April 23, 2024 4:54 am
(AP) – Satellite photos analyzed by The Associated Press appear to show a new compound of tents being built near Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip as the Israeli military continues to signal it plans an offensive targeting the city of Rafah. This tent construction is near Khan Younis, which has been targeted by repeated Israeli military operations over recent weeks, but Israel has said it plans to evacuate civilians from Rafah during an anticipated offensive on the southern city, where hundreds of thousands of people have taken refuge during the war, now in its seventh month. On Monday, a failed rocket strike was launched at a base housing U.S.-led coalition forces in Syria, a U.S. defense official said.
April 23, 2024 4:53 am
NEW YORK (AP) — A veteran tabloid publisher has testified that he pledged to be Donald Trump’s “eyes and ears” during his 2016 presidential campaign, recounting for a jury how he promised the then-candidate that he would help suppress harmful stories and had even arranged to purchase a doorman’s silence. The testimony from David Pecker was designed to bolster prosecutors’ assertions of a decades-long friendship between Trump and the former publisher of the National Enquirer that culminated in an agreement to give the candidate’s lawyer a heads-up on negative tips and stories so they could be quashed. Testimony will resume on Wednesday.
April 23, 2024 4:49 am
Peters Township Council spent a long evening making decisions on several land parcels that have been under consideration for development. In the beginning of the night, council reconvened a public hearing on rezoning of approximately 17 acres of land adjacent to E. McMurray Road. On one parcel, an assisted living facility was proposed, on the second parcel approximately 80 townhomes were proposed. Council took testimony for an hour hearing about increased traffic and safety for young children that are in the existing neighborhood that would contain a main traffic artery. Council removed the Mixed Residential Overlay and rezoned the property to Low Density Residential. The developer of the plans, Andrew Zahalsky had no comment on the action. Also at issue was the Froebe Gardens Development adjacent to Peterswood Park. Developers initially asked for a time extension for a decision on the development. That request was denied. Also denied was the approval of the development. Township officials criticized the developer for not taking action on approximately 3 dozen conditions associated with this development and two prior plans that had similar conditions applied to them. Council denied the plan for 191 homes presented and the property will likely be rezoned to Low Density Residential. Finally, at the end of the evening, council heard from residents concerned about a development in North Strabane Township that will border Peters Lake Park. Residents hope that Peters Township Council will join them in their efforts to prevent the building of the Collective at Peters Lake. Council did offer their support to the group but explained to them that they have no say in the matter, but will make sure that North Strabane Township officials are aware of their concerns. Council will hold a joint meeting with the Peters Township School District on April 29 to update each other on happenings in each of their organizations.
April 23, 2024 2:53 am
Tuesday is Primary Election Day in Pennsylvania and here in Washington County, Elections Director Melanie Ostrander is predicting a thirty-five-percent voter turnout. Ostrander says that is a typical turnout for a federal election primary. The election has been tainted with a recent decision by the county’s board of elections, to forbid ballot curing, the fixing of mistakes on absentee and mail-in ballots. Ostrander says they have received 14,147 requests for mail-in ballots, with the majority, over ten-thousand, being from Democrats and the remainder, a little over three-thousand, being from Republicans. Out of those, as of Monday, Ostrander says they have received 11,067 back. Out of that number, 8,409 were Democratic ballots, while the remainder, a little over twenty-six-hundred, were Republican. Pennsylvania leaves a number of election decisions up to county officials. The result has been a lack of uniformity ranging from whether to cure mail-in ballots to the use of drop boxes. Westmoreland, Allegheny, Greene and Fayette counties all allow mail-in ballot curing. Locally, State Representative Bud Book has a Republican challenger in the 50th Legislative District. Stephanie Waggett, is a 44-year-old Carmichaels resident, a registered nurse and a former administrator at the Fayette Energy Facility in Masontown. Cook and Waggett will be vying for Republican votes in the primary election. Cook has represented the 50th Legislative District since the beginning of last year as a result of redistricting. The 50th Legislative District includes all of Greene County and portions of Washington County.
April 23, 2024 2:37 am
A Donora man has died after being struck by a train late Monday night. Authorities say 30-year-old Cody David Kimmel was struck by a train around eleven-thirty near 65 East First Street in Donora. He was taken to Penn Highlands Monongahela Valley Hospital where he died a short time later. The incident is under investigation by the Donora Police Department and the Norfolk Southern Railroad Police. An autopsy is pending.
April 23, 2024 2:21 am
A deal between the city of Washington and the Washington School District – to renovate the Colt Baseball Field at Washington Park is dead. The school board, Monday night, voted to rescind an agreement with the city, on what would have been a two-million-dollar project. The work would have included a turf field for the school’s baseball and softball teams and other youth programs to play on. District Superintendent George Lammay tells WJPA that the district is now looking at other options, options that will not include engaging with the city. Last August, the two sides had informally agreed to the project, a project that Lammay says he saw as a win-win for the city and the school district.. Washington Mayor JoJo Burgess says city officials have been in constant contact and had meetings with the district’s solicitor and the school board president regarding some land issues that needed to be dealt with before any official agreement could be signed. He tells WJPA that the city plans to do everything by the book and legally, so if the district doesn’t want to wait, perhaps it is a good idea that they seek other options.
April 22, 2024 5:20 pm
TRIANGLE, Virginia (AP) — President Joe Biden is marking Earth Day by announcing $7 billion in federal grants to provide residential solar projects serving 900,000-plus households in low- and middle-income communities. He also criticized Republicans who want to gut his policies to address climate change. The Democrat plans to expand his New Deal-style American Climate Corps green jobs training program. Biden spoke at northern Virginia’s Prince William Forest Park on Monday. Biden’s latest environmental announcements come as he’s working to energize young voters for his reelection campaign. Senior administration officials say young Americans are keenly invested in the Biden climate agenda and want to help enact it.
April 22, 2024 5:18 pm
NEW YORK (AP) — Columbia University has canceled in-person classes and police have arrested dozens of students at Yale University as tensions over the war in the Middle East continue to grow on U.S. college campuses. The moves at the Ivy League schools came hours before Monday evening’s start of the Jewish holiday of Passover. A New Haven, Connecticut, police spokesperson said about 45 protesters were arrested at Yale on Monday morning and charged with misdemeanor trespassing. All were being released on promises to appear in court later. Following arrests last week at Columbia, pro-Palestinian demonstrators set up encampments on other campuses around the country, including at the University of Michigan, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of North Carolina.
April 22, 2024 5:06 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House has approved a $95 billion package of foreign aid for Ukraine, Israel and other U.S. allies after months of turmoil on Capitol Hill. Congressional leaders pushed aside opposition from hard-right conservatives to complete the bill in a rare Saturday session. The whole package will go to the Senate, which could pass it as soon as Tuesday. Speaker Mike Johnson has put his job on the line and relied on Democratic support every step of the process. The four bills, to provide aid to Ukraine, Israel, Indo-Pacific allies and a measure dealing with TikTok were all overwhelmingly approved. President Joe Biden has promised to sign the package.
April 22, 2024 5:04 am
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — A top concern for local election workers throughout the country this year is their own safety. A group formed after the 2020 presidential election is traveling the country helping them prepare for what could lie ahead and making sure they are connected to local law enforcement. The Associated Press was granted rare access to one recent session in northern Michigan. The threats and harassment stem from the false claims made repeatedly by former President Donald Trump since his loss in 2020. He already has been attacking some election officials this year. The drumbeat has contributed to an exodus of local election directors across the country.
