WJPA News

A division of a German manufacturing company is moving its domestic corporate headquarters to Fallowfield Township just west of Charleroi in the Monongahela Valley. Spaleck USA LLC, an American subsidiary of Spaleck GmbH & Co. KG debuted its new 15,000-square-foot facility in Alta Vista Business Park during a Wednesday morning ribbon cutting, promising a “commitment” to sustained investment in the region. Spaleck USA specializes in both stationary and mobile conveying and separation systems for use in recycling plants, metals reclamation and other industries. The new facility, which cost just under $4 million, will house the company’s domestic headquarters and maintenance division. The new facility has created seven full-time jobs so far, with three additional positions waiting for qualified applicants.
Washington County Commissioner Chair Nick Sherman said investments like this are crucial to the overall economic development of a region, saying that “this is a shining example of partnerships between the alliance, local elected officials and a German company that could have gone anywhere in the world, but they chose to put its flag down in Washington County.”

Nicole Lane, a Canonsburg native, is suing the Washington County jail and its healthcare contractor claiming she was denied proper medical care when she was incarcerated while pregnant two years ago, and was later shackled to a hospital bed while going through labor. Attorneys for Nicole Lane filed the federal lawsuit in Pittsburgh on Wednesday accusing the Washington County Correctional Facility, healthcare provider PrimeCare and several jail workers and county sheriff’s deputies of alleged neglect that nearly caused her to lose the baby and her life. Lane is seeking damages for allegedly depriving her of her Eighth and 14th amendment rights, along with violating the Americans with Disabilities Act, Pennsylvania’s Healthy Birth for Incarcerated Women Act and Pennsylvania tort law. According to the lawsuit, the state’s Healthy Birth for Incarcerated Women Act restricts the use of restraints on pregnant women and has been in effect since 2010, and it was expanded in 2023. Washington County solicitor Gary Sweat said Thursday that he was unaware of the lawsuit and could not comment. Representatives with Harrisburg-based PrimeCare Inc. could not be reached for comment Friday.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran’s joint military command says the Strait of Hormuz has been closed again, citing Israeli attacks in Lebanon and U.S. “bad faith” and “its clear breach of its commitments” by failing to end the war. The statement on state television on Saturday also warned that “if the aggression continues, subsequent steps have been planned.” Ships had begun transiting the strait after the interim U.S.-Iran agreement was signed earlier in the week. Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon on Saturday killed at least 16 people, including two children, hours after reports emerged of a ceasefire agreement

TYRE, Lebanon (AP) — Lebanese state media say the latest Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon killed at least 16 people, including two children, hours after reports emerged of a ceasefire agreement. The persistent fighting threatens an interim deal between the United States and Iran to end their war. Lebanon’s National News Agency said the strikes on Saturday hit the southern Lebanese town of Nabatiyeh and nearby villages. The reports say at least seven people are trapped under the rubble. Mediators are scrambling to halt the fighting between Israel and the Lebanese militant Hezbollah group, after a heavy exchange killed at least 47 people in Lebanon and four Israeli soldiers on Friday.

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — A large fire has almost completely destroyed a luxury resort in the Dominican Republic, forcing the evacuation of almost 1,700 tourists. Local media reported an Italian tourist died in the fire and several other tourists required medical assistance. The Viva Dominicus Beach by Wyndham resort is located in Bayahibe, a popular destination for U.S. and international tourists on the southeastern coast of the Dominican Republic. Authorities reported about 1,690 tourists had to be evacuated from the resort to other hotels and nearby housing facilities because of the massive blaze.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group agreed to halt the heavy fighting in southern Lebanon that had threatened to unravel an interim peace agreement between the United States and Iran. That’s according to officials who spoke Friday to The Associated Press. Neither Israel nor Hezbollah immediately confirmed the truce. It came after a heavy exchange of fire killed 47 people in Lebanon and four Israeli soldiers. Hezbollah and Israel went to war shortly after the outbreak of the wider conflict, with Hezbollah firing rockets and drones at civilian communities in northern Israel and Israel seizing large swaths of southern Lebanon.

ROME (AP) — The head of Latin America’s top development bank has made a case to Pope Leo XIV about the potential of rare earth mining. Ilan Goldfajn, head of the Inter-American Development Bank, argues it could benefit Latin America if done responsibly. Goldfajn met with the pope on Friday, acknowledging the Vatican’s opposition to multinational mining corporations. The Vatican has long supported Indigenous peoples affected by mining. Goldfajn believes the region can benefit from mining if proper standards and conditions are met. The Inter-American Development Bank has a $4 billion pipeline of mineral projects, mostly in Chile, Argentina, and Brazil.