June 20, 2024 5:03 am
HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a series of deals with his Vietnamese counterpart To Lam during a state visit that comes as Moscow is seeking to bolster ties in Asia to offset growing international isolation over its military actions in Ukraine. The two signed agreements to further cooperation on education, science and technology, oil and gas exploration and health. Following the Thursday afternoon talks, Putin said that the two countries share an interest in “developing a reliable security architecture” in the Asia-Pacific Region based on not using force and peacefully settling disputes with no room for “closed military-political blocs.”
June 20, 2024 5:10 am
KHARKIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia is intensifying its use of cheap glide bombs to lay waste to cities in eastern Ukraine. The latest generation of the retrofitted weapons have devastated Kharkiv, Avdiivka, Chasiv Yar and Vovchansk. Russia has nearly unlimited supplies of the bombs, which are adapted from Soviet-era stockpiles. They are dispatched from airfields just across the border that Ukraine has not been able to hit. An Associated Press analysis of drone footage, satellite imagery, Ukrainian documents and Russian photos shows that Russia has used the explosives to accelerate its destruction of front-line cities this year on a scale previously unseen in the war.
June 20, 2024 5:12 am
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana has become the first state to require that the Ten Commandments be displayed in every public school classroom. Republican Gov. Jeff Landry on Wednesday signed the bill mandating the displays. The GOP-drafted legislation requires a poster of the Ten Commandments in “large, easily readable font” in all public classrooms, from kindergarten to state-funded universities. Opponents question the law’s constitutionality. Civil rights groups including the American Civil Liberties Union promised a lawsuit. Proponents say the purpose of the measure is not solely religious, but that it has historical significance. Classrooms must display the Ten Commandments by the start of 2025.
June 20, 2024 5:13 am
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Snapchat Inc. will pay $15 million to settle a lawsuit brought by California’s civil rights agency. The California Civil Rights Department accused the company of discriminating against female employees, failing to prevent workplace sexual harassment and retaliating against women who complained. The department announced Wednesday that the settlement covers women who worked for the company in California between 2014 and 2024. It is subject to court approval. The bulk of the settlement will pay compensation to employees who faced discrimination at the company. The company says it disagrees with the agency’s claims but that it decided to settle to avoid costly and lengthy litigation.
June 19, 2024 5:01 am
One person has been transported to Mercy Hospital in Pittsburgh after a house fire in Peters Twp. Washington County 9-1-1 says it broke out just after 10:30 p.m. Tuesday night in the 100-block of Clearview Drive. According to dispatchers, the home was fully engulfed in flames when firefighers arrived. The State Police Fire Marshall is now investigating. There is no word on the identity or condition of the person injured.
June 19, 2024 5:20 pm
(WPXI) – A bicyclist died after police believe he hit downed power lines in North Park on Tuesday night. He has been identified as Robert Anderson, 63, of Wexford. Emergency crews were called to a trail at Pearce Mill Road and North Ridge Drive at 8:22 p.m. where they found a man down among live wires. Duquesne Light crews were called to the scene, as first responders could not get to the bicyclist while the power was on. Power was cut to the area at 10:30 p.m., and the man was pronounced dead at the scene. County officials closed the trail and placed caution tape near the wires and at the main entrance of the trail. Duquesne Light says it is working closely with local emergency responders and park officials to investigate the incident.
June 19, 2024 11:33 am
The National Transportation Safety Board has released more information on what caused an explosion last month in Youngstown, Ohio, that killed a Penn Hills graduate. Twenty-seven-year-old
Akil Drake, a Chase Bank employee, was found in the rubble after an explosion on May 28th at the Realty Tower Building. Nine other people were injured. NTSB officials previously said their preliminary investigation led them to believe that a cut gas line caused the explosion. Just before the accident, a four-person scrap-removal crew was working in a basement area. A worker cut into one of the pipes he had been told was “dead,” but partway through the process, he heard a loud whistling sound and felt gas blowing into his face from the cut pipe, according to the NTSB report. The crew left the building, called 911 and pulled a fire alarm. Another crew member reportedly notified bank employees. The Youngstown Fire Department received reports of a gas odor from the public minutes before the explosion. The NTSB learned that at the time of the accident, the inactive service line had been pressurized with natural gas to about 38 pounds per square inch. The NTSB’s investigation is ongoing.
June 19, 2024 4:51 am
Prior to their agenda meeting on Tuesday, North Strabane Township Supervisors reconvened a public hearing from April 30. CC Realty Advisors is looking to rezone a parcel of land at the corner of Curry Avenue and Morganza Road. The parcel was originally zoned industrial and then rezoned commercial. CC Realty wants to take it back to Industrial zoning to begin the application process to build a “personal warehouse.” The meeting was adjourned with no public comment. Supervisors may take up the measure during their next voting meeting. During the agenda meeting the solicitor suggested that they may wish to table the issue to allow time and proper process to better define what a personal warehouse is and whether the ordinances for commercial zoning and industrial zoning should be amended to include it in their zones as conditional use or permitted use. Other items that supervisors will consider are several hirings and appointments to open positions with the township and a possible change in office hours to 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Supervisors will hold their voting meeting on June 25.
June 19, 2024 5:08 am
TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — A blast of heat and humidity in the Midwest and Northeast days before the official start of summer has put a wet blanket on outdoor activities from festivals to sports camps as officials urge people to take precautions. Cities that opened cooling centers this week advised that Wednesday’s Juneteenth holiday means some public libraries, senior centers and pools where residents could beat the heat will be closed. The dangerous temperatures are expected to peak in the eastern Great Lakes and New England on Wednesday and Thursday, and in the Ohio Valley and Mid-Atlantic on Friday and Saturday.
June 19, 2024 2:46 pm
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Tropical Storm Alberto has formed in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico, the first named storm of what is forecast to be a busy hurricane season. The National Hurricane Center says Alberto was located 185 miles east of Tampico, Mexico, on Wednesday morning with top sustained winds of 40 mph. A tropical storm is defined by sustained winds of between 39 and 73 mph, and one with stronger winds is a hurricane. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts the hurricane season from June 1 to Nov. 30 is likely to be well above average, with between 17 and 25 named storms.
