WJPA News

Officers with the McDonald Police Department say Raymond Bertovich III was arrested Monday on a warrant for recklessly endangering another person and possession of instruments of crime. Police say they executed the warrant at Bertovich’s home in the 400 block of Fannie Street, where they found two .9 mm pistols, several hundred rounds of ammunition, drug paraphernalia indicating marijuana cultivation and use, unknown pills, documents, fake urine and “prohibited offensive weapons.” They say three other guns were reportedly seized, including an AR-type rifle, a 12-gauge shotgun and an AK47 rifle. Police say charges for firearm and drug violations are pending. Authorities say the investigation is the result of Bertovich firing a rifle and shotgun from his back deck early on New Year’s Day, when the department received multiple calls about the incident, but a responding officer wasn’t able to make contact. Bertovich is being held in the Allegheny County Jail on ten-thousand-dollars bond.

One person was flown from the scene of an accident in Canton Township Wednesday morning just after eleven o’clock. Washington County 911 Supervisors say the crash happened in the three-hundred block of Armstrong Drive when a pick-up truck went over a hillside and landed in a creek. There’s been no word on the person’s identity or the the severity of their injuries.

A Canton Township woman pleaded guilty for her role in a bizarre case where police found a decomposing body in her home. Debbie Bebout, 64 pleaded guilty to felony theft by unlawful taking and abuse of a corpse charges. She was sentenced to 55 days to 23 months in jail for the theft charge. She will serve 24 months minus one day of parole for the abuse of corpse charge. Bebout and her husband James Bebout were arrested when police were called to their residence for a report of a dead body in January of 2025. Police found the body of Michael Bebout in a bedroom. Autopsy reports say the man probably died in August or September of 2024. Further investigation showed that Debbie Bebout continued to cash Michael Bebout’s social security checks. James Bebout has been arraigned on similar charges and awaits trial. Debbie Bebout met her minimum jail sentence and was released. In addition to her parole, she will make a $6,189 restitution payment to the Social Security Administration.

HARRISBURG, PA: The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board has placed twenty-two individuals on its various Involuntary Exclusion Lists. Placement on those lists prohibits individuals from either gaming in a casino in Pennsylvania, via an online betting site regulated by the board, or at a Video Gaming Terminal (“VGT”) location.  The actions by the Board include placement of five adults on the list for leaving minors unattended at a casino property while they gambled.  Included in that list is a female patron who left two children, ages eight and nine, in a hotel room at Hollywood Casino at The Meadows for seven hours and forty-one minutes while she gambled at table games.  Four other women from various parts of the state were also added to the list for similar infractions.

Charleroi Borough Manager Joe Manning announced on Wednesday that officials have condemned the offices of District Magistrate Eric Porter, after a water leak caused the building to become uninhabitable. Crews from the Charleroi Fire Department were initially dispatched for a reported water leak and observed collapsed ceilings and water in the basement of the structure and requested assistance from the Borough Code Enforcement Office as well as West Penn Power. Following inspection of the building, electric service was removed and officials took action to condemn the structure. Borough officials have reached out to Judge Porter and the Washington County Court Administrator’s office to assist in temporarily relocating Judge Porter and his staff.  Manning says they may use the borough building as a temporary judicial office.

Canonsburg Borough is in the market for a new manager, again. Angela Senay resigned Friday after replacing Billie Bilko back in September. According to the Observer-Reporter, the manager position was not discussed at Council’s meeting this week but Senay told the newspaper that ‘the atmosphere prompted her decision”. She claims she was immediately met with resistance concerning her military leave and scrutiny of her time in and out of the office, as well as, a lack of established human resources policies. Just last month, Council approved modifications to her contract to allow her to work remotely.

The Canonsburg Senior Center along East Pike Street will remain closed Wednesday after a water line break was discovered Monday morning.  WJPA News spoke with Canonsburg Mayor Dave Rhome who tells us that the break occurred (most likely because of the bitter cold) in the front of the building where the offices and activity rooms are located.  The water has been turned off, but Rhome says there is extensive damage.  Rhome says crews have been tearing out dry wall, flooring and baseboards and the rooms still need to dry out.  Officials say the center will  reopen on Thursday.

FORT PIERCE, Fla. (AP) — A man convicted of trying to assassinate President Donald Trump on a Florida golf course in 2024 has been sentenced to life in prison. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon pronounced Ryan Routh’s fate on Wednesday in the same Fort Pierce courtroom that erupted into chaos in September when Routh tried to stab himself shortly after jurors found him guilty of trying to kill a presidential candidate and other charges. Prosecutors asked for life without parole, saying Routh is unrepentant and has never apologized. A defense attorney brought in for his sentencing asked for 27 years, noting that Routh is already turning 60.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — President Donald Trump’s border czar says the number of immigration enforcement officers in Minnesota will be seriously reduced after state and local officials agreed to cooperate by turning over arrested immigrants. Homan says about 700 federal agents will be immediately withdrawn from the immigration operation around Minnesota. Roughly 3,000 federal officers are currently deployed in the state.

NEW DELHI (AP) — Indian lawmakers from the ruling coalition praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for striking a deal with the U.S. to reduce tariffs on Indian goods. The opposition questions the impact on sensitive sectors like agriculture. President Donald Trump announced plans to reduce import tariffs on India, six months after imposing steep taxes. Trump claims Modi has agreed to stop purchasing Russian oil, though the Indian government remains silent on this. The deal includes reducing tariffs from 25% to 18% and India buying $500 billion worth of American products. Analysts urge caution, highlighting the need for clarity on the deal’s specifics.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have finalized an agreement with House Republicans to testify this month in a House investigation into Jeffrey Epstein. They bowed to the threat of a contempt of Congress vote against them. Hillary Clinton will testify before the House Oversight Committee on Feb. 26. Bill Clinton will appear on Feb. 27. It will mark the first time that lawmakers have compelled a former president to testify. The arrangement comes after months of negotiating between the two sides as Republicans sought to make the Clintons a focal point in a House committee’s investigation into Epstein.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is demanding a $1 billion payment from Harvard University to end his prolonged standoff with the Ivy League campus, doubling the amount he sought previously as both sides appear to move further from reaching a deal. The president raised the stakes on social media Monday night, saying Harvard has been “behaving very badly.” He said the university must pay the government directly as part of any deal — something Harvard has opposed. Trump’s comments on Truth Social came in response to a New York Times report saying the president had dropped his demand for a financial payment, lowering the bar for a deal.

The last remaining nuclear arms pact between Russia and the United States is set to expire this week, removing any caps on the two largest atomic arsenals for the first time in more than a half-century. The end of the New START Treaty sets the stage for what many fear could be an unconstrained nuclear arms race. Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared his readiness to stick to the treaty’s limits for one more year if Washington follows suit, but U.S. President Donald Trump has been noncommittal about extending it. Arms control advocates have warned that the treaty’s termination would fuel a renewed arms race.

(AP) – The Washington Post is laying off one-third of its staff in the newsroom and other departments, a brutal blow at one of journalism’s most legendary brands. The large-scale cutbacks include eliminating the Post’s sports department and shrinking the number of journalists it stations overseas. The changes were announced by Executive Editor Matt Murray in a Zoom meeting with staff. The staff reduction is a significant setback at the Post, known in history books for its Watergate revelations and most recently for aggressive coverage of President Donald Trump’s cutbacks to the federal workforce, and for journalism in general.