October 13, 2024 8:29 am
BAKERSVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Nearly two weeks after Hurricane Helene downed power lines and washed out roads all over North Carolina’s mountains, the roar of gas-powered generators is both unpleasant and essential. More than 43,000 of the 1.5 million customers who lost power in the region still lacked electricity on Friday. Without it, they can’t keep medicines cold, pump well water, recharge their phones or apply for federal disaster aid. Crews from all over are helping Duke Energy make repairs, but it’s slow going in the dense mountain forests. One nonprofit that is helping is the Footprint Project, which is scaling up to supply solar-powered mobile infrastructure, from batteries and small generators to solar grids. (Photo: AP)
October 13, 2024 8:25 am
(WPXI) – A barn at the Westmoreland Equestrian Center in Hempfield Township was destroyed in a fire Saturday. Westmoreland County 911 said crews were called to 1265 Business Route 66 at 3:07 p.m. for a fully engulfed barn on fire. A dispatcher said they don’t believe anyone was injured in the fire. At least eight horses escaped the blaze. There’s been no word on a cause of the blaze.
October 13, 2024 7:33 am
Federal authorities are reportedly investigating a Charleroi company that supplies immigrant workers for a meat packing plant. The small community in Washington county has become a national flashpoint after former president Trump referred to legal Haitian Immigrants as having “invaded” the community. According to reports from WTAE in Pittsburgh, Fourth Street Foods employs approximately 700 immigrants from over 40 countries, many of them Haitian. The company makes prepared meals sold in grocery stores. The workers are mostly employed by a contractor, Prosperity Services. Court records claim Prosperity knowingly “transported and housed undocumented non-citizens for employment purposes”. Owners at Fourth Street deny knowing anything about the claims and contend all employees working for them are legal immigrants with all the necessary work permits. The local town has been in the national spotlight ever since Donald Trump mentioned Charleroi’s Haitian immigration population during a rally and implied it was an issue in the small community. Council members and the community say there are no issues.
October 13, 2024 7:00 am
It appears that efforts to keep the Charleroi glass plant open have failed. According to reports, a letter sent to Charleroi’s mayor details the timeline for closing the Corelle Brands plant. The letter says the plant has begun closing procedures and the first round of employee terminations will begin on December 9th and will continue through February 17, 2025. The Correlle plant will then be permanently closed and all 325 employees there will be left without work. The plant’s operations are being moved to Lancaster, Ohio. The glass plant closing comes shortly after the announcement that another big business in the borough, Quality Pasta, would also be closing.
October 13, 2024 5:20 am
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — The devastation of Hurricanes Helene and Milton is still being tallied as a swath of Florida comes to terms with damage from the unusual dual strike of storms in just two weeks. Some longtime Floridians have grown accustomed to the annual cycle of storms that can shatter and upend lives in a state known mostly for its balmy weather, sunshine and beaches. Some say it’s the price of living in paradise. President Joe Biden arrived Sunday to tour the hurricane damage. Crews continued to reconnect electricity in storm-stricken communities. And lines for gasoline seemed considerably shorter as more stations opened.
October 13, 2024 5:15 am
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — China is holding large-scale military exercises surrounding Taiwan, deploying an aircraft carrier along with warplanes, underscoring the tense situation in the Taiwan Strait. China’s Defense Ministry says the drills are a response to the Taiwanese president’s refusal to accept Beijing’s demand that self-governed Taiwan acknowledge itself as a part of the People’s Republic of China under the rule of the Communist Party. The drills began Monday after Taiwan last week celebrated its National Day. President Lai Ching-te said in a speech marking the holiday that China has no right to represent Taiwan and declared his commitment to “resist annexation or encroachment.”
October 12, 2024 10:24 am
(AP) – Florida residents who fled hundreds of miles to escape Hurricane Milton made slow trips home on crowded highways, weary from their long journeys and the cleanup work awaiting them but also grateful to be coming back alive. Milton made landfall Wednesday night as a powerful, Category 3 hurricane but officials say the toll could have been worse if not for the widespread evacuations. The still-fresh devastation wrought by Hurricane Helene just two weeks earlier probably helped compel many people to flee. Milton killed at least 10 people when it tore across central Florida, flooding barrier islands, ripping the roof off the Tampa Bay Rays ‘ baseball stadium and spawning deadly tornadoes.
October 12, 2024 9:22 am
The Charleroi Area Public Library will be getting a technical boost. The Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority (PBDA) has been awarded nearly $594,000 in grant funding to bolster internet access within the community. The funding will be used for the library’s “Renovate, Elevate and Adapt for Tomorrow” (REACT) project. The project is designed to enhance the library’s infrastructure and services, ensuring it meets the evolving needs of the community. The grant, funded through the federally backed Multi-Purpose Community Facilities Program, is part of a $45 million competitively awarded initiative to support projects that bolster high-speed broadband access for essential services, including work, education, and health monitoring, using community anchor institutions. Improving internet access in schools, libraries, recreation centers and non-profit organizations, this investment ensures that these facilities remain critical hubs for public benefit.
October 12, 2024 8:51 am
(AP) The Israeli military has renewed its orders for Palestinian in the northern Gaza Strip to leave their homes and shelters as troops press on a weeklong offensive against militants. The military spokesman told people to leave parts of Gaza City and other areas in and around Jabaliya, the urban refugee camp where Israeli forces carried out several major operations over the course of the war and then returned as militants regroup. In Lebanon, authorities said Friday that 60 people were killed and 168 wounded in the past 24 hours as Israel escalates its campaign against Hezbollah.
October 12, 2024 8:47 am
(AP) A Texas sheriff says two workers at a Houston-area oil refinery were killed after hydrogen sulfide leaked at the plant. Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez says nearly three dozen other people were either transported to hospitals or treated at the scene. Thursday’s leak set off urgent warnings for residents in the Houston suburb of Deer Park to stay indoors before authorities later determined that the public was not in danger. The plant is operated by Pemex, Mexico’s state-owned oil company. Gonzalez says that the gas release happened during work on a flange at the facility,
