August 24, 2022 4:08 am
WASHINGTON COUNTY, Pa. — (WPXI) – Avella School District is surrounded by rolling hills and farms, but the lack of good internet was evident for parents. “Half the time it wouldn’t work or you could come here to work. Just time-wise it wasn’t appropriate,” said Avella Parent Melissa Robinson. Robinson has two kids in Avella Elementary School. When the pandemic hit she said her daughter would miss days because they didn’t have internet access for assignments, leaving them driving for better connection. It’s a problem Washington County Commissioners saw firsthand and have dedicated millions in American Rescue funds to fix. “Rural broadband is not towers just yet. What we are doing is running hard lines to these homes. It’s not about owning a cellphone — it’s having the service hard-wired into your house,” said County Commissioner Nick Sherman. So far the county has spent $3 million dollars on the project with 1,200 homes in Avella complete. In total, $4.6 million is budgeted. Up next, the county is laying lines in Beallsville and Scenery Hill then will move to Bentleyville and West Finley to help improve the overall health and well-being of each resident. The lines the county is laying provides 1 Gbps internet speed, compared to the 100 Mbps in the previous lines, which the county said will be 10 times faster service.
August 24, 2022 4:00 am
(WPXI) – Democratic Senate candidate John Fetterman made an appearance in Pittsburgh yesterday, his first visit to the area since he suffered a stroke in May. Fetterman appeared with other local and statewide candidates at a rally at the United Steelworkers International Headquarters downtown. He also picked up a key endorsement from one of the state’s largest labor unions. He never mentioned his health during his six-minute speech, but promised to fight for union workers.
August 24, 2022 3:58 am
North Strabane Township Supervisors opted to delay granting approval to two projects seeking conditional use application approval. Ashford Place, a proposed 60 unit apartment building on Morganza Road and an office park structure proposed by 84 Lumber located by the 84 Lumber Fitness and Training centers will wait until September before being considered for approval. Supervisors wish to take the full 45 days available to them for consideration. Both measures were tabled. Supervisors did adopt the Land Use Assumption Report developed by the Traffic Impact Fee Advisory Committee. The study outlined the projected development of both residential and non-residential buildings over the next ten years. Supervisors also set the date for Trick or Treating in the township. Trick or Treating will be on Monday October 31 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm.
August 23, 2022 4:58 pm
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – The husband of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi pleaded guilty Tuesday to misdemeanor driving under the influence charges related to a May crash in California’s wine country and was sentenced to five days in jail and three years of probation. Napa County Superior Court Judge Joseph Solga said Paul Pelosi already served two days in jail and received conduct credit for two other days. Solga said Paul Pelosi will serve eight hours in the court’s work program in lieu of the remaining day. Paul Pelosi did not attend the sentencing. He is also required to attend a three-month drinking driver class, install an ignition interlock device, and pay nearly $7,000 in fines.
August 23, 2022 4:45 pm
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) – A jury has convicted two men of conspiring to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2020. Prosecutors described the plot as a rallying cry for a U.S. civil war by anti-government extremists. The jury also found Adam Fox and Barry Croft Jr. guilty of conspiring to obtain a weapon of mass destruction. Croft, of Bear, Delaware, was also convicted of a third crime. It was the second trial for the pair after a jury in April couldn’t reach a unanimous verdict. Two other men were acquitted and two more pleaded guilty. The FBI considered it a major domestic terrorism case and put at least three informants and two undercover agents in the group. Defense lawyers say Fox and Croft were simply “big talkers” who said vile things about Whitmer and government.
August 23, 2022 9:42 am
A Pennsylvania judge has ordered three Republican-controlled counties to add about 800 contested mail-in ballots to the results of the May election, ruling in a legal dispute that stalled statewide certification of the primary results for governor and U.S. Senate. The Republican judge sided Friday with the Democratic governor in a lawsuit over whether mail-in ballots that lack handwritten dates on their return envelopes should be counted. The suit is the latest in a series of legal battles over the state’s 2019 election law, which greatly expanded mail-in voting. The law requires voters to date the envelopes. But Commonwealth Court President Judge Renee Cohn Jubelirer agreed with Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration that the lack of a date was a minor irregularity and should not result in those voters’ disenfranchisement. Berks, Fayette and Lancaster counties were ordered to count the undated mail-in ballots, and the judge gave the counties a Wednesday deadline to certify their primary election results — including the undated ballots — and report back to state election officials.
August 23, 2022 4:23 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Thousands of asylum seekers from across Latin America and the Caribbean are getting caught in the political battle over U.S. immigration policy after two Republican governors started sending busloads of migrants to New York City and Washington. Border cities such as San Diego have long wrestled with influxes of asylum-seekers and created well-oiled machines to respond. But the nation’s largest city and its capital were caught flat-footed. That created an opening for Greg Abbott of Texas and Doug Ducey of Arizona. Nearly 8,000 migrants have arrived on the state-sponsored bus trips, straining the resources and humanitarian services of both cities, which have also sought assistance from the federal government.
August 23, 2022 4:22 am
CHICAGO (AP) – Most U.S. adults think gun violence is increasing nationwide and want to see gun laws made stricter. That’s according to a new poll that finds broad public support for a variety of gun restrictions. The poll comes from the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. The poll shows majorities of Americans view both reducing gun violence and protecting gun ownership as important issues. The poll found 71% of Americans say gun laws should be stricter, including about half of Republicans and a majority of those in gun-owning households.
August 23, 2022 4:21 am
DALLAS (AP) – Heavy rain across the drought-stricken Dallas-Fort Worth area is causing streets to flood and submerging vehicles as officials warn motorists to stay off the roads. Daniel Huckaby, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, says the area is “pretty much ground zero for the heaviest rain overnight.” The National Weather Service says over 9 inches of rain fell at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport over 24 hours ending at noon Monday. At least one fatality has been blamed on the downpour as emergency officials say they’ve responded to dozens of locations with high water on the roads.
August 23, 2022 4:19 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Lawyers for former President Donald Trump have asked a federal judge to prevent the FBI from continuing to review documents recovered from his Florida estate until a neutral special master can be appointed. The attorneys asserted Monday in a court filing, their first since the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago two weeks ago, that the sets of documents taken from the residence were “presumptively” covered by executive privilege. They say the matter has captured the attention of the American public and safeguards are needed to protect Trump’s constitutional rights. The filing casts the August 8 search as a “shockingly aggressive move.”
