WJPA News

Washington County Commissioners are looking for clarity on how the Washington County Tourism Promotion Agency spends its money. A motion approved unanimously in Thursday’s voting meeting has the county solicitor provide a legal memorandum on whether the Washington County Tourism Promotion Agency and the Washington County Chamber of Commerce are subject to Pennsylvania Right to Know laws. According to Commissioner Chairman Nick Sherman, county commissioners have issued three requests on how the Tourism Agency spends county appropriations. Sherman says the total appropriations to the agency are in the neighborhood of $3 million annually. He says they just want to make sure that there are not better ways to spend that money and possibly drive more economic development in Washington County. In written statement for Washington County Tourism and Promotion Agency President Jeff Kotula, The agency is not subject to Right to Know laws. He further stated that the agency does diligently comply with IRS and state financial filing responsibilities. Kotula further stated that the agency will be supplying the state mandated CPA audited 2024 financial records that are “once again clean.” Kotula went on to say that the agency has taken over promotion duties so that county and agency efforts are not duplicated as had been the case in the past.  In addition, he added, “Representatives from both the chamber and tourism boards met with all the commissioners last week to answer their questions on how tourism dollars are being spent and the successes we have achieved. And while the chamber and tourism are not subject to Right to Know, it was important to us that we met with the commissioners personally and addressed their questions directly, openly, and with facts.”

BETHEL PARK, Pa. — (WPXI) – A man is in custody after a stand-off in Bethel Park Wednesday. A Bethel Park Police Department official said officers responded to the 1300 block of Stoltz Road around 5 p.m. for a domestic disturbance. Court documents say a man reported to 911 dispatchers his brother, Daniel Lipford, was intoxicated and his girlfriend was covered in bruises. When police arrived, he told them Lipford physically assaulted his girlfriend and was inside the house with her 2-year-old, refusing to come outside. He also reportedly had access to a shotgun. Lipford’s girlfriend came outside, but her son was inside and police could not get Lipford to come out. Officers surrounded the home and requested help from SWAT and other area police departments. Part of Stoltz Road, as well as Beverly Court, Falla Drive and Claytonia Drive, were closed while first responders were negotiating with the man. By 9:15 p.m., police say the man, identified through court records as Daniel Lipford, released the child. He was taken into custody on an arrest warrant for simple assault, terroristic threats and strangulation. All roads reopened just before 10 p.m.

PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – An Ohio man without a concealed carry permit is accused of trying to bring a gun through the Pittsburgh International Airport. The Allegheny County police Department says TSA officers spotted the handgun within a passenger’s backpack at the main security checkpoint around 2 p.m. Monday. TSA officials say the gun was loaded, with one bullet in the chamber. Since the passenger, identified as Christopher Wells Jr., 30, didn’t have a valid concealed carry permit, he’s facing a felony charge on top of a possible federal fine for bringing the gun to a checkpoint. Passengers can travel with guns only in checked baggage if unloaded and packed in a hard-sided locked case. Then, the locked case should be taken to the airline check-in counter to be declared. TSA has details on how to properly travel with a firearm on its website.

Opening Day at Kennywood is a little over a week away. The 127-year-old amusement park will open on April 12 and remain open until early 2026. That’s the West Mifflin park’s longest season ever. There’s an all-new Kennywood Junction themed area modeled after a small steel town neighborhood. There’s Tuft’s a 6-foot rabbit character, a new celebration room that people can rent out for special events, a retail store and more focused on an “Eggcellent” Celebration. Plus, General Manager Ricky Spicuzza says the Steel Curtain will re-open again sometime this year. There are also other surprises planned that officials weren’t quite ready to announce. There are some new food options on various menus, but one thing won’t change. Even though Kennywood has a new owner, there will always be Kennywood fries.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Marc Fogel, a Pittsburgh-area school teacher who was deemed wrongfully held in a Russian prison for years before being freed in February, will throw out the first pitch at the Pittsburgh Pirates home opener against the New York Yankees. Fogel is from Butler, about an hour north of Pittsburgh. Fogel was detained in 2021 when traveling to Russia to work at a school. He was handed a 14-year sentence for having what his family and supporters said was medically prescribed marijuana. He was released and brought back to the U.S. in February.

