September 19, 2024 8:59 am
JERUSALEM (AP) — Hezbollah pounded northern Israel with 140 rockets. The strikes came a day after the militant group’s leader Hassan Nasrallah vowed to retaliate against Israel for a mass bombing attack. Israel’s military said the rockets came in three waves Friday afternoon targeting sites along the ravaged border. Hezbollah said it had targeted several sites along the border with Katyusha rockets including multiple air defense bases as well as the headquarters of an Israeli armored brigade they said they’d struck for the first time. Hezbollah said the rockets were in retaliation for Israeli strikes on villages and homes in southern Lebanon.
September 20, 2024 4:51 am
Washington County Commissioners approved the sale of a large parcel of land associated with the Starpointe Industrial Park Development in Hanover and Smith Townships. The property is overseen by the non-profit Washington County Council on Economic Development. A 1997 contract calls for any sale of property there to be approved by County Commissioners, even though they have no ownership or authority over the development. The property, that has been threatened by Sheriff’s Sale, will be sold to ALTIAN Development LLC of Pennsylvania. Commissioner Chairman Nick Sherman is pleased that the sale of the 1200 acre parcel is being completed and is looking forward to its development. He hopes that it becomes part of the development boom that is occurring along the Turnpike 576 corridor. In other business, commissioners approved a 3 year, $650,000 per year contract to have Mission Critical Partners monitor the implementation of the proposed 9-1-1 emergency radio system. The motion passed 2-1 with Commissioner Larry Maggi dissenting. Maggi questions the spending of the money on the radio project and wished more negotiation would have been done on the price. Sherman also announced that a Special Meeting will be held Monday September 23 at 9:00 AM to finalize the contract with Motorola for the radio system. (PHOTO: WCCED)
September 20, 2024 5:02 am
Recently, the Washington County Republican Party took to social media to call out Washington Financial Bank for election interference. The disagreement centered on a statement issued by the Mon Valley Alliance that was critical to former President Donald Trump after he mentioned the Borough of Charleroi during a campaign rally in Tucson, Arizona. Randy Patterson is the Vice President of Commercial Banking at Washington Financial and he is the Secretary of the Mon Valley Alliance. Republican Party Chairman Sean Logue called on the Washington County Commissioners to halt business dealings with the bank because of the statement. Michael Chaido, President and CEO of Washington Financial Bank investigated Logue’s claims and presented proof that Patterson had no idea that the statement was being issued without prior authorization from the MVA Board of Directors. Logue states that as a non-profit the MVA is not permitted to engage in political discourse. Chaido said that an agreement was reached between the parties where Washington Financial will issue a statement and the Washington County Republican Party would take down its post on Facebook.
September 20, 2024 4:57 am
As the general election draws near the lawsuits for election voting rules continue to get played out in court. Thursday a ruling was clarified by the Pennsylvania State Supreme Court that effectively dismisses a filing by the Republican National Committee that would require a handwritten date on each mail-in ballot. The ACLU was representing the group of 9 community organizers that were challenging the RNC’s assertion in Allegheny and Philadelphia counties. Originally the ACLU lawyers were seeking to add all 67 counties to the lawsuit but in the move late Thursday afternoon the State Supreme court clarified their ruling so the move is now unnecessary. The other lawsuit in question filed on behalf of the RNC Wednesday was a request for a King’s Bench by the State Supreme Court to make a definitive ruling to not allow ballot curing in the Commonwealth. The current law states counties are “not required” to alert voters of minor mistakes on mail-in ballots, but the law does not state that it is disallowed. ACLU Attorney Vic Walczak (Pictured) says this is a clear voter suppression issue. The King’s Bench power is a discretionary power of the PA Supreme Court that allows the court to consider cases that are not pending so they can address issues of immediate public importance
September 20, 2024 5:00 am
Several residents of Donegal Township gathered to voice their frustrations with township supervisors who laid off the road crew on September 12th. Dr. Kathleen Miller was quite vocal because the very next day, a fire hydrant was struck by a vehicle that was detoured through West Alexander due to an accident on Interstate 70. According to Miller, it took 5 days to have the hydrant fixed and proper notice was not given alerting residents to a boil water advisory. That notice took five days to be issued. Labor Negotiator Phil Binotto says the crew was laid off due to decreased productivity. Heath Malson is one of the laid off workers that says the reason productivity is so low is that supervisors took control of ordering supplies and did not order them, so they do not have the materials needed to perform the maintenance required. According to Binotto, the township could call back the crew in emergencies if they are available. Otherwise, road maintenance will be handled by outside contractors. Former supervisor Tammi Iams says that if the township does not have a road crew and must hire outside contractors, according to the Pennsylvania Municipal Liquid Fuels Program regulations, any outside contractors must be paid prevailing wage. That cost is much higher than paying the current road crew. These and other concerns such as snow removal and current road deterioration repair projects left unfinished are major concerns to residents. The road crew will be officially discharged on Friday. The union representing the road crew and the township are currently working on the agreement to officially disband the crew.
