January 16, 2023 4:19 am
POKHARA, Nepal (AP) – A spokesman for Nepal’s Civil Aviation Authority says a flight data recorder and a cockpit voice recorder have been retrieved from the site of the crash of a passenger plane that went down on approach to the tourist town of Pokhara. The spokesman, Jagannath Niraula, says the boxes were found on Monday, a day after the ATR-72 aircraft crashed, killing 68 of the 72 people aboard. He says they will be handed over to investigators. Pemba Sherpa, spokesperson for Yeti Airlines, also confirmed that both the flight data and the cockpit voice recorders have been found.
January 16, 2023 4:16 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A Pennsylvania court ruled Friday that special elections to fill three vacancies in Democratic-leaning state House districts will be held together next month, with partisan control of the chamber at stake. A three-judge Commonwealth Court panel sided with the House’s Democratic floor leader, Rep. Joanna McClinton of Philadelphia, who had moved to fill all three Allegheny County seats together on Feb. 7. The decision was a loss for Rep. Bryan Cutler, the Lancaster Republican who heads up his caucus in the House, and whose lawsuit sought to delay two of the special elections until the May primary. The order signed by Democratic Judge Michael Wojcik, which did not come with an opinion fully detailing its reasoning, said Cutler did not prove he has a clear right to what he was seeking or that the injunction he wanted was in the public interest. Wojcik wrote that he agreed with McClinton’s argument that Cutler was asking the court to take up issues that are not appropriate for the courts.
January 16, 2023 4:11 am
SHALER TOWNSHIP, Pa. — (WPXI) – A toddler was killed and eight other people were taken to a hospital after a house fire in Shaler Township. Firefighters and medics were called to Fall Run Road at around 9:45 p.m. According to Shaler Township police chief Sean Frank, firefighters found 2-year-old Danika DeRamo on the first floor of the home. She was taken to a local hospital and was later pronounced deceased. “Danika was my little angel,” said Danika’s grandmother, Kathy Palmer. Palmer said DeRamo ran out of the grips of her mother while they were trying to escape the house. Palmer said the four other members of the family four were able to escape. Two were taken to a hospital via ambulance and two were taken by private vehicle. Four firefighters were also injured in the blaze and taken to a hospital for treatment. None of their injuries were life-threatening, Chief Frank said. Shaler Township Police are being assisted by the Allegheny County Police Homicide Unit and the Allegheny County Fire Marshal’s Office. The cause and origin of the fire are still under investigation.
January 16, 2023 4:05 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – Your next trip to Pennsylvania’s Fine Wine & Good Spirits could cost you more. A 4% price hike on many items went into effect Sunday. The increase affects more than 3,500 of the most popular wine and spirit items sold at state liquor stores. In a statement, the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board pointed to the 40-year, record-high inflation as the reason for price increase. The PLCB says the price hike will allow it to generate revenues needed to offset annual 8 percent hike in operating costs over the last four years. Plus projected cost increases in the current year related to personnel, distribution, leases and credit card fees among others. The announcement drew immediate criticism from industry groups. The Distilled Spirits Council said it was given with just 10 days notice and that’s not enough time for spirits producers to plan for and adjust to price increases. The Pennsylvania Restaurant and Lodging Association says businesses with liquor licenses can’t shop around for better prices, arguing the Liquor Control Board has a monopoly. The PLCB says the price increase does not apply to 397 items currently on sale this month.
January 16, 2023 2:54 am
A local business owner is tossing his hat into the political ring for the May Primary. Ray Phillips announced Monday that he plans to run for the Republican nomination for Washington County Clerk of Courts. Phillips lives in North Strabane Township and owns and operates Spraymasters Collision and Refinishing in Houston. Phillips, who has worked as a sales executive with Sherwin Williams and in the oil and gas sales industry, says he is running on integrity, ethics and cooperation among government offices. Phillips says, “We must restore integrity to the row offices of Washington County.” Phillips touts his ability to work with others to make Washington County a place where families feel safe and want to live, work and raise their children.
January 15, 2023 7:56 am
BEIJING (AP) — The World Health Organization has appealed to China to keep releasing information about its wave of COVID-19 infections. That comes after the government announced nearly 60,000 virus-related deaths since early December following weeks of complaints it was failing to tell the world what was happening. The announcement gave the first official numbers since the ruling Communist Party abruptly dropped anti-virus restrictions despite a surge in infections that flooded hospitals. A WHO statement says the information “allows for a better understanding” of the epidemic. The agency also asked China to continue sharing this type of detained information.
January 15, 2023 7:55 am
MARBURY, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama mechanic took refuge in a shipping container as a tornado decimated his shop and killed two neighbors. A woman hid in a bathtub with her 2-year-old son, telling her mother by phone: “If the house is messed up I’ll be in the tub area.” The harrowing stories of survivors of Thursday’s storm are emerging as residents comb through the wreckage wrought by tornadoes and blistering winds that killed at least nine people in Alabama and Georgia. Survivors described chaotic scenes unfolding as the storm spun toward them, with people rushing into shelters and sheds as the winds bore down.
January 15, 2023 7:54 am
KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — So far, 68 people have been confirmed dead after a regional passenger plane with 72 aboard crashed into a gorge while landing at a newly opened airport in the resort town of Pokhara, according to an announcement posted by the country’s Civil Aviation Authority to Twitter. It’s the country’s deadliest airplane accident in three decades. A witness to the crash said he saw the aircraft spinning violently in the air after it began to attempt a landing, watching from the terrace of his house. Gaurav Gurung said the plane fell nose-first towards its left and then crashed into the gorge.
January 15, 2023 7:54 am
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — President Joe Biden is marking what would have been the 94th birthday of the late Martin Luther King with a Sunday sermon at Atlanta’s historic Ebenezer Baptist Church. The president is aiming to celebrate the civil rights leader’s legacy while also reviving the Biden administration’s call for sweeping voting rights legislation. Biden’s failure to win passage of a measure bolstering voting right protections is one of his biggest disappointments of his first two years in office. That tasks is even steeper now that Republicans control the House. Biden was invited to Ebenezer by the church’s senior pastor, Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock. Ebenezer is the church were King once preached.
January 15, 2023 7:52 am
FALLOWFIELD TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Multiple crews responded to a residential structure fire along Bentleyville Road in Fallowfield Township Saturday evening. Reports say the blaze started in the chimney and extended into the attic. Fallowfield, Charleroi, Bentleyville, Lock Four and Stockdale Fire Departments were all involved along with Rostraver West Newton EMS. The incident was cleared in an hour with no reported injuries. (Photo: Charleroi Fire Department Facebook Page)
