September 7, 2019 4:18 am
PITTSBURGH, Pa. (WPXI) – A 700-day closure of a northbound Interstate 579 ramp began Friday as part of the $29.34 million I-579 “Cap” Urban Connector project, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation announced. The closure of the ramp that takes drivers from northbound I-579 to 7th Avenue in Pittsburgh is scheduled started just after 8 p.m. For 700 consecutive days, the ramp PennDOT officials said is used by 2,250 vehicles each day will remain closed. It is expected to reopen Aug. 6, 2021. Crews have placed concrete barriers at the ramp, and southbound I-579 is being shifted into two 11-foot-wide lanes. Line painting will take place through Saturday morning. A detour has been posted for drivers in the area.
September 6, 2019 4:28 pm
WHEELING, W.Va. (AP) – Officials in a West Virginia town say they’ve faced difficulties finding a buyer for a medical center that shut down its main services about a month earlier than expected. The Intelligencer reports the Ohio Valley Medical Center suspended its emergency medical services Wednesday ahead of the originally slated Oct. 7 deadline. Mayor Glenn Elliott said Thursday that finding a buyer has been an “uphill battle” and that officials are preparing “for the worst.” Proposed uses have included a veteran’s health clinic, a corporate campus or a public safety building. Last month, Alecto Healthcare Services announced closures of Ohio Valley as well as East Ohio Regional Hospital in Martins Ferry, Ohio. More than 1,000 jobs will be lost , though Elliott said Wheeling is trying to find jobs for displaced employees.
September 6, 2019 4:23 pm
NEW YORK (AP) – U.S. health officials are again urging people to stop vaping until they figure out why some are coming down with serious breathing illnesses. Officials on Friday said they had identified 450 possible illnesses, including at least three deaths, in 33 states. The count includes a newly reported death in Indiana. Health officials say no single vaping device, liquid or ingredient has been tied to all the illnesses. Many of the sickened – but not all – were people who had been vaping THC, the chemical that gives marijuana its high. A week ago, U.S. officials pegged the number at 215 possible cases in 25 states. Health officials have only been counting certain lung illnesses in which the person had vaped within three months. Most are teens.
September 6, 2019 10:21 am
EYEMOUTH, Scotland (AP) – In their drive to uncouple Britain from the European Union, pro-Brexit campaigners have turned fishing into one of their battlegrounds. But while some seafood industry workers want out of the EU, others are alarmed at the prospect of losing frictionless access to EU consumers. Seafood harvested from Scottish waters must be whisked quickly to EU markets to stay fresh, but Brexit could create problems. A holdup on the long, usually obstacle-free journey, even of just half a day, can be fatal for the fragile critters, turning prized seafood into worthless waste. On Friday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson visited a fish market in Scotland to meet with people in the industry after bruising week in Parliament where he is struggling to keep his Brexit plans on track.
September 6, 2019 10:19 am
WASHINGTON D.C. (AP) – U.S. employers added a modest 130,000 jobs in August, a sign that global economic weakness and President Donald Trump’s trade war with China may have begun to slow hiring. The job gains were lifted by the temporary hiring of 25,000 government workers for the 2020 Census. Excluding all government hiring, businesses added 96,000 jobs, the fewest since May. The Labor Department says the unemployment rate remained 3.7%, near the lowest level in five decades, for the third straight month. The rate was flat for a positive reason: Americans surged into the workforce, lifting the proportion of adults working or looking for work to its highest level since February. Job gains have averaged 150,000 a month for the past six months, down from 223,000 for all of last year.
September 6, 2019 10:18 am
WASHINGTON, Pa. — For the second time this week, a letter has been sent to the office of Governor Tom Wolf regarding the removal of Washington City Councilman Matt Staniszewski from office. This time, it comes from the councilman’s attorney with the threat of an injunction if the Governor decided to remove him. Sean Logue told WJPA in a call Friday morning that he has sent the letter to Governor Wolf, and says it would be unconstitutional to remove the councilman without a public vote. Earlier in the week, Mayor Scott Putnam and the rest of city council sent a letter to Wolf asking for him to step in to oust Staniszewski after his fourth D.U.I in late August. Council stated that they want Staniszewski to get the help he needs, but Logue claims the original letter is a political distraction in an effort to pull attention away from Putnam and the council during an election year.
September 6, 2019 6:44 am
SOUTH STRABANE, Pa. — Crews have cleared a single-vehicle accident involving a jackknifed tractor-trailer on the Interstate 70/79 corridor. Washington County 911 reports the truck wrecked near mile marker 18 while attempting to exit the eastbound lanes to Beau Street just before 3:00 a.m. Friday. According to reports, steel coils the truck was carrying loosened on the trailer, while diesel fuel spilled onto the roadway. South Strabane Volunteer Fire Department and a Hazmat Unit responded to the scene. There were no reports of injuries.
September 6, 2019 6:38 am
WASHINGTON, Pa. — City of Washington Police are investigating a shooting that took place Thursday night. A call to 911 was made around 7:45 p.m. for a man who had arrived at a home on West Hallam Avenue with gunshot wounds. Police found empty bullet shells in Osage Alley near the scene. The man was flown to a Pittsburgh-area hospital. There is no word on his identity or condition at this time. Additionally, police have not made any arrests in the case.
September 6, 2019 3:23 am
MIAMI (AP) – An American Airlines mechanic is accused of sabotaging a flight over stalled union contract negotiations. Citing a criminal complaint affidavit filed in federal court, The Miami Herald reports Abdul-Majeed Marouf Ahmed Alani was arrested Thursday on the sabotage charge and is accused of disabling the flight’s navigation system. The July 17 flight from Miami International Airport to Nassau in the Bahamas was aborted when the tampering caused an error alert. Alani told authorities he didn’t want to harm the aircraft or the 150 people aboard, but instead intended to cause a delay or cancellation “in anticipation of obtaining overtime work.” Alani said the monthslong dispute between American Airlines and the 12,000-employee mechanics’ union had affected him financially. In a statement, the airline said it is “taking this matter very seriously.”
September 6, 2019 3:21 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Crewmembers who jumped from a burning scuba diving boat off Southern California said they tried to rescue the 34 people who perished in the fiery sinking but couldn’t reach them. Federal investigators say crew members on the Conception couldn’t reach those in bunks below deck Monday because an entrance through the galley was on fire and they couldn’t open windows at the front before being forced to jump ship. The boat owner, Glen Fritzler, tells KEYT-TV that the crew did everything possible and the captain stayed aboard so long that he appeared to be trailing smoke when he leapt into the water. He also says flames kept the crew from reaching firefighting equipment. Fritzler says the five survivors are “breaking down” from the experience and are seeking counseling.
