WJPA News

ICE agents were present in the City of Washington Thursday morning.  A WJPA reporter went to 239 Shirls Avenue, where roofing work was being done and spoke to Jason Morris of Morris Contracting & Roofing. Morris explained that there was a van circling before his crew got to the job site. After work began, about 10 ICE agents started to approach. Morris said no one was detained.  As for whether the workers were here illegally, Morris would not comment.  One arrest – unconfirmed at this time – may have been made.  WJPA has received a video from a resident on Donnan Avenue in Washington, showing one man being arrested.  WJPA reached out to Washington Police for comment and they issued an email statement saying:  “The City of Washington Police Department’s knowledge of reported U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity within the city is limited to information the department has seen posted on social media. The department has no additional knowledge of such activity and has had no interactions with ICE regarding these reports.”

The man, police believe, that shot 20 year old Julian Lassic in an alley adjacent to the Sin City Disciples Clubhouse in the early morning hours on October 11, 2025 will face trial. Karl Sullivan, 37 of Fredericksburg, Virginia had homicide, aggravated assault, and reckless endangerment charges along with weapons possession and receiving stolen property charges held for court after a 90 minute hearing. City of Washington Police testified how they found Sullivan slumped over a curb, bleeding on North Main Street on their way to the alley where a call of shots fired was issued. They testified how they found Lassic lying on his back bleeding from alleged gunshot wounds in the alley. They also testified about the evidence found at the scene that included two firearms. Prosecutors connected Sullivan with the shooting by finding DNA evidence on one of the guns. Sullivan was arrested and in jail in an unrelated incident in Virginia, when police served a search warrant for Sullivan’s DNA and later determined that both DNA samples matched. A bullet found in Julian Lassic was determined to be one fired by the gun that allegedly was in the possession of Sullivan that night. Sullivan’s defense attorney Fred Rabner argued that because there were no witnesses to the shooting and no video evidence of the incident, not enough evidence was available to hold Sullivan for trial for the homicide. Judge Kelly Stewart said that those evidence issues would be better handled by a jury during trial. Stewart held all charges against Sullivan for court. Sullivan will be formally arraigned on December 3.

A ribbon cutting was held at Franklin Crossroads Park Thursday morning to commemorate the opening of the retail phase. Franklin Crossroads Park is taking the place of the former Washington Crown Center Mall and offers a mixed-use business and commercial campus. PREP Funds and IRG are behind the redevelopment. The retailers now have exterior entrances and their own parking field. Chris Salata, a partner with PREP Funds, says this is a huge milestone, and there can now be a larger focus on the business park at the back of the property. Jeff Kotula, the president of the Washington County Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Promotion Agency, explains that there are a lot of different businesses, and they are ready just in time for the holiday season. Bob Sabot, the chairman of the board of supervisors in North Franklin Township, says this was a long time coming, but the township is back in business.  (Pictured:  PREP Funds Chris Salata)

In Hanover Township, some residents are looking to get more representation on the Board of Supervisors. This comes after months of conditional use hearings regarding a proposed data center at Starpointe Business Park. On Election Day, residents can vote to expand the Board from three to five supervisors. One resident, Katie Weber, says having additional supervisors is important to increase diversity and representation. Andy Miller is a resident and part owner of Starpointe Business Park. He says adding supervisors is a terrible idea. Resident Gary Munko explains that if supervisors are added, they would not take office until January 2028. At that time, they would be able to enforce the township’s data center ordinance. The conditional use hearing will continue November 10 at 6:00 PM at the Hanover Township Fire Department Hall.

MOUNT LEBANON, Pa. — Roadside Development and Wegmans Food Markets announced Thursday that Wegmans will serve as the anchor tenant of the Galleria of Mt. Lebanon.  The proposed grocery store will occupy approximately 110,000 square feet within the two-story, 168,000-square-foot commercial complex. Existing retailers at the Galleria will remain open while redevelopment plans move forward.  The Galleria originally operated as a Kaufmann’s department store before being converted into an indoor shopping center in 1988. Roadside Development and Wegmans plan to remodel the site while maintaining its commercial character.  The planned supermarket will include Wegmans’ standard selection of departments, including produce, seafood, meat, bakery, deli, cheese and prepared restaurant foods. The location will also feature an extensive selection of wine and beer.  The Mt. Lebanon project marks Wegmans’ second planned store in the Pittsburgh area following the company’s initial entry into the regional market in 2025. Construction is underway on an approximately 115,000-square-foot location in Cranberry Township, where groundbreaking occurred in August 2026.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Get ready to fall back. The Senate is unlikely to act on a House-passed bill that would make daylight saving time permanent, despite pressure from President Donald Trump and Americans who don’t like having to change their clocks twice a year. Daylight saving time ends early Sunday, requiring much of the U.S. to move clocks back one hour. Several senators are holding up legislation that would eliminate that longtime U.S. tradition. Supporters argue that ending the time change would provide more daylight during the times Americans are most active. Opponents say commuters in some states wouldn’t see the sun until after 9 a.m.

