WJPA News

The bitter cold temperatures put firefighters to the test on Saturday, as they worked to put out a massive apartment fire that left several people injured in Greene County.  Greene County 911 tells WJPA that he fire started around three in Mather Apartments, which are located on 3rd Street in Morgan Township. Pennsylvania State Police say the fire involved the entire building, which consisted of ten apartment units.  Authorities say three people were hurt and two were taken to hospitals by helicopter.  Officials with the Jefferson Volunteer Fire Company say multiple companies worked in extreme temperatures of -14 degrees..  (Photo courtesy of the Jefferson VFD)

Two people were taken into custody during a drug trafficking investigation spanning Pennsylvania and Ohio.  In a social media post Saturday, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office said the four-month investigation concluded on Thursday, with multiple agencies from both states involved.  The investigation focused on the distribution of heroin, cocaine and crack cocaine in various municipalities, the office said. Numerous people are alleged to have taken part.  On Thursday, authorities initiated a traffic stop on State Route 18 in Burgettstown. During the stop, 53-year-old Archie Orison of McDonald/Burgettstown was arrested and found to have an unspecified amount of crack cocaine on him, according to the sheriff’s office.  Orison was lodged at the Washington County Correctional Facility on a bench warrant and an arrest warrant out of Mount Pleasant Township, the office said. Additional charges are pending.  After Orison’s arrest, the Jefferson County Drug Task Force executed a search warrant at a home in Steubenville, Ohio. A person was taken into custody after authorities found cocaine, crack cocaine and more than $15,000 in cash, the office said.  More arrests may come as a result of the investigation, the office said.

One woman was injured in a two-car crash in South Strabane Township this morning. According to Washington County 911, the unidentified woman was suffering chest pains following the accident along Rt. 136 near Davis School around 5:30 this morning. She was transported to a nearby hospital and her condition is unknown. The scene was quickly cleared according to dispatchers.

The bitter cold temperatures continue as we head into a new week and a new month.  Make sure to stay safe in the extreme cold. If you can’t stay indoors, limit your time outside, make sure to dress in warm layers and wear waterproof clothing. Cover exposed skin; wear a hat, mask and gloves. Keep pets indoors. Make sure to protect indoor pipes.  Officials in the city of Washington say trash pickup will resume on Monday.  Also, if you’ve driven around the city area, crews have been out working to pick up the piled-up snow around the downtown and residential areas.  They are contractors that were hired for the job, thanks to an emergency declaration by the the city.  The snow is being dumped in Washington Park.  For those in need, Washington County has opened nearly two dozen warming centers.  For a complete listing, Click Here.

(AP) Punxsutawney Phil is set to deliver his annual weather forecast and predict either six more weeks of winter or an early spring. Tens of thousands are expected to be at Gobbler’s Knob in Pennsylvania for the event shortly after sunrise Monday. Last year, Phil predicted six more weeks of winter, his most common forecast. Groundhog Day gained national fame from the 1993 film starring Bill Murray. The event is a lighthearted tradition, with Phil’s handlers interpreting his “groundhogese.” Groundhog Day falls on Feb. 2, marking the midpoint between the winter solstice and spring equinox. (Photo:  AP)

(AP) – A “bomb cyclone” that brings heavy snow to parts of the Carolinas and ushers in frigid temperature to much of East Coast Saturday is likely to persist into Sunday. Charlotte, North Carolina, saw one of its heaviest snowfalls in years — about a foot or more fell in the region. Treacherous road conditions led to an hours-long backup on Interstate 85 northeast of the city. The state highway patrol said it counted at least 750 traffic collisions Saturday, but none was fatal. Temperature dips below freezing in many areas, and the frigid cold is expected to plunge as far south as Florida. Forecasters say the subfreezing weather will persist in the East into February.

(AP) – A judge has ordered the U.S. to release a father and 5-year-old son who were taken into custody during the immigration crackdown in Minnesota. Images of preschooler Liam Conejo Ramos in a bunny hat and Spider-Man backpack being surrounded by federal agents in a Minneapolis suburb on Jan. 20 added to the outcry about the immigration actions of President Donald Trump’s administration. The government says the father and son, originally from Ecuador, entered the U.S. in 2024. They were taken to a detention facility in Dilley, Texas. The judge previously ruled that they could not be removed from the U.S. for now.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A federal judge says she won’t halt the immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota and the Twin Cities as a lawsuit over it proceeds. Judge Katherine M. Menendez on Saturday denied a preliminary injunction sought in a lawsuit filed this month by state Attorney General Keith Ellison and the mayors of Minneapolis and St. Paul. It argued that the Department of Homeland Security is violating constitutional protections. The lawsuit sought a quick order to halt the enforcement action or limit its scope. Lawyers with the U.S. Department of Justice have called the lawsuit “legally frivolous.” Federal officers have fatally shot two people on the streets of Minneapolis: Renee Good on Jan. 7 and Alex Pretti on Jan. 24.

NEW YORK (AP) — Newly released files on Jeffrey Epstein have prompted the resignation of a top official in Slovakia and revived calls in Britain for a former prince to cooperate with authorities. Miroslav Lajcak resigned Saturday from his role as an adviser to Slovakia’s prime minister. He was not accused of wrongdoing. But Lajcak faced pressure to resign after emails showed he met with Epstein in 2018. The disclosures also renewed questions about whether long-time Epstein friend Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, should talk with investigators about Epstein and his links to powerful people around the world.

(AP) – Demond Wilson, the actor who played the son on the seminal 1970s sitcom “Sanford and Son,” has died. He was 79. Wilson’s Lamont character was the subject of endless insults from Redd Foxx’s Fred Sanford in an early sitcom that focused on Black characters. The Vietnam War veteran was born in Georgia and grew up in Harlem. He had starring roles in a few more short-lived shows and returned to acting occasionally. Starting in the mid-1980s, he focused on his role as a minister and had mostly disdain for Hollywood.