, the program unveiled Wednesday just before the U.S. begins commemorating the 1776 signing of the Declaration of Independence, will have to revitalize a culture of service that has recently waned. Declining volunteering rates still haven’t returned to pre-pandemic levels. Just 28% of Americans said they volunteered time to a religious or secular charitable organization this year, according to a December ...

US stocks rose again in 2025 despite tariff, Fed turbulence

NEW YORK — The year 2025 was scary good for investors. It was scary because the U.S. stock market plunged to several historic drops on worries about everything from President Donald Trump’s tariffs to interest rates to a possible bubble in artificial-intelligence technology. In the end, though, it was a good year for anyone with the stomach to stick through the swings. S&P 500 index funds, which sit at the heart of many savers’ 401(k) accounts, returned nearly 18% in 2025 and set a record high on Dec. 24. It was their third straight year of big returns. Here’s a look at ...

Wall Street edges higher in a wobbly start to 2026

NEW YORK — U.S. stocks eked out small gains on Wall Street Friday in a wobbly day of trading to kick off the new year. Markets were mostly quiet on the first trading day of 2026, with the influential technology sector driving much of the up-and-down action. The mostly minor moves also cap off a tepid and holiday-shortened week. Markets were closed on Thursday for New Year's Day. The S&P 500 rose 12.97 points, or 0.2%, to 6,858.47. The benchmark index is coming off a gain of more than 16% in 2025. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 319.10 points, or 0.7%, to 48,382.39. The ...

Company recalls 3,000 pounds of ground beef

An Idaho-based company is recalling nearly 3,000 pounds of raw ground beef that may have been contaminated with E. coli bacteria. The recall involves 16-ounce vacuum-sealed packages labeled “Forward Farms Grass-Fed Ground Beef.” Affected packages were produced Dec. 16 and have a label telling customers to use or freeze the meat by Jan. 13. The affected beef also bears the establishment number “EST 2083” on the side of its packaging. The meat was produced by Heyburn, Idaho-based Mountain West Food Group and was shipped to distributors in California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, ...

Blair Chamber to meet

The Blair County Chamber of Commerce Breakfast Club will meet at 7:45 a.m. Jan. 15 at the Blair County Convention Center. The event will be a panel discussion on Blair County’s economic trends, development projects, workforce conditions and public policy priorities. The panel will feature Stephen McKnight, president and CEO, Altoona Blair County Development Corp.; Bradley Burger, executive director, Goodwill of the Southern Alleghenies-PA Career Link of Blair County; Commissioner Dave Kessling, president, Blair County Commissioners; and Alex Halpern, senior vice president of ...