Health officials say Allegheny County has had its first flu-related death of the season. It’s reported the victim was over 90-years-old and was also battling some underlying medical conditions. So far this season, Allegheny County is leading the commonwealth with more than 51-hundred confirmed flu cases, with 34 leading to hospitalizations. At this time last year, there were only 212 confirmed flu cases in the county.
Federal investigators are meticulously working to find the cause of this past weekend’s deadly crash on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. National Transportation Safety Board officials released a video yesterday that shows up-close scenes of the wrecked tour bus and tractor-trailers. A preliminary cause of the crash that killed five people and injured nearly 60 is expected within ten days.
WEATHER FORECAST FOR THURSDAY, JANUARY 9TH, 2020
TODAY – PARTLY SUNNY. HIGH – 43.
TONIGHT – CLOUDY. LOW NEAR 40.
FRIDAY – RAIN. HIGH – 55.
SATURDAY – RAIN. NEAR RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURES.
HIGH – 66.
SUNDAY – MORNING CLOUDS FOLLOWED BY SOME
AFTERNOON SUNSHINE. MORNING HIGH OF 55
WITH TEMPS FALLING TO NEAR 40.
A shooting in Aliquippa overnight is under investigation…as we hear in this report from Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano. Click on ‘play’ to hear Sandy’s report…
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — An increasingly diverse Virginia General Assembly convened Wednesday, led for the first time in more than two decades by Democrats who are promising to enact a litany of changes. The House quickly elected Eileen Filler-Corn at the new speaker, the first woman to serve in that role. She is also the first Jewish speaker. African American lawmakers are set to have most power at the legislature in Virginia’s 400 year history. In the weeks since Democrats retook control of the state House and Senate, they have laid out an ambitious agenda. It includes high-profile issues Republicans thwarted for years, including gun control measures and criminal justice reforms.
A new survey by the Pew Research Center finds that much of the world is skeptical that President Donald Trump will do the right thing on foreign affairs after nearly three years in office. Majorities in many of the 33 countries surveyed disapprove of Trump’s use of tariffs, efforts to build a wall between the U.S. and Mexico, limits on immigration to the U.S. and withdrawal from international climate change agreements. A bright spot for Trump is the direct talks he’s had with North Korea’s leader about denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula. Those negotiations garnered the most support, though not a majority in most countries. The survey results were released Wednesday.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. and Iran stepped back from the brink of possible war Wednesday, as President Donald Trump indicated he would not respond militarily after no one was harmed in Iran’s missile strike on two Iraqi bases housing U.S. troops. Trump says Iran appeared to be “standing down. The Iranian strikes had come days after Trump authorized the targeted killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force. Trump said Americans should be “extremely grateful and happy” with the outcome. Speaking from the White House, Trump announced that the U.S. will immediately place new sanctions on Iran “until Iran changes its behavior.”
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says “there will be no haggling” over the terms of President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial. He’s urging House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to send over the abuse and obstruction articles of impeachment so the Republican-controlled Senate can begin the trial. McConnell says there’s nothing to negotiate. He says he has the 51 votes needed to move forward without an agreement on witnesses or documents that the Democrats are demanding. Pelosi didn’t mention her impeachment plans during a Wednesday caucus meeting with House Democrats. The trial could begin as soon as this week if Pelosi were to send over the impeachment charges.
TORONTO (AP) — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau vowed his government will get answers after a Ukrainian passenger jet crashed, killing at least 63 Canadians, just minutes after taking off from Iran’s capital. Trudeau said his foreign minister has been in touch with the government of Ukraine and his transport minister is reaching out to his international counterparts. Getting answers from Iran may prove difficult as Canada closed its embassy in Iran in 2012 and suspended diplomatic relations. The crash of the Ukraine International Airlines plane came hours after Iran launched a ballistic missile attack on Iraqi bases housing U.S. soldiers.
Democratic presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg and President Donald Trump have each secured 60-second Super Bowl ad slots at an estimated $10 million apiece. Bloomberg’s campaign spokesperson told the New York Times that Bloomberg is shelling out the cash just to get “under Trump’s skin”. Michael Frzier told the news outlet Tuesday that the ad is part of Mike’s strategy of running a national campaign that focuses on states where the general election will be decided, parts of the country that are often overlooked”. Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., along with former Vice President Joe Biden, have also secured ad spots for the biggest professional football game of the year Feb. 2, the day before the Iowa caucuses. Sanders’ campaign is spending $16,630 on airtime for a 30-second spot, Biden is spending $24,000 and Warren spent $2,000. The Super Bowl could be watched by roughly 100 million people in the United States. It is some of the most expensive TV ad times of all year.