January 29, 2020 1:22 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump has signed into law a major rewrite of the rules of trade with Canada and Mexico. Trump says it replaces what he calls the “nightmare” of a Clinton-area agreement that governed trade among the three countries. Trump says that agreement encouraged factories to leave the United States and relocate south of the border to take advantage of low-wage Mexican labor. He says the new deal with Canada and Mexico will keep jobs, wealth and growth in America. Experts say the impact will be modest, given that Canada and Mexico already represent the top two export markets for U.S. goods.
January 29, 2020 12:18 pm
(WPXI) – Two more people have died from flu-related complications in Allegheny County, which brings the total to five deaths this flu season. Both people were in their 30s and had underlying medical conditions, according to the Allegheny County Health Department. There have been 7,227 flu cases in the county this season, compared to this time last year when there was only 664. So far, 67 people have been hospitalized.
January 29, 2020 9:39 am
MIAMI (AP) – The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has issued an Amber Alert for a father and baby who’ve been missing since three women were found shot to death. Miami-Dade police say officers had been searching for 49-year-old Ernesto Caballeiro since three women were found shot and killed in a home on 187th Avenue.áWednesday morning’s alert says 1-week-old Andrew Caballeiro was missing. The father is related to at least one of the women but has not been named as a suspect. He’s believed to be traveling in a white van with decals saying “Nesty School Services” and “Caution: Transporting Children.”
January 29, 2020 9:37 am
RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP) – A plane evacuating 201 Americans from the Chinese city at the center of the virus outbreak has arrived in Southern California. The aircraft landed Wednesday morning at March Air Reserve Base east of Los Angeles after a refueling stop in Anchorage, Alaska.áAll passengers underwent two health screenings in China and were screened twice in Anchorage before being allowed to continue on the trip. The passengers will undergo additional screenings on Wednesday in California and be placed in temporary housing. Officials have not said how long they will stay there. After the plane landed, a ground crew wearing white clothing approached the airport and three buses pulled up nearby.
January 29, 2020 4:14 am
HAVANA (AP) – A powerful magnitude 7.7 earthquake has struck in the Caribbean Sea between Jamaica and eastern Cuba. It shook a vast area from Mexico to Florida and beyond Tuesday, but there have been no reports of casualties or heavy damage.áThe quake was centered 139 kilometers (86 miles) northwest of Montego Bay, Jamaica, and 140 kilometers (87 miles) west-southwest of Niquero, Cuba. It hit at 2:10 p.m. (1910 GMT) and the epicenter was a relatively shallow 10 kilometers (6 miles) beneath the surface. The quake was felt strongly in Santiago, the largest far-eastern Cuban city. It also prompted some evacuations in South Florida.
January 29, 2020 4:12 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Pentagon has raised to 50 the number of U.S. service members who suffered traumatic brain injuries in Iran’s missile strike earlier this month on an Iraqi air base, It’s the third time the number of injuries has been increased. The new casualty total belies President Donald Trump’s initial claim that no Americans were harmed. Days later, the military said 11 service members had been injured and then increased the total to 34. A Pentagon spokesman says 31 of the 50 service members have returned to duty.
January 29, 2020 4:10 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has told senators privately he does not yet have the votes to block new witnesses in President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial. That’s according to a Republican familiar with a closed-door meeting of GOP senators and granted anonymity to discuss it. McConnell convened the meeting shortly after Trump’s legal team made its closing arguments. At this point, the GOP leader faces a handful of potential defections. But there are still several days before any potential witness vote would be taken. A decision to call more witnesses would need 51 votes to pass.
January 29, 2020 4:07 am
DUNBAR, Pa. (AP) – Authorities say a head-on crash in Fayette County claimed the lives of two men. State police say a driver sideswiped a cement truck on Route 201 in Dunbar Township at about 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, then crashed head-on into a car. Trooper Robert Broadwater said both drivers, 68-year-old John Snyder of Scottdale and 24-year-old Tiler Guth of Vanderbilt, were pronounced dead at the scene. The cement truck driver was uninjured. Police said a preliminary investigation indicates that Snyder was “fleeing from the first crash” at high speed. Broadwater noted that the crash that involved the cement truck was minor. (Photo: WPXI)
January 29, 2020 4:05 am
North Strabane Township Supervisors kicked off 2020 with conditional use approval for a new gas well in the township. Range Resources will be developing the well site. The well known currently as the Guyton Well was granted conditional use approval by a vote of 4-0-1 with Supervisor Chairman Neil Kelly abstaining because of projected financial interest in the development of the site. More than 30 conditions were attached to the approval and the two that concerned residents most were dust control and noise control. Township Solicitor Gary Sweat detailed that Range Resources will need to construct a paved driveway of at least 100 feet in length with the apron and the first 50 feet being paved with asphalt and the next 50 feet consisting of packed gravel. The second issue of concern was noise and the township required Range Resources to install sound blankets and sound walls at the inception of the project. Representative from Range Resources objected to that condition pointing to their studies presented at the conditional use hearing stating that all sound testing meets township ordinances and in the case where a resident was adversely affected, Range Resources obtained a waiver. Officials had no comment after the meeting and referred questions to their Media Contact Office.
January 29, 2020 4:03 am
Improvements could be on the way for the South Strabane Volunteer Fire Department. A scope of services agreement with Jerry Ozog to conduct a strategic planning study between the department and the township is in place. All that is left is for the firefighters themselves to agree on the plan. Township Manager, Brandon Stanick and Fire Chief, Scott Reese are optimistic about the necessary vote after taking part in a seminar in July that demonstrated what upgrades could take place. Reese believes the move to the future could help with volunteer numbers with the department. Among other things with the department is the reception of a $3,150 grant that will be used to help improve safety for the firefighters.
