May 18, 2023 4:23 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden says he’s confident the U.S. will avoid an unprecedented debt default, saying talks with congressional Republicans have been productive. Biden made his remarks as he left for a global summit in Japan. He’ll return Sunday in hopes of approving a final deal. “I’m confident that we’ll get the agreement on the budget and America will not default,” Biden said at the White House. He said he and lawmakers will come together “because there’s no alternative.” Speaker Kevin McCarthy agreed, though he was more combative, saying Biden had “finally backed off” and come to the negotiating table. Top negotiators continued talks late into the evening at the Capitol.
May 18, 2023 4:22 am
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — As more Southern states pass new restrictions on abortion, Virginia is poised to become an outlier in the region for its relatively permissive laws. That could set up Virginia as a destination for women seeking abortions and raise questions about providers’ capacity to meet demand. South Carolina is among the last bastions in the region for those seeking legal abortions, but that status could end soon. Access would be almost entirely banned after about six weeks of pregnancy under a bill expected that passed the House Wednesday but still needs Senate approval. And most abortions after 12 weeks will be banned in North Carolina after the state legislature successfully overrode the Democratic governor’s veto Tuesday.
May 18, 2023 4:21 am
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian officials say Russia has fired 30 cruise missiles against different parts of the country in the latest nighttime test of Ukrainian air defenses, which shot down 29 of them. Kyiv officials said defense systems also shot down two exploding drones and two reconnaissance drones early Thursday. A military spokesman said one person died and two were wounded by a Russian missile that got through and struck an industrial building in the southern region of Odesa. Loud explosions were heard in Kyiv as the Kremlin’s forces targeted the capital for the ninth time this month. It is a clear escalation after weeks of lull and ahead of a much-anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive using newly supplied advanced Western weapons.
May 18, 2023 4:20 am
HIROSHIMA, Japan (AP) — President Joe Biden is in Japan for global diplomacy in a nation that has already tightened its economic and national security alliance with the U.S. He will meet privately with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida before joining the Group of Seven gathering of major industrialized nations. The two leaders are expected to discuss ways to strengthen security and economic cooperation. The summit setting of Hiroshima, where the U.S. dropped the first nuclear bomb in 1945 during World War II, takes on new resonance as the U.S., Japan and their allies strategize on dealing with Russia’s war in Ukraine.
May 18, 2023 4:10 am
Canon-McMillan Previews Budget, Christens New Board Room
Canon-McMillan School Board Directors got a long awaited present when they held their May agenda meeting in their new board room in their new administration building at the recently opened Canon McMillan Middle School in North Strabane Township. Directors got right to work previewing the 2023-2024 general fund budget. The budget is a $106,813.772 spending plan. There will be a tax increase of .26 mills giving the budget a surplus of $74,000. Superintendent Michael Daniels points to salaries, benefits and transportation as drivers for the tax increase. As for the new board room, Board President Peter Moniodes says “it is like moving from a dungeon to a castle.” Daniels is pleased with the technological advances the new space has like two large monitors, state of the art sound system and the ability to video record and upload meetings. The board will adopt the preliminary budget at its meeting on May 24.
May 18, 2023 4:08 am
A Washington man has learned his fate in a drive by shooting case that occurred in the City of Washington last July. Russell Porter, 27 was handed a split verdict on Wednesday evening. He faced two counts each of attempted homicide, aggravated assault and reckless endangerment. The jury found Porter guilty of one count of aggravated assault and two counts of reckless endangerment. Porter was convicted for shooting into a car that carried Bailey Batch and Nasstylejah Wilkerson at the intersection of East Wylie and Allison Avenues. The jury deliberated for approximately three and one half hours. Porter could be sentenced to a prison term of 10-20 years maximum on the aggravated assault conviction. He is currently on parole for another state sentence.
May 18, 2023 2:51 am
The Main Street Farmer’s Market in downtown Washington will open for the season on Thursday. The market is held at the community pavilion on South Main Street across from the Observer Reporter building. It will be held on Thursdays from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. through October. Market organizers say they are looking forward to another outstanding season with old and new vendors in attendance. They say their goal is to see farmers and local small businesses thrive along with offering the community access to the freshest local products and welcoming SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) customers to shop with added savings. Organizers say there will be plenty of new and old activities throughout the season, including a First Responders Day.
May 17, 2023 5:38 pm
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A grand jury has indicted a man who was already charged in the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students, allowing prosecutors to skip a planned week-long preliminary hearing that was set for late June. Bryan Kohberger was arrested late last year and charged with burglary and four counts of first-degree murder in connection with the Nov. 13, 2022, slayings of four students at a rental home near the University of Idaho campus. At the time, Kohberger was a graduate student studying criminology at nearby Washington State University. A preliminary hearing had been scheduled for June 26, but now that will be skipped and the case will go directly to a district judge.
May 17, 2023 4:28 pm
Testimony ended on Wednesday in the drive by shooting case that occurred at East Wylie and Allison Avenues in July of 2022. The fate of Russell Porter, 27 of Washington is now in the hands of the jury. Porter faces two counts each of attempted homicide, aggravated assault and reckless endangerment. He is accused of shooting into a car that was driven by Bailey Batch and had Nasstylejah “Styles” Wilkerson as a passenger. The day’s testimony featured the details of the investigation done by Washington City Police. It also included testimony from Porter’s former girlfriend Pares Gardiner. Her testimony about videos played in court demonstrated Porter having a gun. It also included her interactions with Porter up to his arrest two days later at her place of work, in her car. The defense called the victim Wilkerson to testify. Wilkerson switched between claiming to have memory issues and pleading the 5th amendment during his testimony. The jury is currently deliberating the case.
May 17, 2023 12:29 pm
NEW YORK (AP) — A spokesperson for Prince Harry and his wife Meghan says the couple were followed by photographers in cars in New York. The couple’s office says the pair and Meghan’s mother were followed by vehicles after leaving a charity event on Tuesday. It said in a statement Wednesday that the pursuit “resulted in multiple near collisions involving other drivers on the road, pedestrians and two NYPD officers.” The incident instantly drew comparisons to the 1997 fatal car crash of Harry’s mother, Princess Diana.
