November 8, 2024 5:16 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Racist text messages invoking slavery raised alarm across the country this week after they were sent to Black men, women and students, including middle schoolers, prompting inquiries by the FBI and other agencies. The messages, sent anonymously, were reported in several states, including New York, Alabama, California, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Tennessee. They generally used a similar tone but varied in wording. Some said the recipient was going to a “plantation” and instructed them to show up at an address at a particular time “with your belongings.” It wasn’t yet clear who was behind the messages and there was no comprehensive list of where they were sent, but high school and college students were among the recipients.
November 8, 2024 5:14 am
A federal judge has struck down a Biden administration policy that aimed to ease a path to citizenship for some undocumented immigrants who are married to U.S. citizens. The program allowed undocumented spouses and stepchildren of U.S. citizens to apply for a green card without first having to leave the country. The temporary relief from deportation brought a short-lived sense of security to some 500,000 immigrants estimated to benefit from the program. Texas-based U.S. District Judge J. Campbell Barker ruled Thursday that the Biden administration had overstepped its authority by implementing the initiative. Its termination creates uncertainty for immigrant families as many are bracing for Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
November 8, 2024 5:11 am
AMSTERDAM (AP) — Amsterdam police say that five people were hospitalized and 62 arrested after authorities said antisemitic rioters attacked Israeli supporters following a soccer match. Amsterdam authorities say rioters “actively sought out Israeli supporters to attack and assault them” after Europa League match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv. Israel said it was sending planes to the Dutch capital to fly fans home. The violence that was condemned by the leaders of both the Netherlands and Israel as antisemitic. A statement issued by the Dutch capital’s municipality, police and prosecution office said that the night after the Europa League match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv “was very turbulent with several incidents of violence aimed at Maccabi supporters.”
November 8, 2024 5:07 am
A house fire Thursday evening in Charleroi has left one person injured. Washington County 9-1-1 says it broke out just before 6:30 p.m. in the 900-block of Crest Avenue. According to the Charleroi Fire Department the elderly woman was rescued from the front of the home and was flown to Mercy Hospital in Pittsburgh. There is no word on her identity or condition. There is also no word on the cause of the fire, but dispatchers tell us it was a small fire and the State Police Fire Marshall has not been called in. (PHOTO: Charleroi Fire Department Facebook)
November 8, 2024 4:57 am
CANONSBURG, Pa. — (WPXI) – A sewage plant in Canonsburg located right between Interstate 79 and Southpointe started to give off a pungent smell six months ago, concerning the people who work and live around it. Some said they had a hard time breathing, others even called the gas company thinking it was a possible leak. Canonsburg Council president Rich Russo started asking questions about why the odor was so bad. “It was consistent. Day in, day out, so they started looking into it and they started to test the treatment and that’s when they found out it was coming from this one interceptor from North Strabane,” Russo said. Russo says at its worst the smell was detected a quarter mile around the Canonsburg-Houston Joint Sewer Authority plant, which serves 35,000 households in the area. Russo says the DEP issued a decree over 15 years ago to North Strabane saying it had to feed calcium nitrate into its system to eliminate the smell. At some point over the past six months, that stopped. The chairman of the North Strabane Township Authority Board Jason Orsini says it was first brought to our attention when Canonsburg emailed us a copy and none of, us “meaning at the authority, staff, engineer, attorney nobody was even aware of that.” Orsini said the board treated the water once it found out. “The chemical does get added to a pump station and it does help with some hydrogen sulfide odors,” Orsini added. North Strabane says it plans to continue to treat the water. Orsini says there have been odors at the plant in the past that have nothing to do with North Strabane’s sewer line.
November 8, 2024 4:52 am
CANTON TOWNSHIP, Pa. — (WPXI) – A man accused of sexually assaulting a child in Washington County is in prison. Charges have been filed against Edward Gibbon Snider Jr., 35, of Canton Township. Court documents say Snider forced a 9-year-old girl to have oral sex with him multiple times over the course of May 2018-March 2019. Snider was charged with three felony counts of involuntary deviant sexual intercourse with a child, indecent assault, aggravated assault of a child, and corruption of minors on Wednesday. He was unable to post bail and is expected to appear in court for a hearing later this month.
November 8, 2024 2:51 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican David McCormick won a Senate seat in Pennsylvania on Thursday, defeating Democratic Sen. Bob Casey and padding the GOP’s Senate majority. McCormick, 59, is a two-time Senate challenger and a former hedge fund CEO who served in former President George W. Bush’s administration. McCormick had strong support from Wall Street donors and contacts across the worlds of government, politics and finance. Casey had been seeking his fourth term and is perhaps Pennsylvania’s best-known politician, the son of a former two-term governor and Pennsylvania’s longest-ever serving Democrat in the Senate.
November 8, 2024 2:50 am
Washington County Commissioners released plans for a proposed Public Safety Building at their voting meeting on Thursday. Commissioners approved a purchase and sale agreement to transfer the property containing the Courthouse Square Building, Garage and County Jail to begin the project later this year. They also approved a $12.5 million bond to aid in financing the project. The vote to approve that bond was 2-1 with Commissioner Larry Maggi dissenting without comment. The proposed facility will be a three story, 70,000 square foot building that will house the Sheriff’s office, the county 9-1-1 center and a booking center. The booking center is new to the county and will aid law enforcement with suspects that suffer from mental or physical issues. The project will cost between $30-$35 million dollars and will be funded primarily through American Rescue Plan Act funds. Additional federal and state grants will also be sought. Demolition bids for the Courthouse Square Building will be released in November with actual demolition expected in January. Construction bids will be released in February.
November 7, 2024 9:25 am
A 38-year old woman was flown to a Pittsburgh hospital after being struck by a vehicle in her own driveway Thursday morning in South Strabane Township. It happened just after 8:30 in the driveway of a home in the 500-block of Potomac Drive in the Washington Woods development. South Strabane Township Police say the unidentified woman was pinned beneath the vehicle but was conscious and alert when first responders arrived. Police Chief Drew Hilk says an investigation continues but they believe she was struck by her own driver-less vehicle. Police say they are working to determine if anyone may have video surveillance or may have witnessed the events and are asking anyone with information to contact police. The woman was taken by ambulance to UPMC Washington Hospital and then flown by medical helicopter to a Pittsburgh hospital. There is no word on her condition.
November 7, 2024 5:17 am
HAVANA (AP) — Cuba is reeling after a powerful Category 3 hurricane ripped across the island and fierce winds knocked out the country’s power grid. The magnitude of the impact from Hurricane Rafael remained unclear through the early hours of Thursday. Forecasters had warned that Rafael could bring “life-threatening” storm surges, winds and flash floods to Cuba after ravaging parts of the Cayman Islands and Jamaica.
