Karolina Hird, a Russia Analyst, works at her desk at the Institute for the Study of War, Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Many current and former intelligence officials are increasingly warning that the $90 billion U.S. spy apparatus is falling behind because it has not embraced collecting open-source intelligence. Officials and experts worry the U.S. hasn’t invested enough people or money in analyzing publicly available data or taking advantage of advanced technologies that can yield critical insights. Adversaries including China are ramping up efforts to steal and acquire American data, which can be exploited with artificial intelligence and machine learning to reveal secrets the U.S. wants to keep private. U.S. intelligence has pushed gradually to adopt technology and reveal some of what it knows — notably that it believed for months Russian President Vladimir Putin would invade Ukraine.
Kevin Harvick celebrates after winning a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Sunday, June 7, 2020, in Hampton, Ga. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Kevin Harvick tells The Associated Press that 2023 will be his final season racing in NASCAR. He was thrust onto the global stage days after Dale Earnhardt’s fatal accident in 2001 when Harvick was named Earnhardt’s replacement. Harvick is now entering his 23rd full season. He is tied for ninth on NASCAR’s all-time wins list and has won almost all of NASCAR’s crown jewel races. He plans to spend his time on the budding racing careers of his children. His 10-year-old son is go-karting on the international level.
People check into their flights at Harry Reid International Airport, Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2023, in Las Vegas. The world’s largest aircraft fleet was grounded for hours by a cascading outage in a government system that delayed or canceled thousands of flights across the U.S. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Delays and cancellations among flights across the United States were minimal on Thursday, a day after a system that offers safety information to pilots failed, grounding some planes for hours. There were 636 delays into, within or out of the United States as of Thursday morning, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware. There were 82 cancellations. That compares with more than 1,300 flight cancellations and 9,000 delays Wednesday.
FILE – People cool off in the water on a hot and sunny day at the beach in Barcelona, Spain, July 15, 2022. Earth’s fever persisted last year, not quite spiking to a record high but still in the top five or six warmest on record, government agencies reported Thursday, Jan. 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti, File)
DENVER (AP) — Government science teams say that 2022 didn’t quite set a record for heat, but it was in the top five or six warmest on record depending on who’s doing the measuring. And NOAA, NASA and others say the last eight years have been the warmest eight on record. Thursday’s release of global temperature data includes several agencies from around the globe. At least 28 countries, including China and the United Kingdom, set national records for hottest years on record. Scientists expect this year to be even warmer and next year could shatter records. That’s because this year was cooled by a La Nina that will likely dissipate.
The letters from House Oversight Committee chairman Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., to Debra Steidel Wall, archivist of the United States, and White House Counsel Stuart Delery are photographed Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick)
WASHINGTON (AP) — For years, problems with classified materials have been a shortcut to controversy in Washington. Hillary Clinton got in trouble for her use of a private email server. Donald Trump risked criminal charges for refusing to return top secret records. And now misplaced files with classified markings could cause a political headache for President Joe Biden. The three situations are far from equivalent, but they’re a reminder of the federal government’s struggle to manage its stockpile of secrets. One former government official says “No one has figured out a good answer to this problem.”
FILE – Bryan Kohberger, who is accused of killing four University of Idaho students, leaves after an extradition hearing at the Monroe County Courthouse in Stroudsburg, Pa., Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023. Nearly two months after four University of Idaho students were killed near campus — and two weeks after a suspect was arrested and charged with the crime — the picturesque school grounds are starting to feel a little closer to normal. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, Pool, File)
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The man accused in the fatal stabbings of four University of Idaho students will be in court Thursday for a hearing that comes a day after classes resumed for undergraduates. Washington State University graduate student Bryan Kohberger has yet to enter a plea and is waiting to learn whether prosecutors will pursue the death penalty. It’s been nearly two months since the four students were killed and two weeks since Kohberger was arrested. On Wednesday, students were again striding across the university’s sidewalks and crowding the campus food court. University spokesperson Jodi Walker said a general feeling of relief was in the air.
