October 20, 2023 5:03 am
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel is bombarding Gaza, hitting areas in the south where Palestinians had been told to seek safety. It also began evacuating a sizable Israeli town in the north near the Lebanese border on Friday, the latest sign of a potential ground invasion of Gaza that could trigger regional turmoil. Palestinians in Gaza reported heavy airstrikes in the south, and ambulances carrying men, women and children streamed into a nearby hospital. Food, fuel and medicine are running low in the coastal enclave, which Israel has completely sealed off, and an expected trickle of aid from Egypt has yet to enter. Israel has vowed to crush Hamas after its brutal Oct. 7 attack inside Israel.
October 20, 2023 5:00 am
ROSTRAVER TOWNSHIP, Pa.- After details were kept secret for nearly a year, we now know that a fatal shooting in a Rostraver Township shopping plaza was an alleged murder-for-hire. According to court documents, Keven Van Lam (pictured) hired a man identified as “Tuan” to “take care” of his business partner, 49-year-old Boyke Budiarachman. Police say Van Lam believed his partner was sabotaging his business. The two went to dinner at a restaurant in that shopping plaza and that’s when police say Van Lam texted the alleged hitman, who was posing as a parking lot attendant – letting him know when they arrived and when they were leaving. That’s when Budiarachman was shot and killed. Court documents say surveillance video shows an unknown masked person shooting the victim as he was getting into his car. Police then say Van Lam drove to Philadelphia with a duffle bag stuffed with $65,000 in cash and left it in a planned location for the alleged hitman to pick up. Police say Van Lam confessed, saying he wanted Budiarachman to be hit in the legs with a baseball bat and then said the plot changed to shoot him. The defense team argues Van Lam never intended for Budiarachman to be killed. The magistrate judge held all of the charges against Van Lam, and this case will head to trial. The alleged hitman has not been identified.
October 20, 2023 4:52 am
Rite Aid plans to close about 7% of its stores initially, as the drugstore chain makes its way through its Chapter 11 bankruptcy process. The company submitted a list of 154 stores in a court filing. Most of the chain’s stores are on the East and West coasts, and the list reflects that. Several locations are in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, California and Washington. Rite Aid has more than 2,200 locations in 17 states. The company said in its Tuesday bankruptcy court filing that it also may close additional stores.
October 20, 2023 4:49 am
On Thursday, Washington County Commissioners spent time answering public comment questions about issues that have reappeared as of late. Commissioner Chairwoman Diana Irey-Vaughan addressed questions from North Strabane Township Supervisor Harold Close regarding the award of a contract to MRA/TAIT instead of Motorola for the emergency responder radio system. Irey-Vaughan indicated that a lower bid from Motorola came in after bids were awarded. She also stated that American Rescue Plan Act funds dedicated to the project were limited to upgrades and improvements and not a total replacement project such as Motorola’s bid. Pennsylvania State Representative Bud Cook (R-50) continued his years long campaign to get answers as to why he feels that $10 million in LSA funds are unaccounted for. Irey-Vaughan addressed him telling him that the funds are monitored by the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development and administered by the Redevelopment Authority of Washington County. She said his claims of missing money are not true. Some funds are being held in escrow until the awardees receive matching funds or are ready to begin their projects.
October 20, 2023 3:34 am
Commissioner Larry Maggi was named to serve on three national committees for the national American Legion. Maggi was selected by National Commander Daniel J. Seehaver to serve on the Law and Order, Homeland Security and Youth Cadet Law Enforcement committees for the 2023-2024 term. Maggi has served on these committees for six years. The committees form policy important to the American Legion to present to Congress and the President. Maggi calls it “an honor to continue to serve our veterans and to make sure the veterans of Washington County are represented at a national level.” Maggi served in the United States Marine Corp. He has been a member of the Claysville American Legion for 53 years. On the state level, Maggi is the Chairman of the Pennsylvania Department of the American Legion State Police Youth Week and serves as Chairman of the Pennsylvania American Legion Law and Order Committee.
October 19, 2023 10:47 am
ATLANTA (AP) — Lawyer Sidney Powell has pleaded guilty to six misdemeanors related to intentionally interfering with the performance of election duties over efforts to overturn Donald Trump’s loss in the 2020 election in Georgia. Powell is the second defendant in the case to reach a deal with prosecutors. As part of the deal, Powell will serve six years of probation, will be fined $6,000 and will have to write an apology letter to Georgia and its residents. Powell agrees to testify truthfully against her co-defendants at future trials. Powell entered the plea Thursday, just a day before jury selection was to start in her trial. Powell was charged alongside Trump and 17 others with violating the state’s anti-racketeering law.
October 19, 2023 5:06 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Refusing to drop out, Republican Rep. Jim Jordan is telling GOP colleagues he would back a temporary U.S. House speaker for several months until January as he works to shore up support to win the gavel himself. But after failing twice to win the gavel, no third vote is planned. Jordan delivered the message at a closed door meeting of Republicans at the Capitol, according Republicans familiar with the meeting and insisted on anonymity to discuss it. The Republican majority is considering an extraordinary plan to give the interim Speaker Pro-tempore Rep. Patrick McHenry more powers to reopen House and conduct crucial business. But Jordan’s hardline backers don’t like that idea.
October 19, 2023 5:04 am
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — The chief suspect in the 2005 disappearance of Natalee Holloway has admitted to killing her. New details in the killing emerged Wednesday as Joran van der Sloot (pictured) pleaded guilty to extorting money from Holloway’s mother. He confessed in submitted court filings to bludgeoning Holloway to death on a beach in Aruba before dragging her body out to sea. He had sought a quarter of a million dollars from Holloway’s mother in exchange for information about the location of her daughter’s remains. His confession resolves a case that has captivated the public’s attention for nearly 20 years. His 20-year sentence for extortion will run concurrently with prison time he’s serving for another killing in Peru.
October 19, 2023 5:01 am
Israel has agreed to allow Egypt to deliver limited humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip while the Israeli military keeps up its airstrikes on the Palestinian territory. More than 1 million Palestinians, roughly half of Gaza’s population, have fled homes in the north and Gaza City after Israel told them evacuate. The airstrikes early Thursday continued across the entire territory, including in areas in the south that Israel had declared as “safe zones.” The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that limited humanitarian aid would be allowed into Gaza from Egypt following a request from U.S. President Joe Biden.
October 19, 2023 5:00 am
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel’s defense minister told ground troops to be ready to enter the Gaza Strip, though he didn’t say when the invasion will start. Israeli airstrikes have pounded locations across the Gaza Strip, including parts of the south that Israel had declared as safe zones. The attacks on Thursday have heightened fears among more than 2 million Palestinians trapped in the territory that nowhere was safe. With authorities working out logistics for a delivery of aid from Egypt, overwhelmed hospitals tried to stretch out ebbing medical supplies and fuel for diesel generators to keep their equipment running.
