February 15, 2023 4:00 am
EAST PALESTINE, Ohio (AP) — The Ohio village upended by a train derailment and the intentional burning of some hazardous chemicals on board has invited residents to a town hall meeting Wednesday evening to discuss lingering questions. And there are still plenty — about the huge plumes of smoke, persisting odors, reports of sick animals and contaminated water, the cleanup. Even as school resumes and trains roll by again, things aren’t the same in East Palestine. Officials are assuring people the air is safe and it’s OK to return, with some precautions. Rail operator Norfolk Southern says it’s offering financial help the community of some 4,700 people while continuing remediation work.
February 15, 2023 2:47 am
Emergency responders were busy Wednesday afternoon around three o’clock. Washington County 911 tells WJPA that a three vehicle accident on Murtland Avenue in front of Kentucky Fried Chicken closed the roadway in both directions for a short period of time. Dispatchers say one person was taken to Washington Hospital and then later flown to a Pittsburgh area hospital for treatment. There was no word on the nature or extent of the injuries. Around that same time, dispatchers say emergency responders were called out to Burnside Road in Cecil Township after a vehicle ran into a pole and brought wires down across the vehicle trapping the driver inside. Dispatchers say crews were able to extricate the individual and there were no injuries. And finally, fire crews were called out to 26 Chambers Hill Road in Amwell Township for a working fire in a large detached garage. There was no word on injuries or the cause of the fire.
February 15, 2023 2:47 am
(ABC) – Raquel Welch, actress and pinup starlet, has died. According to a rep, “The legendary bombshell actress of film, television and stage, passed away peacefully early this morning after a brief illness.” Born Jo Raquel Tejada in Chicago in 1940, Welch was a beauty pageant winner in her youth, before stepping in front of the camera to briefly work as a weather person at a San Diego TV station. Her big break came in the form of three words of dialogue – but particularly a fur bikini – in the 1966 campy film One Million Years B.C. Welch also appeared that year in the science fiction film Fantastic Voyage. (Photo: ABC)
February 14, 2023 3:51 pm
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Police say four juveniles were shot outside a Pittsburgh high school, but no life-threatening injuries have been reported. Pittsburgh Public Safety officials said Tuesday afternoon that the shooting occurred outside Westinghouse Academy 6-12 in the Homewood neighborhood. Police didn’t immediately release information about the victims, such as their ages or whether they were students. There was no immediate word on the circumstances of the shooting or any arrests. A nearby area was designated to allow parents to pick up their children.
February 14, 2023 1:54 pm
(WPXI) – The funeral for fallen McKeesport Officer Sean Sluganski was held Tuesday afternoon at St. Albert the Great, Blessed Trinity Parish. The private funeral follows visitation, which was held Sunday and Monday at the John F. Slater Funeral Home, and a service held Monday evening by the Fraternal Order of Police. Officer Sluganski was shot and killed in the line of duty Feb. 6 by a man whose mother called 911 and said her son was having a PTSD episode. Officer Charles Thomas was also shot and is recovering. The funeral was not open to the general public and no one was allowed to enter the cemetery other than family, the McKeesport Police Department and the law enforcement escort, including other departments and agencies.
February 14, 2023 7:38 am
CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) – Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor and United Nations ambassador, announced her candidacy for president on Tuesday. She becomes the first major challenger to former President Donald Trump for the 2024 Republican nomination. The announcement, delivered in a video, marks an about-face for the ex-Trump Cabinet official, who said two years ago that she wouldn’t challenge her former boss for the White House in 2024. But she changed her mind in recent months, citing, among other things, the country’s economic troubles and the need for “generational change,” a nod to the 76-year-old Trump’s age.
February 14, 2023 4:27 am
Washington County Register of Wills, James Roman, has officially announced his re-election bid. He will seek the Republican nomination in the May Primary. In a release, Roman says he decided to seek another term because of the “loyalty to his staff and continued service to the citizens of Washington County as key motivating factors”. Roman also pointed to successfully improving the customer service experience for visitors to his office. He says he has “been working hard to expand our services and offerings to the citizens of Washington County”. He highlighted more transparency and more information available on the Register of Wills website, complete access to forms needed to complete various services and the extension of office hours. Roman also acknowledged that he has been “outspoken in regards to increased transparency in Washington County” and said, “I have been outspoken on the threats I regularly receive from Commissioners.”
February 14, 2023 4:13 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The pace of consumer price increases eased again in January, the latest sign that the high inflation that has gripped Americans for two years is slowing. At the same time, Tuesday’s consumer price report showed that inflationary pressures in the U.S. economy remain stubborn and are likely to keep inflation high well into this year. The government said Tuesday that consumer prices rose 6.4% in January compared with 12 months earlier, down from 6.5% in December. On a monthly basis, though, consumer prices increased 0.5% from December to January, much higher than the 0.1% rise from November to December. More expensive gas, food and clothing drove up inflation in January.
February 14, 2023 4:12 am
ANTAKYA, Turkey (AP) – Rescuers on Tuesday were working to reach people under the rubble in three provinces hit hard by the powerful and devastating quake that hit Turkey and Syria last week. The death toll from the magnitude 7.8 and 7.5 quakes that struck nine hours apart on Feb. 6 in southeastern Turkey and northern Syria passed 35,000, and was certain to increase as search teams find more bodies. Turkish television continued broadcasting rescues Tuesday, as experts said the window to find survivors is closing. In Syria, President Bashar Assad agreed to open two new crossing points from Turkey to the country’s rebel-held northwest to deliver desperately needed aid and equipment to millions of earthquake victims.
February 14, 2023 4:11 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Officials have offered few details about four aerial objects recently shot down over North America, helping to fuel conspiracy theories and conjecture on the internet. One popular claim circulating Monday suggested, with no evidence, that the U.S. deployed the airborne devices as a way to frighten and distract Americans. Online searches for the term “UFO” also shot up as some people suggested the devices may be from another planet. Officials have said they suspect the first object was a Chinese surveillance balloon. But they’ve shed little light on the origins or purpose of the other three objects shot down in recent days, leading to rampant speculation online.
