February 7, 2024 12:52 pm
(AP) – Federal investigators say they will determine the cause of last year’s fiery Norfolk Southern derailment in eastern Ohio at a hearing in East Palestine this June 25. The National Transportation Safety Board findings will come nearly 17 months after the Feb. 3, 2023, derailment near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border that prompted evacuations and left residents with lingering worries about possible long-term health problems. The cleanup from the derailment is ongoing though Environmental Protection Agency officials say that may wrap up this summer. The government and railroad have reassured residents that their air and water are safe, but some doubt the test results because they don’t think enough testing has been done. (Photo: AP)
February 7, 2024 10:20 am
SAN DIEGO (AP) — The military says a missing Marine Corps helicopter has been found in a mountainous area outside San Diego. The aircraft was located just after 9 a.m. Wednesday by civil authorities near the mountain community of Pine Valley, about a 45-mile drive from San Diego but rescue crews said snowy conditions were making access challenging on the ground. Defense officials say the Marines were flying a CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter from Creech Air Force Base, northwest of Las Vegas, where they had been doing unit-level training and were returning home to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego.
February 7, 2024 5:03 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A storm that parked itself over Southern California for days, unleashing historic downpours that caused hundreds of landslides, is expected to move out of the region after one final drenching. But authorities say it leaves behind the threat of dangerous mudslides because the soaked soil cannot hold any more water. At least seven people have died, many from falling trees, since the storm first struck Northern California last weekend and then plowed south. Forecasts call for only one heavy downpour on Wednesday followed by a drying-out period and a sunny weekend.
February 7, 2024 5:02 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — In a dramatic setback, House Republicans have failed to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. The vote forced Republicans to shelve a high-profile priority — for now — after a few GOP lawmakers refused to go along with the party’s plan. The stunning roll call fell just a single vote short of impeaching Mayorkas. In a dramatic scene on the House floor, it stalled the Republicans’ drive to punish the Biden administration over its handling of the U.S-Mexico border. With Democrats united against the charges, the Republicans needed almost every vote from their slim majority to approve the articles of impeachment. The House is likely to revisit plans to impeach Mayorkas, but next steps are highly uncertain. (Photo: AP)
February 7, 2024 5:01 am
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Nikki Haley has been swamped in Nevada’s symbolic Republican presidential primary as GOP voters resoundingly picked the “none of these candidates” option on the ballot. Front-runner Donald Trump didn’t compete in the primary, which doesn’t award any delegates needed to win the GOP nomination. The former president is instead focused on caucuses that will be held Thursday and will help him move closer to becoming the Republican standard-bearer. That leaves the Republican results Tuesday technically meaningless. But they still amount to an embarrassment for Haley, the former U.N. ambassador who has sought to position herself as a candidate who can genuinely compete against Trump. President Joe Biden easily won the state’s Democratic primary.
February 7, 2024 4:59 am
QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — Officials say a pair of bombings at the election offices of a political party and an independent candidate in southwest Pakistan killed at least 24 people and wounded more than two dozen others. The twin attacks come a day before Pakistan’s parliamentary elections. Local authorities said the attacks happened in Pashin and Qillah Saifullah, two districts in Baluchistan province. Jan Achakzai, the spokesperson for the provincial government, confirmed the attacks and the casualties. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks, which came a day before the country opens its ballot boxes.
February 7, 2024 4:57 am
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected Hamas demands for a cease-fire and vowed to press ahead with Israel’s military offensive in Gaza until achieving “absolute victory.” Netanyahu made the comments Wednesday shortly after meeting the visiting U.S. secretary of state, Antony Blinken, who has been traveling the region in hopes of securing a cease-fire agreement. Blinken however said an agreement was still possible. Netanyahu added that the operation would last months, not years. He ruled out any arrangement that leaves Hamas in full or partial control of Gaza. He also said that Israel is the only power capable of guaranteeing security in the long term.
February 7, 2024 4:56 am
ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistanis are braving cold winter weather and sporadic violence to vote for a new parliament. Thursday’s election comes a day after twin bombings claimed at least 30 lives in the worst election-related violence ahead of the balloting. Tens of thousands of security forces were deployed at polling stations and authorities suspended mobile phone services across the country to prevent disruptions and flash protests. Pakistan’s Interior Ministry said the decision was made to maintain law and order. It did not say when the suspension would be lifted. There were a handful of attacks that appeared aimed at disrupting the vote.
February 7, 2024 4:54 am
GERMAN TOWNSHIP, Pa. — (WPXI) – An ambulance was involved in a crash in German Township on Tuesday afternoon. Emergency crews were called to Route 21 and Leckrone-Highhouse Road at 2:04 p.m., a Fayette County 911 supervisor confirmed. An EMT was taken to WVU-Uniontown with minor injuries. “Thank you to the local fire departments for their rapid response to assist,” Fayette EMS said in a Facebook post. “Seatbelts save lives.”
February 7, 2024 4:54 am
GRINDAVIK, Iceland (AP) — A volcano in southwestern Iceland has erupted for the third time since December and sent jets of lava into the sky. The eruption on Thursday morning triggered the evacuation the Blue Lagoon spa which is one of the island nation’s biggest tourist attractions. The Icelandic Meteorological Office says the eruption began about at about 0600 GMT or 1 a.m. EST along a three-kilometer or nearly two-mile fissure northeast of Mount Sundhnukur. The event is taking place about four kilometers or 2½ miles northeast of Grindavik. The coastal town of 3,800 people was evacuated before a previous eruption on Dec. 18.
