60th Body Found After Italy Migrant Shipwreck

February 27, 2023 4:13 am

STECCATO DI CUTRO, Italy (AP) – Rescue crews are searching by sea and air for the dozens of people believed still missing from a migrant shipwreck off Italy’s southern coast. They found a 60th corpse Monday morning.At least eighty people survived Sunday’s shipwreck off the Calabrian coast, but dozens more were feared dead given survivor reports that the ship, which set off from Turkey last week, had carried some 170 people.The beach of Steccato di Cutro, on Calabria’s Ionian coast, was littered with the splintered remains of the ship that broke up on the reefs offshore. The Italian government is doubling down on the need to block migrant operations at their source.

Contaminated Waste Shipments Resume In Ohio

February 27, 2023 4:11 am

EAST PALESTINE, Ohio (AP) — Federal environmental authorities say shipment of contaminated waste from the site of a fiery train derailment will resume Monday to two Ohio sites. An Environmental Protection Agency administrator said Sunday that some liquid waste will be taken to an underground injection well in Vickery, while solid waste will go to an incinerator in East Liverpool. The agency had ordered a ‘pause’ in shipments a day earlier after material was taken to sites in Michigan and Texas. A state official said all rail cars except for those held by federal transportation officials had been removed, allowing collection of more contaminated soil and installation of monitoring wells.

Vigil & Funeral Services Set For Child Killed In Accident

February 27, 2023 4:07 am

A vigil will be held Monday night for a six-year-old girl who was struck and killed by a vehicle last week in North Belle Vernon. The vigil for Aria Woznick begins at six-thirty and will be held at the site of the deadly crash near Fayette and Vernon Street. On Sunday, the North Belle Vernon Fire Department, who was first to the scene that morning, held a bingo fundraiser for the Woznick family, raising roughly $11,000. A GoFundMe has been set up to help the family as well. Authorities say Aria was walking with a group of children to their bus stop Friday morning when she apparently stepped into the road and into the path of a vehicle. Police have said the driver stopped and is cooperating with their investigation.  Funeral services have been set for Wednesday morning at ten a.m. at the Belle Vernon Area High School auditorium in Rostraver.  Families and friends will be received from 2 to 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Ferguson Funeral Home and Crematory, 700 Broad Ave., in North Belle Vernon.

Mon Valley Crews Put Out House Fire

February 27, 2023 2:09 am

CARROLL TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Fire companies were called to the scene of a fire with possible entrapment at a home in Carroll Township Saturday afternoon. The fire spread between the home and garage. Carroll Township crews were assisted by Charleroi, Monongahela, Donora and Monessen Fire companies. No word on any injuries. (Photo Credit: Charleroi Fire Department Facebook Page) 

Garage Fire In Canton Township

February 27, 2023 2:02 am

CANTON TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Multiple Fire crews were called to the scene of a fully involved garage fire Saturday morning in Canton Township. According to fire officials, the blaze broke out before 11:00 a.m. along Haney Road. Canton was assisted by South Strabane and North Franklin Township fire crews. No injuries were reported and no cause of the fire was released. (Photo Credit: Canton Township Volunteer Fire & Rescue Facebook Page)

Zelenskyy Seeks More Sanctions

February 26, 2023 8:18 am

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Fighting is grinding on in Ukraine after the country marked the anniversary of Russia’s invasion. Ukrainian authorities on Saturday reported dozens of new Russian strikes and attacks on cities in the east and south. Friday was a somber and defiant day of commemorations and a marathon news conference. Ukraine’s seemingly indefatigable president followed up with new video posts on Saturday. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declared that “Russia must lose in Ukraine” and said its forces could be defeated this year. Zelenskyy also pushed for more sanctions pressure on Russia after the U.K., U.S. and the European Union all announced new measures aimed at further choking off funding and support for Moscow.

Chicago Mayoral Race Dominated By Crime

February 26, 2023 8:16 am

CHICAGO (AP) — For years, Republicans have sought to win over voters by depicting Democratic-led cities as lawless centers of violence that need tough-on-crime policies. In Chicago, some of the Democrats running for mayor are deploying the same strategy as they debate how to make the city safer. One leading candidate touts his endorsement from the Chicago police union and says the city needs hundreds more officers. Even incumbent Lori Lightfoot has used language right out of the GOP playbook, accusing a top rival of wanting to defund the police. The nation’s third-largest city is just the latest Democratic stronghold where public safety has become a top election issue.

5 Dead After Medical Flight Crash

February 26, 2023 8:15 am

STAGECOACH, Nev. (AP) — An air ambulance company says all five people aboard one of its flights have been killed in a crash in Nevada. The Lyon County Sheriff’s office said authorities began receiving calls about a possible plane crash near Stagecoach, Nevada, around 9:15 p.m. Friday and found the wreckage two hours later. Care Flight, which provides ambulance service by plane and helicopter, confirmed that there were no survivors. The dead included a pilot, flight nurse, flight paramedic, a patient and a patient’s family member. Care Flight says the relatives of all five victims had been notified by Saturday afternoon.

Russia, Iran Sending Top Envoys To UN Meeting

February 26, 2023 8:13 am

GENEVA (AP) — The latest session of the Human Rights Council opens Monday with the U.N. secretary-general joining three presidents to speak, and foreign ministers from countries including France, Germany and Iran set to attend. The five-week session of the U.N.’s top human rights body opens as the world faces rights concerns including the war in Ukraine, repression of dissent in Russia and Belarus, new violence between Palestinians and Israelis, and efforts to solidify a peace deal in Ethiopia that ended two years of conflict between the national government and rebels in the Tigray region.

Millions Who Rely On Medicaid May Be Booted

February 26, 2023 8:12 am

WASHINGTON (AP) — If you get health care coverage through Medicaid, you might be at risk of losing that coverage over the next year. Roughly 84 million people are covered by the government-sponsored program that’s grown by 20 million people since January 2020, just before the coronavirus pandemic hit. Now, as states begin checking everyone’s eligibility for Medicaid for the first time in three years, as many as 14 million people could lose access to that coverage. Many who’ll no longer qualify for Medicaid coverage can turn to the Affordable Care Act’s marketplace. Options may cost less than $10 a month. But out-of-pocket expenses and co-pays are often higher. And it’s not certain that people’s current doctors will be covered.