September 25, 2024 5:03 am
NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S., France and other allies are jointly calling for an immediate 21-day cease-fire to allow for negotiations in the escalating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that has killed more than 600 people in Lebanon. The joint statement Wednesday, negotiated on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, says the recent fighting is “intolerable and presents an unacceptable risk of a broader regional escalation.” The statement calls on “all parties, including the Governments of Israel and Lebanon, to endorse the temporary ceasefire immediately.” The signatories include the United States, Australia, Canada, the European Union, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Qatar. They said they hoped both Israel and Hezbollah would accept it quickly.
September 25, 2024 5:01 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House has passed a temporary spending bill that would keep federal agencies funded when the new fiscal year begins next Tuesday while punting final decisions on spending for the next budget year until after the Nov. 5 election. The stopgap measure, approved Wednesday by a 341-82 vote, generally funds agencies at current levels through Dec. 20. Speaker Mike Johnson touted the measure as doing only what’s absolutely necessary in a bid to win over conservatives. The measure now moves to the Senate, which is expected to approve it later Wednesday.
September 25, 2024 5:00 am
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Fast-moving Hurricane Helene is advancing across the Gulf of Mexico toward Florida and it’s been upgraded to a Category 2 storm. Forecasters say it threatens an “unsurvivable” storm surge in parts of northwestern Florida, as well as damaging winds, rains and flash floods hundreds of miles inland across much of the southeastern United States. Landfall is expected Thursday evening. The governors of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina have all declared emergencies in their states. In the Pacific, former Hurricane John strengthened Thursday morning back into a hurricane as it threatened areas of Mexico’s western coast with flash flooding and mudslides.
September 25, 2024 5:00 am
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Forecasters are warning that huge Hurricane Helene will intensify as it crosses the Gulf of Mexico on a path to Florida. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Wednesday that the hurricane is about 500 miles southwest of Tampa, Florida, with sustained winds of 80 mph. Helene became a tropical storm Tuesday in the western Caribbean Sea and strengthened into a hurricane Wednesday. Forecasters say it is expected to become at least a Category 3 hurricane with its center making landfall in the Big Bend area of Florida’s northwestern coast as soon as late Thursday. In the Pacific, former Hurricane John re-formed as a tropical storm and again threatened parts of Mexico’s western coast.
September 25, 2024 4:58 am
BEIRUT (AP) — Hezbollah has launched a missile at Tel Aviv in its deepest strike yet into Israel, marking a further escalation after Israeli strikes on Lebanon killed hundreds of people. The Israeli military said it intercepted the projectile, which set off air raid sirens in Tel Aviv and across central Israel, and there were no reports of casualties or damage. The military said it struck the site from which the projectile was launched. Hezbollah said it targeted the headquarters of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency, which it blames for the targeted killings of its commanders and for an attack in which explosives hidden in personal devices killed dozens and wounded thousands, including many Hezbollah members.
September 25, 2024 4:51 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Washington County violated state law when election workers refused to tell voters whether their mail-in ballot would be counted in April’s primary election, an appeals court ruled Tuesday. The case is one of several election-related lawsuits being fought in courts in Pennsylvania, a presidential battleground state where November’s contest between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris could be close. Through a 2-1 decision, the statewide Commonwealth Court panel upheld Judge Brandon Neuman’s month-old order. The order requires county employees to notify any voter whose mail-in ballot is rejected because of an error — such as a missing signature or missing handwritten date — so that the voter has an opportunity to challenge the decision. It also requires Washington County to allow those voters to vote by provisional ballot. In the 19-page majority opinion, Judge Michael Wojcik wrote that the county’s past policy “emasculates” the law’s guarantees that voters can protest the rejection of their ballot and take advantage of the “statutory failsafe” of casting a provisional ballot. The local NAACP branch, the Center for Coalfield Justice and seven voters whose ballots had been rejected in the April 23 primary sued the county earlier this summer, accusing Washington County of violating the constitutional due process rights of voters by deliberately concealing whether their ballot had been counted.
September 25, 2024 4:45 am
North Strabane Township Supervisors took steps to advance a project that appeared before them earlier this spring. Supervisors voted to schedule a public hearing on the definition of a “personal warehouse.” The hearing will take place on October 15 at 6:00 PM. CC Realty Advisors is looking to develop the personal warehouse. They want to build it at the corner of Morganza and Curry Roads. Supervisors voted to not change the zoning on that parcel to industrial. It will remain under a highway commercial zoning use. Supervisors also voted to change the weight restriction on Demar Blvd. It will now have a 10 ton weight limit. According to Township Manager Andrew Walz, residents have been complaining about excessive traffic from large trucks using the road as a shortcut from Interstate 79 to Route 19. Finally, Supervisors approved a development package of $1,632,890 to remodel their new municipal building at 1957 Route 519. The Waller Corporation will be the general contractor on the project.
September 24, 2024 5:37 pm
(AP) – Two major weather systems are bringing heavy rain, high winds and more to Mexico’s southern Pacific coast on one side and the Caribbean on the other. Tropical Storm John struck Mexico late Monday night as a Category 3 hurricane before weakening back to tropical storm status early Tuesday. Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Helene formed in the Caribbean Sea on Tuesday after bringing heavy rains and big waves to the Cayman Islands. Forecasters warn the storm could strengthen into a major hurricane en route to the southeast U.S. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency in dozens of counties ahead of the storm’s arrival.
September 24, 2024 1:45 pm
State Police in Greene County are investigating the death of a Waynesburg man. Troopers say 65-year-old John Thralls died Monday after being assaulted on Friday in the two-hundred block of Tollgate Run. Thralls was taken to an area hospital where he later died.
September 24, 2024 4:51 am
A Washington man is headed to court for his role in a SWAT incident last month on East Maiden Street. 67 year old Walter Klick was in court Monday and is being charged with several counts of aggravated assault and terroristic threats after holding police at bay during a standoff and allegedly firing and striking a Beaver county SWAT vehicle in late August. The charging complaint states Klick, who lives in the 700 block of East Maiden Street, became angry after a female he resided with resisted his sexual advances and threatened to shoot her and her child. The woman fled the scene with her daughter and alerted police that Klick was threatening to kill them. When officers arrived to speak with Klick, he did not respond to calls or knocks at the door and a standoff ensued. Residents were advised to stay in their homes as police continued to try to negotiate with Klick. He held authorities off for several hours and shortly after the shots that struck the SWAT vehicle, police entered the residence and took him into custody.
