January 17, 2024 2:56 pm
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Demolition is underway at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, which was the site of the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history. The work that began Wednesday is part of the effort to re-imagine the building to honor the 11 people who were killed there in 2018. Most of the building will be removed, although parts of the sanctuary walls will be preserved. The new building will include spaces for worship, a museum, an education center and a movie theater. Carole Zawatsky, who heads the nonprofit overseeing the project, said she had a mix of emotions, including feeling bittersweet knowing why the old building was being demolished but also feeling tremendous excitement about seeing the project moving forward. (Photo: AP)
January 17, 2024 5:10 am
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine has won praise for stabilizing its economy under dire circumstances. Donor aid bolstered government’s finances and helped push inflation down for ordinary people, even as Russia’s invasion chopped off a third of the economy. But now there’s a new challenge: a multibillion-dollar hole has opened up in Ukraine’s finances as aid from the U.S. and EU has hit political roadblocks, with Russia’s war grinding on. U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Davos, Switzerland, this week and said “we’re determined to sustain our support” for Ukraine.
January 17, 2024 5:09 am
ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan is condemning Iran for launching airstrikes inside Pakistani territory that Tehran claimed targeted bases for a militant Sunni separatist group. Islamabad angrily denounced the attack as a “blatant violation” of its airspace and said it killed two children. Tuesday’s strike in Pakistan’s restive southwestern Baluchistan province imperiled diplomatic relations between the two neighboring countries. Iran and nuclear-armed Pakistan have long regarded each other with suspicion over militant attacks. However, both sides appeared wary of provoking the other. The attack also threatened to further ignite violence in a Middle East unsettled by Israel’s ongoing war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
January 17, 2024 5:07 am
ROCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — Drug overdose deaths in New Hampshire have increased in recent years, and some residents want to hear more from the presidential candidates about how they’d help. Much of the talk from the Republican presidential hopefuls has focused on the supply side. Former President Donald Trump, who once described New Hampshire as a “drug-infested den,” has proposed using the military against foreign drug cartels, a view echoed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie took a different approach before he dropped out, focusing on stigma reduction and treatment, when he visited a program that helps pregnant women and moms in Rochester. Haley is scheduled to visit the same program Wednesday.
January 17, 2024 5:06 am
RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — A shipment of medicine for dozens of hostages held by Hamas is en route to Gaza. France and Qatar arranged the delivery by brokering the first agreement between Israel and the militant group since a weeklong cease-fire in November. Qatar says the deal also includes the delivery of additional medicine and humanitarian aid to Palestinians in the besieged coastal enclave. The war in Gaza shows no sign of ending and has sparked tensions across the Middle East, with a dizzying array of strikes and counterstrikes in recent days from northern Iraq to the Red Sea and from southern Lebanon to Pakistan.
January 17, 2024 5:00 am
North Strabane Township Supervisors held a public hearing prior to their regularly scheduled agenda meeting Tuesday night. Under consideration was a conditional use application filed by CC Realty Advisors for a plan for personal warehouses. The development would be located at the corner of Morganza and Curry Roads. Its concept is along the lines of traditional storage units but for much more active uses. The development is for five buildings and 58 units that range in size from 750 square feet to 2800 square feet and stretch 20 to 25 feet high. Eighty percent of the units would have plumbing, sewage and HVAC installed. Rich Erenberg is the Owner of CC Realty Advisors and he says that uses could be for small business office space, hobby interests like working on project autos and storage and display of exotic cars and any other hobby interests. The units would be governed as condominiums that would have to adhere to certain criteria. They could be purchased and become an asset to a business or individual, or they could be leased. The meeting was continued to allow developers time to gather information that supervisors wished to have before making a final decision. No new meeting date has been set. In other township business, supervisors will look to approve the hire of a part time police officer and a code enforcement officer. They will also look to appoint a member to the Planning Commission. The voting meeting will be January 23.
January 17, 2024 2:47 am
The Washington County Controller will face trial for animal cruelty. April Sloane, 43 of North Strabane Township appeared for her preliminary hearing on Tuesday. Sloane faces two felony aggravated cruelty to animals charges related to the torture and death of animals and one misdemeanor neglect of animals charge. All charges were waived to court. Sloane was not present in the courtroom, she appeared via a video call provided by her attorney. Sloane is accused of neglecting her dog and allowing it to live in deplorable conditions causing its death. Police were alerted to the situation by the Washington County Humane Society who they said received a call about the dog. North Strabane Township Police searched Sloane’s home on December 6th and found the dead dog stashed away in a plastic bag in her garage. Sloane is free on $150,000 unsecured bond. Her formal arraignment date is pending.
January 17, 2024 2:19 am
South Strabane Fire Chief Jordan Cramer tells WJPA that a fire that broke out around midnight is under investigation, but it is at this time, not believed to be suspicious. Two firefighters were injured but Washington County 911 says no one was transported from the scene. There were two individuals in the home and they were able to safely escape. Officials say seven area fire departments were called in to help battle the blaze due to the freezing temperatures. Crews remained on the scene until after five o’clock Wednesday morning and PennDot and township road crews were brought in to treat roads in the area because of the icy conditions.
January 16, 2024 5:42 pm
(AP) – Major cities on the U.S. East Coast have broken a snow drought of sorts. Meanwhile, other parts of the country are struggling Tuesday with perilously low temperatures that closed schools, cut power and likely contributed to cold exposure deaths. New York City’s Central Park recorded at least an inch of snow for the first time since 2022. The National Weather Service says Philadelphia snapped a similar 715-day streak. More than 90,000 U.S. homes and businesses are without power, most of them in Oregon, Texas and Louisiana, after widespread weekend outages. In Washington, a friendly snowball fight broke out on the National Mall. The group even has a name: the Washington DC Snowball Fight Association. (Photo: AP)
January 16, 2024 5:41 pm
NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Donald Trump left his defamation trial before a lawyer for a New York columnist told jurors in an opening statement that he used “the world’s biggest microphone” five years ago to destroy her reputation after she said he sexually abused her. But before leaving, he showed his displeasure Tuesday with the courts and the current trial in particular. The jury must decide what, if anything, Trump owes columnist E. Jean Carroll. Trump, sitting at the defense table, shook his head in disgust as the judge told prospective jurors that another jury had already decided that the former president had sexually abused Carroll in a luxury department store.
