By Ken Thomas, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - The House raced Friday to pass legislation pouring an additional $2 billion into the popular - but financially strapped - “cash for clunkers” car purchase program.
Reps. Sander Levin, D-Mich., and Betty Sutton, D-Ohio, revealed the floor plan after he and other lawmakers were assured by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood that the program would continue at least through Friday while the Obama administration looked for more money.
Democrats in both the House and Senate were exploring the possibility of votes as early as Friday to replenish the funding.
At the White House, press secretary Robert Gibbs sought to assure consumers that the program is still running and will be alive “this weekend.”
“If you were planning on going to buy a car this weekend, using this program, this program continues to run,” Gibbs told reporters.
He would not commit to any timeframe beyond that.
But Gibbs said administration officials and bipartisan leaders of Congress were working Friday morning “to find and develop ways to continue to fund this program.”
Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., said it wasn’t clear when a Senate vote would be held.
Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., said about 40,000 new vehicles had been purchased through the program but dealers estimate another 200,000 vehicles have been sold in transactions that have not yet been completed through the program.
Earl Stewart, who owns a Toyota dealership in North Palm Beach, Fla., said the changing messages on the program has created confusion among his customers and his staff. Stewart’s accounting department also could only enter about a dozen of the 47 sales he made into the government Web site set up to handle the transactions, leaving him wondering if he will get refunded for the remaining vouchers.
With so much uncertainty surrounding the program, Stewart said he planned to continue to sell cars under the program Friday but would delay delivering the new vehicles and scrapping the trade-ins. Drivers would be put in loaners until he is abosolutely sure the program is still going.
“It’s been a total panic with my customers and my sales staff. We are running in one direction and they are running in another direction,” he said.

By Ken Thomas, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Obama administration promised on Friday that the financially strapped “cash for clunkers” program will be good at least through the day.
Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., said he got the word from Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood as members of the Ohio and Michigan congressional delegations huddled on Capitol Hill to discuss ways to keep the popular program going.
“Beyond Friday,” Levin said, “depends on whether the administration can find some money.”
One participant in the meeting said they were examining possible funding sources and whether there were any glitches in the computer system. The participant, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talk, said they were also studying how many dealers had enrolled in the system.
Through Wednesday afternoon, more than 23,000 dealer franchises were participating, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The administration dispatched Brian Deese, a top adviser to the Treasury’s auto task force, to the Hill meeting.
John McEleney, chairman of the National Automobile Dealers Association, said many dealers have been confused about whether the program will be extended and for how long. Many had stopped offering the deals Thursday after word came out that the funds available for the refunds had been exhausted.
“We are hoping for some clarity from the White House and Congress before the day is over,” McEleney said Friday.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - The percentage of Pennsylvania students at grade level in math and reading is higher than it was last year in every grade tested, the first time that’s happened.
State Education Secretary Gerald Zahorchak announced the across-the-board gains Monday and said he hoped it would bolster the case for a boost in state education funding proposed by Gov. Ed Rendell.
The administration is releasing the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment results early in hopes it will influence the budget debate inside the Capitol.
Fifty-six percent of 11th graders are considered proficient or advanced in math. That’s a fractional increase from last year, but more than 6 percentage points above 2002.
In reading, more than 65 percent of 11th graders are proficient or advanced. Seven years ago that figure was 59 percent.

PITTSBURGH (AP) - The last kegs of Iron City Beer will roll of a production line at a Pittsburgh brewery as the operation moves about 40 miles east of the city to the former Rolling Rock brewery in Latrobe.
Iron City has been brewed in the city since 1861 and at the current location since 1866.
Iron City Brewing Co. also brews IC Light and Augustiner Amber Lager.
Friday’s shutdown doesn’t completely sever the company’s ties with Pittsburgh.
The company’s corporate headquarters will remain in Pittsburgh. The brewery in Latrobe is near St. Vincent College, where the Pittsburgh Steelers hold training camp each year. That brewery started producing Iron City’s beers earlier this week.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) _ Gov. Ed Rendell says he hopes he and legislative leaders can strike a deal on the state budget by early next week.
Rendell told reporters Thursday that he’s encouraged by ongoing discussions behind the scenes among key legislators and his own representatives.
The Democrat said he hopes those talks will produce a tentative agreement that can be swiftly ratified by the House-Senate conference committee expected to be appointed Monday.
The state government is now in the fourth week of operating without a budget _ meaning it has no authority to pay most of its bills and state workers.
Last week, the House passed a $29.1 billion spending plan that would require tax increases. On Monday, the Senate approved a $27.1 billion proposal that cuts programs and taps reserve funds.

A 2003 Freedom Area High School graduate was killed in Afghanistan Wednesday by a roadside bomb.Army Sgt. Josh Rimer, 24, was riding with his battalion Wednesdayin one of the escort vehicles for the convoy when he was killed by an improvised explosive device, said his father, Jim Rimer of New Sewickley Township.

Rimer joined the military right out of high school and spent his first tour of duty in Iraq. After re-enlisting, he continued to serve in Iraq until February, when he was transferred to Afghanistan.

WASHINGTON (AP) _ A real estate group’s report says sales of previously occupied homes rose 3.6 percent from May to June, the third consecutive monthly increase and a sign that a housing recovery is under way in much of the country.
The National Association of Realtors says home sales rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.89 million last month, from a downwardly revised pace of 4.72 million in May.
It was the highest level of sales since October 2008 and beat economists’ expectations. Sales had been expected to rise to an annual pace of 4.84 million units, according to Thomson Reuters.
The median sales price was $181,800 in June down 15.4 percent from $215,000 in the same month last year, but up from $174,700 in May.

