WJPA News

State Police are investigating an accident Friday morning on Interstate 70 in Canton Township that left a woman was seriously hurt and shut down both east and westbound lanes near the Jessop Place Exit.  Troopers say a white van was heading westbound on I-70 just before eleven-thirty, and was behind a black pickup truck with a flatbed trailer.  They say a “large, sharp piece of metal” reportedly flew from the trailer and went through the van’s windshield, hitting the second-row middle passenger in the head.  Medics treated the passenger on scene before she was flown to a Pittsburgh hospital. She is currently in serious condition, police say.  The black pickup truck did not stop after the crash and police are asking anyone who’s seen a vehicle matching that description to call PSP Washington at 724-223-5200.  Witnesses told police that there may have been flags on the truck’s trailer.  I-70 was closed in both directions after the crash near the Jessop Exit, but reopened shortly after noon.

Allegheny Health Network officials say they are planning to build a new Canonsburg Hospital.  The 150,000-square-foot hospital will be built at the Southpointe II business park in Cecil Township, officials announced Thursday. The 10-acre property is located at the intersection of Town Center Way and Mylan Boulevard.  Pending approvals, AHN expects to break ground on the hospital in early 2027. The facility’s opening is slated for 2029.  It will replace the current AHN Canonsburg hospital, which was established in 1904 and has operated along Medical Boulevard since 1983.  The hospital will feature primary, emergency, surgical and critical care services, as well as an office building for physicians and outpatient clinics, officials say.  “For more than a century, Canonsburg Hospital and its dedicated caregivers have provided this community with exceptional health care services, and that legacy is foundational to our vision for this beautiful new facility and the critical role it will play in improving the health and wellness of our patients,” AHN President Mark Sevco said. “We are excited to get started on this important next chapter for AHN in Canonsburg and Washington County and to making world class health care even more accessible to those who live here.”

SMITH TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Police say a burglary at a local gas station led investigators to uncover a much larger crime spree that may be connected to nearly 100 vehicle break-ins across the Burgettstown area.  According to Smith Township police, surveillance video captured a masked teenager inside B-Town Gas shortly after 4:30 a.m. on May 10. The store owner was alerted by his alarm company, checked his live security cameras and called police. Investigators say the suspects stole boxes of vape pens and other merchandise valued at approximately $10,000.  While officers were still investigating the burglary, police say reports of thefts  Investigators believe three local teenagers spent roughly nine hours moving street to street across more than a dozen roads, entering approximately 100 vehicles and several sheds.  Police say the suspects stole wallets, cash, purses, knives, electronics, bicycles and a gun.  Police arrested Mason Comfort of Washington in connection with the investigation. Investigators told Channel 11 they found clothing matching what was seen in the gas station surveillance video inside his vehicle.  Charges have also been filed against an 11th-grade student at Chartiers-Houston High School and an 11th-grade student at Burgettstown High School.  Police are now investigating similar theft reports in nearby communities, including Claysville, Avella, Hanover Township and Chartiers Township, saying those incidents may also be connected. The investigation continues and police have not ruled out additional charges.

Washington County Commissioners walked down a familiar path but with some new scenery as it relates to approving recommendations for programs being approved for grants from the National Opioid Settlement Fund. Commissioners approved four programs suggested by the County’s newly formed Opioid Settlement Funding Review Committee. The four programs recommended for funding are the Washington County Department of Human Services’ 2026 “Road to Recovery Symposium” for $10,000. The Department of Human Services will also receive $448,517 to implement an integrated software system to improve case management, provider coordination and other services. That money also utilizes unspent 2024 funds. The Shekinah Youth Ranch of the Mon Valley received $41,000 for scholarships to their Trail of Grace Overnight Camp. Finally, Gateway Rehabilitation Center received $291,941 for programs that support art therapy, wellness activities and nutrition education. All four programs were unanimously approved. These approvals finished off the 2025 round of funding. This is the first round of recommendations by the Opioid Settlement Funding Review Committee. The committee will begin deliberations on the 2026 funding later this summer.

