May 19, 2023 4:08 am
Investigators looking into the collapse of a Pittsburgh bridge last year want transportation officials nationwide to examine more than 10,000 other bridges with similar steel construction. The National Transportation Safety Board says in a report Thursday it wants states and cities to make sure their bridges don’t have corrosion like what they found on the bridge that collapsed. The safety board says drainage problems on the weathered steel bridge caused parts of it to deteriorate over time. It says Pennsylvania neglected for years to clear the debris, dirt and leaves that were causing the problem, even though inspectors noted the issue. The Pennsylvania Transportation Department didn’t immediately respond to the recommendations.
May 19, 2023 4:04 am
MONACA, Pa. — (WPXI) – Shell’s Beaver County Cracker Plant will be in “shutdown mode” for a few more weeks, according to the company. The plant began operations in November 2022 but has already been cited numerous times by state regulators. According to the company, the shutdown is to fix flaring and wastewater issues, which they were cited for. It’s unclear how long maintenance will take. A Shell spokesperson shot down the notion that the plant could be idled for months or longer in an email to our news partners at Channel 11. “Not true. We are still in shutdown mode, but fully expect to be back in operation in the next few weeks, if not sooner,” the statement read.
May 18, 2023 2:29 pm
(AP) The Supreme Court has sided with Google, Twitter and Facebook in lawsuits seeking to hold them liable for terrorist attacks. The justices sidestepped the big issue hovering over the cases — namely the federal law that shields social media companies from being sued over content posted by others. The cases were brought by families of victims killed in the terrorist attacks. The justices unanimously rejected a lawsuit alleging that the companies allowed their platforms to be used to aid and abet an attack in Turkey. In the case of an American college student who was killed in an Islamic State terrorist attack in Paris, a unanimous court returned the case to a lower court, but said there appeared to be little, if anything, left of it.
May 18, 2023 1:40 pm
Police arrested two men in connection with a shooting that occurred in Washington on Wednesday night. The men were identified as 20-year-old Tyler Shrieve and 18-year-old T’kai Jett. The victim was identified as 22-year-old Zackary Harmon who is currently being treated for his injuries and is expected to make a full recovery. Police say that the shooting occurred at the 8th Ward playground and officers were called to the scene after a report of shots being fired. The police ask that anyone who has information on the incident contact them at (724) 223-4226.
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.
