January 9, 2026 2:40 am
Washington County Commissioners and the Redevelopment Authority of Washington County have been grappling with an appointment to the LSA Review Committee. The Tri-County Borough Association decided to change their elected representative in March. The person elected to take that place was deemed ineligible to serve because they did not live in Washington County. In what commissioners describe as a bureaucratic mix up, The Tri-County Borough Association held a second election in October, to appoint Jim Plugh as the Association’s representative. Prior to that election, county officials appointed Bill Nutt to the committee because he finished second in the initial election. The Association made their displeasure known at the commissioner’s agenda meeting that they want Plugh to represent their interests. In an effort to compromise, Commissioner Larry Maggi suggested that both Nutt and Plugh serve on the committee for one year. After legal research and discussions with the Redevelopment Authority, it was decided that both men will serve on the committee for one year only and then the committee will then revert back to its original 10 person committee format next year. That item was approved unanimously by commissioners at their voting meeting on Thursday.
January 9, 2026 5:01 am
REDSTONE TOWNSHIP, Pa. — A man is accused of locking a woman in a house for multiple days. State Police said the incident happened on Simpson Road in Redstone Township in Fayette County. 33 year old Kevin Fields is accused of keeping a woman there for four days in December. Troopers said he also strangled and punched her during that time while threatening to kill her. Fields was arrested at that house on December 16. He is last reported held without bond.
January 9, 2026 5:08 am
State Police have released their report on DUI arrests and crashes over the New Year’s holiday. From New Year’s Eve through Jan. 4, troopers investigated 1,098 vehicle crashes. Three of those crashes were fatal and 158 resulted in injuries. Of the recorded crashes, 69 were DUI-related. One of the DUI crashes caused a fatality. In total, 378 people were arrested for driving under the influence. Troopers issued nearly 5,000 citations to motorists. Those citations included 4,377 for speeding, 508 for failing to wear a seat belt and 60 for not securing children in safety seats. The review only covers incidents that State Police responded to. Other law enforcement agencies are not included.
January 9, 2026 4:57 am
A new report shows that Pennsylvania’s current overdose prevention program saved thousands of lives last year. The Shapiro Administration released the Overdose Prevention Program Annual Report on Wednesday. The program is run by the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs and focused on preventing fatal overdoses in the Commonwealth. It does this by distributing supplies to local organizations, providers and people within communities. That includes 800,000 doses of naloxone and 737,000 fentanyl and xylazine test strips which were given out in 2025. Those supplies are given shared with recovery programs, libraries, churches, campuses, drop-boxes, mail-based distribution, mobile outreach and other places. Nearly 9,500 overdose reversals were reported between January and September last year, the report said. The DDAP said early estimates indicate that 2025 had the lowest overdose deaths in Pennsylvania in over a decade.
January 9, 2026 5:15 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House has passed legislation that extends expired health care subsidies for those who get coverage through the Affordable Care Act. It’s a remarkable rebuke of House Speaker Mike Johnson, who tried to stop it. But renegade Republican lawmakers joined with Democrats on a so-called “discharge petition” to force action. The health care tax breaks have lowered health insurance costs for roughly 22 million people, but expired last month. The Congressional Budget Office said the proposed three-year extension would increase the nation’s deficit by about $80.6 billion over the decade, and increase the number of people with health insurance by millions. Members of the Senate are working on an alternative bill.
January 9, 2026 5:13 am
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Anger and outrage are spilling out onto Minneapolis’ streets over the fatal shooting of a woman the day before by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer. A new shooting by federal agents in Portland, Oregon, on Thursday left two people inside a vehicle wounded and is eliciting more scrutiny of enforcement operations throughout the U.S. Hundreds of protesters marched Thursday night down one of Minneapolis’ major thoroughfares over the death of 37-year-old mother of three Renee Good and blocked off the street where she was shot in the head. The FBI is investigating the shooting in Portland. The conditions of the man and woman who were wounded were not immediately known.
January 9, 2026 5:20 am
Fights over which agencies will be involved in the investigation into the fatal shooting of a woman by a federal immigration officer in Minneapolis are roiling as calls for a thorough investigation and accountability mount. Experts say the conflict Thursday between Minnesota officials and federal authorities exemplifies the complicated question of whether a federal agent performing a federally sanctioned operation can be criminally charged by a state. Federal authorities have blocked the participation of Minnesota officials in the investigation. In the past year as they have deployed a growing number of federal agents into cities across the country, many for immigration crackdowns, federal officials have said agents are immune from state prosecution while performing those duties.
January 9, 2026 5:16 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has advanced a resolution that would limit President Donald Trump’s ability to conduct further attacks against Venezuela. The vote Thursday was a disapproval of Trump’s expanding ambitions in the Western Hemisphere. Trump says the five Republicans who voted in favor of the resolution “should never be elected to office again.” The 52-47 vote to advance the war powers resolution ensures a vote next week on final passage. The measure has virtually no chance of becoming law because Trump would have to sign it if it were to pass the Republican-controlled House. Trump says the Senate vote impedes his authority as commander in chief under the Constitution.
January 9, 2026 5:14 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Luigi Mangione is due in federal court for a pivotal hearing in his fight to bar the government from seeking the death penalty against him in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Garnett has said she also plans to set a trial date during Friday’s proceeding. Mangione’s lawyers contend that authorities prejudiced his case by turning his December 2024 arrest into a “Marvel movie” spectacle and by publicly declaring their desire to see him executed even before he was formally indicted. The charge that has enabled the government to seek the death penalty is murder by firearm. His attorney’s say it’s legally flawed. Federal prosecutors say Mangione’s lawyers are wrong.
January 9, 2026 5:18 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The IRS will start accepting 2025 tax returns on Jan. 26, marking the official start of the 2026 tax filing season. The filing deadline is April 15. The IRS has faced challenges, including losing tens of thousands of workers through planned layoffs and buyouts spurred by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.. It also needs to implement major provisions from President Trump and Congressional Republicans’ tax package. The IRS expects to receive about 164 million individual tax returns this year, roughly on par with last year.
