October 30, 2019 5:43 am
ROSCOE, Pa. (WPXI) – A hazmat team was brought in after first responders were exposed to something after they were called for a death investigation early Wednesday morning in Washington County, Pennsylvania State Police said. The incident was reported about 2:30 a.m. at a home on Garfield Avenue in Roscoe. Police said the death is not suspicious. Officials said three firefighters and EMS personnel were taken to a hospital for treatment. All three people were listed in stable condition. It’s unclear what paramedics were exposed to.Officials said there is no threat to the community.
October 30, 2019 4:19 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Federal Reserve is set to cut its benchmark interest rate Wednesday for a third time this year to help sustain the U.S. economic expansion in the face of widespread trade tensions and slower global growth. But the Fed’s policymakers will likely frustrate anyone who is hoping for a clear signal about what they may do next. The central bank may prefer instead to keep its options open, economists say. Analysts have forecast that the Fed will reduce the short-term rate it controls – which influences a broad range of consumer and business loans – by one-quarter percentage point year to a range of 1.5% to 1.75%. A third cut would nearly reverse the four rate hikes that the Fed made last year in response to a strengthening economy.
October 30, 2019 4:18 am
SAN RAFAEL, Calif. (AP) – Californians are facing winds, wildfires and darkness from yet another power outage for more than 1 million people. Pacific Gas & Electric is blacking out about 1.5 million people in some 30 counties to prevent high winds from toppling power lines and sparking fires. It’s the third shutoff in a week. A fire in northern wine country and another in the wealthy Brentwood area of Los Angeles have burned dozens of homes. Both were driven by strong winds. The Sonoma County area was hit by gusts of 30 mph (48 kph) or more Tuesday but firefighters report little growth in the blaze, with winds were expected to ease Wednesday. But in the south, forecasters say hot, dry Santa Ana winds through Thursday could bring gusts of 50 to 80 mph (128.7 kph) at times.
October 30, 2019 4:18 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Russia interfered in the 2016 election and may try to sway next year’s vote as well. But it’s not the only nation with an eye on U.S. politics. American officials sounding the alarm about efforts to disrupt the 2020 election include multiple countries in that warning. Concerns abound not only about possible hacking of campaigns, but also about the spread of disinformation on social media and potential efforts to breach voting databases and even alter votes. The anxiety goes beyond the possibility that U.S. adversaries could directly affect election results: The mere hint of foreign meddling could undermine public confidence in vote tallies. U.S. intelligence agencies reported Russian, Chinese and Iranian influence operations targeting last year’s midterms. A senior FBI official recently singled out China as a particular concern.
October 30, 2019 4:14 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Sean Parnell, a Fox News contributor, says he’ll run for Congress in Pennsylvania, confirming what President Donald Trump announced during an address last week in Pittsburgh. Parnell said Wednesday that he’ll run for Pennsylvania’s politically divided 17th District, which runs from Pittsburgh’s suburbs through Ohio River towns to the Ohio border. The seat is held by freshman Rep. Conor Lamb, a Democrat who beat third-term Republican Keith Rothfus last year by 12 percentage points. Parnell made the announcement during an appearance on “Fox & Friends” and on social media, where he posted a photo of himself with Donald Trump Jr. Parnell is an Army combat veteran who served in Afghanistan and wrote a book about it. Lamb is a former Marine and federal prosecutor whose grandfather was the state Senate’s Democratic floor leader.
October 30, 2019 2:43 am
A two-vehicle accident shutdown both the north and southbound lanes of Interstate 79 for about two hours Wednesday, as crews worked to remove the wreckage from the road. Authorities say it happened around two o’clock, in the northbound lane of the interstate, between the Southpointe Exit and the Allegheny County line. According to reports, a Jeep and a tractor-trailer collided, causing the Jeep to catch fire. Emergency officials say no one was seriously injured and the interstate was reopened around four o’clock.
October 29, 2019 5:18 pm
ATLANTA (AP) – The chairman of the NCAA board of governors says the association hopes to avoid a court battle against states that are attempting to pass laws aimed at dismantling the NCAA’s rules. The NCAA board voted on Tuesday to allow athletes to profit from their names, images and likenesses, but much work still needs to be done to determine how that will work within NCAA rules. Ohio State President Michael Drake said the board hopes that “all who are interested in the future welfare of student-athletes would work with us to get to that point and using reasonable processes to get there.” California passed a law last month that would prevent schools from prohibiting college athletes from being compensated for their names, images and likenesses. That law goes into effect in 2023, but other states are moving on similar legislation that could go into effect as soon as next year.
October 29, 2019 5:11 am
Traffic at certain Peters Township intersections is becoming a problem. Peters Township Council amended its Transportation Capital Improvement Program. That program allows the township to collect impact fees from residential and commercial developments to address future improvements to intersections that will be impacted by the increased traffic. Township Manager Paul Lauer identified the 3 most important projects on the township’s radar. The construction of Rolling Hills Drive is the first project that will see a contribution from the fund. The next project will be the Bebout Rd./ Thompsonville Rd./ E. McMurray Rd. intersection. That project will begin in 2023. The third project is a roundabout that will be built at Valleybrook and Bebout Rd. That will begin in 2024. The final two projects are largely funded by PennDot, but township obligations will be paid for through this program. Council will have a busy November. In addition to the regular council meetings, council will also conduct two public hearings, one for a budget workshop for 2020 and the other for an update on the new Rolling Hills Park. Those meetings will be scheduled for November 11, 18, and 25.
October 29, 2019 4:22 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Crews fought Tuesday to drown, slash and smother wildfires that have incinerated dozens of homes in Northern and Southern California before returning windstorms can blow them back into furious life. In California’s wine country, firefighters worked to reinforce fire lines in western Sonoma County while rushing to shore up the eastern side that could be the new focus as winds switched direction. “We’re playing both offense and defense right now on two different sides of the fire,” said Jonathan Cox of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Bulldozers carved firebreaks, hand crews attacked hot spots with hoses and shovels, and aircraft painted hillsides with fire retardant. The fire that began last week near the town of Geyserville had destroyed 57 homes and damaged another dozen, with 90,000 homes and other buildings considered threatened. About 156,000 people were under mandatory evacuation orders. The blaze was 15% contained. Evacuation orders were downgraded to warnings for some 30,000 people in the west but new warnings were issued to people in the east, with Calistoga in Napa County and Middletown in Lake County – a community badly damaged by a 2015 wildfire. Winds were expected to hit 20 to 30 mph (48 kph) Tuesday, with gusts of up to 50 mph (80 kph) by afternoon. The winds will peak by midnight before easing, forecasters said.
October 29, 2019 4:18 am
A new survey confirms what many parents already know: Teens and tweens are watching a lot of online video, often more than traditional TV. The report from Common Sense Media finds that the number of young Americans who view online videos every day has more than doubled. They’re watching for nearly an hour a day, twice as long as they were four years ago. Often, they’re seeing videos on services such as YouTube that are supposedly off limits to children younger than 13. Common Sense Media is a nonprofit organization that tracks young people’s tech habits and offers guidance for parents. The survey, released Tuesday, included responses from nearly 1,700 U.S. teens, ages 8 to 18.
