April 28, 2023 2:33 am
The Washington County Agricultural Fair is set to celebrate its 225th year and announcements were made about the upcoming event and other happenings to help celebrate the anniversary. Chief among the celebrations is the announcement that the 225th Memorial Plaza will be built to commemorate the anniversary and the agricultural history that has occurred in Washington county over the last two centuries. Sponsorship pavers are available for $225 for a 4”by 8” paver and $500 for an 8” by 8” paver. The Board commissioned a local artist to create a mural on a building adjacent to the Memorial Plaza celebrating the agricultural history of Washington County. The fair will be featuring “Green Gus” a 1959 Ford Truck that carries a 1949 Ford Tractor to promote the fair at various events in the area. The first event that will feature “Green Gus” is the May 6 “Running of the Wools” event. That is a sheep race that will take place on Main Street in Washington that ties directly into the promotion of the fair and local City of Washington Businesses. The event starts at 9:30 with a Breakfast Crawl with the race beginning at noon. A kitchen Clash winds up the event at 3 PM. This year’s fair will take place from August 12 through August 19.
April 28, 2023 2:18 am
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia University announced Monday it will no longer require applicants to submit SAT or ACT test scores. The public university’s Board of Governors approved the test-optional admissions policy, which had been adopted in 2020 at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and had been extended three times since then. The last extension runs through spring 2024, after which the permanent policy will take effect, WVU said in a news release. Test scores could still be required for some course placements. Scholarships will continue to be offered by the 27,000-student university for test-optional applicants and those providing test scores, the statement said. The SAT or ACT remain requirements for the merit-based PROMISE Scholarship offered by the state for residents of West Virginia. “Students have been embracing test-optional admissions processes as part of their college searches since the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and, going forward, we have an obligation to remove any barriers that may deter those interested in higher education,” said George Zimmerman, the university’s assistant vice president for enrollment management. “Giving students the flexibility to choose whether or not standardized tests are included in their college applications has shown to be effective in helping them feel more in control of the process.”
April 27, 2023 11:37 am
CINCINNATI (AP) — Jerry Springer, the former Cincinnati mayor and news anchor whose namesake TV show unleashed strippers, homewreckers and skinheads to brawl and spew obscenities on weekday afternoons, has died. He was 79. A family spokesperson says he died Thursday at home in suburban Chicago. At its peak, “The Jerry Springer Show” was a ratings powerhouse and a U.S. cultural pariah. The show known for chair-throwing and bleep-filled arguments was a favorite American guilty pleasure, at one point topping Oprah Winfrey’s show. It ran for 27 years, ending in 2018. The Jewish immigrants’ son who was born in an underground bomb shelter was active in politics most of his adult life. (Photo: ABC)
April 27, 2023 9:26 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy slowed sharply from January through March, decelerating to just a 1.1% annual pace as higher interest rates hammered the housing market and businesses reduced their inventories. Thursday’s estimate from the Commerce Department showed that the nation’s gross domestic product — the broadest gauge of economic output — weakened after growing 3.2% from July through September and 2.6% from October through December. But consumer spending, which accounts for about 70% of U.S. economic activity, remained resilient, growing at a 3.7% annual pace, the fastest such rate in nearly two years. Spending on goods, in particular, was solid: It rose at its fastest pace since the second quarter of 2021.
April 27, 2023 4:19 am
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republican legislators in Kansas have enacted possibly the most sweeping transgender bathroom law in the U.S. The GOP-controlled Legislature on Thursday overrode Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of the measure. The vote in the House was 84-40 and gave supporters exactly the two-thirds majority they needed to override Kelly’s action. The vote in the Senate on Wednesday was 28-12, and the new law will take effect July 1. At least eight other states have transgender bathroom laws, mostly applying to schools. The Kansas law is different because it applies to more facilities but also because it defines male and female in law based on a person’s reproductive anatomy at birth.
April 27, 2023 4:18 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans have narrowly passed a sweeping debt ceiling package as they try to push President Biden into negotiations on federal spending. It’s the start of efforts to avoid a potentially catastrophic government debt default this summer. Biden has threatened to veto the bill over the budget limits that are attached. The president says he’s happy to talk with Speaker Kevin McCarthy, but will not negotiate over America’s legal debt obligations. The Republican plan would raise the debt ceiling by $1.5 trillion in exchange for steep spending restrictions that Democrats oppose. The White House insists the debt ceiling must be lifted with no strings attached to ensure America pays its bills.
April 27, 2023 4:17 am
(AP) – A diabetes drug being tested for weight loss is poised to further upend obesity care. Drug-maker Eli Lilly reported Thursday that Tirzepatide helped people with diabetes who were overweight or had obesity lose up to 16% of their body weight over 17 months in a late-stage trial. For those without the disease, the drug has prompted losses of more than 20% of body weight. Known as Mounjaro for diabetes use, the drug has been used “off label” for weight loss since last year. Lilly is applying for fast-track approval from U.S. regulators. Analysts have predicted tirzepatide could become one of the top-selling drugs ever, with annual sales topping $50 billion.
April 27, 2023 4:15 am
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. adults are smoking less. Cigarette smoking dropped to another new all-time low last year, with 1 in 9 adults saying they were current smokers. Meanwhile, e-cigarette use rose, to about 1 in 17 adults. That’s according to government survey data released Thursday. The findings are based on survey responses from more than 27,000 U.S. adults. In the mid-1960s, 42% of U.S. adults were smokers. The rate has been gradually dropping for decades. That’s thanks to cigarette taxes, tobacco product price hikes and smoking bans.
April 27, 2023 4:14 am
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — When debate over a gender-affirming care ban escalated into a lengthy fight over civil discourse in statehouses, it vaulted Montana Rep. Zooey Zephyr into the national spotlight. Zephyr was disciplined Wednesday for participating in a statehouse protest after Republicans limited her participation in debates after she rebuked supporters of a proposed ban on gender-affirming care for children. She will no longer be allowed on the House floor, but can vote on bills remotely, starting Thursday. She told The Associated Press that she ‘s confident her punishment has only amplified her message. Republican lawmakers said she encouraged the protest Monday that disrupted House business and broke decorum.
April 27, 2023 2:40 am
Washington County Commissioners are reviewing actions by the county’s Prothonotary, Republican Laura Hough, regarding her use of a law enforcement data base. Democratic Commissioner Larry Maggi says the board was informed that a recent review of reports of usage by Hough, of the Lexis Nexis System, indicated improper access of the account by using her personal log in credentials to access information not required for the business of the Prothonotary’s Office. Maggi says the lexis Nexis System is a data base used by government and law enforcement agencies to gather information on individuals such as social security numbers, criminal backgrounds, etc. The county’s solicitor Jana Grimm also said that the review shows Hough accessed potentially confidential information of various prominent political figures, attorneys and private citizens for which the county believes she had no business reason to access. As a result of the review, Grimm informed Hough that her access to the Lexus Nexis System has been terminated pending completion of a review of the information that was potentially improperly accessed by her. Hough, who is in her first term as Prothonotary, is running for re-election and recently lost a challenge to have her Republican opponent in the upcoming May Primary, Kevin Hill, removed from the ballot. Hough emailed her response to the review to WJPA, saying: “In response to the last-minute hit piece put out by Larry Maggi and his Democrat allies, the accusation involving Lexis Nexis is much ado about nothing. It is clear that the Democrats are interfering in the upcoming Republican primary because they know that I am the only qualified candidate running for Prothonotary. Lexis Nexis is not a law enforcement software, but rather a search engine resource from a company dictated by the County. At the end of the day, it was a tool used for legitimate Prothonotary office activity.”
