July 25, 2023 5:19 am
BURG, Germany (AP) — Two teachers in eastern Germany say they spent months unsuccessfully trying to counter the far-right atmosphere at their small town high school. Hoping to sound a wake-up call, they wrote a public letter that described students greeting each other with the Nazi salute, scratching swastikas on their desks and threatening to beat up immigrant classmates. The letter produced a backlash and threats instead. Disheartened by what they say was a lack of support from fellow educators, Laura Nickel and Max Teske decided to leave Mina Witkojc School in Burg. Their experience has aroused fears in Berlin that the far right has gained a greater foothold in parts of the former East Germany than many thought.
July 25, 2023 5:17 am
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Justice Department is suing Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott over a floating barrier that the state placed on the Rio Grande to stop migrants from entering the U.S. The lawsuit filed Monday asks a court to force Texas to remove a line of bright orange, wrecking ball-sized buoys that the Biden administration says raises humanitarian and environmental concerns. The buoys are the latest escalation of Texas’ border security operation that also includes razor-wire fencing and arresting migrants on trespassing charges. Abbott sent President Joe Biden a letter that defended Texas’ right to install the barrier. He accused the president of putting migrants at risk by not doing more to deter them from making the journey to the U.S.
July 25, 2023 5:13 am
Climate change’s sweaty fingerprints are all over the July heat waves gripping much of the globe. A new study finds these intense and deadly hot spells in the American Southwest and Southern Europe could not have occurred without it. Tuesday’s study finds the increase in heat-trapping gases from the burning of fossil fuels has made a third simultaneous heat wave — one in China — 50 times more likely. An ever-warming world also made the European heat wave 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit hotter, the one in the United States and Mexico 3.6 degrees warmer and the Chinese one 1.8 degrees toastier.
July 25, 2023 5:12 am
ODESA, Ukraine (AP) — In just a week, Russia has fired dozens of missiles and drones at the Odesa region of Ukraine, hitting the historic city center that had been largely spared since the beginning of the war. Among the places struck was the Transfiguration Cathedral, which stands at the heart of the city’s romantic, notorious past and its deep roots in both Ukrainian and Russian culture. Before the war, many in Odesa saw themselves as more than simply Ukrainian. There were rumors, spread by Kremlin propaganda, that the city would welcome Russian soldiers. But they turned out to be false. Now that the city has come under an onslaught of attacks, it has become even more defiant.
July 25, 2023 5:09 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – Emergency crews are on the scene of a fire at a Duquesne Light specialized transformer on Brunot Island. Photos and videos shared with our news partners at Channel 11 from viewers showed smoke filling the sky as flames sprout from the island in the Ohio River. Pittsburgh Public Safety said the fire started after a reactor “catastrophically failed,” according to Duquesne Light. Flames could be seen from miles away. While the island is in Pittsburgh’s Marshall-Shadeland neighborhood, images and videos sent to Channel 11 are from as far back at Ross Township. Officials said no one was hurt in the blaze and the fire and any related hazards are contained on Brunot Island. Officials at the scene said the oil inside of the reactor was on fire. Rail traffic was shut down but the river remains open. There is currently no threat to the public and no power outages reported due to the blaze.
July 25, 2023 5:00 am
The Washington County Coroner’s office has identified the person killed in a crash early Monday morning in Finleyville. 37 year old Sarah McClintock of Monongahela was pronounced dead at Penn Highlands Monongahela Valley Hospital just after 2 a.m. According to the coroner’s report, she was the sole occupant of a vehicle that went out of control and rolled along Route 88. She was partially ejected. A cause and manner of death are pending. Monongahela Police are investigating.
July 25, 2023 4:52 am
Peters Township Council unanimously approved a new contract for waste collection and disposal with the South Hills Council of Governments. Beginning in 2024 through 2028, Waste Management will use automated services to handle garbage and recycling pickup. Residents and property owners will be given a bin for each type of disposal, additional bins would cost 100 dollars per year. There is a limit on how much waste each bin can handle, but glass recycling can be done from your home bins. There were some reservations despite the five yes votes and no opposition in the meeting minutes. Council members were hesitant on the cost of Waste Management’s automation for trash pickup. In the first year of this four-year contract, the cost of waste collection services would increase 27 percent from 70 dollars to 100 dollars quarterly. The services cost would then increase by 7 percent every year after. Township Manager Pete Lauer says it’s a combination of labor costs like fuel and equipment costs. The lack of bidders for the service also played a role, only Waste Management and Westmoreland Landfill Supply applied for the rights. Waste Management’s deal was said to be substantially cheaper. Decisions on how payment will be handled for township residents through property taxes, or the township’s sanitary authority and Jordan Tax Service will be made in upcoming council meetings.
July 24, 2023 6:50 pm
(WPXI)-Carlee Russell admitted to Alabama police on Monday that her story about being abducted from the side of an Alabama interstate after seeing a baby on the side of the road earlier this month was a hoax. Russell’s attorney, Emory Anthony, sent a statement to Hoover Police Chief Nick Derzis on Monday, AL.com reported. “My client has given me permission to make the following statement on her behalf: There was no kidnapping on July 13, 2023,” Anthony said in the statement. “My client did not see a baby on the side of the road. My client did not leave the Hoover area when she was identified as a missing person. My client did not have any help in this incident, but this was a single act done by herself.” Derzis read the statement during a news conference on Monday afternoon, WIAT-TV reported. “My client was not with anyone or at any hotel during the time she was missing,’’ Anthony’s statement continued. “My client apologizes for her actions to the community, the volunteers who were searching for her, to the Hoover Police Department and other agencies, as well as to her friends and family. “We ask for your prayers for Carlee as she addresses her issues and intends to move understanding that she made a mistake. Carlee again asks for your forgiveness and prayers.” Police still have no motive in the case, and are looking into filing charges against Russell
July 24, 2023 10:49 am
“Barbie” didn’t just break the opening weekend record for 2023; It also shattered the first weekend record for a film directed by a woman. With $162 million in ticket sales from North American theaters, according to studio totals Monday, “Barbie” catapulted past both “Captain Marvel,” which was co-directed by Anna Boden and opened to $153.4 million in 2019, and “Wonder Woman,” Patty Jenkins’ 2017 film that debuted to $103.3 million. Boasting a reported price tag of $145 million, “Barbie” also cost less to produce than “Captain Marvel” ($152 million) and “Wonder Woman” ($200 million).
July 24, 2023 9:44 am
Trader Joe’s has announced the recall of two types of cookies. The company said that it has recalled Trader Joe’s Almond Windmill Cookies and Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate Chunk and Almond Cookies. The cookies may contain rocks. The Almond Windmill Cookies have SKU #98744 with 10/19/23 through 10/21/023 sell-by dates, while the Dark Chocolate Chunk and Almond Cookies have SKU #82752 with 10/17/23 through 10/21/23 sell-by dates. The cookies that were still on the shelves have been destroyed, the company said. If you have the recalled cookies, you’re being told not to eat them and either throw them away or return them to the store for a full refund. If you have questions, you can call the company at 626-599-3817, Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. PT or email Trader Joe’s.
