February 17, 2020 8:23 am
One person was transported by ambulance to Canonsburg Hospital following a two-vehicle crash in North Strabane Township Monday morning. Washington County 9-1-1 says it happened around 7:30 a.m. along northbound Route 19 near Fulton Road. The crash closed the northbound lanes while emergency crews responded. There is no word on the identity or the condition of the person transported. The northbound lanes reopened about an hour later.
February 17, 2020 4:19 am
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AP) – More than 300 American cruise ship passengers, including 14 who tested positive for coronavirus, are being quarantined at military bases in California and Texas after arriving from Japan on charter flights overnight. One plane carrying cruise passengers touched down at Travis Air Force Base in Northern California just before midnight Sunday. Another arrived at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas early Monday. The passengers will be quarantined at the bases for two weeks. Japan’s defense minister tweeted earlier that Japanese troops helped transport 340 U.S. passengers from the port to Tokyo’s airport. About 380 Americans were on the cruise ship.
February 17, 2020 4:17 am
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) – Fort Lauderdale officials say 211.6 million gallons of sewage has spilled into Fort Lauderdale waterways in the past few months. The Sun-Sentinel reports that’s enough to fill 320 Olympic-sized pools. The city’s aging sewer pipes broke six times in December and spewed 126.9 million gallons of sewage – ranking as one of South Florida’s biggest spills ever. The spills fouled the Tarpon River, the Himmarshee Canal and streets in three neighborhoods. Officials also told the state Department of Environmental Protection that 79.3 million gallons spilled into nearby George English Lake over a 10-day period that began on Jan. 30 and ended on Feb. 8.
February 17, 2020 4:16 am
PLYMOUTH, Mass. (AP) – Police are investigating a vandalism spree that left the famous Plymouth Rock covered in graffiti. Town officials say workers had removed the red spray paint covering the rock in Plymouth, Massachusetts, by late Monday morning. Police say vandals also targeted a seashell-shaped sign celebrating the upcoming 400th anniversary of the 1620 Mayflower landing, the Pilgrim Maiden statue and the National Monument To The Forefathers. It was not immediately clear if this graffiti incident had any connection to the anniversary celebration. No arrests had been made Monday afternoon.
February 17, 2020 4:15 am
DETROIT (AP) – General Motors says it’s pulling out of Australia, New Zealand and Thailand as part of a strategy to exit markets that don’t produce adequate returns on investments, dismaying officials concerned over job losses. Australia’s minister for Industry, Science and Technology said Monday that it was “disappointing” that the company only advised the government about the decision just before it’s announcement Sunday that it would wind down sales, engineering and design operations for its historic Holden brand in Australia and New Zealand in 2021. GM also plans to sell its Rayong factory in Thailand to China’s Great Wall Motors and withdraw the Chevrolet brand from Thailand by the end of this year. CEO Mary Barra says the company wants to focus on markets where it can drive strong returns.
February 17, 2020 4:13 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – The first Democratic presidential candidates are filing signatures to get on Pennsylvania’s primary ballot. That’s according to information from the state election office Friday. Those filing include California billionaire Tom Steyer, former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg. The other campaigns have until 5 p.m. Tuesday to file 2,000 signatures of registered Democrats to get on Pennsylvania’s April 28 primary ballot. Pennsylvania’s late primary could be important if the nominee remains in doubt past March. President Donald Trump’s campaign also filed his paperwork for the GOP primary ballot.
February 17, 2020 4:11 am
BRADDOCK, Pa. (AP) – Police in Allegheny County say a man died hours after he was found shot outside an after-hours club near Pittsburgh. Detectives say the 39-year-old man was taken by private vehicle to a hospital after he was found outside the Sahara Temple in Braddock shortly before 4 a.m. Sunday. Police say he was pronounced dead shortly after noon Sunday at UPMC Presbyterian Hospital. County detectives say a friend of the victim left the club after “a minor verbal dispute” with a woman inside and then heard gunshots. Surveillance video is being sought to identify additional witnesses.
February 17, 2020 4:08 am
DUQUESNE, Pa. — A 33-year-old woman from Herminie, Pennsylvania called police for help after she drove her car a fair distance across a narrow railroad bridge over the Monongahela River and became stuck. According to the City of Duquesne Police Department, the woman had been drinking at the Waterfront before starting to drive home. At some point, she ended up in the rail yard near the Port Perry Railroad Bridge. The bridge is narrow and carries one set of railroad tracks over the Mon River. Investigators said she tried to drive her 2019 Mazda CX-5 across it. Police said “the vehicle did quite well considering it is not a locomotive,” but it ultimately became stuck. The woman at the wheel called for help around 2:40 a.m. and shortly after, Norfolk Southern stopped all rail traffic in the area before the car was removed. Duquesne police said the woman showed obvious signs of being intoxicated and she was arrested for DUI.
February 17, 2020 4:04 am
ROSTRAVER TOWNSHIP, Pa. — (WPXI) – Emergency crews had to use the Jaws of Life to cut a person out of a car that overturned following a crash on Route 51 in Westmoreland County on Sunday morning. Officials with the Rostraver Central Fire Department said the crash happened near Mount Pleasant Road in Rostraver Township shortly after 7 a.m. One team used special equipment to stabilize the car while another worked to get the injured person out. The patient was taken to Rostraver Airport, where they were airlifted by a medical helicopter to a Pittsburgh trauma center for further treatment. It’s not clear at this point what caused the crash.
February 16, 2020 8:00 am
MUNICH (AP) — U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Saturday that a truce agreement between the United States and the Taliban that could lead to the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan is not without risk but “looks very promising.” Ahead of a formal announcement of the seven-day “reduction in violence” deal, Esper said it was time to give peace a chance in Afghanistan through a political negotiation. He spoke a day after a senior U.S. official said the deal had been concluded and would take effect very soon. Expectations are that agreement will be formally announced on Sunday and that the reduction in violence will begin on Monday, according to people familiar with the plan. “It’s my view as well that we have to give peace a chance, that the best if not the only way forward in Afghanistan is through a political agreement and that means taking some risk,” he said. “That means enabling our diplomats and that means working together with our partners and allies on the ground to affect such a thing.” Esper and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met on Friday in Munich with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, who has been skeptical of the scheme, which, if successful, would see an end to attacks for seven days and then the signing of a U.S.-Taliban peace deal. All-Afghan peace talks would then begin within 10 days as part of the plan, which envisions the phased withdrawal of U.S. forces over 18 months.
