February 21, 2024 4:26 pm
CULVER CITY, Calif. (AP) — President Joe Biden says his administration is automatically canceling federal student loans for nearly 153,000 borrowers. He’s putting the spotlight on his debt cancellation efforts as he ramps up his reelection campaign. The announcement Wednesday during a three-day campaign swing through California is part of a new repayment plan that offers a faster path to forgiveness. The cancellations were originally scheduled to start in July, but last month the administration said it would be ready almost six months ahead of schedule, in February.
February 21, 2024 7:42 am
HAZMAT was called to a fluid spill early Wednesday morning in Peters Township. Washington County 9-1-1 says it happened just before 5 a.m. in the four-thousand block. A garbage truck reportedly lost a significant amount of hydraulic fluid onto the roadway. That forced officials to close both northbound lanes between Crosswinds Drive and E. McMurray Road. The garbage truck left the scene. Crews were able to reopen both lanes by 6:30 a.m. HAZMAT crews had to leave the scene to deal with a pair of tractor trailer accidents along Interstate 70 westbound in North Franklin Township.
February 21, 2024 7:39 am
Emergency crews were called to a pair of separate accidents involving tractor trailers early Wednesday morning along Interstate 70 westbound. Washington County 9-1-1 dispatchers say the first call came in around 5:30 a.m. for a report of a tractor trailer on fire. This was near the 13.5 mile-marker in North Franklin Township. A short time after that report, crews were then notified that a second tractor trailer had gone over a hillside in that same area. Traffic westbound was limited to a single lane for much of the morning. State Police Washington say both lanes were open just after 10 a.m. According to dispatchers, one person was transported by ambulance to Washington Hospital. There is no word on their identity or condition.
February 21, 2024 5:21 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump could be at risk of losing some of his prized properties if he can’t pay his staggering New York civil fraud penalty. With interest, he owes the state nearly $454 million — and the amount is going up by $87,502 each day until he pays. New York Attorney General Letitia James told ABC News on Tuesday that she will seek to seize some of the former president’s assets if he’s unable to cover the bill from Judge Arthur Engoron’s Feb. 16 ruling in her lawsuit against Trump, his company and top executives.
February 21, 2024 5:17 am
LYMAN, Ukraine (AP) — When the Russian army invaded two years ago, Ukrainian men zealously rushed to recruitment centers to enlist, ready to die in defense of their nation. Today, with Russia in control of roughly one-quarter of Ukraine and the two armies virtually deadlocked along the front line, that spirit to enlist has faded: Many Ukrainian men are evading the draft by hiding at home or trying to bribe their way out of the battle. As the war enters its third year, the most urgent and politically sensitive challenge pressing on Ukraine is whether it can muster enough new soldiers to repel an enemy with far more fighters at its disposal.
February 21, 2024 5:13 am
Israeli police say three gunmen opened fire on the road near a checkpoint in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, killing one Israeli and wounding at least eight, as violence persists in the territory. On Wednesday, a member of Israel’s War Cabinet said new attempts are underway to reach a cease-fire deal that could pause the war in Gaza. However, Benny Gantz repeated his pledge that unless Hamas agrees to release the remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza, Israel will launch a ground offensive into the southern city of Rafah. Around 1.5 million displaced Palestinians have crowded into the city. The war erupted after Hamas’ bloody Oct. 7 attack into Israel. Gaza’s Health Ministry estimates more than 29,000 Palestinians have been killed.
February 21, 2024 5:10 am
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Prosecutors say a former FBI informant charged with making up a multimillion-dollar bribery scheme involving President Joe Biden, his son Hunter and a Ukrainian energy company had contacts with officials affiliated with Russian intelligence. Prosecutors said that in a court filing urging a judge to keep Alexander Smirnov behind bars while he awaits trial. But U.S. Magistrate Judge Daniel Albregts allowed Smirnov to be released from custody on electronic GPS monitoring. He is charged with falsely reporting to the FBI in June 2020 that executives associated with the Ukrainian energy company Burisma paid Hunter and Joe Biden $5 million each in 2015 or 2016.
February 21, 2024 5:06 am
Israeli strikes across Gaza killed at least 67 Palestinians overnight and into Wednesday, including in areas where civilians have been told to seek refuge. The aid group Doctors Without Borders also says two people were killed when a shelter housing staff in the Gaza Strip was struck during an Israeli operation in an area where Palestinians have been told to seek shelter. The group said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that at least two family members of colleagues were killed and six others wounded. The war, which erupted after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack into Israel, has displaced around 80% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million, with most people heeding Israeli orders to flee to southern Gaza.
February 21, 2024 5:04 am
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — New figures from the gambling industry show America’s commercial casinos won more than $66 billion from gamblers in 2023, the industry’s best year ever. The American Gaming Association says that was 10% higher than in 2022, which itself was a record-setting year. When revenue figures from tribal-owned casinos are released later this year, they are expected to show that overall casino gambling brought in close to $110 billion to casino operators in 2023. In-person gambling remains the bread and butter of the industry: Slot machines brought in over $35 billion, up 3.8%, and table games brought in over $10 billion, up 3.5%.
February 21, 2024 4:59 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A federal appeals court must decide if Pennsylvania voters who put the wrong date on the envelope containing their mail-in ballots should have their votes thrown out. The case argued Tuesday in Philadelphia could be significant in this year’s presidential contest. The NAACP and several voter groups call the mistakes “meaningless” and want them counted. They say that more than 10,000 ballots in the state were rejected in 2022 over mistaken dates. Republican groups are challenging a federal court ruling last year that the votes should count if they are received in time.
