September 23, 2024 2:20 am
In an anticipated 2-1 vote, Washington County Commissioners finalized the contract awarding a nearly $24.5 million dollar contract to Motorola Solutions, Inc. for the county’s new emergency radio system. It is an all inclusive system that includes subscriber radios and system management. The contract will take into account all changes recommeded by system consultant Mission Critical Partners, LLC, and the County Solicitor. Commissioner Larry Maggi was the dissenting vote calling the contract process “flawed” saying the contract was awarded and then price negotiations began. Commissioner Nick Sherman disputed that saying that the county had all of the contract numbers weeks ago. The county is now working on trying to recover approximately $8 million from MRA, Inc, the company awarded the contract initially to rebuild the radio system. According to Sherman, after nearly two years, consultants were unable to verify that the system MRA, Inc proposed would be able to be built.
September 24, 2024 4:47 am
INDIANA, Pa. — (WPXI) – Former President Donald Trump spoke at the Kovalchick Center on Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s campus for more than 90 minutes, hitting on the economy, immigration, and the assassination attempt that happened at his rally in Butler in July. Trump arrived at a full house of supporters in Indiana for what was his second stop in western Pennsylvania on Wednesday. Trump spent much of his time talking about the economic policy differences between a second Trump term and the Biden/Harris administration. He also spent a large portion of his speech on immigration. He mentioned Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio — and then shifted to a local town. “The 4,000-person town of Charleroi, do people, do you know Charleroi?” Trump asked the audience, which got cheers from some Charleroi residents. Trump then spoke to them from the stage. “Has your beautiful town changed? Yes,” Trump repeated from a supporter. “You can’t do it.” Those comments about Charleroi were first made nearly two weeks ago and drew a rebuke from the borough council president, who said she doesn’t want politicians to use the town to score political points. “It’s composed of lawless gangs, we’re not going to do this,” Trump said. Trump acknowledged Pennsylvania is an important state in this year’s presidential race, noting only 42 days remain until Election Day.
September 24, 2024 2:47 am
PITTSBURGH — Vice President Kamala Harris is coming to Pittsburgh this week to attend an event for her presidential campaign. Harris will be in the area Wednesday afternoon. An exact time or location has not been set yet. This will be Harris’ fourth visit to the Pittsburgh area since she launched her campaign for president.
September 24, 2024 4:59 am
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — World leaders will open their annual meeting at the U.N. General Assembly under the shadow of increasing global divisions, major wars in Gaza, Ukraine and Sudan, and the threat of an even larger conflict in the wider Middle East. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres previewed his opening “State of the World” speech to presidents, prime ministers, monarchs and ministers at Sunday’s “Summit of the Future,” saying “our world is heading off the rails — and we need tough decisions to get back on track.” One notable moment at Tuesday’s opening assembly meeting: U.S. President Joe Biden’s likely final major appearance on the world stage, a platform he has tread upon and reveled in for decades.
September 24, 2024 4:56 am
Palestinian officials say Israel’s strikes early Tuesday killed at least seven people in Gaza’s southern city of Khan Younis. They said at least 15 others, including women and children, were injured in the strikes. Israel’s military says it will do “whatever is necessary” to push Hezbollah away from Lebanon’s border with Israel. Israel and Hezbollah have been trading fire since the Israel-Hamas war began. On Monday, Israel launched hundreds of airstrikes in southern and eastern Lebanon, killing nearly 500 people and wounding more than 1,600 others. Thousands of people fled southern Lebanon, jamming the main highway to Beirut in the biggest exodus since the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war.
September 24, 2024 5:01 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — With its larger-than-usual half-point cut to its key interest rate last week, the Federal Reserve underscored its belief that it’s all but conquered inflation after three long years. The public at large? Not so much. Consumer surveys show that most Americans remain unhappy with the economy, still bruised by an inflation rate that hit a four-decade high two years ago as the economy rebounded from the pandemic recession. Yet in the view of some economists, the shift toward steadily lower borrowing rates could eventually boost consumer sentiment. Inflation has sunk for more than two years and is nearly back down to the Fed’s 2% target. Though that means overall prices are still rising, they’re doing so much more slowly.
September 23, 2024 4:58 am
PUERTO ESCONDIDO, Mexico (AP) — Hurricane John has struck Mexico’s southern Pacific coast with life-threatening flood potential. John grew from a tropical storm to a major hurricane in hours and came ashore near Punta Maldonado late Monday night with 120 mph winds. John’s rapid intensification made authorities rush to keep pace and warn people of its potential destruction. Mexico’s president was among those urging people to seek higher ground and protect their lives. Hours after landfall, John had weakened to 100 mph winds early Tuesday. The high terrain inland was forecast to weaken the hurricane quickly. Through Thursday, 10 to 20 inches of rain was forecast along and near the Oaxaca coast to southeast Guerrero with more in isolated areas.
September 24, 2024 5:35 pm
NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. Justice Department has filed an antitrust lawsuit against Visa, alleging that the financial services behemoth uses its size and dominance to stifle competition in the debit card market. The complaint filed Tuesday says Visa penalizes merchants and banks who don’t use Visa’s own payment processing technology to process debit transactions, even though alternatives exist. It’s the latest in a recent spate of lawsuits brought by the Biden administration targeting alleged monopolistic practices. It also has sued big technology companies like Google and companies that act like middlemen such as Ticketmaster and RealPage.
September 24, 2024 5:02 am
Obesity is high and holding steady in the U.S. About 4 in 10 Americans have obesity overall and about 1 in 10 have severe obesity. That’s according to new government research. The overall rate has not changed significantly in the past decade, even as the rate of severe obesity is increasing. That means it’s too soon to know whether new treatments for obesity can ease the epidemic of the chronic disease linked to dozens of health problems. Experts say preventing obesity in the first place is key, starting in early childhood.
September 24, 2024 3:12 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — Retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre told a congressional committee Tuesday that he has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Favre made the announcement as part of his testimony about a welfare misspending scandal in Mississippi. Favre does not face criminal charges, but he has repaid just over $1 million in speaking fees funded by a welfare program in the state. He was also an investor in a biotech company with ties to the case that said it was developing concussion drugs. It is unclear if Favre’s disease is connected to his football career or head injuries.
