WJPA News

Gas prices are nine cents lower in Western Pennsylvania this week at $4.140 per gallon, according to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report.  As millions of drivers filled up and hit the road for the long Independence Day weekend, gas prices were the lowest they’ve been in several weeks. The national average is down 40 cents from a month ago at $3.79 for a gallon of regular. While that number is higher than last year, it’s a relief from this past spring, when the national average peaked at $4.56 on May 21. Crude oil prices have fallen to their lowest levels in months, dropping to the $65 per barrel range.  According to new data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), gasoline demand increased last week from 8.77 million barrels per day to 9.13 million. Total domestic gasoline supply decreased from 216.3 million barrels to 214 million. Gasoline production increased last week, averaging 10 million barrels per day.

PennDOT says the scheduled restrictions and closure of a portion of South Main Street between Park Avenue and East/West Prospect Avenue in the City of Washington  is underway.  Monday, There will be daily single-lane restrictions in place from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and traffic will be controlled by flaggers.  Then, starting Monday, July 13 and running through the end of September the area will close to traffic beginning at 6:00 a.m.  Crews will be doing saw cutting and preparation work for the closure of South Main Street. During the closure, crews will demolish the existing concrete box culvert under South Main Street and replace it with a new cast-in-place concrete box culvert. Additional work to be performed includes drainage repairs/replacement, new inlets, and new asphalt roadway pavement.  The work includes excavation of the existing concrete box culvert, installing a new pre-cast concrete box culvert, full-depth asphalt road replacement and concrete curb, gutter, and sidewalk replacement. This work is part of the Catfish Creek Bridge Replacement Project.

Sunday afternoon storms caused localized flooding in Washington for a second straight day. Three of Saturday’s flooded streets were under water again late afternoon Sunday. The flooding outside Cameron Stadium Sunday was even deeper than it was Saturday, flowing over the sidewalk in front of the W&J Football facility. For the second day in a row, Beau & Wheeling Streets, west of Jefferson Avenue, were impassible. Sunday flooding:  Park Avenue   Cameron Stadium   West Wheeling Street

MONESSEN, Pa. — The Monessen Fire Department is asking for the public’s help in identifying the person who they say damaged several flags on display.  The flags were reportedly damaged around 5:30 p.m. Saturday, July 4, along Schoonmaker Avenue between Third and Fourth streets.  A police report has been filed, the department said in a social media post. Anyone with video or information is asked to contact the City of Monessen Police Department.  According to the department, the flags were donated by local business owners and residents as part of a regular tradition. “Our department’s values are deeply rooted in community, tradition, respect, and honor. That is why it is truly upsetting to see these flags treated with such disrespect, especially on a day meant to celebrate our nation and the freedoms they represent,” the social media post reads.

A new government watchdog report says the Secret Service missed several chances to stop the 2024 assassination attempt on President Donald Trump in Butler. The Office of the Inspector General released the findings last week, narrowing down five points where the Secret Service reportedly dropped the ball. Trump was holding a campaign rally on July 13, 2024, when Thomas Crooks opened fire eight times. Rallygoer Corey Comperatore died, and several others were hurt. A bullet grazed the president’s ear, and the Secret Service shot and killed Crooks shortly afterward. The office’s report found that the Secret Service failed to detect a drone the gunman flew to see the campaign event stage. The Secret Service did not have a joint communications room with local law enforcement, so they were out of the loop when it came to communication about a suspicious person. The agency also failed to share intelligence about a long-distance threat with the Pittsburgh field office, so the event was not properly staffed. The Secret Service failed to secure the area outside the perimeter of the event. Additionally, the agency did not block the line of sight from the rooftop where the shooter was looking at the stage. The Office of Inspector General interviewed 92 people and created a 3D model to reconstruct what happened for the report.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The Trump administration plans to open a 528-bed holding center for migrant families and unaccompanied children awaiting removal from the U.S., putting it next to a Louisiana airfield that has become the nation’s largest hub of deportation flights. Last week, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials signed a contract to build the facility at a former military base in Alexandria, according to Ralph Hennessy, executive director of the local England Airpark Authority. ICE said the facility is not a detention center but a “staging facility.” Immigration advocates say the facility is a departure from existing legal frameworks for managing children and expressed concern that they would be held longer than court-mandated limits.

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Mourners dressed in black have flooded into Iran’s capital for a procession as part of the funeral of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Helicopter images aired on Iranian state television showed a massive crowd stretching from Tehran’s Azadi, or Freedom, Square for kilometers down a multilane street of the same name. The crowd appeared larger than one that turned out for the 2020 procession for the late Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Solemani, which drew over 1 million people. The turnout came as Iran negotiates with the U.S. over a permanent end to the war that killed the 86-year-old cleric.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia has launched waves of missiles and drones targeting Ukraine’s capital, killing at least 11 people. The attack began overnight and lasted for hours Monday. It caused a residential building in Kyiv’s Podilskyi district to partially collapse. Several multistory buildings in the Darnytsia district were also damaged, with people believed to be trapped under the rubble. The attack involved ballistic and cruise missiles as well as drones. Explosions echoed across the city as residents sought shelter in metro stations. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had earlier warned of another large-scale Russian attack. He renewed calls for Western partners to bolster Ukraine’s air defenses.

BANGKOK (AP) — China’s navy has test-launched a long-range ballistic missile from one of its nuclear-powered submarines in the South Pacific. The New Zealand government says the missile was fired into a nuclear-free zone established in a 1986 treaty. China last tested a missile in international waters in 2024, the first such test in four decades. China’s brief announcement of Monday’s test says the missile carried a dummy warhead and was part of routine training. The launch took place the same day Australia and Fiji signed a new mutual defense treaty meant to counter Chinese influence in the Pacific.