May 24, 2024 4:55 am
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — China has sent dozens of warplanes and navy vessels off Taiwan’s coast on the second day of a large exercise launched to show its anger over the island’s inauguration of new leaders who refuse to accept its insistence that Taiwan is part of China. Taiwan’s defense ministry said it tracked 49 Chinese warplanes and 19 navy vessels as well as coast guard vessels on Friday. Taiwan’s new president, Lai Ching-te, visited a marine base on Thursday and said the island would “continue to maintain the values of freedom and democracy.” A Beijing official said Lai has “challenged the one-China principle,” which asserts that Taiwan is part of China.
May 24, 2024 4:54 am
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel’s army says the bodies of three more hostages killed on Oct 7. were recovered overnight from Gaza. The bodies of Hanan Yablonka, Michel Nisenbaum, and Orion Hernandez were found and their families have been notified. The army said they were killed on the day of the attack at the Mefalsim intersection and their bodies were taken to Gaza. The announcement comes less than a week after the army said it found the bodies of three other Israeli hostages killed on Oct. 7. Israel says around 100 hostages are still captive in Gaza, along with the bodies of around 30 more.
May 24, 2024 4:51 am
The federal government agreed to a $15 million fine for Norfolk Southern over last year’s disastrous derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. Residents were generally underwhelmed by the deal the Environmental Protection Agency and Justice Department announced Thursday, two days after a federal judge signed off on the railroad’s $600 million class action settlement with residents. In addition to the civil penalty, Norfolk Southern agreed to reimburse the government $235 million in cleanup costs and set up a $25 million health care fund to pay for 20 years of medical exams in the community and follow through on $244 million of planned safety improvements. The railroad won’t face criminal charges.
May 24, 2024 4:48 am
The Canon-McMillan School Board unanimously approved the Proposed Final General Fund Budget for the 2024-2025 school year in the amount of $117,163,110.00. This budget amount includes a 0.6497 tax mill increase. According to Superintendent Michael Daniels, this budget amount includes a deficit of $1,327,510.00. Daniels cautioned board members that the number they see right now may change. He said certain revenues have not been received and therefore not added into the budget. Daniels said that they will begin construction on the new Wylandville Elementary School in the upcoming year. He pointed to increased costs for special education needs for students as the main driver in the budget deficit. Daniels says that since the pandemic, facilities dealing with those concerns are full. Travel distances and employee time to transport the students to more distant areas are the biggest costs driving the deficit. The final budget will be adopted on June 27.
May 24, 2024 2:40 am
Two additional people have been charged in relation to a shooting that left a teen girl dead and another injured in Washington County. Anthony Barfield, 17, is facing charges of criminal homicide and aggravated assault, and Jeheili Cochran, 25, is facing charges of hindering apprehension, obstructing the administration of law and tampering with evidence. Barfield and Cochran are family members of Windale Barfield Jr., one of the other suspects charged in the shooting. Annalaya Wilkerson, 18, was killed and another 17-year-old girl was hurt in a shooting on a rural road in South Franklin Township on April 13.
May 23, 2024 6:08 pm
(AP) – The federal government agreed to a $15 million fine for Norfolk Southern over last year’s disastrous derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. Residents were generally underwhelmed by the deal the Environmental Protection Agency and Justice Department announced Thursday, two days after a federal judge signed off on the railroad’s $600 million class action settlement with residents. In addition to the civil penalty, Norfolk Southern agreed to reimburse the government $235 million in cleanup costs and set up a $25 million health care fund to pay for 20 years of medical exams in the community and follow through on $244 million of planned safety improvements. The railroad won’t face criminal charges. (Photo: AP)
May 23, 2024 11:37 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department has filed a sweeping antitrust lawsuit against Ticketmaster and parent company Live Nation Entertainment, accusing them of running an illegal monopoly over live events in America and driving up prices for fans. The lawsuit was filed Thursday in New York and was brought with 30 state and district attorneys general. The suit seeks to break up the monopoly they say is squeezing out smaller promoters and hurting artists. The Justice Department accuses Live Nation of a slew of practices that allow it to maintain a stronghold over the live music scene. Live Nation has denied that it engages in practices that violate antitrust laws. (Photo: AP)
May 23, 2024 5:09 am
Highways and airports are likely to be jammed in the coming days as Americans head out on and home from Memorial Day weekend getaways. AAA predicts this will be the busiest start-of-summer weekend in nearly 20 years. The Transportation Security Administration says up to 3 million people may pass through airport checkpoints on Friday alone. And that’s just a sample of what’s to come. U.S. airlines expect to carry a record number of passengers this summer. The national expression of wanderlust is happening at a time when Americans tell pollsters they are worried about the economy and the direction of the country.
May 23, 2024 5:07 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Get ready for what nearly all the experts think will be one of the busiest Atlantic hurricane seasons on record thanks to unprecedented ocean heat and a brewing La Nina. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says there’s an 85% chance that the Atlantic hurricane season that starts in June will be above average in storm activity. An average Atlantic hurricane season produces 14 named storms, seven of which become hurricanes and three major hurricanes. About 20 other groups — universities, other governments, private weather companies — also have made seasonal forecasts. All but two foresee a busier, nastier summer and fall for hurricanes.
May 23, 2024 5:06 am
GREENFIELD, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say a deadly tornado that wreaked havoc in the small city of Greenfield, Iowa, left four people dead and nearly three dozen injured, while a fifth person was killed elsewhere. The twister that tore through the city on Tuesday was rated at least an EF-3 by the National Weather Service and was so destructive that it took authorities more than a day to account for the area’s residents. Officials believe the number of people injured is likely higher. The deadly twister was spawned during a historic tornado season in the U.S. April had the second-highest number of tornadoes on record in the country.