FILE – Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner speaks with members of the media during a news conference in Philadelphia, on Oct. 13, 2022. The separation of powers, and where legislative authority stops and the court’s begins, were central to arguments Thursday, Dec. 29, 2022, in court over a lawsuit by Krasner, Philadelphia’s elected prosecutor, challenging the state Legislature’s attempt to remove him from office. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s state Senate is postponing a trial seeking to remove Philadelphia’s progressive district attorney on the heels of a court ruling that said the impeachment articles don’t meet the constitutionally required standard. The motion was approved unanimously Wednesday in the Republican-controlled Senate and postpones a trial indefinitely for Democrat Larry Krasner. The trial had been scheduled to begin next Jan. 18. However, that was thrown into doubt by last month’s ruling by Commonwealth Court Judge Ellen Ceisler. She wrote that the impeachment articles approved by the House of Representatives don’t rise to the constitutionally required standard of “misbehavior in office.” The practical effect of Ceisler’s ruling wasn’t immediately clear.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro speaks with members of the media during a news conference at the Susquehanna County District Courthouse in Montrose, Pa., Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2022. Pennsylvania’s most active gas driller has pleaded no contest to criminal environmental charges in a landmark pollution case. Houston-based Coterra Energy Inc. entered its plea Tuesday. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Republicans who control Pennsylvania’s Senate are kicking off the new legislative session by pushing through a trio of proposed constitutional amendments that sparked a partisan fight and poses a challenge to the incoming Democratic governor, Josh Shapiro. Wednesday’s vote, 28-20, was largely along party lines. The proposals, if approved by the state House of Representatives, would give voters say over expanding voter-identification requirements, curtailing a governor’s regulatory authority and giving victims of child sexual abuse a new chance to sue in court. The Senate’s vote comes six days before Shapiro is sworn in, as Republicans work quickly to enact measures without facing the veto pen of a Democratic governor.
District Attorney David Lozier approached the Commissioners at Wednesday’s meeting with some good news–at least at the start. Lozier thanked the Commissioners for their help in getting two grants approved: a $2.6 million grant approved by the state for law enforcement technology, and a federally approved grant for a rapid-DNA machine at an amount of $580,000.
DA David Lozier speaks to the Commissioners at the January 11 meeting.
The next request from DA Lozier, however, drew less support. He spoke about coverage for the health insurance of those working in essential services, and noticing that the plan put in place in 2017 “What I’m looking for is the authority to work with the solicitors to draft a new generation of agreements for the Anti-Drug Task Force and ESU,” Lozier stated, “to add a paragraph that would state that the County would cover that one-third ‘lung and heart gap’ for an officer injured on operation during training.”
Commissioner Jack Manning did not hide his feelings about the request that was made: “I’m hesitant on this because of the liability,” he stated. “The potential liability on this scares me…we have a lot of health and safety things happening in Beaver County that I think are of a higher priority for our attention than the ESU and the ‘heart and lung’ thing.”
Those “things” that Commissioner Manning referred are the recent emails that the Commissioners have been receiving about the elongated response times to emergencies throughout the county, which have led to complaints and lawsuits by those affected. “The issue is on the end that we don’t have direct curfew over, which is the ambulance services,” Manning said. “All of whom are in short supply of technicians and drivers to do that.”
County solicitor Garen Fedeles showed the Commissioners the 43 resolutions that will be voted on at the Public Meeting on January 12, including a $805,000 grant for Beaver County Libraries, a “tan note” for Human Services, and a agreement for stop loss insurance in the county. Fedeles also provided updates on Stone Quarry Road, stating that the county found no water leak in the hillside, and that the increase in precipitation has led to recent circumstances.
The next Work Session for the County Commissioners is scheduled for January 18 at 10:00 AM at the Beaver County Courthouse.
File Photo of Central Valley School District Logo Story by Sandy Giordano – Beaver County Radio. Published January 12, 2023 7:20 A.M.
(Center Township, PA) Central Valley’s 2023-24 tentative budget is $43,378,679 with expenditures expected to be $42,453,806.00. The contractor for the Center Grange Primary School renovation presented an update on the project and it is right on schedule. Superintendent Dr. Nick Perry said some changes. were made, and expenditures were less than anticipated for the project, and the district received credits. The board meets in regular session next Thursday, January 18, 2023 at 7 p.m. in the school cafeteria.
