August 31, 2024 3:58 am
Washington County Commissioners may have to vote again on a new emergency radio system contract with Motorola. Commissioner Larry Maggi tells WJPA News that Solicitor Gary Sweat has expressed concerns about how the contraact vote was handled at their August 15 meeting. Specifically, the fact that the cost and scope of the contract were not included in the motion that was approved on a 2-1 vote. Commissioner’s Chairman Nick Sherman and fellow Republican Electra Janis voted in favor. Maggi, who is a Democrat, voted against and questioned the lack of details in the motion both prior to and after the vote. According to Maggi, Sweat has told commissioners that he believes the matter should be brought up for another formal vote with specific details included when they meet September 19h to avoid any potential legal challenges. The contract is believed to total some $25 million.
August 31, 2024 3:42 am
(AP) – U.S. regulators have cleared a third updated COVID-19 vaccine for this fall, shots made by Novavax Inc. The Food and Drug Administration cleared updated shots made by Novavax on Friday. Already, Pfizer and Moderna are shipping doses modified to better match more recent strains of the ever-evolving virus. There are some differences. Pfizer and Moderna are so-called mRNA vaccines and come in doses for both adults and children as young as 6 months. Novavax makes a protein-based vaccine, a different technology, and those shots are open to anyone 12 and older.
August 30, 2024 5:03 am
CECIL TOWNSHIP, Pa. — (WPXI) – A sixth-grader who was last seen leaving Cecil Intermediate School Thursday morning was found over six miles away in Peters Township that evening. There are a lot of unanswered questions about exactly how he got there. The family of a missing 11-year-old got the news that their child had been found safely, nearly eight hours after he reportedly left Cecil Intermediate School at 9:20 Thursday morning. Cecil Township police say the Canon-McMillan School District let them know that the student was missing after 2 p.m. Officers immediately started a massive search for the sixth-grader. “I don’t know how he came all the way to here,” Abeer Kronawetter said. Kronawetter, who owns the Peters Township Firehouse Subs, says the 11-year-old made his way into her store after lunch Thursday. “We’re used to seeing that. So it wasn’t strange for us when we saw it. If I knew I would’ve grabbed him,” Kronawetter said. Over three hours later, the missing boy’s mother came into her store asking if she’d seen her son. The mother asked if the business would post the boy’s picture and information, which they did on the outside door. Authorities haven’t said how or why he ended up along Gallery Drive in McMurray. After several reported sightings of the boy along the Montour Trial Thursday afternoon, police found him after 5 o’clock at Peters Town Center. The Canon-McMillan School District has not commented on the incident.
August 30, 2024 4:57 am
The burn ban in North Franklin Township has been lifted. The township’s volunteer fire company posted the message Thursday following the heavy rain that rolled through the region. Earlier this month, Township officials took the action because of the extremely dry conditions. The move also comes as the Washington Wild Things are scheduled to host a fireworks night tonight. Fireworks were included in that burn ban.
August 30, 2024 4:49 am
WASHINGTON, Pa. — (WPXI)- A Pennsylvania Lottery Ticket worth just over $726,000 recently sold in Washington County. The Pennsylvania Lottery Cash 5 with Quick Cash ticket sold at Jefferson Avenue Station in Washington. It matched all five balls drawn for Wednesday’s drawing, 4-8-10-16-19, to win $726,103.50 The store receives a $5,000 bonus for selling the winning ticket. A main Cash 5 game prize must be claimed within one year of the drawing date.
August 30, 2024 5:09 am
SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday defended shifting away from her some of her more liberal positions in her first major television interview of her presidential campaign. But she insisted her “values have not changed,” even as she is “seeking consensus.” Sitting with her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Harris was asked about changes in her policies over the years, specifically her reversals on fracking and decriminalizing illegal border crossings. The CNN interview comes as voters are still trying to learn more about the Democratic ticket under an unusually compressed time frame. Joe Biden stepped down just five weeks ago.
August 30, 2024 5:11 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is set to appear at the annual gathering of the group Moms for Liberty. The national nonprofit has spearheaded efforts to get mentions of LGBTQ+ identity and structural racism out of K-12 classrooms. The “fireside chat” with Trump on Friday night will serve to shore up his support with a key part of his base, conservatives who agree with him that parents should have a larger say in education. Yet the former president also runs the risk of alienating moderate voters who view Moms for Liberty’s activism as too extreme. Trump will first visit Johnstown, Pennsylvania, for a rally.
August 30, 2024 5:13 am
The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell slightly last week as the U.S. labor market remains healthy in the face of high interest rates. Jobless claims ticked down by 2,000 to 231,000 for the week of Aug. 24, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That’s just below the 232,000 new filings analysts were expecting. The four-week average of claims, which evens out some of the week-to-week volatility, fell by 4,750 to 231,500. Weekly filings for unemployment benefits, which are considered a proxy for layoffs, remain low by historic standards. The total number of Americans collecting jobless benefits rose by 13,000 to 1.87 million for the week of Aug. 17.
August 30, 2024 5:14 am
The average rate on a 30-year mortgage eased for the second week in a row and remains at its lowest level in more than a year. That’s good news for prospective homebuyers facing home prices near all-time highs. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the rate fell to 6.35% from 6.46% last week. A year ago, the rate averaged 7.18%. Mortgage rates are expected to keep trending lower overall this year. That’s due to signs of waning inflation and a cooling job market, which have raised expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut its benchmark interest rate next month for the first time in four years.
August 30, 2024 5:12 am
(AP) – A Boar’s Head deli meat plant in Virginia tied to a deadly food poisoning outbreak repeatedly violated federal regulations, including instances of mold, insects, liquid dripping from ceilings, and meat and fat residue on walls, floors and equipment. Government inspectors logged 69 instances of “noncompliance” with federal rules in the past year, including several in recent weeks, according to documents released through federal Freedom of Information Act requests. U.S. Agriculture Department officials say in a statement that the plant will remain closed “until the establishment is able to demonstrate it can produce safe product.” The plant has been linked to the deaths of at least nine people and hospitalizations of about 50 others in 18 states. All were sickened with listeria after eating Boar’s Head Provisions Co. Inc. deli meats. (Photo: AP)
