WJPA News

Overnight snow surprised commuters Tuesday morning, with significant accumulations and county-wide power outages thanks to gusting winds.  Much colder air has moved in and that will settle in and will stick as another round of snow hits our area for New Year’s Eve. A Winter Storm Watch is in effect for the ridges of Fayette County from 4 p.m. Wednesday through 10 a.m. Thursday. Temperatures will be in the 20’s with wind chills in the teens as the ball drops on New Year’s Eve. (Photo:  Houston, Pa. courtesy of Tony DePalma)

(WPXI) – A large police presence responded to reports of shots being fired and an assault outside the South Hills Village Mall.  Bethel Park Police said they were called to the AMC Theater at 4 p.m. on Tuesday.  Officers said they found a man who had been assaulted and evidence of an unknown number of shots fired when they arrived.  Ultimately, police found that no one was hit by gunfire.  The Bethel Park Police Department said multiple suspects fled the scene but were taken into custody by neighboring South Hills police departments.  There is no ongoing threat to the public, police say.

(AP) – An Idaho company is recalling nearly 3,000 pounds of raw ground beef that may have been contaminated with E. coli. The recall involves 16-ounce vacuum-sealed packages labeled “Forward Farms Grass-Fed Ground Beef.” Affected packages were produced Dec. 16 and have a label telling customers to use or freeze the meat by Jan. 13. The meat was produced by Mountain West Food Group and was shipped to distributors in California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Pennsylvania and Washington. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said it has no reports of illness due to the contamination, which was discovered in a sample during routine testing.  (Photo:  AP)

PITTSBURGH — It’s been more than two years since a federal jury sentenced Robert Bowers to death for killing 11 people at Tree of Life Synagogue. Now, his defense team is asking the Third Circuit Court of Appeals for a new sentencing hearing. The brief lists more than a dozen reasons why the defense team believes a new sentencing hearing is fair for Bowers. One of those reasons includes the fact that he had to wear shackles around his legs during the trial, which his attorneys claim may have made the jury view him as dangerous and created a prejudice. The appeal lists several other reasons for their request, including the lack of diversity of the jury. The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh is responding to the latest filing, and told our news partners at WPXI; “The jury verdict and sentencing reflected the gravity of this horrific crime, and we believe justice was served.”

A strengthening bomb cyclone is barreling across the northern United States, unleashing severe winter weather in the Midwest and aiming at the East Coast. The storm brought blizzard conditions, treacherous travel and widespread power outages Monday across the Plains and Great Lakes. Forecasters say the storm intensified rapidly, meeting the criteria of what’s known as a bomb cyclone. The sharp cold front left parts of the central U.S. waking up to temperatures 50 degrees colder than the day before. The National Weather Service had warned of whiteout conditions beginning Sunday that could make travel impossible in some areas.

BOSTON (AP) — Environmental journalist Tatiana Schlossberg, the granddaughter of the late President John F. Kennedy, has died. Her family disclosed her death in a statement released Tuesday by the John. F. Kennedy Library Foundation. Schlossberg was 35. The daughter of Kennedy’s daughter, Caroline Kennedy, and Edwin Schlossberg, the journalist revealed she had terminal cancer in a November 2025 essay in The New Yorker. She was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia in May 2024 at age 34 after the birth of her second child. In the essay, “A Battle with my Blood,” Schlossberg recounted rounds of chemotherapy, stem cell transplants and clinical trials.

PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump is warning Iran against reconstituting its nuclear program. Trump said “we’ll knock the hell out of them” if Tehran attempts to rebuild its nuclear program as he welcomed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to his home in Florida for talks Monday. Trump has insisted Tehran’s nuclear capabilities were “completely and fully obliterated” after U.S. strikes on key nuclear enrichment sites in June. But Israeli officials have been quoted in local media expressing concern about Iran rebuilding its supply of long-range missiles capable of striking Israel. Netanyahu’s visit also came as Trump was looking to create fresh momentum for the U.S.-brokered Israel-Hamas ceasefire that is in danger of stalling.

PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump has indicated that the U.S. has “hit” a dock facility along a shore as he wages a pressure campaign on Venezuela. But the U.S. offered few details. Trump initially seemed to confirm a strike in what appeared to be an impromptu radio interview Friday. When questioned Monday by reporters about “an explosion in Venezuela,” the president said the U.S. struck a facility where boats accused of carrying drugs “load up.” Trump declined to say if the military or CIA was involved or where it occurred. He didn’t confirm it happened in Venezuela. The White House and Venezuela’s government did not immediately respond to a request for more details or comment.

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A Utah judge has ordered the release of a transcript from a closed-door hearing in October over whether the man charged with killing Charlie Kirk must be shackled during court proceedings. State District Judge Tony Graf said Monday in ordering the transcript’s release that public transparency was “foundational” to the judicial system. Graf had earlier rejected a request by the defense that Robinson not be shackled. Prosecutors have charged Tyler Robinson with aggravated murder in the Sept. 10 shooting of the conservative activist Kirk on the Utah Valley University campus in Orem. They plan to seek the death penalty. Robinson has not yet entered a plea.