October 8, 2024 2:16 am
Cecil Township Supervisors enacted an ordinance that officially established the Cecil Township Department of Fire and Emergency Services. It was a first step to reorganize and combine the township’s three independent volunteer fire departments under one set of operational guidelines. A committee consisting of members from all three departments have been working together for several months to achieve the cooperation goal. Fire Chief Ted Wolford said that the cooperation of the departments will be a precise process and will not be rushed. His first goal is to enhance the training of all firefighters in the township. Supervisor Chairman Tom Casciola pointed to the ability of firefighters to access equipment in all three stations at any time and the elimination of territorialism that had existed in past years between the departments as benefits to township residents. Wolford said that October has been busy with Fire Prevention Month. They have been to several daycares in the township teaching fire safety. They also have been working with North Strabane Township and Canonsburg Fire Departments in teaching fire prevention and running fire drills in the Canon-McMillan School District.
October 8, 2024 2:56 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has declined to step in and immediately decide issues related to mail-in ballots in the commonwealth with early voting already under way in the few weeks before the November 5th election. The commonwealth’s highest court on Saturday night rejected a request by voting rights and left-leaning groups to stop counties from throwing out mail-in ballots that lack a handwritten date or have an incorrect date on the return envelope, citing earlier rulings pointing to the risk of confusing voters so close to the election.“This Court will neither impose nor countenance substantial alterations to existing laws and procedures during the pendency of an ongoing election,” the unsigned order said Chief Justice Debra Todd dissented, saying voters, election officials and courts needed clarity on the issue before Election Day. The lawsuit’s plaintiffs contend that multiple courts have found that a voter-written date is meaningless in determining whether the ballot arrived on time or whether the voter is eligible, so rejecting a ballot on that basis should be considered a violation of the state constitution. The parties won their case on the same claim in a statewide court earlier this year but it was thrown out by the state Supreme Court on a technicality before justices considered the merits.
October 7, 2024 2:51 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has turned away a challenge from Republican state lawmakers in Pennsylvania to a Biden administration executive order that is intended to boost voter registration. The justices did not comment Monday in rejecting an appeal from the Republicans, who claimed the order is an unconstitutional attempt to interfere in the November election. Lower courts had dismissed the lawsuit. The justices separately rejected two appeals from Colorado and Pennsylvania stemming from baseless claims made by Republicans that voting machines and software of Dominion Voting Systems were responsible for Donald Trump’s defeat in the 2020. presidential election.
October 7, 2024 4:44 am
FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Florida’s Gulf Coast is bracing for the impact of Hurricane Milton’s winds and expected massive storm surge. The storm could bring destruction to cities and towns already reeling from Helene’s devastation 12 days ago and still recovering from Ian’s wrath two years ago. Almost the entirety of Florida’s west coast was under a hurricane warning early Tuesday. Milton’s winds are some of the strongest seen. The strongest Atlantic hurricane on record is 1980’s Allen, which reached wind speeds of 190 mph. Milton’s center could come ashore Wednesday in the Tampa Bay region. The area has not endured a direct hit by a major hurricane in more than a century.
October 8, 2024 4:46 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris is calling former President Donald Trump “incredibly irresponsible” for spreading falsehoods about the federal response to Hurricane Helene’s destruction. Harris on Monday offered especially sharp words as a new storm bears down on Florida with just weeks until Election Day. She said, “There’s a lot of mis- and disinformation being pushed out there by the former president.” Trump has made false claims since Helene, including saying the federal government is intentionally withholding aid to Republican disaster victims. He also falsely claimed that the Federal Emergency Management Agency had run out of money because all of it had gone to programs for immigrants in the country illegally.
October 8, 2024 4:48 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court seemed likely Tuesday to uphold a Biden administration regulation on ghost guns, the difficult-to-trace weapons found at crime scenes in increasing numbers. Key conservative justices seemed open to the government’s argument that kits for quickly making nearly untraceable guns at home can be regulated like other firearms, with background checks and serial numbers. The court previously allowed the rule to go into effect, and ghost gun numbers have since dropped in several cities. But manufacturers and gun rights groups argue the Biden administration overstepped by trying to regulate gun parts that had long been legal with hobbyists.
October 8, 2024 5:22 pm
STOCKHOLM (AP) — Two pioneers of artificial intelligence have won the Nobel Prize in physics. John Hopfield and Geoffrey Hinton were awarded the prize Tuesday for discoveries and inventions that formed the building blocks of machine learning. Hinton said he was flabbergasted at being honored. He said AI is revolutionizing the way we work and live but also creates new threats to humanity. Hopfield, who signed early petitions by researchers calling for strong control of the technology, compared the risks and benefits to work on viruses and nuclear energy, capable of helping and harming society. Both laureates urged vigilance in how the new technology is used.
October 7, 2024 4:51 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Cissy Houston, a two-time Grammy-winning singer who performed alongside superstar musicians like Elvis Presley and Aretha Franklin and the mother of Whitney Houston, has died. She was 91. Her daughter-in-law Pat Houston tells The Associated Press that Houston died Monday morning in her New Jersey home while under hospice care for Alzheimer’s disease. The acclaimed gospel singer was surrounded by family members. Houston was in the well-known vocal group, the Sweet Inspirations, with Doris Troy and her niece Dee Dee Warwick. Houston won Grammys for her albums “Face to Face” in 1997 and “He Leadeth Me” the following year in the best traditional soul gospel album category.
October 7, 2024 5:13 am
No injuries are reported after a two-vehicle crash overnight in the City of Washington. Washington County 9-1-1 says it happened around 12:30 a.m. in the 500-block of East Maiden Street. Dispatchers say a pole was knocked down. The roadway was closed after the crash but reopened before 6 a.m.
October 6, 2024 5:25 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – Severe thunderstorms rolled through Western Pennsylvania Sunday evening leaving thousands of people without power. As of 11:30 p.m., First Energy Corp (Penn Power) reported thousands of outages from multiple different counties. Here in Washington County there were only about 30 customers without service. Allegheny County had more than 230 outages. Greene County had more than 340 and Fayette County just 57.