By David Koenig, AP Airlines Writer
DALLAS (AP) - Southwest Airlines and the parent of United made money in the second quarter, but the profits were overshadowed Tuesday by more job cuts and pessimism over the severe slump in travel and rising fuel costs.
Continental Airlines reported a big loss and said it would cut 1,700 more jobs.
Passengers can expect another wave of higher fees in the form of increased baggage fees to sweep through terminals around the country, with carriers trying to offset revenue lost to lower fares and promotions.
Southwest Airlines Co. broke a string of three straight losing quarters by scratching out a small gain. But Chairman and CEO Gary C. Kelly said that he couldn’t predict another profit in the third quarter because of weak travel demand and higher fuel prices.
“I don’t think the worst is behind us,” Kelly said. “I think the worst is ahead of us, and it’s primarily because of increased energy costs at this stage … September is typically the second-worst month of the year (for air travel), which means it could be really bad.”
Southwest, which has never laid off workers, announced that 1,400 employees - about 4 percent of the work force - took offers of cash and travel benefits to leave the company.
Continental Airlines Inc. lost $213 million and said it would slash about 4 percent of its workers. That’s on top of 1,200 job cuts already announced at the Houston-based airline.
The airline industry has been reducing the number of people it employs for over a year as part of cost-cutting measures. Passenger airline full-time employment fell by almost 7 percent in May from the same month a year ago, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
United Airlines parent UAL Corp. posted a surprising profit, thanks to fuel-hedging gains. Then it announced it will cut capacity on international flights another 7 percent this fall, reducing flights to match the lighter demand.
Continental boosted by $5 the fees for flight reservations taken over the phone and checking bags on U.S. flights. Beginning Aug. 19, it will cost $20 for the first bag and $30 for a second when passengers check them at the airport instead of online.
United, Delta and US Airways have announced similar increases in the last few weeks, charging an extra $5 for checking bags at the airport. American said Tuesday it had not raised its bag fees. Even Southwest, which mocked fee-charging rivals not long ago, refused to rule out bag charges.
Since the recession deepened last fall, traffic on U.S. airlines has fallen every month compared with the year before. Business travel, the most lucrative kind for airlines, has been especially hard hit.
“Our success is highly correlated with the return of business travel, and we haven’t seen signs of that yet,” said Continental president Jeff Smisek, who is set to become CEO in January.
With high-fare business travelers replaced on many planes with bargain-seeking leisure fliers, average fares fell and led to declines in revenue that ranged from 8.8 percent at Southwest to 25.2 percent at UAL.
Dallas-based Southwest earned $54 million, or 7 cents per share in the quarter ended June 30, down sharply from $321 million, or 44 cents per share, a year earlier. Excluding one-time items, the gain would have been $59 million, or 8 cents per share.
Analysts, who don’t consider one-time items, expected 7 cents per share, according to a survey by Thomson Reuters.
Revenue dipped 8.8 percent to $2.62 billion, but traffic held up well. Southwest has lured passengers with fare sales as cheap as $30 one-way.
Southwest said, however, that unless business travel rebounds strongly, its revenue per unit of capacity - an important performance measure - will fall 7 percent in the third quarter.
Southwest’s costs also are rising, partly due to the price of getting employees to quit. It expects to spend $70 million on severance packages for employees who took the buyout.
Continental said it will try to use voluntary measures to cut 1,700 jobs, but layoffs could be needed. The airline recently announced it would eliminate 500 reservations jobs and offer leave to 700 flight attendants.
Continental’s quarterly loss was $1.72 per share. Excluding write-downs of its fleet, the loss would have been $169 million, or $1.36 per share. Analysts expected a loss of $1.35 per share excluding the write-downs.
Revenue plunged 22.7 percent from a year ago, to $3.13 billion.
United parent UAL earned a profit of $28 million, or 19 cents per share, thanks to one-time gains. That compared to a loss of $2.74 billion a year ago, when it took huge write-downs.
Excluding the one-time gains, Chicago-based UAL would have lost $2.23 per share. Analysts expected a loss of $2.61 per share excluding items.
Revenue tumbled to $4.02 billion from $5.37 billion a year earlier.
Analysts consider UAL, the nation’s third-largest airline company behind Delta and American parent AMR, to be among the weakest carriers financially. UAL said it ended June with $2.6 billion in unrestricted cash - more than its previous projection of $2.5 billion.
Shares of UAL gained 21 cents, or 6 percent, to close at $3.72; while Continental fell 75 cents, or 7.4 percent, to close at $9.42; and Southwest dropped 43 cents, or 5.9 percent, to close at $6.87.
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AP Airlines Writer Harry R. Weber in Atlanta contributed to this report.

The National Weather Service in Pittsburgh has issued a warning for thunderstorms, lightning and hail for parts of Allegheny, Beaver and Lawrence counties through 6 p.m.

The NWS said there is a possibility for hail up to a half-inch in diameter, rainfall of up to a half-inch and windgusts of 35 mph.

PITTSBURGH (AP) _ A White House advance team is coming to Pittsburgh to plan for the September Group of 20 summit.
Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl says the team will arrive on Wednesday. They will tour the airport and the convention center where the 19 world leaders and European Union officials will meet on Sept. 24 and Sept. 25 to discuss the global economic crisis.
He says it is unclear how many White House officials are arriving. Ravenstahl says they will mostly discuss logistics, including getting leaders and delegations from the airport to the convention center, about 19 miles away in downtown Pittsburgh.
Ravenstahl says the city has declared September “Pittsburgh G-20 Month” and will focus on “sprucing up.”