February 22, 2024 2:45 am
The Washington County Chamber of Commerce held their State of the Economy presentation on Thursday. Headlining the meeting was Brook Ward, President and CEO of the Washington Health System. His discussion centered on the pending merger between WHS and UPMC. He made the audience aware of the $500,000 negative impact the region would suffer if the hospital was forced to close due to declining revenues and increasing costs. Washington and Jefferson College Economics professors Robert Dunn, Ph.D. and Zachary Klingensmith, Ph.D. cooperatively showed Washington County’s place in the regional and national economic picture. Both indicated that the Washington County economy is stable even though we will be experiencing population decline over the next several decades. A panel discussion was held with members of the ARCH2 coalition. The Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub is a coalition of companies trying to decarbonize hydrogen to use as a clean fuel to enhance the region’s energy transition. They intend to make use of natural gas as a feedstock to produce hydrogen that can be used in fuel cells for transportation, residential and industrial uses. Representatives said that with a $900 million federal investment, a more than $5 billion industry can be created locally.
February 21, 2024 4:53 pm
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A large Alabama hospital has paused in vitro fertilization treatments as health care providers weigh the impact of a state court ruling that frozen embryos are the legal equivalent of children. The University of Alabama at Birmingham said in a statement Wednesday that its UAB Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility has paused the treatments “as it evaluates the Alabama Supreme Court’s decision.” The ruling by the all-Republican Alabama Supreme Court prompted a wave of concern about the future of IVF treatments in the state.
February 21, 2024 4:51 pm
SEATTLE (AP) — Boeing says the head of its 737 jetliner program is leaving the company immediately, paving the way for the aircraft maker to appoint new leadership at the troubled division. Ed Clark had been with Boeing for 18 years. Boeing said Wednesday that Katie Ringgold will succeed him as vice president and general manager of the 737 program, and the company’s Renton, Washington, site. The shakeup comes weeks after the head of the Federal Aviation Administration said that Boeing — under pressure from airlines to produce large numbers of planes — is not paying enough attention to safety.
February 21, 2024 4:26 pm
CULVER CITY, Calif. (AP) — President Joe Biden says his administration is automatically canceling federal student loans for nearly 153,000 borrowers. He’s putting the spotlight on his debt cancellation efforts as he ramps up his reelection campaign. The announcement Wednesday during a three-day campaign swing through California is part of a new repayment plan that offers a faster path to forgiveness. The cancellations were originally scheduled to start in July, but last month the administration said it would be ready almost six months ahead of schedule, in February.
February 21, 2024 7:42 am
HAZMAT was called to a fluid spill early Wednesday morning in Peters Township. Washington County 9-1-1 says it happened just before 5 a.m. in the four-thousand block. A garbage truck reportedly lost a significant amount of hydraulic fluid onto the roadway. That forced officials to close both northbound lanes between Crosswinds Drive and E. McMurray Road. The garbage truck left the scene. Crews were able to reopen both lanes by 6:30 a.m. HAZMAT crews had to leave the scene to deal with a pair of tractor trailer accidents along Interstate 70 westbound in North Franklin Township.
February 21, 2024 7:39 am
Emergency crews were called to a pair of separate accidents involving tractor trailers early Wednesday morning along Interstate 70 westbound. Washington County 9-1-1 dispatchers say the first call came in around 5:30 a.m. for a report of a tractor trailer on fire. This was near the 13.5 mile-marker in North Franklin Township. A short time after that report, crews were then notified that a second tractor trailer had gone over a hillside in that same area. Traffic westbound was limited to a single lane for much of the morning. State Police Washington say both lanes were open just after 10 a.m. According to dispatchers, one person was transported by ambulance to Washington Hospital. There is no word on their identity or condition.
February 21, 2024 5:21 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump could be at risk of losing some of his prized properties if he can’t pay his staggering New York civil fraud penalty. With interest, he owes the state nearly $454 million — and the amount is going up by $87,502 each day until he pays. New York Attorney General Letitia James told ABC News on Tuesday that she will seek to seize some of the former president’s assets if he’s unable to cover the bill from Judge Arthur Engoron’s Feb. 16 ruling in her lawsuit against Trump, his company and top executives.
February 21, 2024 5:17 am
LYMAN, Ukraine (AP) — When the Russian army invaded two years ago, Ukrainian men zealously rushed to recruitment centers to enlist, ready to die in defense of their nation. Today, with Russia in control of roughly one-quarter of Ukraine and the two armies virtually deadlocked along the front line, that spirit to enlist has faded: Many Ukrainian men are evading the draft by hiding at home or trying to bribe their way out of the battle. As the war enters its third year, the most urgent and politically sensitive challenge pressing on Ukraine is whether it can muster enough new soldiers to repel an enemy with far more fighters at its disposal.
February 21, 2024 5:13 am
Israeli police say three gunmen opened fire on the road near a checkpoint in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, killing one Israeli and wounding at least eight, as violence persists in the territory. On Wednesday, a member of Israel’s War Cabinet said new attempts are underway to reach a cease-fire deal that could pause the war in Gaza. However, Benny Gantz repeated his pledge that unless Hamas agrees to release the remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza, Israel will launch a ground offensive into the southern city of Rafah. Around 1.5 million displaced Palestinians have crowded into the city. The war erupted after Hamas’ bloody Oct. 7 attack into Israel. Gaza’s Health Ministry estimates more than 29,000 Palestinians have been killed.
February 21, 2024 5:10 am
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Prosecutors say a former FBI informant charged with making up a multimillion-dollar bribery scheme involving President Joe Biden, his son Hunter and a Ukrainian energy company had contacts with officials affiliated with Russian intelligence. Prosecutors said that in a court filing urging a judge to keep Alexander Smirnov behind bars while he awaits trial. But U.S. Magistrate Judge Daniel Albregts allowed Smirnov to be released from custody on electronic GPS monitoring. He is charged with falsely reporting to the FBI in June 2020 that executives associated with the Ukrainian energy company Burisma paid Hunter and Joe Biden $5 million each in 2015 or 2016.
