October 27, 2023 5:10 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Some Republicans worry the infighting that essentially shuttered the House for three weeks will serve as an obstacle to their bid to stay in the majority after next year’s elections. Several lawmakers acknowledge the recent chaos has not helped their chances, but they hope that time and results will help voters forget the dysfunction. There is precedent for such hopes. Republicans gained seats in the election following the 2013 government shutdown. Rep. Suzan DelBene, the chair of the campaign arm for House Democrats, says candidates in key swing districts will contrast the fractures among House Republicans with a Democratic focus on the need to govern to meet constituents’ priorities.
October 27, 2023 5:09 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon says U.S. fighter jets launched airstrikes early Friday on two locations in eastern Syria linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps. The strikes come in retaliation for a slew of drone and missile attacks against U.S. bases and personnel in the region that began early last week. They reflect the Biden administration’s determination to maintain a delicate balance. The U.S. wants to hit Iranian-backed groups suspected of targeting the U.S. as strongly as possible to deter future aggression, while also working to avoid provoking a wider conflict. The U.S. does not have any information yet on casualties or an assessment of damage from Friday’s strikes.
October 27, 2023 5:08 am
LEWISTON, Maine (AP) — Shocked and fearful Maine residents are keeping to their homes for a second night as hundreds of police and FBI agents search intently for Robert Card, a U.S. Army reservist authorities say fatally shot 18 people at a bowling alley and a bar. Wednesday’s attack in Lewiston was the worst mass killing in state history. On Thursday, heavily armed police surrounded a home in rural Bowdoin as they searched for Card but left hours later after searching the residence. Three of the wounded remain in critical condition. Meanwhile, schools and businesses are closed and people sheltered in their homes in communities as far as 50 miles away from Lewiston.
October 27, 2023 5:06 am
NEW YORK (AP) — About two in three Americans say their household expenses have risen over the last year, but only about one in four say their income has increased in the same period. That’s according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. As household expenses outpace earnings, many are expressing concern about their financial futures. What’s more, for most Americans, household debt is rising or not going away. About half say they currently have credit card debt, 4 in 10 are dealing with auto loans, and about one in four have medical debt. Just 15% say their household savings have increased over the last year.
October 27, 2023 5:04 am
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli forces backed by fighter jets and drones have carried out a second ground raid into Gaza in as many days. The military said Friday that it struck targets on the outskirts of Gaza City, as it prepares for a widely expected full-scale ground offensive. The Palestinian death toll has soared past 7,000 as Israel has carried out waves of devastating airstrikes in response to a bloody Hamas incursion into southern Israel on Oct. 7. The Health Ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza, which tracks the toll, has released a detailed list of names and ID numbers. More than 1,400 people in Israel, mostly civilians, were slain during the initial Hamas attack. Hamas is holding at least 224 captives inside Gaza.
October 27, 2023 5:01 am
The Washington County Coroner’s office has released the identity of the second person killed in a house fire in the City of Washington. 39 year old Kimberly DeOca died in the Tuesday morning fire at a home in the one-hundred block of East Katherine Avenue. The coroner’s office says they have exhausted all attempts to locate and notify her family and are asking anyone who may know or have information about her family to contact them. The fire also killed 39 year old Kenneth Guy III. Officials say both victims were found on the second floor of the home. A cause and manner of death for both victims are pending. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
October 27, 2023 4:54 am
A Thursday preliminary injunction hearing brought on by Peters Township and North Strabane Township was put on hold. The two townships filed a petition for the injunction in an effort to halt a $2 million check from being sent to the contractor for the upgrades to the county 9-1-1 emergency communications system and to gain more information about the capabilities of the system being built by contractor MRA/TAIT. Andrew Walz, Township Manager of North Strabane Township reports that immediately after the hearing, all parties spent the rest of Thursday negotiating a settlement. The terms of the settlement have not been revealed. The settlement does cancel a Friday morning injunction hearing and allows that check to be sent. According to Walz, the agreement will be put up for a vote in front of County Commissioners, Peters Township and North Strabane Township at each of their respective November voting meetings.
October 26, 2023 5:43 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation’s economy expanded at a robust 4.9% annual rate from July through September as Americans defied higher prices, rising interest rates and widespread forecasts of a recession to spend at a brisk pace. The economy expanded last quarter at the fastest pace in more than two years — and more than twice the 2.1% annual rate of the previous quarter. Thursday’s report on the nation’s gross domestic product — the economy’s total output of goods and services — showed that consumers drove the acceleration, ramping up their spending on everything from cars to restaurant meals.
October 26, 2023 12:34 pm
A hearing to request preliminary injunction relief was held Thursday in Washington County Court by representatives from Peters Township and North Strabane Township. At issue is the county 9-1-1 radio system that according to Peters Township Solicitor John Smith, was not properly awarded. Smith pointed to irregularities with the award process when compared to county code. Also at issue is the reliability of the system, where he brought up evidence that seems to indicate that the proposed system contracted to MRA/TAIT is sub standard compared to one proposed by Motorola. Washington County Solicitor Jana Grimm stated that all bid procedures were accurately followed and called the action a political move. The plaintiffs wish to stop a $2 million payment to be sent out Friday that may not be able to be refunded if the contract is ultimately halted. A decision on the preliminary injunctive relief is to be released on Thursday, a hearing on a permanent injunction is tentatively scheduled for Friday.
October 26, 2023 8:40 am
A change in solicitor in Charleroi Borough. In a surprise move, council on Wednesday voted to remove Sean Logue and replace him with Dennis Paluso as interim solicitor until the end of the year. According to the Mon Valley Independent, Council member Randy DiPiazza made both motions. He did so claiming that he wasn’t happy with Logue’s communications with council members. Council member Jerry Jerricho echoed that by saying he had “lost faith” in Logue. Councilmen Larry Celaschi and Joe Smith voiced their opposition to the move and voted against Logue’s ouster. DiPiazza then motioned to name former borough solicitor Dennis Paluso as interim solicitor. Celaschi, Smith and councilman Paul Pivovarnik voted against that move. Logue tells WJPA News that he is proud of the work that was done while he was there including the sale of the borough’s sewage lines that have made the borough financially solvent.