Meanwhile, in an update Friday afternoon, Larry Cardillo from the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 66 said that effects bargaining talks are continuing in efforts to come to a final resolution for the layoff but nothing is concrete. He says that they are continuing negotiations to avoid the layoff of the road crew. Contract negotiations are no longer being negotiated by the township. (Photo: Dr. Kathleen Miller)
September 19, 2024 5:13 am
FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris was looking for a boost with persuadable and less-motivated voters as she participated in a livestream Thursday evening with former talk show host Oprah Winfrey. The event, billed as “Unite for America,” is being hosted by Winfrey from suburban Michigan, one of this election’s key battlegrounds. More than 250,000 people were watching on the Harris campaign livestream on YouTube alone as Winfrey introduced the vice president. “We each have those moments in our lives when it’s time to step up,” Harris responded when Winfrey asked about her overnight transformation as she went from President Joe Biden’s running mate to being the Democratic nominee.
September 19, 2024 5:14 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Donald Trump has spoken to Jewish donors and an organization gathered to focus on efforts to fight antisemitism. Trump’s appearances Thursday came on the same day that an explosive CNN report detailed how one of his allies running for North Carolina governor made a series of racial and sexual comments on a website where he also referred to himself as a “black NAZI.” Trump said he will be “the best friend Jewish Americans have ever had in the White House.” He did not comment on the allegations against Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson.
September 20, 2024 5:12 am
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Hunter Biden will be sentenced on felony firearms charges in December after the judge agreed to a delay requested by the defense. President Joe Biden’s son was convicted in June of three felonies to the purchase of a gun in 2018 when, prosecutors said, he lied on a federal form by saying he was not illegally using or addicted to drugs. He was initially scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 13, but the judge agreed to delay the hearing until Dec. 4 after Hunter Biden’s lawyers said they needed more time to adequately prepare. The gun charges are punishable by up to 25 years in prison, though he is likely to get far less time or avoid prison entirely.
September 20, 2024 5:10 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is awarding $3 billion to U.S. companies to boost domestic production of advanced batteries and other materials used for electric vehicles, part of a continuing push to reduce China’s global dominance in battery production. The grants announced Friday will fund a total of 25 projects in 14 states, including battleground states such as Michigan and North Carolina. The grants mark the second round of EV battery funding under the 2021 infrastructure law. An earlier round allocated $1.8 billion for 14 projects that are ongoing.
September 20, 2024 5:56 pm
(AP) – The federal government is suing some pharmacy benefit managers over a system of drug rebates that regulators say has made the price of insulin soar for patients. The Federal Trade Commission says three companies that process about 80% of prescriptions in the United States have engaged in anticompetitive practices that spur price increases. Pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, run prescription drug coverage for insurers, large employers and other clients. They set up formularies, or lists of covered drugs, and negotiate rebates off the drug prices. PBMs say the lawsuit shows that the FTC doesn’t understand how drug pricing works.
