WJPA News

Washington County 911 said that a blast of snow caused multiple accidents around the county around noon on Friday.  Interstate 70 Eastbound at the Murtland Avenue Exit  was closed due to a series of accidents and supervisors also said that Interstate 70 East and West to Route 519 were snow covered and slippery and was the scene of a host of accidents as well.  There have been no reports of any major injuries.  The interstate opened back up early in the afternoon.

Traffic conditions deteriorated quickly on area roadways. State Police say at least one person was killed and nine others injured in an 25-vehicle crash on Interstate 79 North in Butler County. Both lanes of the highway were closed for several hours – between the Zelienople and Evans City exits. The crash waS reported just before ten-thirty Friday morning and was believed to have been caused by snowy and icy road conditions.

Three Washington men will face trial for the robbery and shooting of a witness at the Washington Food Mart in November. Christopher Ellis-Valperga, 19 faces attempted homicide and robbery charges. Christian Patrene, 19 and Julian Asbury, 17 face conspiracy homicide and conspiracy robbery charges. Asbury has been charged as an adult. All three men face multiple other charges. Ellis-Valperga and Patrene waived their charges to court. Asbury, a juvenile had his charges held without a hearing. According to police the three entered the store to rob it at gunpoint. The victim, playing a video game drew her legal weapon to defend herself was shot multiple times. She was flown to a Pittsburgh hospital for treatment. The clerk at the store said that the actors were unsuccessful in the robbery attempt. All three will be formally arraigned in March.

It is that time of year where local communities find out if their local projects will receive grant funding from the Local Share Account that is funded by taxes levied on Pennsylvania gambling casinos. This year Washington County received $9.5 million in funding. According to Commissioner Chairman Nick Sherman, that figure is down significantly from last year. Sherman says last year Washington County received more than $13 million in LSA funds making this year’s decisions “dicey”. One hundred thirty applications were made to the review committee and fifty four projects received funds. The largest of the awards granted was $1.95 million to the Washington County Department of Public Safety. That money will be spent on subscriber radio equipment that is needed for the new Emergency 9-1-1 Radio system presently under construction. More than 70% of funds went to public interest projects and public safety initiatives such as repair of aging sewer lines and South Strabane Township’s law enforcement traffic camera network. Commissioner Larry Maggi was pleased to see the committee award boy scouts, historical societies and parks along with job training programs monies for community development. Commissioner Electra Janis pointed to a collaborative CDL training program involving Trinity, Fort Cherry, Avella, McGuffey and Canon-McMillan school districts. She said this allows students to earn their certification creating job opportunities without college debt. The county will be contacting the awardees to outline the next steps in the funding process.

The Washington County Local Emergency Planning Committee held their first quarterly meeting. The biggest announcement was the introduction of Washington County joining the alert system Regroup. Dan Harvey, Deputy Director of Public Safety for Washington County says that the alert system will allow residents to receive notifications of emergency situations in their neighborhood. Alerts can be for weather, chemical spills or active shooters. He said that in just over a week of availability, nearly 2000 people have signed up for the service. Access to the system can be found on the Washington County Webpage under the Stay Informed, Stay Ready tab on the home page. In other public safety business, the group discussed two major incidents that involved a chlorine leak at the Monongahela Sewage Treatment Plant and the recent explosion at the Langeloth Metallurgical plant. Officials also wish to remind companies that their Tier II chemical facility reports are now due. Harvey says that of 626 active facilities, only 16 have reported. Facilities have until April 1 to report.

UNIONTOWN, Pa. — State Police are investigating a fatal shooting Thursday afternoon in Uniontown. Troopers say it happened along Dunlap Street. Fayette County Coroner Bob Baker said the victim was taken to a local hospital from the scene, where he later died. Baker identified the man as Lemaur Thompson Jr., 20, of Uniontown. Fayette County District Attorney Mike Aubele said police are looking for a suspect identified as Braedon Dickinson, 18. He is described as a Black man who is 5 feet 10 inches tall with a thin build. Police say he should be considered armed and dangerous.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A racist post on President Donald Trump’s social media account depicting former President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle Obama, as primates in a jungle has been taken down. The White House initially defended the Republican president’s Thursday night post. But the post was deleted Friday after widespread backlash for its treatment of the nation’s first Black president and first lady, who are Democrats. Black and white Republicans joined civil rights advocates in criticizing the post as racist. An Obama spokeswoman says the former president has no response.

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — The family of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie is renewing their plea for their mother’s kidnapper to contact them. Guthrie’s brother, Camron, posted a second plea on social media Thursday on behalf of the family. The message came hours after Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said investigators don’t have proof 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie is alive but believe “she’s still out there.” Nanos says authorities have not identified any suspects or persons of interest five days into the desperate search. Investigators say they are taking seriously notes seeking ransom that were sent to some media outlets.

NEW YORK (AP) — Luigi Mangione spoke out in court against the prospect of back-to-back trials in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. The 27-year-old Mangione on Friday told the judge presiding of the New York case against him: “It’s the same trial twice. One plus one is two. Double jeopardy by any commonsense definition.” He made the remarks as court officers were escorting him out of the courtroom after the judge scheduled his state murder trial for June 8, three months before jury selection in his federal case.  (Photo:  AP)

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A New Mexico grand jury has indicted actor Timothy Busfield on four counts of criminal sexual contact with a child. The indictment was filed Friday in state District Court after an announcement by a district attorney on social media. Authorities had issued an arrest warrant for Busfield over allegations of misconduct tied to when he was working as a director on the set of the TV series “The Cleaning Lady.” Busfield has denied the allegations. He turned himself in to authorities and was released from jail. An attorney for Busfield says there are weaknesses in the state’s evidence and that Busfield will fight the charge.  (Photo:   AP)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military says it has carried out another deadly strike on a vessel accused of trafficking drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean. U.S. Southern Command said Thursday on social media that the boat “was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations.” It said the strike killed two people. A video linked to the post shows a boat moving through the water before exploding in flames. Thursday’s attack raises the death toll from the Trump administration’s strikes on alleged drug boats to 128 people.

MOSCOW (AP) — A deputy chief of Russian military intelligence has been shot and wounded. Officials say Lt. Gen. Vladimir Alekseyev was attacked by an unidentified assailant in Moscow. The incident happened on Friday. Investigative Committee spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko says Alekseyev was hospitalized. She did not comment on who might be behind the attack. Alekseyev has served as the first deputy head of Russia’s military intelligence since 2011. Several top Russian military officers have been assassinated in attacks that Moscow blamed on Ukraine. The attack came a day after Russian, Ukrainian and U.S. negotiators wrapped up two days of talks in Abu Dhabi. The Russian delegation was led by the military intelligence chief, Adm. Igor Kostyukov.

HONG KONG (AP) — Asian shares are mostly lower after Wall Street extended losses driven by technology stocks. Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index gained 0.8% as tech shares in Japan bounced back. U.S. futures edged lower and bitcoin sank about 8% to roughly half its record price, erasing gains since U.S. President Donald Trump was elected for a second term. Oil prices were higher, while gold and silver prices fell following some recovery earlier in the week. On Thursday, the S&P 500 was down 1.2%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.2% and the Nasdaq composite fell 1.6%.