October 19, 2024 4:40 am
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are both seeking support from Arab American voters as they campaign in Michigan, trying to lock down support in a battleground state that could decide the presidential race. Harris insisted it was time to “end the suffering” in the Middle East. Trump visited one of the nation’s only Muslim-majority cities on Friday, but avoided any specifics about his plans for the region. Michigan is unique with its significant Arab American population, which has been deeply frustrated by the Biden administration’s support for Israel’s offensive in Gaza following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
October 19, 2024 4:36 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Judges punishing rioters for storming the U.S. Capitol nearly four years ago fear the nation faces more political violence on the cusp of the next presidential election. Some judges at Washington’s federal courthouse frequently express those concerns during sentencing hearings for the hundreds of Capitol riot cases. U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton said during a recent hearing that he prays Americans accept the outcome of next month’s election. But the veteran judge worries that former President Donald Trump and his allies are spreading the same sort of baseless conspiracy theories that fueled a mob’s Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
October 19, 2024 4:34 am
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s government says a drone was launched toward the the prime minister’s house Saturday, with no casualties. Sirens wailed Saturday morning in Israel, warning of incoming fire from Lebanon, with a drone launched toward Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s house in Caesarea, the Israeli government said. Neither he nor his wife were home and there were no casualties, said his spokesperson in a statement. The strikes into Israel come as its war with Lebanon’s Hezbollah — a Hamas ally backed by Iran — has intensified in recent weeks.
October 19, 2024 4:30 am
DETROIT (AP) — The U.S. government’s road safety agency is investigating Tesla’s “Full Self-Driving” system after getting reports of crashes in low-visibility conditions, including one that killed a pedestrian. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says in documents that it opened the probe on Thursday with the company reporting four crashes after Teslas entered areas of low visibility including sun glare, fog and airborne dust. The agency said that in addition to the pedestrian’s death, another crash involved an injury.
October 19, 2024 4:28 am
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israeli forces have spent much of the past year destroying Hamas’ vast underground network in Gaza. They are now focused on dismantling tunnels and other hideouts belonging to Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon. Scarred by Hamas’ deadly raid into Israel last year that sparked the war in Gaza, Israel says it aims to prevent a similar incursion across its northern border from ever getting off the ground. The Israeli military has combed through the dense brush of southern Lebanon for the past two weeks, uncovering what it says are Hezbollah’s deep attack capabilities — highlighted by a tunnel system equipped with weapons caches and rocket launchers.
October 19, 2024 4:25 am
HAVANA (AP) — Cuba’s electrical grid went down after one of the island’s major power plants failed, leaving millions without power. The failure Friday came a day after a massive blackout swept across the Caribbean island. There is no official estimate for when service will be restored. The Cuban government has announced emergency measures to slash electricity demand, including suspending classes, shutting down some state-owned workplaces and canceling non-essential services. As darkness started to fall, the power grid still hadn’t been restored. “The power went out at 8 in the morning and it is now 5 in the afternoon and there is no electricity anywhere,” said Luis González, a 73-year-old retiree.
October 19, 2024 4:17 am
CHARLEROI, Pa. — Senator Bob Casey is urging federal officials to block the closure of a Washington County glass plant. Casey sent a letter to the head of the Federal Trade Commission on Friday calling for an investigation into the private equity firm that owns the Anchor Hocking Glass Plant in Charleroi. This is a continued effort from Casey to prevent the plant from closing. He sent a similar letter last month calling for an investigation. “Private equity crushing Charleroi’s generational legacy of glass manufacturing is yet another example of Wall Street screwing over Pennsylvania workers. The plant’s closure is a slap in the face to workers, their community, and the people of Pennsylvania,” said Senator Casey. “I am working every day to protect union jobs and hold Wall Street executives accountable for the havoc they’ve wreaked in our Commonwealth.” Casey published a report he said proves how private equity firm Centre Lane Partners is guilty of questionable financial engineering and shady business deals that caused the decision for the plant to close. If the plant does close nearly 300 people will be out of work. The first round of layoffs is expected to start in December.
October 19, 2024 1:40 am
The recent merger of Washington Health System and UPMC was center stage Friday morning at the Washington County monthly Chamber of Commerce Breakfast Briefing. Dr. Donald Yealey – Chief Medical Officer of UPMC addressed the more than 100 people in attendance discussing the vision and ideas of the combined companies moving forward. Dr. Yealey said UPMC is focusing on learning the needs of the Washington and Greene County communities and their goal is to make health care better for the area. Services will be expanded and enhanced for women’s care, cardiovascular, thoracic, and gastrointestinal surgeries. UPMC will also be taking over the daily operations of the MedExpress company in the region. Yealey says all current employees in the Washington Health System will remain in place with continued competitive pay and educational advancement. With 42 hospitals in the Commonwealth, UPMC is the largest employer in Pennsylvania, falling only to Walmart for a few weeks out of the year during the Christmas holiday.
October 17, 2024 2:48 am
The Washington City Mission held a “Topping Off” Ceremony on Thursday, to celebrate the final steel beam being set into place for their new, fifty-bed Women’s Shelter. The new shelter will be called, “Sally’s Sanctuary,” after the mission’s former Chief Development Officer, Dr. Sally Mounts. Mounts announced last month that after eleven years with the mission, she would be retiring at the end of September. The shelter will be a 50 bed facility for homeless women. It will compliment the Mission’s other facilities such as the Crabtree-Kovacicek Veteran’s House, the Men’s Shelter, Women with Children Shelter and Sally’s House. According to Irey-Vaughan, City Mission is currently receiving 60 calls per month from women seeking help. It is a $7.1 million project that is expected to be completed in the next 12-14 months.
October 18, 2024 4:56 am
NEW YORK — (AP) — PPG Industries plans to lay off about 1,800 employees amid efforts to cut costs, with the paints and coatings maker also inking a deal to sell a sizeable chunk of its architectural business. Pittsburgh-based PPG said Thursday that the job cuts would primarily impact positions in the U.S. and Europe. The timing of the layoffs was not immediately disclosed, but the company said the cuts were part of a larger multiyear program aimed at reducing structural worldwide — noting that this will also include “various facility closures,” without specifying further. “While these decisions are difficult, they are necessary to adjust our fixed cost base and to right-size our company,” Tim Knavish, PPG chairman and CEO, said in a prepared statement — pointing to two recently-announced business divestitures. PPG also announced that it had agreed to sell all of its U.S. and Canadian architectural coatings business — which houses brands like Liquid Nails, Glidden and Olympic and made up $2 billion in net sales for PPG last year — to private equity firm American Industrial Partners. The sale, expected to close in late 2024 or early 2025, is valued at $550 million.
