August 27, 2024 2:51 am
On Friday, Washington County Common Pleas Court Judge Brandon Neuman handed down his decision on a lawsuit brought by the ACLU and the Public Interest Law Center against the Washington Count Board of Elections, that asked the court to allow voters that use mail in ballots to be allowed to be notified of deficiencies on their ballot and afford them the right to vote provisionally. Neuman granted that request and said notice must be given and provisional ballot voting must be allowed. He did not allow the practice of ballot curing that had been in place as late a 2023. Mimi McKenzie, Legal Director of the Public Interest Law Center says that they are pleased with the decision. She encouraged the Washington County Board of Elections to revert back to their practice of ballot curing, but is pleased that voters will be notified so that they can vote provisionally. She said that voting should not be a “gotcha” kind of practice. Efforts to get a response from the Washington County Special Counsel David Berardinelli have gone unanswered. It is not known at this time if the county will file an appeal. If an appeal is filed, the order to notify voters could be reversed.
August 26, 2024 12:26 pm
(AP) – Labor Day weekend is the last blast of summer vacation, and that means lots of Americans will be traveling. Airports, highways, beaches and theme parks are all expected to be packed for the long holiday weekend. The Transportation Security Administration expects to screen more people at airports than during any previous Labor Day period. Auto club AAA says bookings for domestic travel are running 9% higher than at this time last year, but international trips are down 4%. Motorists and air travelers are getting a break on prices, with gasoline and airfares both down a little from very high levels last year.
August 26, 2024 12:20 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — Walmart has recalled nearly 10,000 cases of apple juice sold in stores across the U.S. The product was found to contain potentially harmful levels of inorganic arsenic. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave the recall a more urgent classification Friday after making its original announcement Aug. 15. The new classification says the affected product may cause temporary adverse health consequences but is unlikely to cause serious or irreversible medical issues. The recall applies to 9,535 cases of Great Value brand apple juice sold in 25 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. Florida-based manufacturer Refresco Beverages US Inc. voluntarily recalled the contaminated six-packs of 8-ounce juice bottles. (Photo: AP)
August 26, 2024 9:44 am
TORONTO (AP) — Canada’s government is imposing a 100% tariff on imports of Chinese-made electric vehicles that matches U.S. tariffs. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government began 30-day consultation on the issue earlier this summer to counter what Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland has said is a clear effort by Chinese companies to generate a global oversupply. Canada’s move comes weeks after both the United States and the European Commission announced plans to impose higher import tariffs on Chinese EVs. U.S. national security advisor Jake Sullivan encouraged Canada to do the same during a meeting with Trudeau and cabinet ministers at a cabinet retreat in Halifax, Nova Scotia on Sunday
August 26, 2024 7:26 am
Emergency crews were called to a three-vehicle crash on Interstate 70 eastbound Monday morning. Washington County 9-1-1 says it happened just after 6:30 a.m. just past the Jefferson Avenue interchange and before the north junction to Interstate 79. Dispatchers say two people were injured. Both were transported from the scene by ambulance. There is no word on their conditions. The crash initially closed all lanes eastbound but all lanes reopened by 8 a.m.
August 26, 2024 5:08 am
QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — Police and officials in Pakistan say gunmen in the country’s restive southwest have killed at least 31 people in two separate attacks. Twenty-three people were fatally shot on Monday morning after being taken from buses, vehicles and trucks in Musakhail, a district in Baluchistan province. Police say the attackers burned at least 10 vehicles before fleeing. In a separate attack, gunmen killed at least nine people, including four police officers and five passersby, in Qalat district also in Baluchistan. Insurgents also blew up a railway track in another district in the province. Baluchistan has been the scene of a long-running insurgency in Pakistan, with an array of separatist groups staging attacks.
August 26, 2024 5:07 am
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia has unleashed a massive drone and missile barrage throughout Ukraine that appeared to target energy infrastructure. At least three people were reported killed. The barrage began around midnight and continued beyond daybreak Monday in what appeared to be Russia’s biggest attack against Ukraine in weeks. According to Ukraine’s air force, there were multiple groups of Russian drones moving toward eastern, northern, southern, and central regions of Ukraine, followed by multiple cruise and ballistic missiles. Explosions were heard in the capital, Kyiv, and power and water supplies were disrupted. Polish and NATO air defenses were activated in eastern Poland, which borders Ukraine.
August 26, 2024 5:06 am
Iran’s foreign minister again has referenced his country’s planned retaliation over the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. Abbas Araghchi said late Sunday he made the remark in a conversation with Italy’s foreign minister, Antonio Tajani, by telephone. “Iran reaction to Israeli terrorist attack in Tehran is definitive, and will be measured & well calculated,” Araghchi wrote on the social platform X. “We do not fear escalation, yet do not seek it — unlike Israel.” Meanwhile, a round of high-level talks in Cairo meant to bring about a cease-fire and hostage deal to at least temporarily end the 10-month Israel-Hamas war in Gaza ended Sunday without a final agreement.
August 26, 2024 5:01 am
PITTSBURGH — A department within the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Pharmacy is facing cuts as part of restructuring. The university tells Channel 11 that the Program Evaluation and Research Unit is losing about 40% of its staff in “necessary restructuring” to ensure long-term sustainability. “While this was a difficult decision, be assured that it was made with careful consideration to maintain the quality and integrity of PERU ongoing projects and future endeavors. PERU remains fully committed to its mission of facilitating optimal health, well-being, recovery, and choice for patients and community members through their research and evaluation work,” a statement from Pitt reads in part.
August 26, 2024 4:59 am
With COVID-19 cases rising, the U.S. government will soon make free tests available to the public. NBC News reports the Biden administration announced Friday that COVIDtests.gov will reopen in late September. This announcement comes as COVID rates are increasing because of new highly contagious variants and new vaccines that better match the circulating strains of the virus were approved. Through this federal program, U.S. households can order up to four free COVID-19 nasal swab tests that will be delivered through the mail. An exact date for when tests can be ordered has not yet been announced. Since this program began in 2021, more than 900 million tests have been distributed to households nationwide. NBC reports that another 900 million at-home tests were distributed through community-based access points.
