June 13, 2026 12:15 pm
The Juneteeth celebration was held Saturday in the city of Washington at the Main Street Pavilion. John Campbell Sr was named the Grand Marshal for the parade. “It shows us that we have our rights like everyone else, but please, everyone, get out and vote,” he said of Juneteenth. This is the first year that the city of Washington was able to bring the Juneteeth parade to Main Street. Juneteeth commemorates the enslaved African Americans in Texas who learned of their freedom more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued by President Abraham Lincoln. Mayor Jojo Burgess, who was in attendance, spoke about his mindset at the celebration. “I want people to be free spirits here in Washington and have the ability to be able to move and do things correctly and without any kind of interference.”
June 13, 2026 12:23 pm
(WPXI) – A Peters Township High School student accused of running a sextortion network involving his classmates faced a judge on Friday. A Washington County judge denied a request to release 18-year-old Zachariah Meyers from jail pending trial, ruling that the court could not adequately address concerns about victim safety and flight risk if he were placed on house arrest. Meyers served as class president at the high school. Prosecutors allege Meyers used social media platforms, including TikTok, to manipulate victims into sending sexually explicit images and videos.
June 13, 2026 9:48 am
The Washington County Housing Authority has received $150,000 in state funding for work at the Nathan Goff Junior Apartments. The money will be used to replace glass balcony doors and windows, fix or replace balcony railings, refinish decks; and repaint accent panels next to doors and railings. Another $850,000 will go to Greene County to repair homes for low-to moderate-income residents; fund a program to prevent homelessness; and replace hot water boilers at 40 affordable housing sites.
June 13, 2026 5:34 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The letters spelling out President Donald Trump’s name on the facade of Kennedy Center are now gone. That word comes Saturday from the executive director of the performing arts venue. Matt Floca made that declaration in a court filing to the federal judge who had ordered the removal. A tarp continued to hang over the scaffolding constructed for workers to remove Trump’s name from the building, making it impossible to immediately detect whether the only words remaining on its white marble portico are “The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.”
June 13, 2026 5:37 am
NEW YORK (AP) — A beloved movie critic and arts reporter for the “Today” show, Gene Shalit has died. Known for his puffy hair, oversized handlebar mustache and a love for puns, Shalit joined “Today” in 1970 and became arts editor in 1973. He was a middle-of-the-road critic, known for his wit and intelligence. Shalit was instrumental in changing the balance of critical power in America, moving it from print to television. He was regularly mocked on “Saturday Night Live” and made cameos on shows like “Sesame Street.” Shalit was predeceased by his wife and had six children.
June 13, 2026 5:28 am
(WPXI) — The Rolling Hills Aqua Park in Peters Township is scheduled to reopen today, after a malfunction caused a temporary closure. The spray park is only about 10 months old, but a malfunction this week forced a shutdown. Officials said a half-inch hose flew off the filtration line, and water damaged the control box that runs the filtration system. Anyone who had a birthday party scheduled at the park when it was closed will receive a refund, officials said.
June 13, 2026 5:30 am
The Washington County Historical Society has been awarded a $25,000 Keystone Historic Preservation Grant, the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission announced. The money is part of more than $2.2 million in grant awarded to 38 historical organizations, museums and local government in 19 Pennsylvania counties. In Fayette County, the Greater Uniontown Heritage Consortium got $25,000 and the National Road Heritage Corridor covering Washington, Fayette and Somerset counties also received $25,000.
June 13, 2026 2:53 am
Pakistan’s prime minister says the United State and Iran have agreed to wording of an agreement aimed at ending their war in the Middle East. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in a social media post Friday that mediators are working with both sides to finalize a deal. He wrote: “Peace has never been this close.” No details were given. But three regional officials who spoke Friday to The Associated Press said they expect the deal to pave the way for reopening the Strait of Hormuz. A senior U.S. official said terms include removal or destruction of nuclear material from Iran. All four officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive negotiations.
June 13, 2026 2:41 am
A Canonsburg man has been found guilty of shooting and killing another man at a house party last year. According to published reports, Kristopher Moorehouse, 21, sat motionless as the guilty verdict on a lesser charge, along with aggravated assault and five misdemeanor charges was read Thursday. Officials say Moorehouse shot and killed 25-year-old Brady Paul of Canonsburg after a romantic entanglement over Paul’s girlfriend and fistfight. Canonsburg police had testified that Moorehouse admitted to the shooting. The jury of seven men and five women listened to testimony for three days and took about four hours to come to the ruling in President Judge Valarie Costanzo’s court. Moorehouse will be sentenced on September 11. [WPXI picture]
June 13, 2026 2:40 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of SpaceX soared 19% in their Wall Street debut, making the rocket maker’s founder and CEO Elon Musk the first-ever trillionaire. The shares opened at $150 and finished Friday slightly above $161. That price gave the company a market value of around $2.2 trillion. Forbes estimates that Musk, who is also a major shareholder in Tesla, is now worth $1.1 trillion. Musk says SpaceX is going public because it needs money to fund its ambitions of putting satellites and data centers in space and eventually establishing a colony of people on Mars. The $75 billion in proceeds from the IPO tops the previous high of $26 billion for Saudi Aramco’s IPO in 2019.
