October 27, 2023 5:04 am
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli forces backed by fighter jets and drones have carried out a second ground raid into Gaza in as many days. The military said Friday that it struck targets on the outskirts of Gaza City, as it prepares for a widely expected full-scale ground offensive. The Palestinian death toll has soared past 7,000 as Israel has carried out waves of devastating airstrikes in response to a bloody Hamas incursion into southern Israel on Oct. 7. The Health Ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza, which tracks the toll, has released a detailed list of names and ID numbers. More than 1,400 people in Israel, mostly civilians, were slain during the initial Hamas attack. Hamas is holding at least 224 captives inside Gaza.
October 27, 2023 5:01 am
The Washington County Coroner’s office has released the identity of the second person killed in a house fire in the City of Washington. 39 year old Kimberly DeOca died in the Tuesday morning fire at a home in the one-hundred block of East Katherine Avenue. The coroner’s office says they have exhausted all attempts to locate and notify her family and are asking anyone who may know or have information about her family to contact them. The fire also killed 39 year old Kenneth Guy III. Officials say both victims were found on the second floor of the home. A cause and manner of death for both victims are pending. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
October 27, 2023 4:54 am
A Thursday preliminary injunction hearing brought on by Peters Township and North Strabane Township was put on hold. The two townships filed a petition for the injunction in an effort to halt a $2 million check from being sent to the contractor for the upgrades to the county 9-1-1 emergency communications system and to gain more information about the capabilities of the system being built by contractor MRA/TAIT. Andrew Walz, Township Manager of North Strabane Township reports that immediately after the hearing, all parties spent the rest of Thursday negotiating a settlement. The terms of the settlement have not been revealed. The settlement does cancel a Friday morning injunction hearing and allows that check to be sent. According to Walz, the agreement will be put up for a vote in front of County Commissioners, Peters Township and North Strabane Township at each of their respective November voting meetings.
October 26, 2023 5:43 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation’s economy expanded at a robust 4.9% annual rate from July through September as Americans defied higher prices, rising interest rates and widespread forecasts of a recession to spend at a brisk pace. The economy expanded last quarter at the fastest pace in more than two years — and more than twice the 2.1% annual rate of the previous quarter. Thursday’s report on the nation’s gross domestic product — the economy’s total output of goods and services — showed that consumers drove the acceleration, ramping up their spending on everything from cars to restaurant meals.
October 26, 2023 12:34 pm
A hearing to request preliminary injunction relief was held Thursday in Washington County Court by representatives from Peters Township and North Strabane Township. At issue is the county 9-1-1 radio system that according to Peters Township Solicitor John Smith, was not properly awarded. Smith pointed to irregularities with the award process when compared to county code. Also at issue is the reliability of the system, where he brought up evidence that seems to indicate that the proposed system contracted to MRA/TAIT is sub standard compared to one proposed by Motorola. Washington County Solicitor Jana Grimm stated that all bid procedures were accurately followed and called the action a political move. The plaintiffs wish to stop a $2 million payment to be sent out Friday that may not be able to be refunded if the contract is ultimately halted. A decision on the preliminary injunctive relief is to be released on Thursday, a hearing on a permanent injunction is tentatively scheduled for Friday.
October 26, 2023 8:40 am
A change in solicitor in Charleroi Borough. In a surprise move, council on Wednesday voted to remove Sean Logue and replace him with Dennis Paluso as interim solicitor until the end of the year. According to the Mon Valley Independent, Council member Randy DiPiazza made both motions. He did so claiming that he wasn’t happy with Logue’s communications with council members. Council member Jerry Jerricho echoed that by saying he had “lost faith” in Logue. Councilmen Larry Celaschi and Joe Smith voiced their opposition to the move and voted against Logue’s ouster. DiPiazza then motioned to name former borough solicitor Dennis Paluso as interim solicitor. Celaschi, Smith and councilman Paul Pivovarnik voted against that move. Logue tells WJPA News that he is proud of the work that was done while he was there including the sale of the borough’s sewage lines that have made the borough financially solvent.
October 26, 2023 5:07 am
DETROIT (AP) — The United Auto Workers union says it has reached a tentative contract agreement with Ford that could be a breakthrough to end the nearly 6-week-old strikes against Detroit automakers. The four-year deal still has to be approved by 57,000 union members at the company. It could bring a close to the union’s series of strikes at targeted factories run by Ford, General Motors and Jeep maker Stellantis. The Ford deal could set the pattern for agreements with the other two automakers, although no other agreements were announced Wednesday.
October 26, 2023 5:06 am
ACAPULCO, Mexico (AP) — A day after Hurricane Otis roared ashore in Acapulco, unleashing massive floods and setting off looting, the resort city of nearly 1 million descended into chaos, leaving residents without electricity or internet service as the toll remained uncertain. The early images and witness accounts were of extensive devastation, toppled trees and power lines lying in brown floodwaters that in some areas extended for miles. The resulting destruction delayed a comprehensive response by the government, which was still assessing the damage along Mexico’s Pacific coast, and made residents desperate. Many of the once sleek beachfront hotels in Acapulco looked like toothless, shattered hulks after the storm blew out hundreds — possibly thousands — of windows.
October 26, 2023 5:05 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump was slapped with a $10,000 fine for violating a gag order after he was unexpectedly called to the witness stand in his New York fraud trial. Wednesday’s courtroom drama previews the tensions mounting between Trump’s competing legal and political interests as he vies for the Republican presidential nomination while facing a litany of criminal and civil cases. It also underscores how efforts to hold Trump accountable are testing the legal system in unprecedented ways as judges struggle with how to rein in the former president’s inflammatory rhetoric while balancing the free speech rights of a political candidate.
October 26, 2023 5:04 am
The new speaker of the U.S. House had a key role in trying to overturn President Joe Biden’s 2020 election win. Republican Rep. Mike Johnson spearheaded a legal brief in support of an unsuccessful lawsuit trying to overturn the results. He repeated baseless conspiracy theories about the election and voted against certifying its outcome after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. His role is significant because he is now second in the line of presidential succession and because the House in January 2025 will have a key role in certifying the winner of next year’s presidential election.
