January 31, 2024 5:02 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans have taken a party-line vote toward impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas over what they say is his “willful and systematic” refusal to enforce immigration laws. The Homeland Security Committee voted after midnight Wednesday to recommend the two articles of impeachment to the full House. But Mayorkas, who has been meeting with senators on a border security package, argues the Republicans should instead be working with the Biden administration on U.S.-Mexico border issues. Democrats derided the proceedings as a sham ordered up by Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump for the 2024 election. The full House could vote on the impeachment as soon as next week.
January 31, 2024 5:02 am
BEIRUT (AP) — The prospect of a full-scale war between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militia terrifies people on both sides of the border, but some see it as an inevitable fallout from Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. Such a war could be the most destructive either side has ever experienced. Israel and Hezbollah each have lessons from their last war, in 2006. The monthlong conflict ended in a draw. Both countries also have had four months to prepare for another war, even as the U.S. tries to prevent a widening of the conflict. Last month, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that an Israel-Hezbollah war “would be a total disaster.” That came amid a flurry of shuttle diplomacy by the U.S. and Europe.
January 31, 2024 5:00 am
JERUSALEM (AP) — Iran has threatened to “decisively respond” to any U.S. attack on the Islamic Republic following President Joe Biden linking Tehran to the killing of three U.S. soldiers at a military base in Jordan. The U.S. has signaled it’s preparing for retaliatory strikes in the wake of the Sunday drone attack that also injured at least 40 troops. There are concerns that any additional American strikes could further inflame a region already roiled by Israel’s ongoing war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip and the ongoing attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on shipping in the Red Sea. U.S. officials said Wednesday that a Navy destroyer shot down an anti-ship cruise missile launched by the Houthis.
January 31, 2024 4:58 am
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Mark Zuckerberg has accumulated a long history of public apologies, often issued in the wake of crisis or when Facebook users rose up against unannounced — and frequently unappreciated — changes in its service. It’s a history that stands in sharp contrast to most of his peers in technology, who generally prefer not to speak publicly outside of carefully stage-managed product presentations. But it’s also true that Facebook has simply had a lot to apologize for. Zuckerberg was back in damage control mode on Wednesday when he apologized to the parents of children exploited, bullied or driven to self harm via social media.
January 31, 2024 4:57 am
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Officials say 3 people have been killed and 9 were injured in a collapse of a hangar under construction on the grounds of the airport in Boise, Idaho. The city says in a statement released Wednesday night that five of those injured in the collapse are in critical condition. Boise Fire Department Operations Chief Aaron Hummel says the initial scene was chaotic but that as of Wednesday evening everyone who had been at the site had been accounted for. Boise Airport operations were not impacted by the collapse. The cause of the collapse is under investigation.
January 31, 2024 4:56 am
WEST MIFFLIN, Pa. — (WPXI) – Century III LLC, the company that owns Century III Mall, has been indicted. Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala announced the charges on Tuesday. Detectives charged the company with causing or risking catastrophe and making a public nuisance. “This is a monument to blight, if there is a better example of blight in western Pennsylvania I can’t find it. This is the poster board,” Zappala said Tuesday. The charges come along with a temporary restraining order. Zappala said he’s already working with Harrisburg to get the $12 million it will cost to demolish the mall. He said he plans to see shovels in the ground in the next 60 to 90 days. Zappala says the state is willing to put forth grants that can be paid back by the company. If not, the county can force a sale to pay back the grants and recoup the fines the company has yet to pay back. The land is valued at up to $40 million.
January 31, 2024 4:52 am
BLAINE TOWNSHIP, Pa. — (WPXI) – A Washington County woman shot her neighbor when he tried to break into her house, according to police. Court documents said James Milligan busted the back doors of his neighbor’s home in Blaine Township. The woman who lives in the home told police she shot Milligan in the thigh. Milligan allegedly threatened to kill his neighbor. Police said the woman was acting in self-defense. Milligan is facing multiple charges including burglary and criminal trespassing.
January 31, 2024 2:28 am
Catholic Schools Week is underway across the country. Since 1974, National Catholic Schools Week is the annual celebration of Catholic education in the United States. It starts the last Sunday in January and runs all week through February 3rd. The theme for National Catholic Schools Week 2024 is “Catholic Schools: United in Faith and Community.” Schools typically observe the annual celebration week with Masses, open houses and other activities for students, families, parishioners and community members. Through these events, schools focus on the value Catholic education provides to young people and its contributions to our church, our communities and our nation. Here in Washington County, JFK’s celebration will culminate in an Open House on Saturday, February 3rd from ten a.m. until noon. Father Ed Yuhas, Pastor of Saint James and Katherine Drexel Parishes is inviting the public to tour the school and meet the students and teachers. (Photo: JFK Facebook Page)
January 30, 2024 5:22 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden says he has decided how to respond to the killing of three American service members in Jordan, noting that he does not want to expand war in the Middle East but demurring on the specifics of how the U.S. will proceed. U.S. officials say they are still determining which of several Iran-backed groups was responsible for the killings, the first since a wave of attacks on U.S. forces in the region since the Oct. 7 Hamas assault on Israel. Biden has spoken with the families of the service members and will attend the dignified transfer of their remains at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware with the blessings of the families.
January 30, 2024 4:00 pm
JENIN, West Bank (AP) — Israeli forces disguised as civilian women and medical workers stormed a hospital in the occupied West Bank and killed three Palestinian militants. Tuesday’s dramatic raid underscored how deadly violence has spilled into the territory from the war in Gaza. The Palestinian Health Ministry says Israeli forces opened fire inside the wards of the Ibn Sina Hospital in the town of Jenin. A hospital spokesperson says there was no exchange of fire, indicating it was a targeted killing. The military says the militants were using the hospital as a hideout, without providing evidence. It has alleged that one of those targeted in the raid transferred weapons and ammunition to others for a planned attack.
