August 28, 2024 2:50 am
Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt met Wednesday with the staff and director of the Washington County Department of Elections to hear “firsthand about the challenges they face when running elections.” Schmidt is planning to visit the election offices of all sixty-seven Pennsylvania counties. He also planned to visit the Greene County Elections Office as well. During his visit, Schmidt stopped in the WJPA Newsroom to talk about some current election issues such as ballot curing and the redesign of mail-in ballots. The Washington County Board of Elections was recently taken to court over its decision to not allow ballot-curing in the county in the recent primary election, and last week, Judge Brandon Neuman ordered the board of elections to notify people with deficiencies on their ballot to contact them about such errors. During the primary, 259 voters had their ballots cast aside due to minor clerical issues such as lack of signature or dates. Neuman also ruled the voters will be able to cast a provisional ballot in the event of such errors. Washington County Commission Chairman Nick Sherman, also a member of the elections board, had insisted they were following the letter of the law in not allowing errors on mail-in ballots to be fixed, however, Schmidt says there is no law that specifically states ballot-curing is not allowed. He says the decision is really up to the discretion of each county. Schmidt says many counties throughout the commonwealth allow minor mistakes to be corrected and they are not breaking any laws. Schmidt also addressed the revamp of ballots. He says the state did some research to see where the most mistakes were being made and then redesigned them in hopes of ensuring the process is more easily understood. Schmidt says his trips to county elections departments are not only to learn of the local challenges faced but to hear what the directors and staff feel the state department can do to solve those challenges and to help the process go smoothly and fairly. (Photo courtesy of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania)
August 29, 2024 2:51 am
A dedication and ribbon cutting ceremony was held earlier today to re-name the Charleroi Locks and Dam to the John P. Murtha Locks and Dam in honor of the longest serving Congressman in Pennsylvania history. Federal, State and local officials joined Congressman Murtha’s family and the Army Corps of Engineers for the ceremony which was held in Monessen at the sight of the former Monongahela River Locks and Dam number 4. The facility’s name change was the result of the Water Resources Development Act of 2022 authorizing the renaming in honor of Congressman Murtha who represented Pennsylvania’s 12th Congressional District. Lt. Governor Austin Davis (pictured) attended the ceremony and offered remarks praising the late Congressman’s dedication to building the infrastructure of Western Pennsylvania.
August 29, 2024 4:53 am
BRADDOCK, Pa. — (WPXI) – Japanese-based Nippon Steel, as part of its plans to acquire US Steel, announced Wednesday it expects to invest “no less than $1 billion” into the US Steel plants in the Mon Valley: the Edgar Thomson plant in Braddock, Clairton Coke Works in Clairton, and the Irvin Plant in West Mifflin. According to Nippon Steel, the investment will improve yield and product quality, while also increasing energy efficiency and enhancing overall operating effectiveness. According to Nippon Steel, the investment will improve yield and product quality, while also increasing energy efficiency and enhancing overall operating effectiveness. In a statement, the Japanese company said, “Nippon Steel plans to ensure Mon Valley Works operates for decades to come and will undertake the necessary investments so that it remains viable and provides jobs for future generations of steelworkers in Pennsylvania.” The United Steelworkers union fired back at Nippon Steel in a statement of their own saying, “Nippon talks a big game, but at the end of the day, a press release is not a contract. Even as it pays lip service to one of the union’s ongoing concerns, Nippon continues to duck the USW’s input.” US Steel released the following statement: “Nippon Steel’s announcement of its plan to invest approximately $1.3 billion in U. S. Steel union-represented facilities, on top of the $1.4 billion capital commitment they previously announced, is further evidence of its unwavering commitment to U. S. Steel and all of our stakeholders.
August 28, 2024 5:03 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — A senior FBI official says the gunman in the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump searched online for events of both Trump and President Joe Biden and saw the Pennsylvania campaign rally where he opened fire last month as a “target of opportunity.” Kevin Rojek is the FBI’s top agent in Pittsburgh. He said Wednesday that Thomas Matthew Crooks, who shot at Trump before being killed by the Secret Service at the July 13 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, did extensive research for an attack before the shooting and had looked at any number of events or targets. FBI officials say they had yet to uncover a motive despite conducting nearly 1,000 interviews in their investigation.
August 29, 2024 4:57 am
SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris said Thursday “my values have not changed,” as she was questioned along with her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz in their first major television interview of their presidential campaign. Thursday’s interview with CNN’s Dana Bash is giving Harris a chance to quell criticism that she is unprepared for uncontrolled environments, define her campaign and test her political mettle ahead of an upcoming debate with former President Donald Trump set for Sept. 10. But the interview also carries risks as her team tries to build on momentum from the ticket shakeup following Joe Biden’s exit and the Democratic National Convention.
August 28, 2024 4:58 am
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Former President Donald Trump will campaign in Michigan and Wisconsin as his campaign efforts in a handful of battleground states ramp up heading into the Labor Day turn toward the fall election. His visit to Michigan will be his third in the past seven days after he visited last week for a rally outside Detroit and on Monday spoke at the National Guard Association in Detroit. The Wisconsin visit will be his first since he attended the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. Michigan and Wisconsin, along with Pennsylvania, make up a crucial set of swing states known as the “blue wall” that Trump won in 2017 but that President Joe Biden flipped on his way to the White House in 2020.
August 29, 2024 5:48 pm
TULKAREM, West Bank (AP) — The Israeli military says it has killed five more militants, including a local commander, in the occupied West Bank. The army has pressed ahead with what appears to be the deadliest military operation in the occupied territory since the start of the war in Gaza. Israel says the raids are aimed at preventing attacks. The raids have killed a total of 16 people, nearly all militants, since late Tuesday. The Palestinians see them as a widening of the war in Gaza aimed at perpetuating Israel’s decades-long military rule. The Islamic Jihad militant group confirmed that Mohammed Jaber, known as Abu Shujaa, was killed early Thursday.
August 29, 2024 5:50 pm
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s military says that one of the handful of F-16 warplanes that Ukraine has received from its Western partners to help fight Russia’s invasion has crashed. The military said in a statement posted on Facebook that the fighter jet went down on Monday, when Russia launched a major missile and drone barrage at Ukraine. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that some of those Russian missiles and drones were shot down by F-16s before they reached their targets. The crash was the first reported loss of an F-16 in Ukraine, where they arrived at the end of last month. At least six of the warplanes are believed to have been delivered.
August 28, 2024 5:00 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — A defense official says Donald Trump’s campaign was warned about not taking photographs before an altercation at Arlington National Cemetery during a wreath-laying ceremony earlier this week to honor service members killed in the Afghanistan War withdrawal. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter concerning Monday’s events. It came a day after NPR reported that two Trump campaign staff members “verbally abused and pushed” aside a cemetery official who tried to stop them from filming and photographing in Section 60, the burial site for military personnel killed while fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq. Trump’s campaign contends he was granted access to a photographer and disputes a physical altercation.
August 28, 2024 6:00 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — A senior FBI official says the gunman in the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump searched online for events of both Trump and President Joe Biden and saw the Pennsylvania campaign rally where he opened fire last month as a “target of opportunity.” Kevin Rojek is the FBI’s top agent in Pittsburgh. He said Wednesday that Thomas Matthew Crooks, who shot at Trump before being killed by the Secret Service at the July 13 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, did extensive research for an attack before the shooting and had looked at any number of events or targets. FBI officials say they had yet to uncover a motive despite conducting nearly 1,000 interviews in their investigation.
