WJPA News

West Penn Power crews continue work to restore service to more than 150 customers in Washington County.  More than 60 of those customers are in West Pike Run Township.  As of 5 a.m Wednesday, there were also more than 20 customers without service in Fallowfield Township,  19 in Donegal Township and 15 in West Bethlehem Township.  There are other scattered outages that remain throughout the county.  They are all the result of storms that included three confirmed tornadoes on Saturday in Centerville, Beallsville and Ellsworth.  The National Weather Service confirmed a total of six tornadoes in Western Pennsylvania during those storms.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Paul Skenes, the Pirates ace, recently found himself at a Little League practice in Pittsburgh. While driving on an off day, the reigning NL Cy Young winner noticed kids practicing decided to stop by. The 24-year-old spent two hours playing catch and signing autographs, reminding himself of the simple joys of baseball. This break came during a tough stretch for him and the Pirates. Skenes is winless in his last five starts following a 12-2 loss to Los Angeles in which the Dodgers erupted for 10 runs after Skenes exited. Skenes says he’s focusing on the process and believes better results are coming. He described his stop to hang out with the Little Leaguers as an important reminder of why he started playing baseball in the first place.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The United States has launched airstrikes on Iranian military sites after blaming Tehran for the crash of an American Apache attack helicopter, prompting new Iranian attacks across the region and raising fears of a broader conflict. Iran targeted sites in Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan, where authorities report intercepting missiles aimed at a base hosting U.S. forces. On Wednesday, Jordan said it shot down five incoming missiles. The U.S. says its strikes hit Iranian air-defense and surveillance facilities in a proportional response to attacks on American forces and shipping. The escalation further strains a fragile ceasefire and complicates negotiations aimed at permanently ending the war that began in February.

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Graham Platner has won the Maine Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, setting up a high-stakes race against Republican Sen. Susan Collins. Platner is an oyster farmer and former chair of the planning board in the small town of Sullivan, has little political experience. But he has drawn hundreds of people to rallies around the state. He also has faced a series of controversies that have been the focus of GOP attacks. Democrats see Maine as a top opportunity to flip a GOP-held seat. It is the only state with a competitive Senate race where voters supported Democrat Kamala Harris over Donald Trump in 2024. Collins is the only Republican senator from New England.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Nevada, South Carolina and North Dakota hosted primary elections, but much of the political world was focused on Maine’s high-stakes U.S. Senate contest. The results were never in question. Neither Republican incumbent Sen. Susan Collins nor Democratic challenger Graham Platner faced serious opposition for their party’s nomination. And yet Tuesday marked an especially significant moment for Platner, the embattled veteran and oyster farmer, who is fighting to rebuild his credibility in a campaign rocked by controversy. Elsewhere, President Donald Trump’s clout within his party was tested anew in states like South Carolina and Nevada. Democrats hoped to build momentum in Nevada in their broader push to reclaim key governor’s seats.

The court officials overseeing the NFL’s $1 billion settlement fund for concussion-related injuries have barred five law firms from handling any more claims from former players, after finding that they fraudulently steered clients toward doctors willing to give them a Parkinson’s disease diagnosis whether they exhibited symptoms or not. A report filed in federal court in Philadelphia this week says the five firms represented or performed work involving 98 former players who in recent years sought payouts from the settlement for Parkinson’s disease claims. Dozens of those claims were approved to the tune of $95 million — with the share going to the attorneys totaling about $20 million.