WJPA News

The 10th Annual Washington Italian Festival is Saturday, September 26 from 12:00-7:00 PM. Held at the Community Pavilion on Main Street in Downtown Washington, the festival will feature music and dance performances, Italian food and beverages, and local vendors. The lineup of performers includes Allegro Dance Company, New Vintage Big Band, Washington Jazz Orchestra, Street Players, and more. Rebecca Robertson plays a big role in bringing everything for the festival together. She says this is a beloved event, and everyone is looking forward to celebrating Italian heritage. An honoree ceremony will recognize Italian American veterans, active-duty U.S. Military members, and the families of deceased Italian American veterans. Washington County Commissioner Larry Maggi, a U.S. Marines veteran, will emcee the ceremony. The festival will have experiences for all ages, and admission is free!

While a few local fall festivals have been cancelled due to recent heavy rain and flooding, Cecil Township will have their annual fall festival this weekend. Held at Cecil Park on Millers Run Road, the festival will feature vendors, live music, activities for children, and more. The festival is open to the public Saturday from 10:00 AM until 7:00 PM and Sunday from 10:00 AM until 6:00 PM. Admission is free.

PennDOT has announced a speed reduction in both directions of Interstate 79 from Exit 14 (Masontown/Waynesburg) to Exit 23 (Marianna) in Franklin and Washington townships, Greene County. Beginning Tuesday, September 29 at 8:00 PM until Thursday, October 1 at 12:00 PM, traffic will be slowed by pace cars after the placement of latex overlay on the bridge over Route 221. The work is part of the I-79 Waynesburg to Marianna Project, a $45.9 million infrastructure investment, which will make improvements to approximately 11 miles of I-79. Drivers are asked to exercise caution driving through the work zone.

The Pennsylvania State Police are investigating an organized fraud scheme in which scammers impersonate federal law enforcement agencies. Investigators say the scam typically begins with a pop-up appearing on the victim’s computer. The victim is then contacted by individuals claiming to represent federal officials. The scammers tell victims that their identity or Social Security number has been connected to criminal activity and that their bank accounts or personal information have been compromised. The victim is instructed to withdraw money from their accounts, purchase gold bars or coins, and turn the gold over to a courier for “safekeeping.” Approximately $6.5 million has been stolen through this scheme. Anyone who may have been targeted by this scam should contact investigators. The public is reminded that no legitimate law enforcement officer will instruct you to purchase gold or give cash or gold to a courier.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Thousands are without power on the U.S. East Coast, while roads are flooding in some coastal New Jersey communities. The events Friday night signaled the first major signs of a powerful nor’easter expected to create dangerous conditions through the weekend. Tens of millions of people are in the path of the storm that is already beginning to lash the region with strong winds and rain. The National Weather Service says dangerous flooding is expected along the Mid-Atlantic coast, particularly near New Jersey and Delaware. Concerts have been canceled, along with dozens of flights going into airports in Boston, Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard on Friday and Saturday.

HILO, Hawaii (AP) — Residents on Hawaii’s Big Island are bracing for potentially life-threatening and catastrophic flooding from Hurricane Nolo. The U.S. National Weather Service said Nolo was about 145 miles south of the Big Island on Friday evening. Tropical storm conditions are expected to begin on land Friday evening. Forecasters are warning the island could see 10 to 15 inches of rain and 50-mph wind gusts. Meanwhile, Hurricane Polo is churning off Mexico’s western coast as a Category 5 hurricane. It is expected to turn toward the Baja California peninsula. Storm conditions there are expected to begin late Sunday into Monday.

BANGKOK (AP) — China and the U.S. have agreed to set up a channel for handling AI-related incidents and accelerate work on military crisis communications. This follows a three-day summit between their leaders in Washington. The two sides will also work on a Board of Trade for selected bilateral trade issues. They plan to sign a memorandum to strengthen crisis communications between their militaries, China’s Foreign Ministry announced on Saturday. An AI-specific dialogue is scheduled for November. The leaders agreed to extend a trade truce by two months and will meet at upcoming international summits.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Supreme Court has turned away an attempt to use a new Missouri congressional map backed by President Donald Trump. Friday’s decision puts an end to a long-running legal dispute as absentee voting is underway in the midterm elections. The justices halted a last-minute revival of the Republican-friendly map by lower-court judges. The decision leaves in place a Missouri Supreme Court ruling requiring the state to hold the November election using a map adopted in 2022. A new map passed last year was aimed at helping Republicans gain an additional U.S. House seat. It was used in the August primary. But Missouri’s top court later ruled that it can’t take effect unless approved in a statewide referendum.

DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan (AP) — A suicide bomber has detonated an explosives-laden vehicle at a police checkpoint in northwestern Pakistan, killing at least 11 people and wounding about 30 others. The attack occurred Saturday in Dera Ismail Khan, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, according to police and rescue officials. The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. Pakistan has experienced a surge in militant attacks in recent years, many claimed by the TTP and the Baloch Liberation Army. The TTP is separate from but allied with the Afghan Taliban.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — OpenAI has disclosed its artificial intelligence models have interacted with U.S. government websites in unexpected ways. The AI giant says its models accessed public information on sites like SEC.gov and the U.S. Census Bureau. OpenAI says it has not found any misuse of credentials or data breaches. A spokesperson says the lab is reviewing what it calls misaligned model activity, where AI behaves unexpectedly. Most activity involved routine research tasks. An independent investigation found a failed hacking attempt on a Department of Education website. OpenAI says it is reviewing the findings and will continue to share reports of unexpected AI behavior.