November 1, 2023 4:09 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — George Santos will soon face a vote to expel him from the House. The effort to oust the Republican congressman from New York is being led by fellow GOP members from the state. They’re anxious to distance themselves from a colleague who’s become infamous for fabricating his life story and has been accused of stealing from donors and lying to Congress. For the effort to succeed, the resolution needs the support of at least two-thirds of lawmakers. That means dozens of Republican lawmakers would have to break ranks with newly elected Speaker Mike Johnson. Johnson says Santos is entitled to due process. Santos is facing charges in federal court and a House Ethics Committee investigation.
November 1, 2023 5:20 am
Documents released by a Maine sheriff’s office give the most detailed timeline yet of the warning signs and failed efforts to stop the gunman who killed 18 people and wounded 13 others at a bowling alley and bar last week. The Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Department says Robert Card’s son told authorities in May that his father had grown more angry and paranoid since January. In July, Card spent two weeks at a psychiatric facility after erratic behavior while training with his Army Reserve unit in New York. The new documents also show that deputies twice visited Card’s home in September, including once when they believed he was there but didn’t answer the door.
November 1, 2023 5:18 am
RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Palestinians reported another widespread outage of internet and phone service in Gaza for the second time in less than a week. Wednesday’s outage came hours after Israeli airstrikes leveled apartment buildings and as ground troops battled Hamas militants inside the besieged territory. Aid agencies have warned that such blackouts severely disrupt their work in an already dire situation in Gaza. More than half of the population of 2.3 million Palestinians has been displaced and basic supplies are running low more than three weeks into the war triggered by Hamas’ bloody Oct. 7 rampage into southern Israel. Also on Wednesday, foreign passport holders were allowed to cross from Gaza into Egypt for the first time since the war began.
November 1, 2023 5:17 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump Jr. has taken the witness stand at the civil fraud trial over whether his father overstated his wealth to banks and insurers. The former president’s eldest son began testifying Wednesday. His testimony is kicking off a blockbuster stretch as the trial in New York Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit enters its second month. She says Donald Trump, his company and top executives, including Donald Trump Jr. and his brother Eric, overstated his wealth to banks and insurers. The Trumps deny wrongdoing and are fighting to keep their Trump Organization intact.
November 1, 2023 5:16 am
(AP) – Hundreds of foreign nationals and several seriously injured Palestinians are being allowed to leave Gaza for the first time since the Israel-Hamas war began more than three weeks ago. Their departures through the Rafah crossing follow the release of four hostages by Hamas and the rescue of an Israeli soldier. Meanwhile, Israeli forces advanced deeper into Gaza Wednesday and airstrikes struck a refugee camp for a second time. The Palestinian death toll in the war has surpassed 8,800, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza. In the occupied West Bank, 130 Palestinians have been killed. More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed, most of them civilians slain in the initial Hamas rampage on Oct. 7th. (Photo: AP)
November 1, 2023 5:13 am
The Greene County Board of Elections says it has been made aware of an additional mistake on their mail-in and absentee ballots. It is a printing error connected to the County Commissioners race. The error say that voters can vote for up to three candidates. Voters, however, are only permitted to vote for two. The Board says those who have already voted and only voted for two will not have to take any action. If you already voted and voted for three, voters will either have to correct their ballot by visiting the County Elections office or they can choose to appear at their normal polling place on election day and cast a provisional ballot. Ballots that voted for three and are not corrected will not be counted.
November 1, 2023 4:54 am
Big changes are coming to the City Mission of Washington. After 15 years as President and CEO, Dean Gartland will become President Emeritus effective March 1, 2023 and then plans a full retirement at the end of September next year. As of March 1, longtime Washington County Commissioner Diana Irey-Vaughan will become the new President/CEO. First elected Commissioner in 1995, she is currently serving a seventh term which is the longest ever in the county. She is also the first and only woman to hold the position. Gartland has been with the City Mission since 2008. He became President/CEO in 2010. During that time, the City Mission increased available beds from 96 to 175 and saw its annual budget increase from $2.5 million to $8 million.
November 1, 2023 2:54 am
Energy company Equitrans is facing charges after the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office said it failed to fix a natural gas leak that caused a Greene County house to explode in 2018. On Oct. 31st, the house at 161 Bowser Road in Clarksville exploded and caught fire when Cody White turned the stove on, causing White, his girlfriend and their four-year-old son to suffer severe burns. According to the attorney general’s office, Equitrans owned and operated a natural gas storage field directly underneath the home. A storage well near the house was deteriorating and leaking gas for years, resulting in methane contamination in the home’s water supply. Officials said Equitrans had previously acknowledged that the field was losing gas and that wells inside the field were leaking gas before the explosion. After the explosion, the attorney general’s office says Equitrans was required by law to initiate and conduct its own investigation to find the cause of the leak, which it didn’t do. The 51st Statewide Investigating Grand Jury recommended charges under Pennsylvania’s Clean Streams Law regarding failures to properly maintain a storage well, and for not conducting an investigation after the explosion. (Photo: WPXI)
November 1, 2023 2:40 am
A federal civil law suit has been filed against District Attorney Jason Walsh and President Judge John DiSalle. Washington attorney Noah Geary filed the lawsuit claiming that his client Elijah White had his civil rights violated when he was held in contempt of court after a hearing that was held on January 29, 2022. Walsh called White as a witness in a preliminary hearing for Keandre Crews and Marissa Spencer. They were allegedly involved in the shooting and body dump of Jaisen Irwin outside of Bob’s Tavern in Finleyville in October of 2022. During the preliminary hearing, White, on advice of his lawyer, invoked his fifth amendment rights to not answer questions on multiple occasions. Geary maintains that DiSalle did not have jurisdiction in holding the hearing and the hearing should have been held in front of the judge scheduled to handle criminal cases. Geary claims comments made by Walsh during the preliminary hearing demonstrated that he did not care about White’s civil rights. A statement provided by DiSalle declined comment. Walsh characterized the suit as frivolous and an election ploy. White has an appeal of the contempt conviction pending in Pennsylvania Superior Court.
October 31, 2023 10:43 am
A Washington man and Uber driver is facing criminal charges in connection with a ride he provided for a 16 year old girl Monday night. Police in Penn Hills sought a warrant for 22 year old Patrick Phipps Jr. on charges of corruption of minors and dissemination to minors. According to the criminal complaint, Phipps was driving her home from work and began asking inappropriate questions and pressured her for her phone number. During the ride, the girl claims Phipps showed her a nude photo of himself on his cellphone. The girl informed her mother of the incident when she got home and called police.
