March 8, 2024 5:01 am
RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — After months of warnings over the risk of famine in Gaza under Israel’s bombardment, offensives and siege, children are starting to die. Hunger is most acute in the north, where at least 20 people — almost all children — have died from malnutrition and dehydration, according to the Health Ministry. But also in the south, where access to aid is more regular, particularly vulnerable children are also beginning to succumb. At the Emirati Hospital in Rafah, 16 premature babies have died of malnutrition-related causes over the past five weeks, the director told The Associated Press.
March 8, 2024 5:00 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden delivered a defiant argument for a second term in his State of the Union speech Thursday night, lacing into GOP front-runner Donald Trump for espousing “resentment, revenge and retribution” and for jeopardizing freedom at home and abroad. Biden repeatedly delivered broadsides at “my predecessor” without ever mentioning Trump by name. The scrappy tone from Biden was a sharp break from his often humdrum daily appearances and was designed to banish doubts about whether the 81-year-old is still up to the job. For 68 minutes, Biden goaded Republicans over their policies, invited call-and-response banter with fellow Democrats on economic issues, taxes and healthcare and seemed to relish the fight.
March 8, 2024 4:57 am
BETHEL PARK, Pa. — Bethel Park police are searching for a missing 15-year-old girl. Isabella Grooms is 5 feet, 3 inches and weighs 165 pounds. She has shoulder-length brown hair and brown eyes. Isabella was last seen wearing a black hoodie with a skull design on it and gray leggings. She was last seen at 5:30 p.m. Thursday before leaving a friend’s house on Bertha Street. Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to call 412-833-2000.
March 8, 2024 4:52 am
WASHINGTON, Pa. — (WPXI) – Check your tickets! A Pennsylvania Lottery Powerball ticket worth $100,000 was sold in Washington County. The ticket matched four of the five white balls and the red Powerball drawn Wednesday: 6-19-28-44-60, Powerball 10. The Powerball multiplier was two. The ticket was sold at The Meadows Racetrack & Casino in Washington, which earns a $500 bonus for selling the winning ticket, the Pennsylvania Lottery said. Pennsylvania Lottery Powerball winners have one year from the drawing date to claim prizes.
March 8, 2024 4:46 am
Washington County Commissioners continue to have issues with a supposed grant that was meant to be allocated to the Washington City Mission. The disagreement centers on Local Share Account funding. Before the business section of the March 7 voting meeting, Commissioner Larry Maggi requested an item addressing the funding be added to the voting agenda. In a statement prior to his motion, Maggi said that the LSA Committee issued a list on January 30, of recommended projects to be funded in 2024. Number 38 on the list was the City Mission 50 bed homeless shelter with recommended funding of $500,000. He continued by saying that on February 6, a new list was issued and the City Mission 50 bed homeless shelter was removed. Maggi further stated that phone calls from the commissioner’s office were made to the LSA Committee indicating that the City Misson project be removed. Maggi expressed his disappointment with his fellow commissioners’ actions and interference in the LSA Grant approval process. Maggi then motioned to amend the voting agenda to include the $500,000 grant to the City Mission as originally proposed on January 30. Commissioner Chairman Nick Sherman amended the motion to have it read that the commissioners recommend the LSA Committee reconvene and consider the allocation of the remaining $500,000 held over for next year. The motion indicated that the City Mission project and all other projects not allocated be considered. Maggi’s motion was not considered because County Solicitor Gary Sweat stated that recent Sunshine Law amendments disallow approval of payments or contracts without 24 hours notice. The amended motion passed, and the issue is now in the hands of the LSA Committee. According to Sherman, it is his hope that the LSA Committee can meet virtually to discuss the matter and report recommendations back to commissioners before their March 21 meeting. All LSA fund recommendations must be finalized before March 31.
March 8, 2024 2:19 am
Jim Roddey, the first elected Allegheny County Chief Executive, has died. He was 91 years old. A Marine Corps veteran, Roddey defeated long-time Allegheny County Coroner Cyril Wecht in 1999 by slightly less than 6,000 votes. He is the only Republican to ever hold the post. Allegheny County Republican Chairman Sam DeMarco, said Roddey was a “civic leader unlike any other.”
March 7, 2024 5:27 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — Sweden has formally joined NATO as the 32nd member of the transatlantic military alliance, ending decades of post-World War II neutrality and centuries of broader non-alignment. Sweden’s membership comes as concerns about Russian aggression in Europe have spiked following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken presided at a Washington ceremony Thursday when the “instrument of accession” for Sweden to join NATO was deposited at the State Department. Sweden and Finland both abandoned long-standing neutrality that had been a hallmark of the Nordic states’ Cold War foreign policy after Russia invaded Ukraine. Finland joined NATO last year.
March 7, 2024 5:25 pm
(AP) – Officials in Texas say power lines ignited deadly wildfires across the state’s Panhandle region that destroyed homes and livestock and left a charred landscape last week. Texas A&M Forest Service said Thursday that investigators concluded power lines ignited the Smokehouse Creek and Windy Deuce fires. Xcel Energy also said Thursday in a news release that its equipment appeared to have played a role in the starting of the Smokehouse Creek fire. That blaze has burned nearly 1,700 square miles and spilled into neighboring Oklahoma. It was 74% contained as of Thursday. Xcel Energy disputes claims of negligence in maintaining and operating infrastructure.
March 7, 2024 12:46 pm
State Police are searching for two people whom they say stole over $2,000 worth of cigarettes and hundreds of dollars in cash from a Greene County convenience store. Troopers said the suspects entered the BFS Foods store on Jefferson Road around 5 a.m. on Feb. 29th. They had a gun and were wearing face masks and gloves and one of the suspects was also wearing a brown fur-lined hat. State police said they stole a large amount of cigarette cartons, totaling more than twenty-one-hundred-dollars. They also got away with $220 in cash. Police say the suspects are known to be armed and dangerous and may be traveling in a dark colored vehicle.
March 7, 2024 12:42 pm
Check your tickets! A Pennsylvania Lottery Powerball ticket worth $100,000 was sold in Washington County. The ticket matched four of the five white balls and the red Powerball drawn Wednesday: 6-19-28-44-60, Powerball 10. The Powerball multiplier was two. The ticket was sold at The Meadows Racetrack & Casino in Washington, which earns a $500 bonus for selling the winning ticket, the Pennsylvania Lottery said. Pennsylvania Lottery Powerball winners have one year from the drawing date to claim prizes.
