January 29, 2025 2:05 am
It was a moment of appreciation for the staff, board of directors and one special maintenance technician from the Thomas Campbell Apartments at the South Strabane Township Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday. The township recognized the group because of their efforts in a January 22 fire that was quickly contained and caused minimal damage to the building. Fire Chief Jordan Cramer issued Certificates of Appreciation to the Board of Directors of the Thomas Campbell Apartments for installing a nearly $2 million state of the art fire alert and sprinkler system. He honored the staff for their efforts in aiding the fight of the fire and he honored Lester Pirillo. Pirillo is a maintenance technician that was alerted to the fire by the alarm system. The system told him exactly where the fire was located. He grabbed a fire extinguisher and immediately attacked the fire, bringing it under control until the fire department arrived. Cramer praised the board for their investment in the system. Board of Directors Chairman Pastor John Owen praised Cramer on his efforts to convince the board to invest in the system. The fire comes just over 3 years after a fire in December of 2021 that claimed the life of one resident and displaced more than 50 others for 2 years. The January fire did claim one life, but damage to the building was limited to the unit where the fire was located.
January 28, 2025 5:39 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge has temporarily blocked a Trump administration freeze on federal grants and loans that could total trillions of dollars. U.S. District Judge Loren L. AliKhan blocked the action Tuesday afternoon, minutes before it was set to go into effect. The administrative stay pauses the freeze until Monday. The White House had planned to start the pause as they begin an across-the-board ideological review of federal spending. The plan sparked confusion and panic among organizations that rely on Washington for their financial lifeline. Administration officials have said federal assistance to individuals would not be affected, including Social Security, Medicare, food stamps, student loans and scholarships. (Photo: AP)
January 28, 2025 2:22 pm
South Strabane Police and fire crews were called out just after nine o’clock Tuesday morning for a head-on crash near the intersection of East Beau Street and Floral Hill Drive. Authorities say they found one individual trapped in their vehicle but were able to extricate them. Two people were taken from the scene to area hospitals. There’s been no word on how serious the injuries are or how the crash occurred. (Photo courtesy of South Strabane Fire Department)
January 28, 2025 10:17 am
(WPXI) – The cause of a fire in Donora this morning is under investigation. Firefighters battled a house fire in Donora Tuesday morning. Washington County dispatchers say that calls came in for a reported structure fire in the 1200 block of McKean Avenue around 5:30. A woman and her sister told our news partners at Channel 11 – that they were inside the home when the fire broke out. “I smelled something burning, opened up my bedroom door, our whole house is full of smoke, so I got my sister. We got out, and the whole back of my house was on fire,” said homeowner Bobbie Fygolah. Several trucks lined 13th Street as crews searched the top floor for hot spots. Street crews had to salt and monitor the roads to keep firefighters safe, as ice formed in several areas. There were no injuries but Donora’s fire chief believes the house is a total loss.
January 28, 2025 6:43 am
Washington County Commissioners are set to hold a forum this week to discuss the new public safety radio system approved back in September. Invitations were sent out to emergency responders and municipal leaders throughout the County. It will be held Wednesday evening from 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m at the South Franklin VFD social hall. According to the invitation, representatives from Motorola will provide an overview of the new, nearly $25 million system.
January 28, 2025 5:07 am
A frenzy over an artificial intelligence chatbot made by Chinese tech startup DeepSeek was upending stock markets Monday and fueling debates over the economic and geopolitical competition between the U.S. and China in developing AI technology. DeepSeek’s AI assistant became the No. 1 downloaded free app on Apple’s iPhone store Monday, propelled by curiosity about the ChatGPT competitor. Part of what’s worrying some U.S. tech industry observers is the idea that the Chinese startup has caught up with the American companies at the forefront of generative AI at a fraction of the cost. But hype and misconceptions about DeepSeek’s technological advancements also sowed confusion.
January 28, 2025 5:06 am
WADI GAZA, Gaza Strip (AP) — Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have streamed into heavily destroyed northern Gaza in their first chance to return since the early weeks of the 15-month war with Hamas. Meanwhile, Israel says eight of the hostages to be freed in the weeks ahead are dead. A fragile ceasefire has entered a second week. The return of Palestinians is a dramatic reversal of the mass exodus that many had feared Israel would make permanent. Palestinians who have been sheltering in squalid tent camps and former schools are eager to return to their homes, even if they are likely destroyed.
January 28, 2025 5:05 am
SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) — A week into Donald Trump’s second presidency and his efforts to crack down on illegal immigration, federal officers are operating with a new sense of mission. A dozen officers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement gathered before dawn Monday in a Maryland parking lot, then fanned out to the Washington suburbs to find their targets: someone wanted in El Salvador for homicide, a person convicted of armed robbery in Maryland, a migrant found guilty of possessing child sexual abuse material and another with drug and gun convictions. All were in the country illegally. The Associated Press accompanied the officers, who offered a glimpse of how their work has changed.
January 28, 2025 5:03 am
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Chrystia Freeland, the former finance minister who is running to replace Justin Trudeau as Canada’s prime minister, says her country needs to release a “retaliation list” of goods the country would target if U.S. President Donald Trump makes good on his threat to slap 25% tariffs on Canadian goods. A list of products worth $200 billion Canadian dollars would send a message to U.S. exporters about the harm tariffs would cause them, Freeland said Monday in a statement. “Our counterpunch must be dollar-for-dollar — and it must be precisely and painfully targeted: Florida orange growers, Wisconsin dairy farmers, Michigan dishwasher manufacturers, and much more.”
January 28, 2025 5:01 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has signed a flurry of executive orders focused on the military. One directs Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to revise the Pentagon’s policy on transgender troops, likely setting in motion a future ban on their military service. Other orders would roll back diversity programs, create a space-based missile defense system and reinstate troops booted for refusing COVID-19 vaccines. The orders come just after Hegseth began his first day on the job Monday. A transgender ban had been widely expected, and lawyers for transgender troops have already pledged to fight it.
