May 19, 2024 2:27 am
The City of Washington Fire Department dedicated their new engine with a traditional “push” ceremony. The tradition commemorates times when fire companies used horses to transport water to fires and when finished, the fire apparatus was “pushed back” into the garage. Fire Chief Chris Richer commented on the appreciation he had with the city to actively upgrade the city’s aging fleet. The truck is a 2023 Pierce Saber Pumper. It has a 1000 gallon water tank and a pump capable of pumping 1500 gallons per minute. The truck was funded entirely by grants. The price of the truck was purchased as a demonstrator model which was priced at approximately $680,000, saving taxpayers more than $250,000. The engine is the second apparatus delivered in the last three years.
May 20, 2024 12:39 pm
Gov. Josh Shapiro and other state officials announced the launch of Pennsylvania’s new state tourism brand and summer travel marketing campaign on Monday. The campaign is called Pennsylvania: The Great American Getaway and is meant to encourage more people to visit the Commonwealth. Officials are promoting the state as a “premier weekend getaway destination,” highlighting the close driving proximity to hubs on the East Coast — like New York City, Baltimore and Washington D.C. — and boasting the towns throughout that have world-class dining options, renowned historical sites, outdoor recreation, and top tier sports teams. Shapiro says all of those experiences can be had in a single weekend by nearly 72 million people who live within a four-hour drive of the state. “More people deserve the chance to come here and experience the magic of Pennsylvania for themselves,” Shapiro said. Pennsylvania is the Great American Getaway, and my Administration is making tourism a top priority for the first time in more than a decade – it is a central part of our economic development strategy and my new budget calls for an $18 million increase for tourism and business marketing. This new brand and funding will help us grow small businesses, support our communities, and create opportunity for more Pennsylvanians.” To promote this brand, VISIT PA launched a marketing campaign titled “Your Great American Getaway Starts Here” which runs in nearby regional markets until August. Travelers will also see the brands at sports games, concerts, festivals, and transit stations across Pennsylvania and New York throughout the summer.
May 20, 2024 5:08 am
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, the country’s foreign minister and several other officials have been found dead after their helicopter crashed in a foggy, mountainous region of the country’s northwest. State media announced the deaths after the crash site was found on Monday, after hours of searching. The crash comes as the Middle East remains unsettled by the Israel-Hamas war, during which Raisi under Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei launched an unprecedented drone-and-missile attack on Israel last month. Under Raisi, Iran enriched uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels. Meanwhile, Iran has faced years of protests against its Shiite theocracy over its ailing economy and women’s rights – making the moment that much more sensitive for the country.
May 20, 2024 5:12 am
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — An Israeli airstrike has killed 27 people in central Gaza, mostly women and children, and fighting again rages across the north. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces criticism from the two other members of his War Cabinet over the war that is now in its eighth month. Popular centrist War Cabinet member Benny Gantz has threatened to leave the government if a plan for Gaza, including a postwar vision, isn’t created by June 8. U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan has met with Netanyahu to discuss a plan for Saudi Arabia to recognize Israel and help the Palestinian Authority to govern Gaza.
May 20, 2024 6:13 pm
NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s lawyers have pressed the judge overseeing his hush money trial to stop the case from going to the jury and throw out the charges. The defense request came Monday after prosecutors concluded their presentation of evidence. Judge Juan M. Merchan did not immediately rule on the request. It was made at the end of a busy day that included the judge briefly kicking reporters out of the courtroom after he admonishing a defense witness for his behavior on the witness stand. The trial will resume Tuesday with more testimony from Robert Costello, who Trump’s lawyers called to the stand to attack the credibility of prosecutors’ star witness, Michael Cohen.
May 19, 2024 5:11 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s hush money trial is heading into the final stretch, with prosecutors’ last and star witness expected back on the stand for more grilling before the former president’s lawyers get their chance to put on a case. The landmark trial will kick back off Monday in Manhattan with more defense cross-examination of former Trump attorney Michael Cohen. Cohen’s pivotal testimony directly tied Trump to the alleged hush money scheme. Defense lawyers are trying to paint Cohen as a serial fabulist who is on a revenge campaign against the presumptive Republican presidential nominee. Trump has pleaded not guilty and denied any wrongdoing.
May 20, 2024 5:10 am
LONDON (AP) — A British court has ruled that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange can appeal against an order that he be extradited to the U.S. on espionage charges. Two High Court judges on Monday said Assange has grounds to challenge the U.K. government’s extradition order. The ruling sets the stage for an appeal process likely to further drag out a years-long legal saga. Assange faces 17 espionage charges and one charge of computer misuse over his website’s publication of a trove of classified U.S. documents almost 15 years ago. The Australian computer expert has spent the last five years in a British high-security prison after taking refuge in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London for seven years.
May 20, 2024 6:17 pm
(AP) – A top U.S. pediatricians’ group is making a sharp policy change about breastfeeding by people with HIV. The group says they can breastfeed as long as they are taking medications that effectively suppress the virus that causes AIDS. It’s a reversal in a longstanding policy from the American Academy of Pediatrics. The group made the changes on Monday, effectively overturning guidance that dated back decades. Experts say drugs used to treat HIV can reduce the risk of passing the virus to infants to less than 1%. About 5,000 people who have HIV give birth in the U.S. each year.
May 19, 2024 12:38 pm
ATLANTA (AP) — President Joe Biden on Sunday told Morehouse College graduates during his commencement speech that he heard their voices of protest over the Israel-Hamas war, and that scenes from the conflict in Gaza have been heartbreaking. The speech, and a separate one Biden is giving later Sunday in the Midwest, is part of a burst of outreach to Black constituents by the president, who has watched his support among these voters soften since their strong backing helped put him in the Oval Office in 2020. There were scattered demonstrations but no major disruptions to the event.
May 19, 2024 6:33 am
DALLAS (AP) — Former President Donald Trump has urged gun owners to vote in the 2024 election as he addressed thousands of members of the National Rifle Association, which officially endorsed him just before Trump took the stage at their annual meeting in Texas. Trump on Saturday pledged to continue to defend the Second Amendment and called himself “the best friend gun owners have ever had in the White House.” The United States faces record numbers of deaths due to mass shootings. Last year ended with 42 mass killings and 217 deaths, making it one of the deadliest years on record.
