February 21, 2024 5:06 am
Israeli strikes across Gaza killed at least 67 Palestinians overnight and into Wednesday, including in areas where civilians have been told to seek refuge. The aid group Doctors Without Borders also says two people were killed when a shelter housing staff in the Gaza Strip was struck during an Israeli operation in an area where Palestinians have been told to seek shelter. The group said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that at least two family members of colleagues were killed and six others wounded. The war, which erupted after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack into Israel, has displaced around 80% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million, with most people heeding Israeli orders to flee to southern Gaza.
February 21, 2024 5:04 am
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — New figures from the gambling industry show America’s commercial casinos won more than $66 billion from gamblers in 2023, the industry’s best year ever. The American Gaming Association says that was 10% higher than in 2022, which itself was a record-setting year. When revenue figures from tribal-owned casinos are released later this year, they are expected to show that overall casino gambling brought in close to $110 billion to casino operators in 2023. In-person gambling remains the bread and butter of the industry: Slot machines brought in over $35 billion, up 3.8%, and table games brought in over $10 billion, up 3.5%.
February 21, 2024 4:59 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A federal appeals court must decide if Pennsylvania voters who put the wrong date on the envelope containing their mail-in ballots should have their votes thrown out. The case argued Tuesday in Philadelphia could be significant in this year’s presidential contest. The NAACP and several voter groups call the mistakes “meaningless” and want them counted. They say that more than 10,000 ballots in the state were rejected in 2022 over mistaken dates. Republican groups are challenging a federal court ruling last year that the votes should count if they are received in time.
February 21, 2024 4:51 am
North Strabane Township Supervisors held a public meeting Tuesday to take comment on a text amendment to their zoning ordinance governing permitted uses in an R-3 zoning district. Officials from Allegheny Health Network and Canonsburg Hospital requested a zoning ordinance change that would make hospitals, medical clinics and medical offices permitted uses in the R-3 zone. Currently the hospital is operating in the zoning district as a non-conforming entity. According to testimony, the current Canonsburg Hospital is 40 years old and AHN would like to completely rework the hospital to modernize it and make it a more effective unit. Hospital officials would like to have township officials rework the ordinance so that the hospital could remain in its current location. Testimony indicated that they are not asking for any type of variance or special exceptions. They simply want to have the ordinance line up with the work that is already being done at the location. Supervisors intend to vote on the measure at their March legislative meeting. In other township business, supervisors will look to schedule a conditional use hearing for the Collective At Peters Lake. It is a 41 unit single home development that is proposed for North Spring Valley Road near Peters Lake Park.
February 21, 2024 1:20 am
(AP) – Federal investigators say the city of Pittsburgh did not adequately maintain or repair a bridge, leading to the corrosion of the structure’s steel legs and its collapse into a ravine more than two years ago. The city-owned Forbes Avenue bridge fell down in January 2022, plunging a bus and four cars about 100 feet into the Fern Hollow Creek. Another vehicle drove off the east bridge abutment and landed on its roof. National Transportation Safety Board investigators said Wednesday that the collapse shouldn’t have happened, blaming “repeated failures to act” on extensive corrosion to the weathering steel. A new bridge at the site has since opened to traffic.
February 20, 2024 5:17 pm
(WPXI) – The case against a mother and father accused of locking their 6-year-old daughter naked in a dog cage, beating her and denying her food will head to trial. Jacob Weight and Mimi Frost had their preliminary hearing in magistrate court Tuesday afternoon. The district attorney called on two firefighters who responded to the home in January when their child went unresponsive, two state troopers, a county Children and Youth Services case worker, and Weight and Frost’s nephew.
February 20, 2024 4:25 pm
DALLAS (AP) — American Airlines is raising bag fees and pushing customers to buy tickets directly from the airline if they want to earn frequent-flyer points. American said Tuesday that checking a bag on domestic flights will rise from $30 now to $35 online, and it’ll be $40 if purchased at the airport. The fee for a second checked bag will rise from $40 to $45 both online and at the airport. American says it hasn’t raised bag fees since 2018. American Airlines also says that most customers will have to buy tickets directly from the airline or partner airlines or approved travel sites if they want to earn frequent-flyer points. Corporate travelers won’t be affected by the change. (Photo: AP)
February 20, 2024 4:11 pm
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri prosecutors say two men have been charged with murder in last week’s shooting that killed one person and injured 22 others after the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl parade. Both adults are charged with second-degree murder and other charges. Jackson County prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said during a news conference that both men have been hospitalized since the shooting. The new charges come after two juveniles were detained last week on gun-related and resisting arrest charges. Authorities said more charges are possible. Police have said a dispute among several people led to the shooting.
February 20, 2024 3:53 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris is announcing another $5.8 billion for water infrastructure projects nationwide, paid for by one of the Biden administration’s key legislative victories. Appearing in Pittsburgh on Tuesday, Harris says clean water is a right and a way to protect public health. The $5.8 billion will pay for projects in all 50 states, bringing the total awarded for water infrastructure projects to $22 billion. It comes from the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure law that President Joe Biden signed in 2021. Harris was joined in Pittsburgh by and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan. Regan says clean water is essential.
February 20, 2024 12:50 pm
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A federal appeals court must decide if Pennsylvania voters who put the wrong date on the envelope containing their mail-in ballots should have their votes thrown out. The case argued Tuesday in Philadelphia could be significant in this year’s presidential contest. The NAACP and several voter groups call the mistakes “meaningless” and want them counted. They say that more than 10,000 ballots in the state were rejected in 2022 over mistaken dates. Republican groups are challenging a federal court ruling last year that the votes should count if they are received in time.
