October 3, 2024 2:02 am
The Borough of Charleroi met at their agenda meeting and one discussion item that caused earlier strife in the county, caused even more tense feelings in the borough. After Donald Trump referenced Charleroi in a campaign rally speech in September, Borough Council President Kristin Hopkins-Calcek released a statement simultaneously with a press release authored by the Mon Valley Alliance. Because board members of the MVA were not aware of the release, several have resigned to show that they in no way were involved with the issuance of the press release. Councilman Larry Celaschi called out Hopkins-Calcek for not alerting borough council of her statement. Celaschi says that the signature made it look like it was an official statement from the board, they should have been consulted. At particular issue was a line that made reference to a 50 acre industrial property along the river. Celaschi said that it was insensitive to the employees at the Corelle Plant to infer that they will be out of their jobs soon by marketing the property. Hopkins-Calcek indicated that it was in no way a concession to the plant closing. She recited the elected officials that she has been in contact with both federally and in the state. She said the statement was to be taken as forward thinking because if the plant does close, she wanted to make people aware of the location and the strong workforce available in Charleroi. Business that council will consider at their voting meeting will be a first reading of a proposed ordinance establishing building permits in accordance with the Uniform Construction Code. They will look to approve several maintenance issues in the borough and vote to advertise for a new solid waste collection contract.
October 3, 2024 4:52 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Prosecutors say Donald Trump laid the groundwork to try to overturn the 2020 election even before he lost, knowingly pushed false claims of voter fraud and “resorted to crimes” in his failed bid to cling to power. A newly unsealed court filing lays out fresh details from the landmark criminal case against the former president. It argues that the former president is not entitled to immunity from prosecution. It was submitted by special counsel Jack Smith’s team following a Supreme Court opinion that conferred broad immunity on former presidents and narrowed the scope of the prosecution.
October 2, 2024 2:34 am
The Washington County Board of Elections met to determine how to handle mail in ballots that have flaws that render them unable to be considered. The Board voted 3-0 to comply with the court order issued By Judge Brandon Neuman. The Elections office will enter the flawed ballot into the Sure System. That will generate an email from the Secretary of State to notify the voter of the flaw. If no email is provided, the voter will be notified by the county elections office by phone. With that notice, the voter may choose to vote provisionally on Election Day. On July 1, seven disenfranchised voters, The Center For Coalfield Justice and the Washington Branch of the NAACP sued the Board of Elections for its policy to disallow flawed mail in ballots and not notify voters of those flaws. On August 23, Judge Brandon Neuman determined that voters must be notified of those flaws so that they may vote with a provisional ballot if they so choose. An appeal of that decision By the Republican National Committee, the State GOP and Washington County was lost in Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court on September 24. The Republican National Committee and the State GOP are appealing that ruling to the Supreme Court. It is unclear if the Supreme Court will hear the appeal as they are being asked by the RNC and State GOP to consider a “King’s Bench” ruling on a number of other cases regarding mail in ballots before the November 5 election.
October 2, 2024 4:49 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The devastation wrought by Hurricane Helene has brought climate change to the forefront of the presidential campaign. President Joe Biden has toured some of the areas hardest-hit by the storm on Wednesday as he and Vice President Kamala Harris traveled to different parts of the Southeast. Trump was in Georgia on Monday and criticized the federal response. The storm and its aftermath have killed at least 180 people. Vice presidential candidates JD Vance and Tim Walz agreed on the need for a strong response. But Walz also linked the storm to climate change, saying it “roared onto the scene faster and stronger than anything we’ve seen.″
October 3, 2024 4:54 am
KAOHSIUNG, Taiwan (AP) — Typhoon Krathon has made landfall in the major port city of Kaohsiung. The slow-moving typhoon has schools and offices closed for a third consecutive day, with authorities asking people to stay indoors. Krathon made landfall around 12:40 p.m. Thursday, packing maximum sustained winds of 78 mph near its center, with gusts of 101 mph. The typhoon has brought Kaohsiung, a city of 2.7 million people, to a standstill for the past three days. Stores and restaurants have been shuttered, and residents are staying away from markets and harbors. All domestic flights have been grounded for the past two days. Some areas have seen more than 5 feet of rainfall over the past five days.
October 2, 2024 4:56 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Some manufacturers and retailers are urging President Joe Biden to invoke a 1947 law as a way to suspend a strike by 45,000 dockworkers that has shut down 36 U.S. ports from Maine to Texas. At issue is Section 206 of the Labor Management Relations Act of 1947, better known as the Taft-Hartley Act. The law authorizes a president to seek a court order for an 80-day cooling-off period for companies and unions to try to resolve their differences. Biden has said, though, that he won’t intervene in the strike.
October 2, 2024 2:11 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Voting has begun in the presidential battleground state of Pennsylvania. Counties are mailing out ballots, offering over-the-counter voting and opening satellite election offices. Seth Bluestein sits on Philadelphia’s election commission. He said Wednesday that voters in the state’s largest city have returned about 15,000 mail-in ballots. That’s about 10% of the 150,000 ballots the city mailed so far. It’s also opening 10 satellite election offices. Allegheny County, home to Pittsburgh, says voters who applied for mail-in ballots have started receiving them. Montgomery County, the state’s third-most populous county, is mailing out ballots and this week it’s unveiling eight satellite election offices and a mobile voter services van. (Photo: AP)
October 3, 2024 4:59 am
(AP) – An Islamic health organization in Lebanon said that an Israeli strike in the capital Beirut killed seven health and rescue workers. The airstrike in the residential Bashoura district overnight targeted an apartment in a multi-story building that houses an office of the Health Society, a group of civilian first responders affiliated to Hezbollah. It was the closest strike to the central downtown district of Beirut, where the United Nations and government offices are located. The strike came as Israel was pursuing a ground incursion into Lebanon against Hezbollah, while also conducting strikes in Gaza that killed dozens, including children.
October 3, 2024 4:53 am
BEIRUT (AP) — Israel is pressing forward on two fronts. The military is pursuing a ground incursion into Lebanon against Hezbollah that left eight Israeli soldiers dead Wednesday and conducting strikes in Gaza that killed dozens, including children. As Israel vowed to retaliate for Iran’s ballistic missile attack a day earlier, the region braced for further escalation. Iran, which backs both Hezbollah and the Hamas militants who run the Palestinian enclave of the Gaza Strip, launched dozens of missiles into Israel on Tuesday night. It was another escalation in a cycle that is pushing the Middle East closer to a regional war. Israel warned that the attack would have repercussions.
October 3, 2024 4:45 am
BELLE VERNON, Pa. — (WPXI) – A fifth-grade student at Marion Elementary in the Belle Vernon School District reportedly threatened to bring a gun to campus while he was on the bus Tuesday, according to a letter from the superintendent. The letter says that multiple students overheard the comment and reported it to the bus driver. The driver notified the school administration, and the student was kept home from school on Wednesday. According to the superintendent, the student will be kept out of school while the situation is investigated by local law enforcement “Please know that the safety of our students is our top priority, and we take this matter very seriously. We encourage you to speak with your children about the importance of reporting concerning comments or behaviors to a trusted adult, as the students on the bus did today. Their quick action allowed us to address this situation swiftly,” the letter reads.