PennDot has announced several road construction projects that will create traffic snarls in the area. The ongoing PennDot bridge replacement on Rt. 18 (Park Avenue) and South Main Street will see Rt.18 come to a complete close on Monday June 8. The closure is expected to last until June 29. A five mile detour is posted. That detour can be found here .

Additionally, In Upper St. Clair Township, Rt. 19 will be closed in both directions beginning at 6:00 AM on Saturday June 6, ending at 10:00 PM Sunday June 7. Route 19 will be closed from Boyce Road to McLaughlin Run Road/McMurray Road. The demolition of the Country Club Road Bridge will take place at this time. Significant detours will be in place. Those detours may be found here .

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. employers added a surprising 172,000 jobsin May as the labor market continued to show resilience in the face of rising costs from the Iran war. The Labor Department reported Friday that job growth was down slightly last month from a revised 179,000 in April. The unemployment rate stayed at a low 4.3% The job market has been recovering this year from a miserable 2025, so far shrugging off higher energy prices and increased economic uncertainty since the United States and Israel attacked Iran in late February.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate passed legislation to fund President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement agencies early Friday morning. This came after weeks of delays and fierce backlash to an unrelated $1.776 billion settlement fund that threatened to derail the bill. Senators voted for the $70 billion legislation to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol for the next three years, through the end of Trump’s term. The final vote came after Republicans narrowly defeated multiple attempts to add language to the bill that would permanently ban Trump’s settlement fund to compensate political allies who believe they have been politically persecuted.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is again seeking to boost the struggling U.S. coal industry. A plan announced Thursday would spend nearly $700 million to support coal-fired power plants and coal exports. A White House official said the administration will use authority under a Cold War-era national defense law to support 13 coal plants across the country and help build coal plants in Alaska and West Virginia. If built, the plants would be the first new U.S. coal plants since 2013. The money will also help restart a coal-fired power plant in Maryland and support construction of a long-delayed coal export terminal in Oakland, California. Environmentalists said the plan would “put polluters first” and jeopardize Americans’ health.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House has passed a bill to aid Ukraine and sanction key segments of the Russian economy. That’s despite Republican leaders warning the legislation will undermine negotiations designed to achieve a comparable but stronger result. The legislation seeks to cement U.S. assistance for Ukraine by providing more than $1 billion in security and reconstruction aid, and making another $8 billion available for Ukraine’s defense through loans. The vote Thursday represents the House’s second major foreign policy break this week with President Donald Trump. It comes one day after the House approved a war powers resolution that would halt the U.S. military action against Iran.

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) — President Vladimir Putin says Russia will strengthen its air defenses to counter recent Ukrainian drone attacks, which have reached deep inside his country and cast a cloud over his showcase economic forum in his hometown of St. Petersburg. Replying to a question from The Associated Press during a meeting Thursday with heads of international news agencies, Putin vowed to bolster Russia’s air defenses. The media session came on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, his annual showcase for investment. Hours before the forum opened Wednesday, a Ukrainian drone attack set ablaze an oil terminal in the city and also hit a historic nearby naval base.

The New World screwworm fly is threatening the $113 billion U.S. cattle industry for the first time in more than a half century. An infestation from its flesh-eating larvae has been confirmed in south Texas in a 3-week-old calf in La Pryor, about 100 miles southwest of San Antonio. Federal and state officials had been working to keep the parasite from reaching Texas since its late 2024 appearance in southern Mexico. Before that, it had been contained in Panama for years. The U.S. eradicated the pest by the early 1970s by breeding sterile male flies and dropping swarms from planes to mate with wild females. Millions are being released each week now.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Television and movie actors have voted to ratify a four-year contract with studios and streaming services. This comes after union leaders negotiated protections against synthetic actors created by artificial intelligence. The ratification was widely expected, and a strike like the one in 2023 never seemed likely during the drama-free negotiations. More than 90% of Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists members approved the agreement. The new deal, like on recently reached by Hollywood writers, is for four years instead of the usual three. This provides extra labor stability in the industry. The contract includes provisions to keep the use of AI actors minimal.