December 16, 2023 2:54 am
Washington County Commissioners ended 2023 on a high note on several levels. The county passed a $168 million budget with no tax increase in 2024. Additionally, Commissioners helped the Washington County Library System with their funding crisis due to a budget stall in Harrisburg. Commissioners, using a memorandum of understanding advanced the library system all of its $200,000 allotment immediately. It also is loaning the system $165,000 of the anticipated $660,000 that they would receive from Harrisburg. Interim System Administrator of the Washington County Library System, Diane Ambrose thanked Commissioners for their fast action in getting the funding together. Ambrose says that now all 14 libraries will make it until the end of the year and into next year when the funding will be allocated. The Pennsylvania Legislature adopted the spending plan that covers libraries late on Wednesday night. Ambrose says it is not clear when the funding from Harrisburg will arrive. During public comment, several people addressed the board pleading with them to somehow remove April Sloane from her position as Controller. Sloane is facing charges of animal neglect after police and animal control officers found an emaciated dog enclosed in a plastic bag in her garage. Muse resident A.C. Rowland went further, asking that her office be audited. Her reasoning is that if Sloane did this to an animal, what harm could she have done to county funds. Commissioner Diana Irey-Vaughan says that there is no way for the county to remove her. If Sloane were to resign, Commissioner Nick Sherman says they are examining what the procedure would be to replace her. Sloane did not attend Thursday’s commissioners meeting.
December 16, 2023 2:51 am
(WPXI) – UPMC will soon require face masks again in all of its healthcare facilities. “UPMC is seeing an increase in cases of respiratory viruses, including Covid, influenza and RSV,” a UPMC spokesperson said in a statement. Beginning Dec. 20, all employees, patients and visitors will be required to wear a face mask. The spokesperson said UPMC will continue to monitor cases and adjust protocols as the situation changes. Back in May, UPMC dropped its universal masking policy that was in place for three years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
December 15, 2023 5:10 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House has passed a defense policy bill that authorizes the biggest pay raise for troops in more than two decades. Supporters overcame objections from some conservatives concerned it didn’t do enough on cultural issues, such as restricting the Pentagon’s diversity initiatives and gender-affirming health care for transgender service members. The Senate had already overwhelmingly passed the bill on Wednesday, so now it goes to President Joe Biden’s desk to be signed into law. One of the most divisive aspects of the bill is a short-term extension of a surveillance program aimed at preventing terrorism and catching spies. Opponents of the extension wanted changes designed to boost privacy protections for Americans.
December 15, 2023 5:08 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — A jury has awarded $148 million in damages to two former Georgia election workers who sued Rudy Giuliani for defamation over lies he spread about them in 2020 that upended their lives with racist threats and harassment. Friday’s damages verdict comes after Wandrea “Shaye” Moss and her mother, Ruby Freeman, tearfully testified about becoming the target of a false conspiracy theory pushed by Giuliani and other Republican allies of Donald Trump that made them fear for their lives. Giuliani says he will appeal the ruling, calling the amount awarded “absurd.” The former New York mayor previously conceded in court documents that he falsely accused the women of ballot fraud in the election Trump lost.
December 15, 2023 5:08 am
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (AP) — The mother of a 6-year-old who shot his teacher in Virginia has been sentenced to two years in prison for felony child neglect. Friday’s punishment for Deja Taylor comes nearly a year after her son used her handgun to critically wound teacher Abby Zwerner. The classroom shooting shocked the nation and roiled the military shipbuilding city of Newport News. Zwerner was shot in the hand and chest. She has since undergone multiple surgeries and frequent psychological counseling. Taylor’s son told authorities he took the gun from his mother’s purse on top of a dresser.
December 15, 2023 5:07 am
RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — The Israeli military says it has mistakenly killed three Israeli hostages during its ground operation in the Gaza Strip.The army’s chief spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, says Israeli troops found the hostages Friday and erroneously identified them as a threat. He said it was not clear if they had escaped their captors or been abandoned. The deaths occurred in the Gaza City area of Shijaiyah, where troops have engaged in fierce battles against Hamas militants in recent days. He said the army expressed “deep sorrow” and was investigating.
December 15, 2023 5:05 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — In a politically polarized nation, Americans seem to agree on one issue underlying the 2024 elections — a worry over the state of democracy and how the outcome of the presidential contest will affect its future. They just disagree over who poses the threat. A poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that 62% of adults say democracy in the U.S. could be at risk depending on who wins. That view is held by 72% of Democrats and 55% of Republicans, but for different reasons. President Joe Biden has warned about former President Donald Trump’s promises to seek retribution against opponents, while Trump says the federal charges against him show Biden has weaponized the government.
December 15, 2023 5:03 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Republican lawmakers in Pennsylvania are rejecting legislation to send more than $33.5 million to the University of Pennsylvania’s veterinary school over criticism that the Ivy League school has tolerated antisemitism. The bill’s defeat is perhaps the starkest example of how some lawmakers and governors are trying to keep universities from taking sides in the Israel-Hamas war and to toughen the schools’ responses to acts of hate and discrimination, including antisemitism. The vote late Wednesday night came four days after Penn’s president resigned amid pressure from donors. The Pennsylvania House’s Republican floor leader, Bryan Cutler (pictured), says Penn must do more to make it clear it opposes antisemitism.
December 15, 2023 2:14 am
Crown Castle Inc. has confirmed to WJPA that they no longer plan to relocate more than one-thousand employees. Interim CEO Anthony Melone said, “we’ve made the decision to cancel the planned relocation of more than 1,000 teammates announced on Oct. 18th.” The plan would have had a major impact on workers at it’s Southpointe location and may have resulted in the closure of that facility. Crown Castle, which is a massive cell tower and optics company, is believed to be the second largest employer in Washington County. No reason was given for the original planned relocation.
December 14, 2023 5:37 pm
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — A loose bull in New Jersey’s largest city that found its way onto train tracks and snarled rail traffic has been captured. The ruddy brown bull with long, dark-tipped horns stood on the tracks at Newark Penn Station, prompting a police response. The incident held up train traffic between New Jersey and New York Penn Station for nearly an hour. Newark’s public safety director says city officers eventually cornered the animal in a fenced lot about 3 miles away from the station. No injuries were reported. the bull will be sent to a local animal sanctuary.