WASHINGTON (AP) — An inflation gauge closely monitored by the Federal Reserve accelerated last month, a sign prices remain elevated less than a week from midterm elections that have focused on affordability concerns. Consumer prices rose 3.6% in September compared with a year earlier, the Commerce Department said Thursday, up from 3.4% in August. On a monthly basis, prices climbed 0.5%, up from 0.3% in August and the highest figure since May. Annual inflation has worsened since the Iran war caused spikes in oil and gas prices. U.S. oil prices still top $100 a barrel, up from less than $70 before the war.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy grew at a healthy 3.4% annual pace from July through September, accelerating from the second quarter on strong consumer spending and investment in artificial intelligence. The expansion in third-quarter gross domestic product – the nation’s output of goods and services – was faster than the 2.2% growth registered from April through June, the Commerce Department said Thursday. Consumer spending rose at a brisk 3.8% clip in the third quarter, and business investment was up sharply, reflecting the AI boom.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department is escalating a criminal investigation over an Alaska Senate candidate who shares a name with the Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan. It has issued a raft of new grand jury subpoenas, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Thursday. The subpoenas seeking grand jury testimony or documents, along with records preservation demands, were issued after The New York Times reported that Democratic candidate Mary Peltola’s campaign appeared to be involved in recruiting Dan J. Sullivan Jr. as part an alleged effort to confuse voters in the hotly contested race. Neither the recipients of the subpoenas nor the number of them were immediately clear.

ROCK HILL, S.C. (AP) — President Donald Trump is campaigning in South Carolina as he encourages Republicans to show up for Darline Graham in a critical Senate contest. Graham is trying to fend off a challenge from pediatrician Annie Andrews in a state that hasn’t sent a Democrat to the Senate in nearly three decades. Andrews is urging voters seeking change to “try something new for once.” Darline Graham was appointed to the Senate in July after the death of her brother Lindsey. She’s running for a six-year term. Trump was in Rock Hill on Thursday, where he called Lindsey Graham “a great politician” and said his sister has “the gene.” Trump spent part of his speech opining on other competitive contests, in North Carolina, Michigan, Texas, Minnesota and Alaska.

(AP) – Patrick Stewart, the classically trained stage actor who scaled the Shakespearean canon and added gravitas to a “Star Trek” franchise and the “X-Men” films, has died. He was 86. A spokesperson said Stewart died Wednesday in Los Angeles, following “a brief and poignant journey” with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy Body Dementia. Stewart was best known as Professor Charles Xavier from the “X-Men” and Captain Jean-Luc Picard from “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” but he spent more of his career onstage than in the X-Mansion or on the USS Enterprise.  (Photo:  AP)

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his party have amplified claims that the country’s election was “stolen” by Arab-led parties. Final results are expected to confirm on Thursday that Netanyahu’s bloc has lost its majority in parliament. The opposition accuses Netanyahu of demonizing the Arab population after a strong showing by Arab-led parties. If the opposition teams up with those parties in a rare and politically risky move, they could form the next government. The elections committee has asked the Shin Bet intelligence service to investigate alleged election interference by unspecified “foreign entities.” Netanyahu’s Likud party targeted Arab-led parties even before the vote, despite lacking specific evidence.

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — After a brief bidding war, the manuscript map that helped divide the United States into North and South, free and slave states, sold for $950,000. Lauren Brunk of Brunk Auctions in Asheville, North Carolina, said Thursday that 45 bidders battled for just under three minutes to own the hand-drawn survey of the Mason-Dixon Line, finished in 1768 by Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon. Bidding started at $400,000. And while it didn’t fetch the hoped-for $1.2 million high estimate, Brunk says it was a very high price for an American map. She says the buyer asked to remain anonymous, at least for now.