Controller Sloane To Face Bond Revocation Hearing

July 5, 2024 4:08 am

A bond revocation hearing has been scheduled for next week for Washington County Controller April Sloane. A motion to revoke comes from District Attorney Jason Walsh after North Strabane Township police received a tip that Sloane was living in an apartment with a cat.  Sloane faces two felony counts of aggravated cruelty to animals and a misdemeanor count of animal neglect for the death of a dog back in December of 2023. Part of her bond was that she not keep animals.  The hearing will take place on July 10 at 9:00 AM in front of Judge John DiSalle.

Employers Added Solid 206,000 Jobs In June

July 5, 2024 9:18 am

WASHINGTON (AP) — America’s employers delivered another healthy month of hiring in June, adding 206,000 jobs and once again displaying the U.S. economy’s ability to withstand continually high interest rates. Last month’s job growth did mark a pullback from 218,000 in May. But it was still a strong gain, reflecting the resilience of America’s consumer-driven economy, which is slowing but still growing steadily. Still, Friday’s report contained some signs of a slowing job market. The unemployment rate ticked up from 4% to 4.1%, a still-low number but the highest rate since November 2021. The government also sharply revised down its estimate of job growth for April and May by a combined 111,000.

No Injuries After City House Fire

July 5, 2024 5:52 am

The State Police Fire Marshall is investigating a fire overnight in the City of Washington.  Washington County 9-1-1 says it broke out just before midnight at a home in the 600-block of Broad Street. No injuries were reported and no other information is available at this time.

Canonsburg Holds 61st Annual Fourth Of July Parade

July 5, 2024 4:55 am

CANONSBURG, Pa. — (WPXI) – Canonsburg held its 61st annual Fourth of July parade on Thursday. Thousands of spectators from far and wide attend the event each year, making it the second-largest Fourth of July parade in Pennsylvania. Spectators reserve their chairs days in advance. For many people in this community, this parade is a long-standing tradition. Trumpet player Vic Bell, who has been marching in the parade since he was a kid. “I did the first parade in 1962,” he said. “I’m 80 years old, my dad marched in this parade, he was 86!” Now, four generations of Bells are marching, including Vic’s grandchildren. “I tell people all the time you have no idea how many people are in the parade or at the parade unless you’re in it,” Bell said. In the parade’s sixth decade, plenty of parents who were once in it are now watching their children march. “I love it, I’ve been coming here since I was a kid, so it’s really special this year to be in it as an adult, my son is in it this year,” said Kayla McCormley, assistant band director at Chartiers Houston.

Biden Works To Salvage Imperiled Reelection Campaign

July 5, 2024 4:59 am

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is opening a critical stretch in his effort to salvage his imperiled reelection campaign. There’s a growing sense that Biden may have just days to make a persuasive case that he’s fit for office before Democratic support for him completely evaporates in the aftermath of his disastrous debate performance against Donald Trump. Already, some financial backers are holding off or canceling upcoming fundraisers. And Biden himself acknowledged to Democratic governors that he needs to get more sleep and limit late events so he can be fit and rested for the job.

Labour Secures Big Majority To Win UK Election

July 5, 2024 5:18 am

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says the British people have “delivered a sobering verdict” as he conceded that the Labour Party has won the election. With more than two-thirds of results counted, Labour has secured enough seats to form a majority government. Exit poll results suggested that after 14 years in power under five different prime ministers, Sunak’s Conservatives are set to have their seats in the 650-seat House of Commons cut down to 131. That would be the Tories’ worst result in the party’s two-century history.

Iran Holds Runoff Presidential Vote

July 5, 2024 5:19 am

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iranians have begun voting in a runoff election to replace the late President Ebrahim Raisi, killed in a helicopter crash last month, as public apathy has become pervasive in the Islamic Republic after years of economic woes, mass protests and tensions in the Middle East. Voters face a choice between the hard-line former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili and Masoud Pezeshkian, a heart surgeon and longtime parliament member who has allied himself with moderates and reformists within Iran’s Shiite theocracy. An initial round of voting June 28 saw no candidate get over 50% of the vote, forcing the runoff. It also saw the lowest turnout ever for an Iranian election, leaving turnout Friday a major question.

Israel Military Operation Kills 5 Palestinians

July 5, 2024 5:20 am

JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli military says it is conducting a counterterrorism activity that includes an airstrike in the area of the West Bank city of Jenin. Palestinian authorities say five people were killed. The military said Friday that Israeli soldiers had “encircled a building where terrorists have barricaded themselves in” and the soldiers were exchanging fire, while an airstrike had “struck several armed terrorists” in the area. The Palestinian Health Ministry said five people died but did not provide any information on their identities. No further details were immediately available from either side.

Fire In Bentleyville

July 4, 2024 7:13 am

A fire broke out Wednesday night in Bentleyville, according to their fire department Facebook page. An alarm came in just before 10 pm in the 400 block of Main Street for a commercial structure fire.  Crews found an active fire inside a wall, which they quickly extinguished. No injuries reported and no cause of fire has been released. (Photo: Bentleyville Fire Facebook Page)

Beryl Heading Towards Mexico

July 4, 2024 5:22 am

PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico (AP) — Hurricane Beryl ripped off roofs in Jamaica, jumbled fishing boats in Barbados and damaged or destroyed 95% of homes on a pair of islands in St. Vincent and the Grenadines before rumbling toward the Cayman Islands and taking aim at Mexico’s Caribbean coast with at least seven dead in its wake. What had been the earliest Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic has weakened slightly but remained a major hurricane. Its eye was forecast to pass just south of the Cayman Islands overnight. Mexico’s popular Caribbean coast prepared shelters, evacuated some small outlying coastal communities and even moved sea turtle eggs off beaches threatened by storm surge.