February 8, 2024 4:59 am
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has left the Middle East with public divisions between the United States and Israel at perhaps their worst level since Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza began in October. Wrapping up a four-nation Mideast trip — his fifth to the region since the conflict erupted — Blinken was returning to Washington after getting a virtual slap in the face from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over a proposed cease-fire plan, Netanyahu said the war would continue until Israel is completely victorious and appeared to reject outright a response from Hamas to the cease-fire proposal. Yet Blinken and other U.S. officials said they remained optimistic that progress could be made.
February 8, 2024 4:56 am
PennDot has announced that all westbound lanes of Interstate 70 between Exit 15 (Route 40/Chestnut St) and Exit 11 (Route 221/Taylorstown) are now reopened. An earlier lane restriction was in place due to a tractor trailer crash. One person was flown to a Pittsburgh hospital in critical condition after a crash involving a tanker tractor trailer and a car in North Franklin Township early Thursday morning. It happened just after 2 a.m. at mile-marker 13. State Police say 48-year-old Eric Joseph of Florida lost control of the truck while traveling in the left lane of Interstate 70 eastbound and crossed the grass median and struck the car head-on in the westbound lanes. Forty-four-year old Lewis Stiltner of Belle Vernon was injured and was flown to UPMC Presbyterian Hospital in Pittsburgh. Because of a leak HAZMAT was called to the scene.
February 8, 2024 4:50 am
EAST LANSDOWNE, Pa. (AP) — Six members of a family are feared dead from a fire at a house in suburban Philadelphia that went up in flames as two police officers who responded to the scene were shot. Among those feared dead are three children. Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer told reporters Thursday that a human torso and a rifle were recovered from the home in East Lansdowne. He’s cautioning the probe is in its early stages as investigators sought clues to the fire and a shooting there on Wednesday afternoon that also wounded two responding police officers.
February 8, 2024 4:44 am
One person was flown to a Pittsburgh hospital in critical condition after a crash involving a tanker tractor trailer and a car in North Franklin Township early Thursday morning. It happened just after 2 a.m. at mile-marker 13. State Police say 48-year-old Eric Joseph of Florida lost control of the truck while traveling in the left lane of Interstate 70 eastbound and crossed the grass median and struck the car head-on in the westbound lanes. Forty-four-year old Lewis Stiltner of Belle Vernon was injured and was flown to UPMC Presbyterian Hospital in Pittsburgh. Because of a leak HAZMAT was called to the scene. PennDOT says a single-lane restriction will be in place through Friday between Exit 15 (Route 40/Chestnut Street) and Exit 11 (Route 221/Taylorstown) so crews can clean the wreckage site.
February 7, 2024 4:15 pm
(AP) – Paxlovid can prevent hospitalization and death from COVID-19, but experts say it’s being underused. The pills’ high price and doctors’ hesitation to prescribe them are creating obstacles to getting the drug to everyone who would benefit. The people most likely to benefit from Paxlovid were the least likely to get it in 2022. The study by Harvard researchers found that Paxlovid was disproportionately given to patients with lower risk of severe infection. If it had been properly utilized, the authors concluded, more than 16,000 COVID-19 deaths could have been prevented.
February 7, 2024 3:58 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans have blocked a bipartisan border package, scuttling months of negotiations between the two parties on legislation intended to cut down record numbers of illegal border crossings. Many Republicans said the election-year compromise wasn’t enough, even as supporters of the bill insisted it was the best that could be gotten in divided government. The vote on taking up the bill came as most Republicans said they would vote against the actual legislation, which also includes $60 billion in wartime aid to Ukraine and $14 billion for Israel. GOP lawmakers had insisted that the money for conflicts abroad be paired with help for the U.S. border.
February 7, 2024 12:52 pm
(AP) – Federal investigators say they will determine the cause of last year’s fiery Norfolk Southern derailment in eastern Ohio at a hearing in East Palestine this June 25. The National Transportation Safety Board findings will come nearly 17 months after the Feb. 3, 2023, derailment near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border that prompted evacuations and left residents with lingering worries about possible long-term health problems. The cleanup from the derailment is ongoing though Environmental Protection Agency officials say that may wrap up this summer. The government and railroad have reassured residents that their air and water are safe, but some doubt the test results because they don’t think enough testing has been done. (Photo: AP)
February 7, 2024 10:20 am
SAN DIEGO (AP) — The military says a missing Marine Corps helicopter has been found in a mountainous area outside San Diego. The aircraft was located just after 9 a.m. Wednesday by civil authorities near the mountain community of Pine Valley, about a 45-mile drive from San Diego but rescue crews said snowy conditions were making access challenging on the ground. Defense officials say the Marines were flying a CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter from Creech Air Force Base, northwest of Las Vegas, where they had been doing unit-level training and were returning home to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego.
February 7, 2024 5:03 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A storm that parked itself over Southern California for days, unleashing historic downpours that caused hundreds of landslides, is expected to move out of the region after one final drenching. But authorities say it leaves behind the threat of dangerous mudslides because the soaked soil cannot hold any more water. At least seven people have died, many from falling trees, since the storm first struck Northern California last weekend and then plowed south. Forecasts call for only one heavy downpour on Wednesday followed by a drying-out period and a sunny weekend.
February 7, 2024 5:02 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — In a dramatic setback, House Republicans have failed to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. The vote forced Republicans to shelve a high-profile priority — for now — after a few GOP lawmakers refused to go along with the party’s plan. The stunning roll call fell just a single vote short of impeaching Mayorkas. In a dramatic scene on the House floor, it stalled the Republicans’ drive to punish the Biden administration over its handling of the U.S-Mexico border. With Democrats united against the charges, the Republicans needed almost every vote from their slim majority to approve the articles of impeachment. The House is likely to revisit plans to impeach Mayorkas, but next steps are highly uncertain. (Photo: AP)
