WJPA News

Due to persistent inclement weather and unsafe playing conditions, the championship game of the 2026 PONY League World Series at Lew Hays PONY Field in Washington has been cancelled.  The championship game between Taichung City, Taiwan and Washington County, Pennsylvania, has been cancelled and will not be rescheduled.  Organizers say they determined that the field was unplayable and out of an abundance of caution for the safety of the players and all involved, the game was called off.  Abraham Key, President and CEO of PONY Baseball said that this is the first time in the seventy-five-year history of the league that they have had to make this decision.  He offered apologies to all involved and said, “Sometimes Mother Nature does not cooperate.”

Nicole Lane says sheriff’s deputies kept her shackled to a hospital bed throughout six hours of unmedicated labor back in 2024, when she gave birth to her daughter. According to our news partners at WPXI, she is speaking out about what happened while she was pregnant and in labor after she was rushed from the Washington County Jail to Magee-Womens Hospital during what she says was a high-risk pregnancy.  Lane is now suing Washington County, the Washington County Prison Board, several sheriff’s deputies and others.  At the time, Lane was pregnant and incarcerated on a misdemeanor drug charge. She was released from jail, then rearrested for what she says was a probation violation involving an address discrepancy.  She alleges deputies shackled one wrist and her opposite leg to the hospital bed. She says the restraints were removed only so she could receive an epidural, then put back on after she gave birth. Lane says the handcuffs remained on for the five days she spent in the hospital postpartum.  Pennsylvania law says incarcerated women shall not be restrained during any stage of labor or any period of postpartum, unless there is a substantial risk of flight or security concerns.  Jackie Perlow, an attorney with the Women’s Law Project, is representing Lane. She says those exceptions did not apply in this case. Washington County leaders told Channel 11 they cannot comment due to pending litigation.

A new law in Pennsylvania aims to resolve a long-standing legal battle over natural gas rights, but it might have sparked more complications. The dispute involves mineral rights beneath state game lands. The Proctor family trust claims ownership based on rights acquired over a century ago. The state Supreme Court sided with the Proctors in 2025, but the legislature reversed this decision last year. The law, Act 27, has drawn support from the natural gas industry, citing clarity concerns. The Proctors argue the law is unconstitutional and continue to fight in court. The outcome could impact large landowners and state funding.

(AP) – A Powerball ticket sold in western Illinois has won a $1 billion jackpot. Lottery officials say the ticket that won the jackpot on Wednesday night was purchased at a Hy-Vee gas station in Quincy along the Missouri border. It’s not clear if the winner has come forward yet. The prize can be taken as a $1 billion annuity over 29 years or a lump sum of $450.5 million in cash. Most winners take the lump sum. This is the first jackpot win since May 2. The odds of winning the jackpot are one in 292 million. The Powerball jackpot now resets to $20 million for the next drawing on Saturday.  (Photo:  AP)

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A company that operates a vast nationwide network of automated cameras that record the license plate numbers and other characteristics of all passing vehicles every day is making changes to its platform. The changes announced Thursday by Flock Safety are intended to quell privacy concerns and address documented abuses of its system by some members of law enforcement. They will make what were once optional guardrails mandatory by Jan. 1. Among them: All law enforcement customers will have to implement an audit tool that’s intended to flag abnormal search behavior. The company is increasingly under scrutiny from lawmakers from both parties, civil liberties advocates and citizens across the U.S.  (Photo:  AP)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Wholesale inflation dropped last month as gas prices reversed some of their Iran war spike and other costs also cooled, a sign that consumer inflation could grind lower in the months ahead. The Labor Department’s producer price index — which captures inflation before it reaches consumers — rose 4.7% in July from a year ago, down from a much larger 5.5% increase in June. On a monthly basis, wholesale prices were unchanged from June to July, after they ticked down 0.1% the previous month.

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. applications for unemployment benefits rose last week, but layoffs remain at historically healthy levels. The Labor Department reported that 209,000 people filed jobless claims last week, up from a revised 200,000 the week before and higher than the 205,000 forecasters had expected. The four-week average of applications, which smooths out week-to-week-volatitlity, was unchanged at 199,000. Claims for jobless benefits are a proxy for layoffs, and they’ve been at a historically low range of around 200,000 to 230,000 a week for the past year, suggesting that Americans who have jobs enjoy unusual job security. The U.S. unemployment rate is low at 4.1%.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Kennedy Center’s board is set to meet to discuss future plans after a federal judge blocked a two-year closure for renovations. Management on Thursday will present three options: complete closure, partial closure with limited access, or phased closures addressing urgent needs while maintaining programming. Judge Christopher Cooper criticized the board’s previous decision as “ill-informed.” The board, mostly allies of President Donald Trump, faces pressure to consider options thoroughly. Trump’s influence on the Kennedy Center has been controversial, with legal battles over renaming and renovations. The institution argues it needs significant repairs, highlighting severe water damage and outdated equipment.

(AP) – The Iowa farmland mystique from “Field of Dreams” still lives on through a group of locals who call themselves the Ghost Players. They’re fashioned after the dead baseball players who emerged from the cornfield in the fantasy film. They started appearing at the movie site in 1990 and have taken their traveling ballplaying troupe to 28 countries and dozens of states. Major League Baseball has returned to the Field of Dreams site with a game between the Minnesota Twins and Philadelphia Phillies. The event is another point of pride for the Ghost Players and their passion for Iowa and baseball.  (Photo:  AP)