February 16, 2023 4:25 pm
EAST PALESTINE, Ohio (AP) – The head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is getting a first-hand look at a creek contaminated by a freight train derailment in Ohio that spilled toxic chemicals and burned in a huge plume over homes and businesses. EPA Administrator Michael Regan stood along a waterway Thursday still reeking of chemicals nearly two weeks after the derailment. His visit came a day after residents of East Palestine packed a meeting and demanded to know if they’re safe. Regan said he’s confident that technology being used to clean up the mess would protect public health. Rresidents are frustrated by what they say is incomplete and vague information about lasting effects.
February 16, 2023 4:17 pm
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Gov. Josh Shapiro announced that the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection will be conducting independent water sampling to closely monitor contamination risks after the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. The DEP is also assisting concerned public water suppliers in evaluating their source water in Beaver County. “My Administration is taking steps to independently verify the safety of Pennsylvanians’ water — and will continue to do so in the months to come,” Gov. Shapiro said in a news release. “As we work to learn more about this incident and hold Norfolk Southern accountable, the Commonwealth will also lead the way so that Pennsylvanians are aware of and protected from any threats to their safety and resources that may arise. Our independent testing will ensure the data we are receiving is accurate and timely so we can partner effectively with local communities to provide the information Pennsylvanians need and deserve.” The DEP will take independent samples from Norfolk Southern sampling sites and areas in Pennsylvania within a two mile radius of the derailment site.
February 16, 2023 8:43 am
Fewer Americans filed for jobless benefits last week, more evidence that the Federal Reserve’s efforts to loosen the labor market by raising interest rates hasn’t taken hold. Applications for jobless aid in the U.S. for the week ending Feb. 11 fell by 1,000 last week to 194,000, from 195,000 the previous week, the Labor Department reported Thursday. It’s the fifth straight week claims were under 200,000. Jobless claims generally represent the number of U.S. layoffs. The four-week moving average of claims rose by 500 to 189,500. It’s the fourth straight week that the four-week moving average has been below 200,000.
February 16, 2023 4:58 am
BURGETTSTOWN, Pa. – (WPXI) – Concerns are up after someone who was not a student found their way inside a local school and stayed there for hours. “We heard that there was an intruder and he was there for two hours,” said Lindsay Leininger, a parent. A letter from the Burgettstown superintendent sent a letter to parents on Tuesday, the day after a school board meeting and nearly a month after the incident. It says a Burgettstown student brought a student from a different district to school and that that person hid in the bathroom. Some parents are saying when it comes to the safety and security of their kids in school, they feel the Burgettstown school district is not doing enough. “School should have been put on lockdown as soon as they heard there was an intruder. Doesn’t matter the age, sex, size – it doesn’t matter,” said one parent during Monday night’s school board meeting. “It was an intruder it should have been handled differently.” The superintendent said the intruder took off running and was chased by a school police officer, but got away. He was caught by local police shortly after and was charged with trespassing. He also said he did not feel there was a threat so he did not think a lockdown or communication with parents was necessary. Parents want more communication in the future.
February 16, 2023 4:10 am
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) – Police say the man who shot eight students at Michigan State University, killing three, was found with two handguns and a note containing a possible motive for the attack. They described Anthony McRae as a loner whose father said he had no friends. Investigators are trying to determine if mental health played a role in the Monday shootings. The 43-year-old McRae was on foot when he killed himself miles from campus. One of the five wounded students is in stable condition while the others remain in critical condition with signs of improvement. Classes at Michigan State remain suspended through the weekend.
February 16, 2023 4:09 am
EL PASO, Texas (AP) – Police in El Paso, Texas, say a one person has been killed and three others have been wounded in a shooting at a shopping mall. El Paso police said hours after Wednesday’s shooting that two people had been taken into custody. Police said that Cielo Vista Mall was still considered a crime scene, and that it would remain locked down until authorities had completed their investigation. Police stressed that there was no further danger to the public. The shooting happened in a busy shopping area and across a large parking lot from a Walmart where 23 people were killed in a racist attack in 2019.
February 16, 2023 4:07 am
ATLANTA (AP) – A special grand jury that investigated efforts by then-President Donald Trump and his allies to overturn his election loss in Georgia is expressing concerns that “one or more witnesses” called to testify may have lied under oath. The panel recommends that the district attorney “seek appropriate indictments for such crimes where the evidence is compelling.” But the report does not name the people who are alleged to have lied. In addition to the section on perjury, the report’s introduction and conclusion were released Thursday. But any recommendations on potential criminal charges for specific people will remain under wraps for now.
February 16, 2023 4:05 am
NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) – A devastating earthquake that toppled buildings across parts of Turkey and neighboring Syria has revived a longstanding debate locally and in neighboring Cyprus about a large nuclear power station being built on Turkey’s southern Mediterranean coastline. The plant’s site in Akkuyu, located some 210 miles (338 kilometers) to the west of the closest epicenter of the Feb. 6 tremors, is being designed to endure powerful tremors and did not sustain any damage or experience powerful ground shaking from the 7.8 magnitude earthquake and aftershocks. But the size of the quake – the deadliest in Turkey’s modern history – sharpened existing concerns about the facility being built on the edge of a major fault line.
February 16, 2023 2:58 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Nearly a year after Bruce Willis’ family announced that he would step away from acting after being diagnosed with aphasia, his family says his “condition has progressed.” In a statement posted Thursday, the 67-year-old actor’s family said Willis has a more specific diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia. Last March, Willis’ family said his aphasia had affected his cognitive abilities. The condition causes loss of the ability to understand or express speech. The statement was posted on the website for The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration and signed by Willis’ wife, Emma Heming Willis, his ex-wife Demi Moore, and his five children, Rumer, Scout, Tallulah, Mabel and Evelyn.
February 16, 2023 2:29 am
WJPA Radio anonymously received a copy of an email sent by the National Correctional Employees Union addressed to Washington County Correctional Facility Warden Jeffery Fewell and to Washington County Commissioners. In the email, an alleged breech of security protocols was committed by Warden Fewell on December 27 of last year. Fewell is accused of escorting a visitor to meet with an inmate that is monitored as a high security inmate without subjecting the visitor to security measures required by facility policy. The inmate in question is accused of homicide. Some of the allegedly ignored security measures included no search of the visitor, no removal of excess clothing such as jackets and not having the visitor empty their pockets to a locked cabinet to prevent the spread of contraband. After a more than 90 minute Prison Board meeting on Wednesday, Warden Fewell declined comment about the email. Washington County Chairperson Diana Irey-Vaughn stated that they are unable to comment on personnel matters or security issues in county facilities.
