BENTLEYVILLE, Pa. — Two people were flown to hospitals after a fire at Bentley Tower in Bentleyville Monday night. Washington County 9-1-1 says the fire broke out just after 9 p.m. The senior high-rise along Washington Street has a total of 90 units. Fire and smoke reportedly originated in a unit on the seventh floor. At this time, no other information is available including what may have caused the fire.
Multiple animals have been killed in a barn fire late Monday night in Eighty Four. Washington County 9-1-1 says the fire broke out after 11 p.m. in the one-hundred block of State Route 519. There is no word on the cause of the fire or types of animals killed. Tune to WJPA 93.3FM/1450AM for the very latest.
Washington City Council got a review from Council Public Works Director Joe Pintola on the success of removing snow from city streets. Pintola said that right off the bat, three of the four city trucks used for snow removal broke down. Two trucks were back in service within one shift. The third returned to service a week later. Three independent contractors were hired when federal monies became available after the city enacted a disaster declaration. Pintola says that all metered areas of city streets will be clear as of 2/3/2026. He is concerned about road salt. Road crews are down to a minimal amount. Pintola says that salt has been on order for several weeks, but excuses from the supplier change indicating that the salt is either on rail cars or barges. He did say that the city does have a supply of cinders that can be used on hills to keep traffic moving if additional snow arrives before the salt. He said that businesses did a fine job of cleaning sidewalks. He asks residents to make sure their sidewalks are clear as code enforcement officers will be dispatched to issue fines. In other city business, a public hearing will be held at 5:00 pm on Thursday to go over the demolition list of properties for 2026. Council will then go into their voting meeting beginning at 6:00 pm.
The Canonsburg Senior Center along East Pike Street is closed thanks to a water line break. WJPA News spoke with Canonsburg Mayor Dave Rhome who tells us that the break occurred (most likely because of the bitter cold) in the front of the building where the offices and activity rooms are located. The water has been turned off, but Rhome says there is extensive damage and most likely they will have to tear out the floor boards. Rhome says they are till assessing the damage and the center will remain closed for now.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Speaker Mike Johnson’s ability to carry out President Donald Trump’s “play call” for funding the government is being put to the test. The House is holding a procedural vote Tuesday on a bill that would end the partial government shutdown. Johnson will need near-unanimous support from his Republican conference to proceed. The legislation funds most of the federal government through Sept. 30 and the Department of Homeland Security for two weeks as lawmakers negotiate potential changes for the agency that enforces the nation’s immigration laws, often referred to as ICE. Trump urged lawmakers to back the bill in a social media post.
State and local officials are pushing back against federal plans to expand immigrant detention facilities. President Donald Trump’s administration is scouting locations across the U.S. for new sites, sparking protests and legal challenges. In Minnesota, fatal shootings during immigration enforcement have intensified scrutiny on ICE. In Virginia, a proposed detention center drew hundreds of people to a tense public hearing. Kansas City officials have passed a moratorium attempt to block a new ICE detention site. Meanwhile, New Mexico’s legislature is advancing a bill to ban state and local contracts for ICE facilities. A law Trump signed last year includes $45 billion to expand ice detention facilities.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has told lawmakers that she attended an FBI search of the election center in Fulton County, Georgia, last week because President Donald Trump asked her to be there. She also acknowledged in a letter Monday that she “facilitated” what she described as a brief phone call between Trump and FBI agents who carried out the search but insisted that neither she nor the president issued any directives. The letter marked Gabbard’s first explanation for her unusual presence at an FBI search during which agents seized hundreds of boxes containing ballots and other documents related to the 2020 election.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are agreeing to testify in a House investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. But the Republican leading the probe says an agreement had not yet been finalized. Rep. James Comer, the chair of the House Oversight Committee, was advancing criminal contempt of Congress charges against both Clintons Monday evening for defying a congressional subpoena. Attorneys for the Clintons emailed staff for the Oversight panel, saying the pair would accept Comer’s demands and “will appear for depositions on mutually agreeable dates.” But Comer says an agreement had not been reached to avoid a contempt vote.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The secretary of Homeland Security is requiring that all the department’s officers on the ground in Minneapolis wear body cameras. Secretary Kristi Noem made the announcement Monday on the social media platform X. Minneapolis has been the site of intense scrutiny over the conduct of immigration enforcement agents. There have been increased calls by critics of Homeland Security to require all of the department’s officers who are responsible for immigration enforcement to wear body cameras. President Donald Trump said the decision was up to Noem but added that he thought it was generally good for law enforcement to wear cameras.
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that Russia has launched a major attack on Ukraine with around 450 drones and 70 missiles. The strikes reported Tuesday came a day before U.S.-brokered talks between Russia and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi. Zelenskyy said that Russia targeted the power grid again in five regions of Ukraine in a bid to deny civilians light, heating and water during a harsh winter. At least 10 people were wounded. Zelenskyy urged allies to send more air defense supplies and increase pressure on Russia. Talks between Moscow and Kyiv have been described as constructive. But a comprehensive settlement remains distant.