NEW YORK (AP) — Financial markets around the world are reeling following President Donald Trump’s latest and most severe volley of tariffs, and the U.S. stock market is taking the worst of it so far. The S&P 500 fell 4.2% Thursday, more than other major stock markets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1,394 points, and the Nasdaq composite sank 5.3%. Little was spared as fear flared globally about the potentially toxic mix of higher inflation and weakening economic growth that tariffs can create. Everything from crude oil to Big Tech stocks to the value of the U.S. dollar against other currencies fell. Even gold pulled lower.  (Photo:  AP)

(AP) – Sweeping new tariffs announced by President Donald Trump have provoked dismay, threats of countermeasures and calls for further negotiations to make trade rules fairer. But responses are measured, highlighting a lack of appetite among key trading partners for an outright trade war with the world’s biggest economy. Trump said the import taxes, ranging from 10% to 49%, would do to U.S. trading partners what they have long done to the U.S. European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen says they are a “major blow to the world economy.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former heart surgeon and TV pitchman Dr. Mehmet Oz was confirmed Thursday to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Oz became the agency’s administrator in a party line 53-45 vote. The 64-year-old will manage health insurance programs for roughly half the country, with oversight of Medicare, Medicaid or Affordable Care Act coverage. He steps into the new role as Congress is debating cuts to the Medicaid program, which provides coverage to millions of poor and disabled Americans.

Violent storms have cut through a wide swath of the South and Midwest, spawning tornadoes and killing at least one person, knocking down power lines and trees and ripping roofs off homes. Dozens of tornado and severe thunderstorm warnings were posted in several states as violent storms hit the region Wednesday. At least one tornado emergency was issued in Arkansas. Forecasters say it is the opening act for a week of wild weather as daytime heating combines with an unstable atmosphere, strong wind shear and abundant moisture streaming in from the Gulf.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Amazon has put in a bid to purchase TikTok. A Trump administration confirmed the eleventh-hour pitch as a U.S. ban on the platform is set to go into effect Saturday. The official wasn’t authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity. The official says the offer came in a letter to Vice President JD Vance and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. The existence of an Amazon bid surfaced as Trump was scheduled on Wednesday to meet with senior officials to discuss the coming deadline for a TikTok sale.

NEW YORK (AP) — Tesla sales fell in the first three months of the year in another sign that Elon Musk’s once high-flying electric car company is struggling to attract buyers. The company reported that deliveries of its electric vehicles dropped 13% in the January to March period. The weak demand was likely due to a combination of factors, including its aging lineup, competition from rivals and a backlash from Musk’s embrace of right wing politics. It also is a warning that the company’s first-quarter earnings report later this month could disappoint investors.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A vaccination to prevent horribly painful shingles may offer an extra benefit: New research suggests it might lower the risk of dementia, too. There have long been hints that certain viruses increase risk for later-in-life dementia, including the virus that causes chickenpox. That virus never leaves the body, hiding in nerves to erupt later when the immune system wanes from illness or age — what’s called shingles. The new study tracked seniors in Wales and found shingles vaccination cut their risk of developing dementia over the next seven years by 20%. The study was published Wednesday in the journal Nature.

BANGKOK (AP) — The death toll from the massive earthquake that hit Myanmar nearly a week ago has risen to 3,085 as search and rescue teams find more bodies. The military-led government said Thursday another 4,715 have been injured and 341 people are missing. Last Friday’s 7.7 magnitude earthquake had an epicenter near Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city, and brought down thousands of buildings, buckled roads and destroyed bridges. Local media reports of casualties have been much higher than the official figures and with telecommunications widely out and many places difficult to reach, it’s thought the numbers could rise sharply as more details come in.