WJPA News

Washington County Commissioners on Thursday, awarded bids for the new public safety building that will replace the old Courthouse Square building on Beau Street.  The demolition of that building was completed last week and Beau Street, which was closed in early April, was reopened.  Commission Chair Nick Sherman says construction on the new building should be getting underway in two to three weeks and the finished structure should be ready by early January, 2028.  The vote to award the bids was two to one, with Democratic Commissioner Larry Maggi voting no.  In a press release, Maggi says he  is against spending forty-million-dollars to building a new public safety building at the same site of the old building that had allegedly been riddled with structural and foundation issues for years.  “Now that we have a huge, gaping hole in the middle of downtown Washington and no other viable plans for the site, it seems like we have no other choice than to saddle our taxpayers with additional debt to approve this project. However, I have major concerns that prevent me from  putting my name behind this costly burden to the taxpayers,” he said.  Maggi says he is concerned about the site containing pyrite – a mineral that is easily damaged by water and can damage a foundation.  Sherman, however, says that issue was addressed and rectified.

Charleroi, PA – Governor Josh Shapiro and Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) Secretary Rick Siger, on Thursday, announced that the Commonwealth has secured a $166 million investment from GE Vernova to expand its operations in Western Pennsylvania. The Commonwealth is investing $6 million in the project, which will create at least 714 new jobs over the next four years and retain 735 existing, full-time positions.  The global energy equipment and services company plans to expand its current operations at 101 North Campus Drive in Findlay Township, Allegheny County, and 216 Finley Road in Rostraver Township. GE Vernova recently purchased the Rostraver facility it had been leasing and plans to install new industrial machinery and equipment at both facilities. This expansion will support the company’s 714 new jobs.  “From day one, my Administration has worked to make Pennsylvania a leader on economic development, supporting Pennsylvania businesses and workers to keep our Commonwealth moving forward. As part of that work, we identified energy and manufacturing as two key pillars of opportunity – sectors in which we’re poised to lead and continue to grow,” said Governor Shapiro. “It’s clear that strategy is paying off as companies like GE Vernova choose the Commonwealth as the place to expand and invest in, creating good-paying jobs that strengthen our communities and position our Commonwealth to lead the future of energy and advanced manufacturing.”  GE Vernova also operates facilities in Allentown, Lehigh County and Charleroi, Washington County — where Thursday’s event was held.

PERRYOPOLIS, Pa. — Two people were killed and another critically injured following a crash involving a motorcycle on Route 51 in Fayette County.  Emergency crews were called to the 3530 block of Pittsburgh Road in Perryopolis near Randall’s Restaurant around 11:51 a.m.  State police confirmed the motorcyclist and the driver of the other vehicle were killed.   A passenger in the vehicle was flown to a hospital in critical condition.  Fayette County Coroner Dr. Bob Baker identified the victims as Larry Hall, 81, of Belle Vernon and Frank McKula, 41, of Grindstone.  Baker said McKula was driving the motorcycle that crashed into Hall’s vehicle at a high rate of speed. The person who was taken to a hospital was Hall’s passenger.  State Police are investigating.

PHOENIX (AP) — Authorities have released an early ransom note in the investigation into the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie in hopes that someone will recognize the writing style. A second note released Friday indicated Guthrie died shortly after she was kidnapped. Both notes initially went to a Tucson television station days after the 84-year-old mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie went missing from her home outside Tucson on Feb. 1. Authorities have not said whether Nancy Guthrie is still alive. The Pima County Sheriff’s Department said “we believe these distinctive linguistic characteristics may be recognizable to someone who knows or has interacted with the notes’ writer.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Marine Corps says the pilot of an F-35B stealth fighter is expected to live after ejecting from the jet before it crashed in California. The jet went down Friday in a field near the Miramar air base in San Diego. An update from the Marines says he was taken to a local medical facility in stable condition. A single F-35B fighter jet costs about $109 million. Aerial video showed a plume of black smoke rising from a field. The F-35B is one of several versions of the advanced stealth fighter jet and has an engine designed for short takeoffs and vertical landings.

CAMP DAVID, Md. (AP) — President Donald Trump has used his Cabinet meeting at the Camp David retreat in Maryland to discuss his usual talking points about the economy, the border, Iran and immigration. Trump referred Friday to the recent surge of migrants into a tiny territory of Spain and said the same thing is going to happen to the U.S. if Republicans don’t get elected in the midterms. Trump began Friday’s meeting by saying, “It’s Camp David, and this room is a very, very special room.” The White House spent the morning highlighting that the meeting was the first televised Cabinet meeting at the storied presidential retreat, which was established in 1942 during Franklin Roosevelt’s presidency.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says a deal has been reached for Hamas to disarm and Israel to withdraw its forces from Gaza. But many hurdles, conditions and long timelines remain to wind down the war in the Palestinian territory. On Friday, a Hamas official said they have reached an agreement on disarmament. The White House announcement comes nine months after a U.S.-brokered ceasefire was signed. Negotiations between Israel and Hamas had largely deadlocked over the implementation of its second phase, including the disarmament of Hamas and the reconstruction of Gaza.

NEW YORK (AP) — Analysts are expecting major oil companies to report large profits while fighting between Iran and the U.S. impeded petroleum shipments. Prices for Brent crude soared above $100 a barrel for much of the spring. Constrained supplies meant consumers around the world paid more for fuel and confronted shortages. But higher prices resulted in elevated profits for some of the biggest publicly traded oil companies. American oil and gas giants Exxon Mobil and Chevron are set to announce their earnings from April through June on Friday. They are among the companies positioned to benefit because they own refineries as well as extract oil and gas. Democrats in Congress have proposed taxing oil producers for war-related windfalls.

Anthropic says its AI models hacked into three organizations during testing. This comes just days after OpenAI said its AI models went rogue and hacked into another company. Anthropic, based in San Francisco, posted on its website that it discovered the incidents after reviewing over 141,000 evaluation runs. The company says it launched the large-scale cybersecurity review in response to the OpenAI incident. The models involved were Claude Opus 4.7, Claude Mythos 5 and an internal research test model. Anthropic says it reached out to the affected organizations, with two confirming they were unaware of the activity beforehand. The incidents highlight the vulnerabilities in AI security and controls, and raise questions over how AI can used safely.