WJPA News

 Pittsburgh, PA – The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) is announcing a 25-day closure on I-376 (Parkway East) in Edgewood Borough and the City of Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, will occur July 10 through August 3 weather permitting.  A full closure of I-376 in each direction between the Squirrel Hill Tunnel and the Edgewood/Swissvale (Exit 77) interchange will occur around-the-clock from 9:00 p.m. Friday, July 10 through 5:00 a.m. Monday, August 3 as crews demolish and replace the I-376 Commercial Street Bridge. Traffic will be detoured.

WASHINGTON, Pa – The City of Washington Police Department has filed criminal charges against Brett Carroll following an investigation into an incident that occurred on July 7, 2026, in the area of the Uni-Mart located at 500 North Main Street.  At 3:59 p.m. on July 7, officers were dispatched to the area after receiving reports that an armed male had threatened another individual with a handgun. During the investigation, detectives learned that the suspect allegedly pointed a firearm at the victim, threatened to kill him, and pursued him from the area. Witness statements, surveillance footage, and additional investigative efforts led detectives to identify Brett Carroll as the suspect.  At 10:50 a.m. on July 8, officers were dispatched to the 300 Block of Burton Avenue for the victims involved in the previous incident reporting that the suspect was back in the immediate vicinity of their residence. Upon officers arriving on scene, the male was found to already have left the area and officers were not able to locate the male.  During the overnight hours into the morning of July 9, Carroll turned himself in on an Adult Probation bench warrant that had been issued as a result of this incident and other probation-related concerns. He remains in custody.  He faces multiple charges, including aggravated assault, stalking, and firearms not to be carried without a license.  Authorities say their investigation is continuing and more charges could be filed.

An investigation is underway into the death of a Pittsburgh man whose body was found in his vehicle Thursday morning just before ten o’clock.  Washington County Coroner Tim Warco says the body of 60-year-old Cecil Braun was found in his vehicle which was parked at the Pennsylvania Welcome Center on Interstate 70 East in Donegal Township.  Two dogs were rescued from the vehicle and are currently being held by the coroner’s office.  Authorities say Braun’s death does not appear to be suspicious.  They say he had been living in his vehicle since July third, after being evicted from his home in Pittsburgh.  The cause and manner of death are pending an autopsy.

The federal government provides a financial tool to help businesses compete on the foreign stage. That tool is EXIM, the Export-Import Bank of the United States. The chairman of EXIM, John Jovanovic visited several sites in Washington and Greene Counties.  One of those sites was Aquatech in Canonsburg. He said the bank tries to help the small companies grow and Aquatech is a perfect example of a small company competing all over the world with EXIM’s help. Aquatech provides water process technology facilities, products and services worldwide. Those pure water services may be found in semi conductor facilities, energy facilities and power plants. According to Venkee Sharma, Executive Chairman of Aquatech, they are expanding their services to provide purification services for mineral extraction and processing. He said EXIM is key to that expansion. Sharma said that EXIM is key for Aquatech as they provide financial assistance for exporting where a regular bank would not recognize a foreign contract. In EXIM’s mission to help all kind of businesses, aside from Aquatech, Jovanovic toured an EQT facility in Greene County and the 6K Additive facility in Burgettstown. (Photo: Elizabeth Robbins)

The Whiskey Rebellion is back – and according to organizers – bigger and better than ever!  Tracie Liberatore is the festivals program manager, and she says this year is bigger and better than ever and she believes it has everything to do with America250.  She says the focus on history has increased the number of participants this year and they are excited to be a part of it.  The Whiskey Rebellion Festival honors the significant period of America’s early days through historical re-enactments, history and heritage displays, street theater performances, children’s activities, music, food and libations.  The official start of the festival kicks off on Thursday at the Main Street Farmer’s Market with the UPMC Health Fair.  The festival has a full slate of activities through Saturday, ending with a performance of the Clarks.  Main Street will be closed from Wheeling to Maiden Street starting at three o’clock on Friday and again Saturday morning starting at nine.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has chosen not to sign a sweeping housing affordability bill on Friday, in protest of Congress not approving a strict voter ID bill that does not have enough support to pass. Still, the housing measure could become law on Friday without Trump’s signature, as he had 10 days to issue a veto and stop the measure. Trump’s post simply says that he will not sign it.

President Donald Trump has ousted members of a bipartisan federal election commission charged with assisting state and local elections officials. The White House confirmed Friday that Trump is taking executive action to change the makeup of the Election Assistance Commission. That agency distributes federal grants to states, tests voting systems and maintains the national voter registration forms. It is the latest move in Trump’s effort to expand White House influence over how U.S. elections are conducted, and it comes after a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that gave the president new personnel authority to fire members of independent agency boards. Trump fired two Democrats on the panel. A Republican member was allowed to resign. A fourth seat was already vacant.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A series of mysterious airstrikes have hit Iran after the U.S. said it ended its attacks, raising questions about who targeted the Islamic Republic. The strikes on Thursday hit areas across southern Iran as the country prepared to bury the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran hasn’t directly blamed anyone, but a lawmaker warned the United Arab Emirates over allegedly supporting the U.S. Gulf Arab states, often targeted by Iran, haven’t commented. The attacks come amid tensions over the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for oil and gas. Iran insists on controlling it, while the U.S. and allies want it reopened as a free international waterway.

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Democrats in Maine are beginning a sprint to nominate a new candidate for a pivotal U.S. Senate seat. The drive began after progressive nominee Graham Platner announced he’s withdrawing from the race after a sexual assault allegation. Democrats need to pick a candidate to replace Platner on the ballot by July 27, less than four months before the nominee will face longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins in a race Democrats need to win to take back the chamber. Potential candidates began to come into focus on Thursday even before a decision has been made by Democrats about exactly when the nominating convention will take place.

PROVO, Utah (AP) — Lawyers for the man accused of killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk plan to call a final witness on Friday as they try to raise doubts about the prosecution’s case. A Utah judge is deciding whether prosecutors have enough evidence to put Tyler Robinson on trial on a charge of aggravated murder. Kirk was killed as he spoke to a crowd of thousands at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10. Robinson is charged with aggravated murder and has not entered a plea. He turned himself in a day after Kirk was killed.

NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Times, the Daily News and other media outlets are asking a federal judge to impose sanctions on OpenAI, escalating a legal fight over artificial intelligence and copyright that could shape the future of a struggling news industry. The newspapers allege the ChatGPT maker is hiding evidence important to what could be a landmark copyright infringement trial over how OpenAI and its business partner Microsoft built their AI technologies using millions of news articles. At issue is whether AI chatbots are unfairly competing as an information source, siphoning off web traffic without doing the journalistic work it took to gather the news.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A new AP-NORC poll finds that many Jewish Americans feel unsafe in the United States, with a majority saying they feel less safe than they did before Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. The findings highlight the vulnerability that many Jewish adults in the U.S. feel as bipartisan support for Israel erodes and significant divides emerge within the Jewish community about what constitutes antisemitism — particularly when it comes to protesting Israel. About 3 in 10 say they or members of their household have experienced physical assault, verbal assault, online harassment or damaged property because of their Jewish background in the last year.