WJPA News

A Peters Township high school student accused of running a catfishing and sextortion scheme faced his preliminary hearing on 304 felony charges. Zachariah Meyers, 18 had those charges reduced to 67 in an agreement between the District Attorney and his legal counsel in an administrative action. Meyers then waived those charges to common pleas court. Meyers is being held in the Washington County jail without bond. His attorney asked for bond to be placed. He said that he is not a flight risk because he lives with his parents and his extended family also lives in the township. He said that he could eliminate the danger to society issue by having all electronics and internet capability removed from his home. The judge was not convinced and maintained the condition of no bond. Meyers is accused of getting juvenile victims to send him sexually compromising photos. He is also accused of convincing a victim to record other juveniles in a private gym locker room in the high school on six different occasions. Meyers will be formally arraigned on March 30.

On February 2, 2026, Alcoa Pittsburgh Federal Credit Union (FCU) officially merged with CHROME Federal Credit Union, finalizing the merger and welcoming over 2,000 members. Alcoa Pittsburgh FCU serves the employees of Alcoa, an industrial corporation specializing in alumina, along with primary and fabricated aluminum.  The decision to merge with CHROME was made in the interest of honoring their former manager, Lisa Blacer, who had to step down due to medical reasons. Merging with CHROME allows Alcoa Pittsburgh FCU to continue to thrive with a like-minded partner with similar values and a similar background.  While both financial institutions share similar products, Alcoa Pittsburgh FCU members will be able to utilize CHROME Care, CHROME’s local support team, and will have access to next-level digital banking, extra benefits and features, and more branch locations, both locally and nationwide.  Rooted in Southwestern Pennsylvania, CHROME FCU has served its members for over 55 years, delivering local service and high-quality products. Like Alcoa Pittsburgh FCU, CHROME’s values are member-focused.  CHROME, initially known as Washington Steel FCU, was started in 1971 by seven employees to serve the hard-working employees of Washington Steel Company.

Traffic restrictions are now in place as demolition of the Courthouse Square building on West Beau Street is set to begin.  Those restrictions will take be in place until the end of business on Tuesday.  Police say temporary mid-block stop signs will be installed to allow alternating traffic through the work zone;  parking meter restrictions will be in place on West Beau Street in the active demolition area.  As a result – parking will be prohibited there during this time and police say you can expect minor traffic delays as well.  As for visitors who need to access the Crossroads Building at 95 West Beau Street, you are being asked to please utilize the parking garage for convenient access during this time.  Police are suggesting as well, that if you can find an alternate way around this area, it will help keep everyone safe and reduce congestion.  Police say they will be monitoring the area to assist with traffic flow and ensure safety.  Washington County Commission Chair Nick Sherman says the big equipment is being brought in on Friday but the actual demolition work won’t start till Tuesday.  He says that work was expected to start earlier, but engineers said a wall needed to be created to shore up the foundation.  Sherman says they are excited for the new building since the current one was in pretty bad shape.

A Washington County jury has found a man not guilty of shooting and killing a Monessen man at a Finleyville bar. 32 year old Keaundre Crews was accused of killing 29 year old Jaisen Irwin outside of Bob’s Tavern in 2022. Police say Irwin was shot seven times following an argument at the bar before his body was dumped in the middle of the road nearby. A jury of seven women and five men deliberated for about two-hours before returning the verdict. Crews’s fiancée, Maurissa Spencer, is facing charges as an alleged accessory to the shooting. It’s unclear when she will stand trial.

A student at Charleroi High School was found to be in possession of a knife on Thursday. Superintended Edward Zelich issued a letter to parents saying the knife was found when the student passed through the medal detector during morning arrival. The letter says the unidentified student was taken to the principal’s office where the knife was confiscated and the students parents were called. Charleroi Police are now investigating and the district will pursue disciplinary action as well.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Bill Clinton has told members of Congress he “did nothing wrong” in his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and saw no signs of Epstein’s sexual abuse. Clinton says by the time the abuse came to light with a 2008 guilty plea, he had long stopped associating with Epstein. Friday’s closed-door deposition in Chappaqua, New York, marks the first time a former president has been compelled to testify to Congress. Republicans want to press Clinton on a well-documented relationship with Epstein and Epstein’s former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell. The Democratic former president tells the committee he likely won’t recall the specifics of events from more than 20 years ago.

WASHINGTON (AP) – U.S. wholesale prices came in hotter than expected last month. The Labor Department reported Friday that its producer price index, which measures inflation before it hits consumers, rose 0.5% from December and 2.9% from January 2025. Economists had forecast a 0.3% increase for the month and 1.6% year over year, according to a survey by the data firm FactSet. Driving the increase was an uptick in the wholesale price of services, led by higher profit margins for retailers and wholesalers.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A new Gallup poll shows that American sympathies in the Middle East have shifted dramatically toward the Palestinians after decades of overwhelming support for the Israelis. That shift accelerated during the war in Gaza. Fifty-four percent of Americans sympathized more with the Israelis three years ago compared to 31% for the Palestinians. Their support is now about evenly balanced between the Israelis and the Palestinians. The numbers reflect how support for Israel has become deeply contentious in the U.S. with profound implications for American politics and foreign policy. The changing sentiment has been largely driven by Democrats who are now much more likely to sympathize with Palestinians.

NEW YORK (AP) — Netflix is declining to raise its offer to buy Warner Bros. Discovery’s studio and streaming business in a stunning move that effectively puts Paramount in a position to take over its storied Hollywood rival. On Thursday, after Warner’s board announced that Skydance-owned Paramount’s offer was superior to the agreement it had previously struck with Netflix, the streaming giant said the new price that would be required to buy Warner would make it a deal that is “no longer financially attractive.” Unlike Netflix’s bid, Paramount wants all of Warner’s operations, including networks like CNN and Discovery. That would put CNN under the same roof as Paramount’s CBS and combine two of Hollywood’s last five remaining studios.

Members of Congress say the U.S. military used a laser to shoot down a Customs and Border Protection drone. The Federal Aviation Administration responded Thursday by closing more airspace near El Paso, Texas. No commercial flights were affected this time. The FAA shut down the El Paso airport and the surrounding area just over two weeks ago after another use of an anti-drone laser. The Defense Department and Transportation Department referred questions to the FAA. The FAA, CBP and the Pentagon issued a joint statement late Thursday that acknowledged the military used the anti-drone laser to mitigate what seemed like a threat.

NEW YORK (AP) — Neil Sedaka, the million-selling singer and songwriter, has died. His many hits included “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do,” “Calendar Girl” and “Oh! Carol,” a lament for his high school sweetheart, Carole King. Among those covering his work were Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra and the Captain & Tennille, whose version of “Love Will Keep Us Together” was a No. 1 smash in 1975. Sedaka kept performing dozens of concerts a year well into his 80s. He retained the enthusiasm and broad vocal range of his youth and never tired of the standards he had sung hundreds of times.