WJPA News

Students in the Monessen School District are scheduled to return to in-person classes within the coming week, but parents are raising safety concerns following months of remote learning caused by a mold discovery.  The district discovered mold inside its facility over the summer, forcing several months of virtual instruction for some students.  Although administrators say the issue has been resolved, families argue board members have ignored their concerns, questioning the remediation firms hired by the district and alleging a lack of transparency.   Monessen School District Superintendent Robert Motte addressed the parents during a recent school board meeting.  “Parents are guardians. They want clear and reliable information about the environment in which their children learn,” Motte said. “That’s not only understandable, it’s something we owe you.”  Several parents noted their children may transition to remote education.

North Franklin Township Supervisors will be advertising their proposed budget for 2027 and it will not be raising taxes. Supervisor Chairman Bob Sabot says the budget is approximately $2.1 million and is balanced. Sabot says that they will be spending between $400,000 and $500,000 on roads. The township is keeping its options open on infrastructure improvements and improvements along the Waterfront Lake Park. When asked about partnering with Washington City Police for coverage, Sabot said that a substantial tax increase would have been necessary. He said that Washington wanted to go all in with coverage by hiring four new officers. Sabot said that supervisors felt that fewer officers would have been able to provide adequate coverage. Sabot reminded residents that the last tax increase came in 2018. He also reminded residents of the 1.25 mill tax decrease implemented in 2021. The budget will be formally adopted in December.

Over several months, there have been eleven conditional use hearings for a proposed data center at Starpointe Business Park in Hanover Township. Prime Data Centers, LLC, is proposing the development, which would consist of seven buildings and a power generation facility. Even after 33 hours’ worth of hearings, there is no end in sight. Kate Nolan Bryden, the senior vice president of development, thought the process would conclude in June, but she is grateful that the supervisors have been patient while listening to Prime’s witnesses. Solicitor Dennis Makel does not expect the hearings to conclude until sometime in January. Makel says the township has allowed a lot of cross-examination by the objectors, and there has been a lot of leeway. Resident Kerri Hageter appreciates that there is no time limit. Hageter believes that everyone deserves to be heard. The hearing will continue tonight, November 18, and December 9 at 6:00 PM at the Hanover Township Fire Department Hall.

The holiday season is fast approaching and in an effort to keep motorists safe, officials from the Shapiro Administration and three state police units gathered at the Interstate 70 East Welcome Center in Claysville to deliver their holiday safety message. PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll said that the Operation Safe Holiday campaign is underway and he spoke about two state police enforcement efforts over the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. Currently underway is the Click It Or Ticket campaign reminding drivers to wear seatbelts. The Holiday Season Impaired Driving Campaign will begin on November 25 and run through January 1. Jeremy Barni is the Commander of Troop B of the Pennsylvania State Police. He said that police will be out enforcing actions against impaired driving, enforcing speed laws and seat belt and cell phone regulations. According to Pennsylvania State Police, they investigated 1183 accidents that produced 186 injuries and 6 deaths over the 2025 Thanksgiving holiday. Carroll and Barni were joined by law enforcement officials from West Virginia and Ohio indicating that they too are enacting police patrols to provide safe holiday travel. All four officials preached the same call, buckle up, don’t drink and drive, put down cell phones, and obey all traffic and speed laws.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House has issued a warning to Democrats over their planned probes into the Trump administration. It’s going as far as claiming that such investigations, which are a standard oversight function of Congress, may amount to “blatant criminality.” White House counsel Will Scharf issued the warning in a letter dated Monday to Rep. Robert Garcia, top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee. Garcia most likely would chair the powerful panel in the new Democratic-controlled Congress. Garcia said in response to the letter that “it appears Donald Trump has something to hide” and stressed that Congress’s investigative powers do not need the “permission of the White House.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House has turned aside a resolution to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The vote Tuesday halted an effort to remove Hegseth as Pentagon chief for his conduct in office and his handling of the war in Iran. The vote came as Republicans grapple with the fallout from sweeping midterm losses that some in the party have blamed on the war in Iran and the resulting surge in gas prices. But after President Donald Trump signaled strong support for Hegseth, GOP lawmakers largely stood by the secretary. They rejected the impeachment effort led by Kentucky Republican Thomas Massie and backed by Democrats.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans have reelected South Dakota Sen. John Thune as their leader. The vote Tuesday came after a tense day of discussions about the party’s steep losses in the midterm elections that cost them their majority. Thune was always expected to prevail, as he is popular with his GOP colleagues and was running unopposed. But Senate Republicans vented their frustrations in three separate meetings Tuesday after an election wipeout that cost them at least seven Senate seats. Republicans were also pushing Thune to stay in session around the clock in the coming weeks to push through war spending and other party priorities before they lose power in January.

A shareholder has sued Nvidia and CEO Jensen Huang, accusing them of deceiving investors about Huang’s affair with a purported Chinese spy. The lawsuit, filed Monday, claims the affair threatens national security. President Donald Trump said the FBI is investigating the matter, which Huang has admitted to and apologized for. Concerns have arisen that Beijing may be using the affair to access Nvidia microchips, crucial for AI development but restricted from export to China. The complaint, filed in California, alleges Nvidia misled investors about the affair’s impact. Nvidia did not immediately comment. Shares fell about 5.5% on Tuesday.

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Russia and Ukraine have agreed to a large prisoner exchange during U.S.-mediated talks. However, no major breakthroughs were announced in efforts to end the war that began nearly five years ago. The two-day session in Abu Dhabi was the first meeting in nine months. U.S. officials are determined to revive peace efforts, with envoys set to meet with the Russian and Ukrainian presidents. Fighting continues on the front line, with both countries using long-range missiles and drones. Ukrainian officials say three people were killed and 11 were injured after Russia launched a daytime attack on a market in the southern Odesa region.

(AP) – Stacy Keach, known for his role as Mike Hammer on TV and work onstage, has died at 85. His wife said in a statement that he died at home in Poland on Thursday after battling a serious heart condition. Keach was a renowned stage actor, celebrated for his Shakespearean roles and diverse performances. His career faced a major setback in 1984 when he was imprisoned for attempting to smuggle cocaine into Britain. Despite this, he returned to acting and continued to take on varied roles. One of his most recent roles was as an embittered father in last year’s “Jay Kelly.”  (Photo:  AP)