March 29, 2023 4:19 am
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Crews were working Wednesday to remove three remaining barges that got loose on the Ohio River, including one carrying methanol. The Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet says a total of 10 barges got loose early Tuesday on the river near Louisville. Most were recovered, but the U.S Army Corp of Engineers says three were pinned against the McAlpine Locks and Dam and the locks are closed to traffic until the barges are stabilized. Kentucky officials say one barge was carrying 1,400 tons of methanol and was partially submerged. Methanol, also known as wood alcohol, is a colorless liquid that’s flammable and acutely toxic. Louisville Metro Emergency Services told news outlets they’re monitoring air and water, but “there is zero evidence of a tank breach or any leaks.” (Photo: AP)
March 29, 2023 4:16 am
BEIJING (AP) — China has threatened “resolute countermeasures” over a planned meeting between Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen and United States House Speaker Kevin McCarthy during an upcoming transit visit in Los Angeles by the head of the self-governing island democracy China claims as its own territory. A spokesperson for the Cabinet’s Taiwan Affairs Office did not give details at a news conference Wednesday, other than to demand that no U.S. officials meet with her. Tsai is scheduled to transit through New York on March 30 before heading to Guatemala and Belize. She’s expected to stop in Los Angeles on April 5 on her way back to Taiwan. That’s when the meeting with McCarthy is tentatively scheduled.
March 29, 2023 4:10 am
North Strabane Township Supervisors met Tuesday and worked quickly through their agenda. The biggest item presented was the rejection of the township’s 2023 road paving program. The rejection was not because of bad news. The township received a State Local Share Account grant of $400,000 to use on the McDowell Lane portion of the program. According to Township Manager Andrew Walz, because of the parameters placed on the grant, rebidding the McDowell Lane project as a separate contract was necessary. All other portions of the paving project will also be rebid. No additional roads will be included in this year’s plan. Walz also announced that PennDot rejected a request to restrict the use of brake retarders on large trucks on Rt. 519 from the township line in Eighty Four through Boone Avenue. That request was initiated by complaints from township residents. Walz also reminded residents that the April meetings for supervisors will be one week earlier. The non-legislative meeting will be on April 11 and the legislative meeting will take place on April 18.
March 29, 2023 2:45 am
(WPXI) – Authorities on Wednesday, responded to active shooter hoaxes at multiple school districts in several different counties in the Pittsburgh area. Police say there were no injuries and no evidence of any shootings at any of the schools. There was a massive police response at both Central Catholic and Oakland Catholic high schools in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood, but Pittsburgh police said both schools have since been cleared and declared safe. Other school districts that received these fake threats include Laurel Highlands, Hopewell and New Castle. Pennsylvania State Police said they are investigating phone calls made to several schools in different counties involving threats of an active shooter situation or bomb threat. They said all calls had similar content and have determined to be false.State Police across the state near Hollidaysburg and Rockview are also reporting the same thing.
March 29, 2023 2:39 am
Officials with the Canon-McMillan School District issued a letter to parents/guardians and the media on Wednesday, regarding the active-shooter swatting calls that have affected numerous school districts throughout the area. The following statement was released: The district has been made aware that local area school districts have received a phone call indicating that there is an active shooter in their schools. We have been in contact with all of our local police departments and have confirmed that these calls are fake. The Canon-McMillan School District has not received any of these hoax calls but if we do receive one of them we will take it seriously, assess the threat and respond accordingly. The Canon-McMillan School District is in constant communication with all of our local police departments and will continue to monitor the situation. As of now we will continue our normal operations with a heightened sense of awareness. For added security there will be an increased police presence in and around our schools. We will inform you if anything changes. The Trinity School District also offered a similar statement to parents and guardians of students in their district.
March 28, 2023 3:53 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge has ruled that former Vice President Mike Pence will have to testify before a grand jury in the federal probe into efforts by former President Donald Trump and his allies to overturn the 2020 election. That’s according to two people familiar with the ruling, who spoke on condition of anonymity because it remains under seal. The people said, however, that Pence would not have to answer questions about his actions on Jan. 6, 2021, when a violent mob of Trump’s supporters stormed the building as Pence was presiding over a joint session of Congress to certify the vote. Pence and his attorneys had cited constitutional grounds in challenging the subpoena.
March 28, 2023 9:23 am
A report published by a Pittsburgh newspaper says Washington Health System has engaged in talks with larger hospital networks “that could result in an acquisition or expanded partnership.” The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette report says three people with knowledge of the negotiations, but who are not authorized to speak publicly, confirmed that Washington Health System was involved in merger negotiations with Highmark Health and other larger medical systems. According to the report, Washington Health System declined comment. WJPA News reached out to officials for comment but were told they would not comment on the report at this time. The published report says Highmark spokesman Dan Laurent also declined comment. A spokesman for Penn-Highlands Healthcare, which operates Monongahela Valley Hospital in Carroll Township, said he was not aware of talks at Washington Health System.
March 28, 2023 8:19 am
MEXICO CITY (AP) — A fire in a dormitory at a Mexican immigration detention center near the U.S. border left more than three dozen migrants dead. It was one of the deadliest incidents ever at an immigration lockup in the country. Hours after the fire broke out late Monday, rows of bodies were laid out under shimmery silver sheets outside the facility in Ciudad Juarez, across from El Paso, Texas. Ambulances, firefighters and vans from the morgue swarmed the scene. The National Immigration Institute said 39 people died and 29 were injured.
March 28, 2023 4:17 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation’s top financial regulator is asserting that Silicon Valley Bank’s own management was largely to blame for the bank’s failure earlier this month and says the Federal Reserve will review whether a 2018 law that weakened stricter bank rules also contributed to its collapse. “SVB’s failure is a textbook case of mismanagement,” Michael Barr, the Fed’s vice chair for supervision, said in written testimony that will be delivered Tuesday at a Senate hearing. Barr pointed to the bank’s “concentrated business model,” in which its customers were overwhelmingly venture capital and high-tech firms in Silicon Valley. He also contends that the bank failed to manage the risks of its bond holdings.
March 28, 2023 4:15 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans plan to deliver a subpoena to Secretary of State Antony Blinken for classified cables related to the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Mike McCaul said Monday that he will be issuing the first subpoena as chairman. The Texas Republican said he had spoken with Blinken earlier and was notified the agency would not be turning over a so-called dissent cable. According to press reports, the July 2021 communication was written by diplomats at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul shortly before the August 2021 withdrawal and warned Blinken about the potential fall of Kabul via a special “dissent channel.”
