October 8, 2024 2:16 am
Cecil Township Supervisors enacted an ordinance that officially established the Cecil Township Department of Fire and Emergency Services. It was a first step to reorganize and combine the township’s three independent volunteer fire departments under one set of operational guidelines. A committee consisting of members from all three departments have been working together for several months to achieve the cooperation goal. Fire Chief Ted Wolford said that the cooperation of the departments will be a precise process and will not be rushed. His first goal is to enhance the training of all firefighters in the township. Supervisor Chairman Tom Casciola pointed to the ability of firefighters to access equipment in all three stations at any time and the elimination of territorialism that had existed in past years between the departments as benefits to township residents. Wolford said that October has been busy with Fire Prevention Month. They have been to several daycares in the township teaching fire safety. They also have been working with North Strabane Township and Canonsburg Fire Departments in teaching fire prevention and running fire drills in the Canon-McMillan School District.
October 7, 2024 8:52 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — No one is likely to be happy with the projected higher deficits laid out in a new analysis of Kamala Harris’ and Donald Trump’s economic plans. The analysis released Monday by the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget suggests a Harris presidency could increase the national debt over 10 years by $3.5 trillion. That’s even though the vice president’s campaign insists her proposed investments in the middle class and housing would be offset by higher taxes on corporations and the wealthy. The same analysis says former President Trump’s ideas could heap another $7.5 trillion onto the debt and possibly as much as $15.2 trillion.
October 7, 2024 5:30 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States has spent a record of at least $17.9 billion on military aid to Israel since the war in Gaza began and led to escalating conflict around the Middle East. That’s according to a report by Brown University’s Costs of War project released Monday on the anniversary of Hamas’ attacks on Israel. The report says an additional $4.86 billion has gone into stepped-up U.S. military operations in the region since the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, including the costs of a Navy-led campaign to quell strikes on commercial shipping by Yemen’s Houthis. It’s one of the first tallies of these estimated U.S. costs. The research was completed before Israel opened a second front against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
October 7, 2024 5:29 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. government’s top disaster relief official says false claims and conspiracy theories about the federal response to Hurricane Helene, which are being spread most prominently by Donald Trump, are “demoralizing” aid workers and creating fear in people who need recovery assistance. Deanne Criswell of the Federal Emergency Management Agency tells ABC that “it’s frankly ridiculous, and just plain false. This kind of rhetoric is not helpful to people.” She says the unfounded allegations have created a sense of fear and mistrust from residents against the thousands of FEMA employees and volunteers on the ground.
October 7, 2024 5:28 am
RE’IM, Israel (AP) — Israelis are holding vigils and somber ceremonies to mark a year since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack, the deadliest in the country’s history, an attack that sparked the war in Gaza and scarred Israelis indelibly. The surprise attack, which caught Israel unprepared on a major Jewish holiday, shattered Israelis’ sense of security and shook their faith in their leaders and their military. Its aftershocks still ripple one year later. In Gaza, which is still buckling under the weight of the ongoing war, no formal commemorative event was planned. Israelis are expected to flock to ceremonies and cemeteries around the country on Monday.
October 7, 2024 5:27 am
BELLEAIR BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Milton strengthened rapidly into a Category 5 hurricane on a path toward Florida. The system is threatening the densely populated Tampa area with a potential direct hit and menacing the same stretch of coastline that was battered by Hurricane Helene less than two weeks ago. The center of the storm could come ashore Wednesday in the Tampa Bay region, which has not endured a head-on hit by a hurricane in more than a century. Scientists expect the system to weaken slightly before landfall, though it is still forecast to hit as a Category 3 hurricane or higher.
October 7, 2024 5:19 am
BETHEL PARK, Pa. — Police in Bethel Park say they have found a missing man who is autistic and bipolar. Nathyn Patrick Hoffman, 24, was last seen at the Dollar General in the Hillcrest Shopping Center Sunday evening. He was last seen wearing a black polo shirt, blue shorts and sandals. He often spends time in Pittsburgh’s North Shore and Downtown communities. No information on where he was found has been released. (Photo: Bethel Park Police Department)
October 7, 2024 5:15 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Sunday night showdown between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Dallas Cowboys has started after a lengthy weather delay. The original scheduled start time of 8:20 p.m. was delayed nearly 90 minutes when a line of thunderstorms made their way through downtown Pittsburgh at around 8 p.m. The Steelers were just about to be introduced when the delay was called. With plenty of lightning around Acrisure Stadium, fans retreated to the concourse during the hour-long downpour.
October 7, 2024 5:13 am
No injuries are reported after a two-vehicle crash overnight in the City of Washington. Washington County 9-1-1 says it happened around 12:30 a.m. in the 500-block of East Maiden Street. Dispatchers say a pole was knocked down. The roadway was closed after the crash but reopened before 6 a.m.
October 7, 2024 4:51 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Cissy Houston, a two-time Grammy-winning singer who performed alongside superstar musicians like Elvis Presley and Aretha Franklin and the mother of Whitney Houston, has died. She was 91. Her daughter-in-law Pat Houston tells The Associated Press that Houston died Monday morning in her New Jersey home while under hospice care for Alzheimer’s disease. The acclaimed gospel singer was surrounded by family members. Houston was in the well-known vocal group, the Sweet Inspirations, with Doris Troy and her niece Dee Dee Warwick. Houston won Grammys for her albums “Face to Face” in 1997 and “He Leadeth Me” the following year in the best traditional soul gospel album category.
