January 18, 2024 5:06 am
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Authorities says a power line fell on a car in Portland, Oregon, killing three people and injuring a baby during an ice storm that turned roads and mountain highways treacherous in the Pacific Northwest. In a statement, the fire department said a large branch fell on the power line, causing it to crash down onto the car. Authorities say they believe the victims were electrocuted after they got out of the vehicle. Swaths of southwest Washington and northwest Oregon were under warnings earlier Wednesday for as much as an inch of ice. The National Weather Service said freezing rain could possibly return to the region Thursday and Friday.
January 18, 2024 5:06 am
JERUSALEM (AP) — Rifts are emerging among top Israeli officials over the handling of the war against the Hamas militant group in Gaza. A member of Israel’s War Cabinet has cast doubt over the strategy for releasing hostages, while the country’s prime minister rejected the United States’ calls to scale back its offensive. One of the four members of Israel’s War Cabinet, former army chief Gadi Eisenkot, said late Thursday that only a cease-fire deal can win the release of dozens of hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza. He also said dismissed claims that hostages could be freed by other means as “illusions.” It was Eisenkot’s first public statements on the issue, and the latest sign of a growing rift among political and military leaders over the direction of Israel’s offensive.
January 18, 2024 5:04 am
PORTSMOUTH, N.H. (AP) — Former President Donald Trump is cramming campaigning and court into a single day. That led him to be more than two hours late for a rally in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, after he spent the day in court in New York. Trump held a press conference in Manhattan complaining the judge presiding over his defamation trial was biased. Trump has long built his Republican primary campaign around his legal woes. He claims he’s being persecuted by Democrats and says he has done nothing wrong. But Wednesday’s epic day showed the way his many legal woes will bleed into his campaign appearances.
January 18, 2024 5:03 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military has launched another wave of missile strikes against Houthi-controlled sites in Yemen, marking the fourth time in days it has directly targeted the group. The strikes were launched from the Red Sea and hit 14 missiles that U.S. Central Command deemed an “imminent threat.” They follow the official announcement Wednesday that the U.S. has put the Houthis back on its list of specially designated global terrorists. Despite a large-scale operation carried out by U.S. and British warships and warplanes Friday that hit more than 60 targets across Yemen, the Houthis have continued their harassment campaign of commercial and military ships.
January 18, 2024 5:02 am
ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s air force has launched retaliatory airstrikes in Iran allegedly targeting militant positions. The attack early Thursday killed at least nine people and further raised tensions between the neighboring nations. The strikes in Sistan and Baluchestan province follow Iran’s attack Tuesday on Pakistani soil that killed two children in the southwestern Baluchistan province. The strikes imperil diplomatic relations between the two neighbors, as Iran and nuclear-armed Pakistan have long regarded each other with suspicion over militant attacks. The attacks also raised the threat of violence spreading in a Middle East unsettled by Israel’s war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
January 18, 2024 5:00 am
PITTSBURGH — Another round of snow is on the way and will bring the threat of snowy roads and icy travel as the week comes to a close. Snow will arrive before sunrise Friday with steady snow at times, making it difficult for crews to clear the roads. The Friday morning commute will be slow and school delays will be possible with several inches of new snow expected by Friday evening. Colder temperatures blow in behind the system this weekend with high temperatures again struggling to get out of the teens. The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Weather Advisory beginning at 1 a.m. Friday until Saturday at 10 a.m.
January 18, 2024 4:57 am
The Washington County Planning Commission held an open house on Wednesday to seek input from residents about future use and development of Greenways and Parks. Jason Theakston is the Washington County Planning Director. He says the Greenways plan is a sister document to the county’s Comprehensive Plan. The Comprehensive Plan guides economic development. The Greenways Plan will assist in making sure conservation efforts are in place to maintain the rural nature of the county’s greenways and open spaces. The Parks Master Plan is meant to help develop traditional parks amenities like shelters, playgrounds and fishing and boating waters. It would also entertain other ideas for parks such as pickleball courts, dog parks and other recreational activities. The county is looking for resident feedback. A survey is available by calling the Planning Department at 724-228-6811. The survey is also available on line by searching the Planning Department page on the Washington County website.
January 18, 2024 1:53 am
The annual interviews for Local Share Account funding were completed on Wednesday. The grant monies are funded by a portion of casino revenue directed to the state through Act 71. The Department of Community and Economic Development distributes the money. Locally it is overseen by the Redevelopment Authority of Washington County. Because Washington County is a host county to the Hollywood Casino at the Meadows, it is eligible for the funds. According to Jeff Kotula, Chairman of the Local Share Account Review Committee, $9.2 million will be divided up for community and economic development projects throughout Washington County. Kotula says that the committee received $28 million in requests spread out over 94 different projects. The interviews were conducted over two days and the committee is deciding on which projects will be funded. Water and sewer projects typically are the most popular requests. Other community projects are aslo considered. Park improvements, upgrades to historic building facades, science-technology-engineering-math projects and solar panel array construction are just some of the other projects that the committee will consider. Kotula says that the committee hopes to have its reccomendations to County Commissioners for their approval ready for the February 1 meeting.
January 17, 2024 3:31 pm
LONDON (AP) — Kensington Palace says the Princess of Wales has been hospitalized after undergoing planned abdominal surgery and will remain at the private London Clinic for up to two weeks. Buckingham Palace revealed moments after news of Kate’s hospitalization was released on Wednesday that King Charles III would undergo a “corrective procedure” next week for an enlarged prostate. The palace said the king’s condition is benign. The palace says the 75-year-old monarch has sought treatment for an enlarged prostate “in common with thousands of men each year.” The former Kate Middleton is expected to return to public duties after Easter. The 42-year-old future queen was admitted to The London Clinic on Tuesday.
January 17, 2024 3:29 pm
NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump was threatened with expulsion from his Manhattan civil trial Wednesday after he repeatedly ignored a warning to keep quiet while writer E. Jean Carroll testified that he shattered her reputation after she accused him of sexual abuse. Carroll was the first witness in a trial to determine damages, if any, that Trump owes her for remarks he made while he was president. His statements responded to a 2019 memoir in which Carroll said Trump sexually attacked her in spring 1996 in a luxury Manhattan department store’s dressing room. The trial is only about damages because a jury last May awarded Carroll $5 million in damages for sexual abuse and defamation. Trump denies it all.
