December 20, 2024 1:55 am
Washington County Commissioners formally adopted their County Buisiness Continuity and Disaster Recovery Policy and Plan. The measure comes about to insure that county information and data are protected and that the proper preventive measures are in place so that if there is another cyber attack similar to the one in January 2024, the county will be able to recoup costs associated with recovery. According to Commissioner Chairman Nick Sherman the plan dictates recovery responsibilities should another cyber attack occur. It also allows the county IT department to easily communicate with vendors to make sure up to date protections are in place. Sherman says that insurance companies are the drivers behind changes made by any enterprise’s IT department. The move was made to make sure county residents do not have to foot the cost of any recovery charges should another cyber attack occur. That cyber attack in January cost the county $400,000 in ransome monies. According to Sherman, a third party vendor was found to be deficient in their protections. He said that efforts to recoup the ransome money and associated costs are still in action.
December 19, 2024 5:18 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump has announced “success” in coming up with a new bill to fund the government and lift the debt ceiling a day before a government shutdown. Trump posted on social media that he was urging Congress to swiftly pass it, in votes as soon as Thursday evening. Republicans say they have narrowed in on a tentative accord. It would keep government running for three more months, add in disaster assistance and allow more borrowing through Jan. 30, 2027, several Republicans said. House Speaker Mike Johnson had been fighting to figure out how to meet Trump’s sudden demands — and keep his own job. It’s unclear if Democrats whose votes will be needed for passage are on board. (Photo: AP)
December 19, 2024 4:20 pm
NEW YORK (AP) — The suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO is back in New York facing new federal charges of murder and stalking, escalating the case after his earlier indictment on state charges. Luigi Mangione agreed to return to New York after a Thursday morning court appearance in Pennsylvania where he was arrested last week. He appeared in a Manhattan federal court in the afternoon where a magistrate ordered he be detained. The federal complaint unsealed Thursday charges him with two counts of stalking and one count each of murder through use of a firearm and a firearms offense. Murder by firearm could bring the possibility of the death penalty. (Photo: AP)
December 19, 2024 9:18 am
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell markedly last week following a big increase the week before. Jobless claim applications declined by 22,000 to 220,000 for the week of Dec. 14, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That’s fewer than the 229,000 analysts were forecasting. Continuing claims, the total number of Americans collecting jobless benefits, fell by 5,000 to 1.87 million for the week of Dec. 7. That was also fewer than analysts had projected. The four-week average of weekly claims, which quiets some of the week-to-week volatility, rose by 1,250 to 225,500. Weekly applications for jobless benefits are considered representative of U.S. layoffs.
December 19, 2024 6:37 am
WASHINGTON, Pa. — (WPXI) – Scams tend to ramp up around the holiday season and this year it appears as though the Pennsylvania Coroner’s Association is the latest target. Washington County Coroner, Tim Warco had someone trying to pose as him asking to send him gift cards. “Today I was called by two of the associate coroners of the commonwealth. One in Adams County and one in Beaver County that I was scammed and I had no idea what they were talking about,” Warco said. It was quite the surprise for Warco on Wednesday – when he learned someone had used his name and likeness in a phishing attempt. “Initially they sent an email address out saying hey can you help me reply back and then the few that did reply back got a message asking for help purchasing gift cards and providing gift card numbers,” Matthew Yancosek said. Yancosek with the coroner’s office says it’s not the first time the Pennsylvania Coroner’s Association has been through this. A total of 44 emails were sent through the state association server. Warco says he’s never asked anyone from the association to buy him gift cards so the message was a red flag, even though the email appeared to come from Tim Warco. The Beaver County Coroner put out a post onto social media Wednesday cautioning people to be on alert. Those with the coroner’s association want to know if anyone else received these fake emails. If you are one of those people you can reach out to the PA coroner’s association or the Washington county coroner’s office.
December 19, 2024 5:09 am
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Police say the shooter who killed a student and teacher at a religious school in Wisconsin this week brought two guns to the school. The 15-year-old girl also was in contact with a man in California who authorities say was planning to attack a government building. The new details became public Wednesday in court documents and interviews with authorities investigating the teenager who took her own life on Monday after opening fire in a study hall at Abundant Life Christian School. Madison authorities also identified those killed as 42-year-old Erin Michelle West and 14-year-old Rubi Patricia Vergara. The Associated Press could not immediately reach family members.
December 19, 2024 5:05 am
Workers at seven Amazon facilities are on strike. The union said that the workers are joining the picket line Thursday after Amazon ignored a Sunday deadline the union set for contract negotiations. The workers had authorized strikes in the past few days. It will take place in New York, California, Illinois and Georgia. Amazon says it doesn’t expect an impact on its operations. The Teamsters say they represent nearly 10,000 workers at ten Amazon facilities. Amazon employs 1.5 million people in its warehouses and corporate offices.
December 19, 2024 2:13 am
The Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission stopped by in Charleroi on Wednesday to conduct one of their “No Hate In Our State” town hall meetings. Members of the PHRC, local government and two activist organizations participated in a round table discussion on how to foster community and eliminate hate among varied community groups. Chad Dion Lassiter, Executive Director of the PHRC feels that community comes from within. Everyone knows inside of them the type of community in which they wish to live. They just need to live those values. Charleroi Borough Manager Joe Manning stated that one can not simply enact policies to diminish hate. He said that people need to elect officials that will lead the community in the type of society that they wish to live. Emily Holmes is the State Program Officer for Common Ground USA. She says that community gatherings attended by all groups are necessary to foster understanding, “it is hard to hate someone that you are having dinner with.” An audience participation segment spurred divergent opinions. John Lunt a Charleroi business owner feels that immigrants, Haitians in particular, are handed everything to them, especially drivers licenses. Jimmy Alexandre operates the Haitian Resource Center and he said his organization is looking to develop real relationships with residents of Charleroi. Borough Councilman Larry Celaschi indicated that information about the meeting was not well disseminated. He also pointed out that he would prefer that a panel be more diverse including members of the business community, residents and members of the minority communities. Prior to the meeting, information was released that up to 100 protestors would be at the meeting. Those protestors never showed.
December 18, 2024 5:48 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump has abruptly rejected a bipartisan plan to prevent a Christmastime government shutdown. Instead, he’s telling House Speaker Mike Johnson and Republicans to essentially renegotiate — days before a deadline when federal funding runs out. Trump’s sudden decision on Wednesday to make new demands sent Congress spiraling as lawmakers are trying to wrap up work and head home for the holidays. It leaves Johnson scrambling to salvage a new plan, days before Friday’s deadline to keep government open. “Republicans must GET SMART and TOUGH,” Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance said in a statement.
December 18, 2024 5:14 am
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Community members in Wisconsin are continuing to wrestle with grief and calling for change in the aftermath of a school shooting that killed a teacher and a student and wounded six others. Investigators are trying to determine a motive. The police chief says it appears to be a “combination of factors.” He’s urging anyone who knew the 15-year-old shooter’s feelings to reach out. The shooting occurred Monday at Abundant Life Christian School. The shooter died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Barnes said police are talking with the shooter’s father and other family members, who are cooperating.
