January 4, 2025 4:33 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The truck attack in New Orleans by an Army veteran inspired by the Islamic State group unfolded amid months of warnings by officials about a resurgent terrorism threat. FBI Director Christopher Wray has said he could not think of another time in his career “where so many different kinds of threats are all elevated at once.” But one thing notable about the New Year’s Day attack is that the culprit didn’t coordinate with international operatives, nor is he known to have been part of a broader plot. Instead, he embodied a longstanding concern: the threat from homegrown extremists who radicalize on their own before committing mass violence.
January 5, 2025 3:37 am
A group of residents in West Alexander are looking to bring back its borough status and separate from Donegal Township. Dr. Kathleen Miller is the Coordinator of the West Alexander Borough Project. She says she has a great deal of support to separate from the township. The proposed borough would have boundaries limited to only where current public water and sewage exists. Miller did say, that during the mapping of the proposed borough, several other property owners, not initially included in the boundary, wished to have their property included in the borough. According to Miller, she came up with the idea in 2021 when she realized that promises made in 2009 to be absorbed by Donegal Township were not fulfilled. She set to work studying financial records from the township and building their own proposed budget to see the affects a separation would cause and to see if both the township and borough would be sustainable. The answer is that both could be sustained and the total amount of funding lost by Donegal Township would be $20,000. The estimated population of the new West Alexander would be approximately 750 people, the remaining number of residents in Donegal Township would be 1573. A certified map of the proposed borough is planned to be delivered by January 15. Petitions for residents to sign will immediately go out. After legal studies and barring any appeals from the township, the new borough could be established after a special election in about a year. Miller feels that the separation would not only fulfill the legal necessities of the question, it would better serve the residents of West Alexander for revitalization of the historic town.
January 5, 2025 3:40 am
District Attorney Jason Walsh has announced that his office will be providing a state of the art drug testing machine to the Charleroi Regional Police Department. The District Attorney’s office obtained grant funding to supply the MX908 mass spectrometer. In what is described as a game changing tool to fight illegal drugs through real time chemical detection and identification, officers are able to quickly identify narcotics on the scene and act accordingly. Walsh will be supplying additional machines to other law enforcement agencies throughout the county in the coming month to ensure that all law enforcement agencies have access to the revolutionary drug testing machine.
January 4, 2025 3:39 am
The Pennsylvania State Police have released their New Year’s Holiday Crash Report. The time frame for the report is December 31, 2024 through January 2, 2025. State Police investigated 425 crashes. In those crashes there was one death and 68 injuries. Impaired driving was a factor in 31 of the crashes. During that period, 254 people were arrested for driving under the influence. Other citations were issued for 2727 cases of speeding, 383 for failure to wear a seat belt and 50 for not securing children in safety seats.
January 3, 2025 4:26 pm
NEW YORK (AP) — In an extraordinary turn, a judge has set President-elect Donald Trump’s sentencing in his hush money case for Jan. 10 — little over a week before he’s due to return to the White House — but indicated he wouldn’t be jailed. Judge Juan M. Merchan issued the ruling Friday. He signaled in a written decision that he’d sentence the former and future president to what’s known as a conditional discharge, in which a case is closed without jail time, a fine or probation. The development nevertheless leaves Trump on course to be the first president to take office convicted of felony crimes.
January 3, 2025 3:09 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Mike Johnson has won re-election to House speakership on first-round voting. He pushed past GOP holdout and got a boost from President-elect Donald Trump. GOP holdouts convened in back of the House chamber during a tense roll call. It brought an ominous start to the new Congress. Johnson’s weak grip on the gavel threatens not only his own survival as speaker but Trump’s ambitious agenda. Tax cuts and mass deportations are all at stake as Republicans sweep to power in Washington. Next steps are uncertain, but the chamber is expected to try again. A flop by Johnson could have thrown Monday’s congressional certification of Trump’s 2024 election victory into turmoil without a House speaker. (Photo: AP)
January 3, 2025 1:11 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — Alcohol is a leading cause of cancer, a risk that should be clearly labeled on drinks Americans consume, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy proposed on Friday. Murthy’s advisory comes as research and evidence mounts about the bad effects that alcohol has on human health. Americans should be better informed about the link between alcohol and cancer, in particular, Murthy argues. About 20,000 people die every year from those alcohol-related cancer cases, according to his advisory. Bottles of beer, wine and liquor already carry warning labels about the risk of birth defects when a pregnant woman consumes alcohol. But Murthy’s proposed label would go even further, raising awareness about the risk for cancer, too. (Photo: AP)
January 2, 2025 10:41 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Alcohol is a leading cause of cancer, a risk that should be clearly labeled on drinks Americans consume, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy proposed on Friday. Murthy’s advisory comes as research and evidence mounts about the bad effects that alcohol has on human health. Americans should be better informed about the link between alcohol and cancer, in particular, Murthy argues. About 20,000 people die every year from those alcohol-related cancer cases, according to his advisory. Bottles of beer, wine and liquor already carry warning labels about the risk of birth defects when a pregnant woman consumes alcohol. But Murthy’s proposed label would go even further, raising awareness about the risk for cancer, too.
January 4, 2025 12:58 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has blocked the nearly $15 billion proposed deal for Nippon Steel of Japan to purchase Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel. This affirms his earlier vow to block the acquisition. In a Friday statement, Biden said, “We need major U.S. companies representing the major share of US steelmaking capacity to keep leading the fight on behalf of America’s national interests.” His decision comes after the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States didn’t reach consensus on the possible national security risks of the deal last month. Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel blasted the decision, saying Biden cited no credible evidence of a national security problem and suggested they’ll sue.
January 2, 2025 4:46 am
PITTSBURGH — Snow will slow the morning commute Friday morning, so allow some extra time before you head out. There could be some slick spots so watch steps and sidewalks and plan for delays on the roads. Several schools will operate on two-hour delays including Trinity, Peters Township, Canon McMillan and Chartiers Houston. Crews will battle light snow through mid-morning before the first part of the system moves out, however, lake effect snow could bring bands of additional accumulating snow through the afternoon and early evening. These bands could bring quick accumulations which could cover roads and reduce visibility. Tune to WJPA 95.3FM/1450AM for the very latest.
