March 28, 2023 9:23 am
A report published by a Pittsburgh newspaper says Washington Health System has engaged in talks with larger hospital networks “that could result in an acquisition or expanded partnership.” The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette report says three people with knowledge of the negotiations, but who are not authorized to speak publicly, confirmed that Washington Health System was involved in merger negotiations with Highmark Health and other larger medical systems. According to the report, Washington Health System declined comment. WJPA News reached out to officials for comment but were told they would not comment on the report at this time. The published report says Highmark spokesman Dan Laurent also declined comment. A spokesman for Penn-Highlands Healthcare, which operates Monongahela Valley Hospital in Carroll Township, said he was not aware of talks at Washington Health System.
March 28, 2023 8:19 am
MEXICO CITY (AP) — A fire in a dormitory at a Mexican immigration detention center near the U.S. border left more than three dozen migrants dead. It was one of the deadliest incidents ever at an immigration lockup in the country. Hours after the fire broke out late Monday, rows of bodies were laid out under shimmery silver sheets outside the facility in Ciudad Juarez, across from El Paso, Texas. Ambulances, firefighters and vans from the morgue swarmed the scene. The National Immigration Institute said 39 people died and 29 were injured.
March 28, 2023 4:17 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation’s top financial regulator is asserting that Silicon Valley Bank’s own management was largely to blame for the bank’s failure earlier this month and says the Federal Reserve will review whether a 2018 law that weakened stricter bank rules also contributed to its collapse. “SVB’s failure is a textbook case of mismanagement,” Michael Barr, the Fed’s vice chair for supervision, said in written testimony that will be delivered Tuesday at a Senate hearing. Barr pointed to the bank’s “concentrated business model,” in which its customers were overwhelmingly venture capital and high-tech firms in Silicon Valley. He also contends that the bank failed to manage the risks of its bond holdings.
March 28, 2023 4:15 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans plan to deliver a subpoena to Secretary of State Antony Blinken for classified cables related to the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Mike McCaul said Monday that he will be issuing the first subpoena as chairman. The Texas Republican said he had spoken with Blinken earlier and was notified the agency would not be turning over a so-called dissent cable. According to press reports, the July 2021 communication was written by diplomats at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul shortly before the August 2021 withdrawal and warned Blinken about the potential fall of Kabul via a special “dissent channel.”
March 28, 2023 4:14 am
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel’s political factions opposed to embattled Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are setting up negotiating teams after he called for dialogue and paused his controversial judicial overhaul plan that had set off unprecedented mass street protests and a spiraling domestic crisis. But compromise appears elusive as the standoff remained the same on Tuesday: a dispute over the fundamental issue of what kind of country Israel should be. Positions only appear to have hardened in past days. Netanyahu said he wanted “to avoid civil war” and would seek a compromise with political opponents. He spoke after tens of thousands of people demonstrated outside the parliament building in Jerusalem.
March 28, 2023 4:13 am
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The former student who shot through the doors of a Christian elementary school in Nashville and killed three children and three adults had drawn a detailed map of the school, including potential entry points, and conducted surveillance of the building before carrying out the massacre. Metropolitan Nashville Police Chief John Drake did not say exactly what drove the shooter to open fire Monday morning at The Covenant School before being killed by police. But he provided chilling examples of the shooter’s elaborate planning for the bloodshed, including a manifesto and other writings that police are going over. The victims include three 9-year-old children, the school’s top administrator, a substitute teacher and a custodian.
March 28, 2023 4:08 am
ELIZABETH TOWNSHIP, Pa. — (WPXI) – Students at Elizabeth Forward High School will return to the classroom in April after a fire damaged the building in February. A letter sent to parents from the superintendent on Monday confirms students will be back in the building on April 11. The district is providing time for parents and guardians to visit the building and review reports. The school building will be open to parents and guardians for walk-throughs on Tuesday, April 4 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. and Wednesday, April 5 from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Remote classes will be canceled on April 3 and 4 to complete building and classroom preparations. Spring break, scheduled from April 5 to April 10, is not impacted by the cancelation, but a makeup day is scheduled for May 16. The district will continue to provide updates to parents as they approach the return to the building.
March 28, 2023 4:05 am
Investigators looking for the cause of a deadly explosion that leveled part of a Pennsylvania chocolate factory are facing an even more difficult task as they comb through wreckage that was picked apart and moved around during the weekend search for victims and survivors. Seven people were killed and several others wounded in the powerful blast at the R.M Palmer Co. plant in West Reading. With the recovery effort now over, attention turned to identifying the cause. Authorities say that task is even more complicated because heavy equipment was used to pick apart the wreckage.
March 28, 2023 2:56 am
With construction season on the horizon, PennDOT has announced plans for over 100 projects at a cost of roughly $585 million in Southwestern Pennsylvania. Residents in District 12, which includes Washington, Greene, Westmoreland and Fayette counties, will see paving, roadway sealcoating and crack sealing, bridge replacement and restoration as well as mudslide repair throughout the year. Here in Washington County a 9.1 mile stretch of Route 844 to Route 50 will be resurfaced in Washington, Canton Township, Chariters Township and Mount Pleasant Township. Meanwhile in Peters Township, a roundabout will be implemented at the intersection of Valley Brook Road and Bebout Road. Other notable projects in the region include the widening and reconstruction of the Interstate 70 interchange with Route 51 in Westmoreland County. The existing cloverleaf will turn into a diverging diamond interchange. Greene County Resurfacing upgrades are also on the way to the Route 19 and Route 21 corridors in Waynesburg Borough. PennDOT urges drivers to take caution in work zones not only for their safety, but for the workers as well. More information on the list of projects can be found on the PennDOT District 12 website.
March 28, 2023 2:56 am
The Little Lake Theatre Company held a press conference to announce its program for their 75th anniversary year of performances. Artistic Director Patrick Cannon outlined the 10 shows that the troupe will perform. Cannon says that there will be fun for the whole family with musicals, hard hitting dramas, and performances that will entertain the youngest crowd. The year will be capped with a performance of White Christmas. During the press conference David Disney, and Sunny Disney Fitchett, children of the founding director Will Disney offered their memories of the earliest days of the theatre when they would perform as youngsters. Both recalled rather notable people that performed on the stage. Barbara Feldon, Charles Grodin and the person they say everyone knows…David Newell. Newell, of course is the actor known as Mr. McFeely from Mister Rogers Neighborhood. Managing Director Patricia Knapp hopes to make 2023 a year of growth and expansion of Little Lake Theatre’s audience. State Senator Camera Bartolotta attended to present the group with a Senate Certificate of Recognition. The season opens on April 6 with the comedy Popcorn Falls. Information about The Little Lake Theatre Company can be found at their website LITTLELAKE.org.
