WJPA News

A Jefferson, PA man has been charged in connection with a hit and run accident at the McDowell Shops in Peters Township in November. Keith Shearer, 47 is accused of striking 79 year old Sally Sherfinski and then driving away. Court documents said Shearer told police he went to Applebee’s that day after work and had one beer and two shots before driving away. Police say Shearer denied knowing he hit Sherfinski but said there was a chance he blacked out. Police say Sherfinski was taken to Allegheny General Hospital in critical condition. She spent two days in the ICU with multiple broken bones and a brain bleed and is now recovering at home.

Governor Josh Shapiro announced that 54 transportation projects that total more than $47 million have received funding from the Multimodal Transportation Fund. The awards were made in 34 counties across Pennsylvania to enhance safety, connect communities and grow local economies. Local projects that were awarded funds were the Clark Road Bridge in Buffalo Township with $101,850, and Miller Road culvert replacements in Canton Township for $165,050. In Greene County, culvert reinforcement under Goslin Road in Jefferson Township received $176,056.

CLAIRTON, Pa.—(WPXI)-In August, two employees died and several others were injured during a battery explosion at Clairton Coke Works. Now, the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board issued two safety recommendations for US Steel. They are to be implemented immediately. The CSB is recommending that U.S. Steel evaluate all buildings that could be occupied and assess any potential danger to workers based on where the buildings are located. The CSB said the occupied buildings in the area where the explosion happened were not capable of protecting workers from the blast. The agency also said that while US Steel has relocated the control rooms for battery 13/14 to another building 100 feet away, it’s not clear that it is a safe location for workers. The second recommendation is calling on U.S. Steel to address and reduce safety risks for its employees. The CSB is continuing its investigation.

BRISTOL, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s governor says an explosion at a nursing home just outside Philadelphia killed at least two people. The explosion Tuesday collapsed a part of the building and happened just as a utility crew had been on site at Bristol Health & Rehab Center in Bristol Township looking for a gas leak. The extent of the casualties was unclear several hours later. Bucks County officials say a portion of the building collapsed. Fire officials said they were in “rescue mode” five hours later, with rescuers still digging by hand and using search dogs, earth-moving equipment and sonar to locate potential victims.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Justice Department has released tens of thousands more documents related to Jeffrey Epstein, a tranche that included multiple mentions of President Donald Trump but added little new revelatory information to the long-anticipated public file on the disgraced late financier. The documents also contain apparent correspondence between an Epstein co-conspirator and the U.K.’s former Prince Andrew. Many of the mentions of Trump come from news clippings. There is also an email from a prosecutor pointing out flights Trump took on Epstein’s private jet. The Justice Department said one of the letters in the file was fake, but had been included for reasons of transparency.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A new Department of Health and Human Services report reveals Medicaid programs made over $200 million in improper payments to health care providers between 2021 and 2022 for people who had already died. The inspector general report, released Tuesday, suggests that a new mandate in Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill could help reduce these kind of payments. The bill requires states to audit Medicaid beneficiary lists against the Social Security Administration’s Death Master File. Privacy laws currently restrict access to this file. The report recommends states comply with the new mandate to conduct quarterly death checks to prevent further improper payments.