WJPA News

The Washington County Housing Authority held a special meeting to take care of several employment issues. The meeting was quickly redirected by more than 60 people from Jollick Manor who wanted the board to address rumors that Jollick Manor was going to be sold to Washington and Jefferson College. Before opening the floor to public comment, Authority Chairman Steve Toprani addressed the crowd and told them that there are no plans to decommission Jollick Manor. He said that the Authority, and to his knowledge, County Commissioners are not entertaining any plans to sell the property. Unconvinced, frustrated residents continued to loudly argue with the board about the rumor. Board member Clyde Wilhelm stated that he heard the rumor in 2025 and questioned whether it would be prudent to spend several hundred thousand dollars on Jollick Manor if it was to be sold. The board tabled the spending measure until assurances were granted that no such plans were in place. The board then went on to authorize the repairs. Tracy Levith felt that the answers were political speak. Board member Monique Taylor said that she would never have agreed to sell the property because her aunt lived there. The board did accomplish their stated agenda. They accepted the resignation of Stanley Shook as Deputy Executive Director. They approved Dennis Fisher as Interim Deputy Executive Director.

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — A United Airlines passenger jet carrying 221 passengers from Venice, Italy, struck a light pole on the New Jersey Turnpike on Sunday afternoon as it was coming in for a landing at Newark Liberty International Airport, authorities said.  The airline said none of the passengers or 10 crew members aboard United Airlines Flight 169 were injured.  The New Jersey State Police said a landing tire and the underside of the plane also hit a truck, and the light pole then struck a Jeep that was on the highway. The driver of the truck was taken to the hospital with minor injuries and was released, said the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the airport.  The Federal Aviation Administration said the Boeing 767 aircraft landed safely after it “came into contact with a light pole” on its final approach to Newark.  (Photo:  AP)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has restored broad access to the abortion pill mifepristone, blocking a ruling that had threatened to upend one of the main ways abortion is provided across the nation. The order issued Monday allows women seeking abortions to obtain the pill at pharmacies or through the mail, without an in-person visit to a doctor. Those rules had been in effect for several years until a federal appeals court imposed new restrictions last week. Most abortions are obtained with medication, normally mifepristone and a second drug, misoprostol. The availability of those drugs has made abortion accessible to women in states with bans. Louisiana sued, saying mifepristone’s availability undermined the ban there.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump has announced “Project Freedom” to help ships leave the Strait of Hormuz, starting on Monday. He says the project aims to assist “neutral and innocent” countries affected by the Iran war. Iran has rejected it. Trump also says ongoing discussions with Iran could lead to positive outcomes. Two ships around the strait were attacked on Sunday, according to the British military. Meanwhile, Tehran is reviewing a U.S. response to its proposal to end the war and says nuclear issues are not included.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Authorities have determined that buckshot from the gun of the man charged with trying to storm the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in an attempt to kill President Donald Trump struck a Secret Service agent. That word comes from the federal prosecutor overseeing the investigation. Jeanine Pirro said last week there was no evidence the agent was hit by friendly fire during the incident at a Washington hotel on April 25. But the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia went beyond that Sunday in saying a shot from one of Cole Tomas Allen’s weapons hit the officer’s bullet-resistant vest. Allen was injured during the attack but wasn’t shot. The officer survived.

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — The World Health Organization says that a suspected hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean has killed three people and sickened at least three others. The U.N. health agency, in a statement to The Associated Press on Sunday, said an investigation was ongoing but that at least one case of hantavirus had been confirmed. One of the patients was in intensive care in a South African hospital, the U.N.’s health agency said. The company that runs the cruise said it was trying to evacuate two crew members who were sick and still onboard. The outbreak happened on the Dutch-flagged MV Hondius cruise ship.

NABLUS, West Bank (AP) — A Palestinian man was killed and four others were seriously wounded during an Israeli military raid in Nablus on Sunday. The Palestinian Health Ministry identified the man as Nayef Firas Ziad Samaro. His wife was in labor at a local hospital when she learned of his death. The Palestinian Red Crescent said a 12-year-old was among the wounded. The raid occurred as schools were letting out, in an area crowded with civilians. The United Nations says at least 42 Palestinians have been killed since the year began. There has been worsening violence near Jewish settlements and outposts in the West Bank.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine has launched a wave of strikes against Russia’s oil export infrastructure, hitting a key loading port on the Baltic Sea and three tankers that Ukraine alleges were illegally used to transport Russian crude. A nighttime drone strike sparked a blaze at Russia’s largest oil exporting port on the Baltic Sea, according to Russian regional Gov. Alexander Drozdenko. The port of Primorsk lies over 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) from Ukraine. Elsewhere, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces had hit two tankers in the Black Sea that had been used to transport Russian oil in violation of Western sanctions.

VENTURA, Calif. (AP) — Britney Spears has avoided jail time in a California driving under the influence case by pleading guilty to a lesser charge through her lawyer. Spears was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs following her March 4 arrest in Ventura County, where she lives. She didn’t appear in court Monday, but her lawyer, Michael A. Goldstein, agreed on her behalf to what’s commonly known as a “wet reckless” guilty plea. This allowed her to be sentenced to a day in jail that the judge said she served when being booked, a year of probation, a required DUI class, and fines. The plea is standard for first-time offenders with low blood-alcohol levels. Spears recently completed a rehab stint.  (Photo:  AP)