January 18, 2024 5:02 am
ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s air force has launched retaliatory airstrikes in Iran allegedly targeting militant positions. The attack early Thursday killed at least nine people and further raised tensions between the neighboring nations. The strikes in Sistan and Baluchestan province follow Iran’s attack Tuesday on Pakistani soil that killed two children in the southwestern Baluchistan province. The strikes imperil diplomatic relations between the two neighbors, as Iran and nuclear-armed Pakistan have long regarded each other with suspicion over militant attacks. The attacks also raised the threat of violence spreading in a Middle East unsettled by Israel’s war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
January 18, 2024 5:00 am
PITTSBURGH — Another round of snow is on the way and will bring the threat of snowy roads and icy travel as the week comes to a close. Snow will arrive before sunrise Friday with steady snow at times, making it difficult for crews to clear the roads. The Friday morning commute will be slow and school delays will be possible with several inches of new snow expected by Friday evening. Colder temperatures blow in behind the system this weekend with high temperatures again struggling to get out of the teens. The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Weather Advisory beginning at 1 a.m. Friday until Saturday at 10 a.m.
January 18, 2024 4:57 am
The Washington County Planning Commission held an open house on Wednesday to seek input from residents about future use and development of Greenways and Parks. Jason Theakston is the Washington County Planning Director. He says the Greenways plan is a sister document to the county’s Comprehensive Plan. The Comprehensive Plan guides economic development. The Greenways Plan will assist in making sure conservation efforts are in place to maintain the rural nature of the county’s greenways and open spaces. The Parks Master Plan is meant to help develop traditional parks amenities like shelters, playgrounds and fishing and boating waters. It would also entertain other ideas for parks such as pickleball courts, dog parks and other recreational activities. The county is looking for resident feedback. A survey is available by calling the Planning Department at 724-228-6811. The survey is also available on line by searching the Planning Department page on the Washington County website.
January 18, 2024 1:53 am
The annual interviews for Local Share Account funding were completed on Wednesday. The grant monies are funded by a portion of casino revenue directed to the state through Act 71. The Department of Community and Economic Development distributes the money. Locally it is overseen by the Redevelopment Authority of Washington County. Because Washington County is a host county to the Hollywood Casino at the Meadows, it is eligible for the funds. According to Jeff Kotula, Chairman of the Local Share Account Review Committee, $9.2 million will be divided up for community and economic development projects throughout Washington County. Kotula says that the committee received $28 million in requests spread out over 94 different projects. The interviews were conducted over two days and the committee is deciding on which projects will be funded. Water and sewer projects typically are the most popular requests. Other community projects are aslo considered. Park improvements, upgrades to historic building facades, science-technology-engineering-math projects and solar panel array construction are just some of the other projects that the committee will consider. Kotula says that the committee hopes to have its reccomendations to County Commissioners for their approval ready for the February 1 meeting.
January 17, 2024 3:31 pm
LONDON (AP) — Kensington Palace says the Princess of Wales has been hospitalized after undergoing planned abdominal surgery and will remain at the private London Clinic for up to two weeks. Buckingham Palace revealed moments after news of Kate’s hospitalization was released on Wednesday that King Charles III would undergo a “corrective procedure” next week for an enlarged prostate. The palace said the king’s condition is benign. The palace says the 75-year-old monarch has sought treatment for an enlarged prostate “in common with thousands of men each year.” The former Kate Middleton is expected to return to public duties after Easter. The 42-year-old future queen was admitted to The London Clinic on Tuesday.
January 17, 2024 3:29 pm
NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump was threatened with expulsion from his Manhattan civil trial Wednesday after he repeatedly ignored a warning to keep quiet while writer E. Jean Carroll testified that he shattered her reputation after she accused him of sexual abuse. Carroll was the first witness in a trial to determine damages, if any, that Trump owes her for remarks he made while he was president. His statements responded to a 2019 memoir in which Carroll said Trump sexually attacked her in spring 1996 in a luxury Manhattan department store’s dressing room. The trial is only about damages because a jury last May awarded Carroll $5 million in damages for sexual abuse and defamation. Trump denies it all.
January 17, 2024 2:56 pm
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Demolition is underway at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, which was the site of the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history. The work that began Wednesday is part of the effort to re-imagine the building to honor the 11 people who were killed there in 2018. Most of the building will be removed, although parts of the sanctuary walls will be preserved. The new building will include spaces for worship, a museum, an education center and a movie theater. Carole Zawatsky, who heads the nonprofit overseeing the project, said she had a mix of emotions, including feeling bittersweet knowing why the old building was being demolished but also feeling tremendous excitement about seeing the project moving forward. (Photo: AP)
January 17, 2024 5:10 am
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine has won praise for stabilizing its economy under dire circumstances. Donor aid bolstered government’s finances and helped push inflation down for ordinary people, even as Russia’s invasion chopped off a third of the economy. But now there’s a new challenge: a multibillion-dollar hole has opened up in Ukraine’s finances as aid from the U.S. and EU has hit political roadblocks, with Russia’s war grinding on. U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Davos, Switzerland, this week and said “we’re determined to sustain our support” for Ukraine.
January 17, 2024 5:09 am
ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan is condemning Iran for launching airstrikes inside Pakistani territory that Tehran claimed targeted bases for a militant Sunni separatist group. Islamabad angrily denounced the attack as a “blatant violation” of its airspace and said it killed two children. Tuesday’s strike in Pakistan’s restive southwestern Baluchistan province imperiled diplomatic relations between the two neighboring countries. Iran and nuclear-armed Pakistan have long regarded each other with suspicion over militant attacks. However, both sides appeared wary of provoking the other. The attack also threatened to further ignite violence in a Middle East unsettled by Israel’s ongoing war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
January 17, 2024 5:07 am
ROCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — Drug overdose deaths in New Hampshire have increased in recent years, and some residents want to hear more from the presidential candidates about how they’d help. Much of the talk from the Republican presidential hopefuls has focused on the supply side. Former President Donald Trump, who once described New Hampshire as a “drug-infested den,” has proposed using the military against foreign drug cartels, a view echoed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie took a different approach before he dropped out, focusing on stigma reduction and treatment, when he visited a program that helps pregnant women and moms in Rochester. Haley is scheduled to visit the same program Wednesday.
