January 19, 2022 11:35 am
Authorities in Greene County are investigating the cause of an early morning fire in Franklin Township that destroyed somewhat of a landmark there. According to reports, the blaze broke out just before five o’clock in the old skating rink. The building was no longer being used as a skating rink, but was housing several small businesses and apartments. There’s been no word on any injuries or how the fire started. (Photo courtesy of Randy Laskody)
January 19, 2022 4:14 am
UNDATED (AP) – The Biden administration has announced the release of $14 billion to the Army Corps of Engineers to fund 500 projects aimed at easing the supply chain problem. The spending stems largely from President Joe Biden’s $1 trillion infrastructure deal. The projects include upgrades to improve shipping on the Ohio River, the Port of Long Beach in California and Norfolk Harbor in Virginia. That’s according to a White House fact sheet. U.S. ports have struggled to manage the inflow of container ships and move containers onto trucks as the economy recovered from the pandemic, prompting delays in sending goods to consumers and higher prices.
January 19, 2022 4:11 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Fred Parris, the lead singer of the 1950s harmony group the Five Satins and composer of the classic doo-wop ballad “In the Still of the Night,” has died at age 85. Released in 1956, “In the Still of the Night” only reached No. 24 on the Billboard pop charts but became a multimillion seller through reissues and appearances on compilation and soundtrack albums. It now helps define an era of harmony groups along with such favorites as the Penguins’ “Earth Angel” and the Cadillacs’ “Speedoo.” The Five Satins were elected into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2003. (Photo: Facebook)
January 19, 2022 4:10 am
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) – Major international airlines have canceled flights heading to the U.S. or changed the planes they’re using. The moves Wednesday represented the latest complication in a dispute over concerns that 5G mobile phone service could interfere with aircraft technology. Carriers took widely different approaches to the brewing crisis affecting international travel, from Emirates drastically reducing its U.S.-bound flights to Air France saying it would fly as normal. It wasn’t immediately clear why the airlines made those decisions – or whether they took into account a pause in the rollout of the new high-speed wireless service near key airports. But some said they received warnings from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration or Boeing that the plane maker’s 777 was particularly affected.
January 19, 2022 4:07 am
The Peters Township School Board voted to maintain its universal mask requirement for students and staff with their most recent update to their health and safety plan. Directors voted on two options on keeping masks in schools and the least restrictive of the options was approved. The 5-4 roll call vote approved masks in schools as long as Washington County is in a high level of community transmission based on the PA Early Warning Monitoring Dashboard. Masks will become strongly recommended once the county enters substantial or low levels of community transmission. According to Superintendent Dr. Jeannine French, the dashboard is updated weekly on Monday. If Washington County were to enter into substantial or low levels of transmission, parents would be notified of the change in mask requirements on the district website and by an email blast letting them know the change would take effect two days later on Wednesday. Directors are not concerned about a yo-yo effect of moving in and out of masking requirements. It is their feeling that once cases trend downward, they will maintain that downward trend, so they feel it is unlikely that masks would be optional one week and required the next.
January 19, 2022 2:27 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Biden administration on Tuesday quietly launched its website for Americans to request free at-home COVID-19 tests, a day before the site was scheduled to officially launch. The website, COVIDTests.gov, now includes a link for Americans to order four tests per residential address, to be delivered by the Postal Service. It marks the latest step by President Joe Biden to address criticism of low inventory and long lines for testing during a nationwide surge in COVID-19 cases due to the omicron varian. A White House official website is “currently in its beta phase” and operating at a “limited capacity ahead of its official launch” on Wednesday. To order your free COVID-19 tests, click here COVIDTests.gov.
January 19, 2022 2:14 am
(WPXI) – Pittsburgh Police and Pittsburgh School Police are at Oliver Citywide Academy in Marshall-Shadeland after a student was shot on a school van outside the school. Pittsburgh Public Schools confirm that two people approached the van at dismissal and fired shots into the van. PPS says that a student, a 15-year-old boy, was in the van and taken to the hospital. Police say that the victim was shot twice in the chest. He was taken to the hospital in critical condition.
January 18, 2022 10:36 am
Traffic got by slowly along Interstate 70 in Belle Vernon Tuesday morning after a multi-vehicle crash left a dump truck stuck on the concrete median. State Police in Belle Vernon said the right-lanes in both directions were able to stay open but moved very slowly causing major traffic delays. There were no reports of any injuries and no word on what may have caused the crash. . Numerous crews responded to the scene and were controlling fluids leaking from the truck. (Photo: WPXI)
January 18, 2022 7:44 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit Ukraine this week and meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as tensions between the U.S. and Russia escalate over a possible Russian invasion of its neighbor. The State Department says Blinken will travel to Kyiv on a hastily arranged trip to show U.S. support. The trip follows inconclusive diplomatic talks between Moscow and the West in Europe last week that failed to resolve stark disagreements over Ukraine and other security matters. Instead, those meetings appear to have increased fears of a Russian invasion. Blinken also will travel to Berlin, where he’ll meet with his German, British and French counterparts.
January 18, 2022 4:21 am
NEW ORLEANS (AP) – A federal appeals court has dealt opponents of Texas’ strict abortion law another defeat. The ruling Monday by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans raises concerns by opponents that the state’s near-total ban on abortions will remain intact for the foreseeable future. The Texas law bans abortion once cardiac activity is detected. That’s usually around six weeks and before some women know they are pregnant. The latest ruling sends a narrow challenge to the law to the Texas Supreme Court, which is entirely controlled by Republicans. There’s no timetable for when the court might take up the case.
