September 17, 2022 3:10 am
WASHINGTON, Pa. — A topic that has been popular at all of the most recent Washington County Commissioners meetings has been the effort by a bloc of Washington County residents to have a ballot question on this November’s General Election ballot asking residents if they wish to continue using electronic voting machines in the county. Commissioners put that idea to rest by having County Commissioners Solicitor Jana Grimm answer why there cannot be a question like that on any ballot. In a prepared statement, Grimm pointed to federal law under the Help America Vote Act that requires the adoption of electronic voting machines. She pointed to several Pennsylvania decisions from the Supreme Court and Commonwealth Court that denied similar campaigns. She stated that a ballot question like this would serve no legal purpose and be non-binding, serving only and advisory purpose. Grimm went on to point out that even if commissioners wished to entertain the request, petitions signed by county residents fell well short of the number needed to be considered. Only 4032 signatures were presented to the elections office and fell 1161 signatures short of the 5193 signatures goal. Proponents wished to have another 2000 plus signatures presented in July added to the total but Grimm pointed out that they contained material defects that would not allow them to be counted as legitimate signatures. Ashley Duff, the driving force behind the petition campaign did not attend the meeting. Other proponents of the measure did not wish to comment. In County business, commissioners entered into a provider agreement with Blueprints to administer the Pennsylvania State Emergency Assistance Program Covid-19 grant. The more than $6.4 million grant will provide rental and utility assistance from July 1, 2022 through September 30, 2025.
September 16, 2022 3:45 pm
(AP) – The ride-hailing service Uber says all its services are operational following what security professionals are calling a major data breach. It says there is no evidence the hacker got access to sensitive user data such as trip history. A hacker, who appears to have been working alone, announced the breach on Thursday after apparently tricking an Uber employee into providing credentials. Screenshots the hacker shared with security researchers indicate they obtained full access to the cloud-based systems where Uber stores sensitive customer and financial data. It is not known how much data the hacker took.
September 16, 2022 3:35 am
DALLAS (AP) — Federal agents have arrested a Dallas anesthesiologist on charges alleging that he injected nerve-blocking agents and other drugs into bags of intravenous fluids at the surgical center where he works, causing the death of a co-worker and cardiac emergencies for several patients. The U.S. attorney’s office for the northern district of Texas said Thursday that Dr. Raynaldo Rivera Ortiz Jr. was arrested Wednesday for allegedly tampering with a consumer product causing death and intentionally adulterating drugs. He could face life in prison if convicted. Prosecutors say a 55-year-old female co-worker died after treating herself with an IV bag of what she thought was saline. An autopsy found that she died from a lethal dose of a nerve-blocking drug.
September 16, 2022 3:32 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge has appointed a veteran New York jurist to serve as an independent arbiter in the criminal investigation into the presence of classified documents at Donald Trump’s Florida home. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon has also refused to permit the Justice Department to resume its use of the highly sensitive records seized in an FBI search last month. Cannon on Thursday empowered the newly named special master, Raymond Dearie, to review all the documents taken in the Aug. 8 search of Mar-a-Lago and set a November deadline for his work. The sharply worded order from Cannon sets the stage for a challenge to a federal appeals court.
September 16, 2022 3:30 am
RENO, Nev. (AP) — A former deputy Nevada attorney general has been arrested in Reno as a suspect in a 1972 homicide in Hawaii. Seventy-seven-year-old Tudor Chirila Jr. was being held Thursday in the Washoe County Jail without bail on a fugitive charge. He once ran for the state Supreme Court and later was affiliated with the infamous Mustang Ranch brothel. Honolulu police accuse him of second-degree murder, saying DNA evidence links him to the fatal stabbing of 19-year-old Nancy Anderson in her Waikiki apartment 50 years ago. In March, police say they used a DNA sample to identify Chirila’s son the biological child of a DNA sample found at the crime scene.
September 16, 2022 3:29 am
IZIUM, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian authorities have found a mass burial site near a recaptured northeastern city previously occupied by Russian forces. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the discovery late Thursday in his nightly address to the nation. The grave was found close to Izium in the Kharkiv region. Associated Press journalists saw the site in a forest. Amid the trees were hundreds of graves with simple wooden crosses, most of them marked only with numbers. A larger grave bore a marker saying it contained the bodies of 17 Ukrainian soldiers. Investigators with metal detectors were scanning the site for hidden explosives. Zelenskyy said more information would be made public Friday.
September 16, 2022 3:29 am
LONDON (AP) — Thousands of mourners are waiting for up to nine hours in line to file past the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II as she lies in state at Westminster Hall. The queue to pay respects to the late monarch stretched for almost 5 miles past Tower Bridge on Thursday. But those in it said the wait was worth it and authorities provided amenities like portable toilets to ease their wait. King Charles III is spending the day in “private reflection” a week after his mother died at age 96. Buckingham Palace also released details of plans for the queen’s funeral on Monday. It will be the first state funeral held in Britain since the 1965 death of former Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
September 16, 2022 3:15 am
BROWNSVILLE, Pa. (WPXI)– Dozens of parents and community members sat in on Thursday’s Brownsville School Board meeting. Many of them sought answers about the alleged misuse of funds involving a former school board member and booster clubs in the district. The resignation of the board member in question was accepted at Thursday’s meeting, but they previously served as the board’s head of finance. Board members say the former member acted without consent from the board and should not have had any official dealings with the booster clubs. Matt Morgan is president of Brownsville Midget Football. He said the member approached his organization, but they only shared basic information. It’s unclear how much money was taken or how many clubs were affected. Board members say they cannot force booster clubs to open their books, but they can assist. The board did pass two motions Thursday. One establishes a committee of booster club officials to talk about this issue. The other starts the ball rolling on a potential district-wide audit covering the last five years.
September 16, 2022 3:11 am
WASHINGTON, Pa. — Thursday’s School Board meeting for the Trinity Area School District was quick but it did include good news for teachers and administrators. The board adopted a new five year contract with the Trinity Area Education Association. The contract is effective July 1, 2022 and will run through June 30, 2027. Teachers had been working under an extension of their old contract. According to Superintendent Dr. Michael Lucas, teachers will receive modest increases in pay throughout the contract and will be contributing more to their health care benefits. Lucas went on to say that it was a pleasure to be able to work with the union to get the contract accomplished.
September 16, 2022 1:21 am
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – Railroad workers secured a deal that will deliver 24% raises and $5,000 bonuses over five years, but it will also address some of their concerns about strict attendance rules and time off. The deal that’s retroactive to 2020 will give railroaders the biggest raises they’ve seen in more than four decades with 24% raises and $5,000 in bonuses over five years. But the concessions related to working conditions may prove more important. Railroad workers will now be able to take unpaid days off for doctor’s appointments without being penalized. The 12 unions that had been bargaining with the nation’s biggest railroads represent some 115,000 workers. A rail strike could have been devastating to the economy. (Photo: AP)
