March 8, 2024 4:46 am
Washington County Commissioners continue to have issues with a supposed grant that was meant to be allocated to the Washington City Mission. The disagreement centers on Local Share Account funding. Before the business section of the March 7 voting meeting, Commissioner Larry Maggi requested an item addressing the funding be added to the voting agenda. In a statement prior to his motion, Maggi said that the LSA Committee issued a list on January 30, of recommended projects to be funded in 2024. Number 38 on the list was the City Mission 50 bed homeless shelter with recommended funding of $500,000. He continued by saying that on February 6, a new list was issued and the City Mission 50 bed homeless shelter was removed. Maggi further stated that phone calls from the commissioner’s office were made to the LSA Committee indicating that the City Misson project be removed. Maggi expressed his disappointment with his fellow commissioners’ actions and interference in the LSA Grant approval process. Maggi then motioned to amend the voting agenda to include the $500,000 grant to the City Mission as originally proposed on January 30. Commissioner Chairman Nick Sherman amended the motion to have it read that the commissioners recommend the LSA Committee reconvene and consider the allocation of the remaining $500,000 held over for next year. The motion indicated that the City Mission project and all other projects not allocated be considered. Maggi’s motion was not considered because County Solicitor Gary Sweat stated that recent Sunshine Law amendments disallow approval of payments or contracts without 24 hours notice. The amended motion passed, and the issue is now in the hands of the LSA Committee. According to Sherman, it is his hope that the LSA Committee can meet virtually to discuss the matter and report recommendations back to commissioners before their March 21 meeting. All LSA fund recommendations must be finalized before March 31.
March 8, 2024 4:52 am
WASHINGTON, Pa. — (WPXI) – Check your tickets! A Pennsylvania Lottery Powerball ticket worth $100,000 was sold in Washington County. The ticket matched four of the five white balls and the red Powerball drawn Wednesday: 6-19-28-44-60, Powerball 10. The Powerball multiplier was two. The ticket was sold at The Meadows Racetrack & Casino in Washington, which earns a $500 bonus for selling the winning ticket, the Pennsylvania Lottery said. Pennsylvania Lottery Powerball winners have one year from the drawing date to claim prizes.
March 8, 2024 5:00 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden delivered a defiant argument for a second term in his State of the Union speech Thursday night, lacing into GOP front-runner Donald Trump for espousing “resentment, revenge and retribution” and for jeopardizing freedom at home and abroad. Biden repeatedly delivered broadsides at “my predecessor” without ever mentioning Trump by name. The scrappy tone from Biden was a sharp break from his often humdrum daily appearances and was designed to banish doubts about whether the 81-year-old is still up to the job. For 68 minutes, Biden goaded Republicans over their policies, invited call-and-response banter with fellow Democrats on economic issues, taxes and healthcare and seemed to relish the fight.
March 8, 2024 4:57 am
BETHEL PARK, Pa. — Bethel Park police are searching for a missing 15-year-old girl. Isabella Grooms is 5 feet, 3 inches and weighs 165 pounds. She has shoulder-length brown hair and brown eyes. Isabella was last seen wearing a black hoodie with a skull design on it and gray leggings. She was last seen at 5:30 p.m. Thursday before leaving a friend’s house on Bertha Street. Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to call 412-833-2000.
March 8, 2024 2:19 am
Jim Roddey, the first elected Allegheny County Chief Executive, has died. He was 91 years old. A Marine Corps veteran, Roddey defeated long-time Allegheny County Coroner Cyril Wecht in 1999 by slightly less than 6,000 votes. He is the only Republican to ever hold the post. Allegheny County Republican Chairman Sam DeMarco, said Roddey was a “civic leader unlike any other.”
March 8, 2024 5:03 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Fake images of Donald Trump surrounded by smiling Black voters are circulating online, highlighting the potential dangers posed by artificial intelligence ahead of the 2024 election. The images, which have not been linked back to Trump’s campaign, could mislead people about the former president’s support among African Americans. Some in Trump’s campaign have expressed frustration with the images, which they said could undermine the campaign’s outreach to Black voters. Powerful AI programs that can easily generate lifelike audio and video are now cheaper and easier to use than ever, making it hard to distinguish what’s real from what’s not.
March 8, 2024 5:01 am
RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — After months of warnings over the risk of famine in Gaza under Israel’s bombardment, offensives and siege, children are starting to die. Hunger is most acute in the north, where at least 20 people — almost all children — have died from malnutrition and dehydration, according to the Health Ministry. But also in the south, where access to aid is more regular, particularly vulnerable children are also beginning to succumb. At the Emirati Hospital in Rafah, 16 premature babies have died of malnutrition-related causes over the past five weeks, the director told The Associated Press.
March 8, 2024 5:03 am
PARIS (AP) — France’s leaders used a press from the time of Napoleon to seal the right to abortion into the country’s constitution. Friday’s historic ceremony was open to the public and designed to show support to women across the world on International Women’s Day. France is the first country to explicitly guarantee abortion rights in its national charter with the amendment French legislators approved on Monday. The ceremony is a key event on a day focused on advancing women’s rights globally. Marches, demonstrations and conferences were held the world over, from Asia to Latin America and elsewhere.
March 8, 2024 5:05 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — A sweeping bank regulatory proposal will be significantly revised by year’s end, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Thursday, a potential victory for the large banks that have aggressively opposed the likely changes. The proposed rule, issued last summer by the Fed and other regulatory agencies, is intended to implement changes that were negotiated internationally after the 2008 global financial crisis. Among other things, the rule would require the largest banks — those with more than $100 billion in assets — to hold more funds in reserve to protect against bad loans and other potential losses. Large banks have resisted the proposal, which they say would limit their ability to lend.
March 8, 2024 5:07 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — A bill that could lead to the popular video-sharing app TikTok being unavailable in the United States is quickly gaining traction in the House. Lawmakers advanced legislation against TikTok Thursday as they voiced concerns about the potential for the platform to surveil and manipulate Americans. The measure gained the support of House Speaker Mike Johnson on Thursday and could soon come up for a full vote in the House. The White House has provided technical support in the drafting of the bill, though White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the TikTok legislation “still needs some work” to get to a place where President Joe Biden would endorse it.
