WJPA News

PITTSBURGH — Be prepared for the dangerously cold weather. An Extreme Cold Warning is in effect through 11 a.m. Tuesday morning. Temperatures rise to the teens in the afternoon, but wind chill will stay below zero much of the day. 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. Stay warm and safe. The National Weather Service has also issued a Cold Weather Advisory from 7 p.m Tuesday evening until 11 a.m Wednesday.  Many communities have declared states of emergency, including the city of Washington, Charleroi and South Strabane Township. The City of Washington has also announced that there will be no trash pick-up this week because of snow covered roads and alley condition.  Services will resume Monday.  Washington County has opened nearly two dozen warming centers.  For a complete listing, Click Here.

For the first time since 1963, Peters Township residents will have ambulance service from someone that is not VFW Post 764. In 2025, the VFW Ambulance Service notified the township that it is no longer able to provide service. That left the township with two options, absorb the current service into its realm of services or contract with an outside provider. Cost and staffing prevented the township from absorbing the service. Council awarded a five year contract to AHN Canonsburg to provide ambulance service. In December council directed staff to negotiate with UPMC Ambulance and Chair and AHN Canonsburg. According to Township Manager Paul Lauer, the decision tilted on contract terms. AHN Canonsburg said that they would provide two staffed ambulances, seven days a week 24 hours a day for the duration of the contract. UPMC Ambulance and Chair said they would provide the same for six months and then review the contract going forward. A second condition was positioning of ambulances. If both ambulances were out on calls, Ambulance and Chair said they would strive to position a third ambulance in the township. AHN Canonsburg said that they shall post a third ambulance in the township. The vote to approve AHN Canonsburg was 6-1 with councilman Gary Stiegel voting against. He is concerned that AHN seems to be losing customer areas and Ambulance and Chair is gaining customer areas. He says that maybe the township is missing something that the other municipalities are seeing. AHN Canonsburg will begin servicing Peters Township effective April 20, 2026.

Another drop in gas prices.  AAA says they are five-cents lower this week here in Western Pennsylvania.  The average now stands at $3.12 according to their East Central Gas Price Report.  Here in Washington our average is a penny lower at $3.11 per gallon.  As winter weather grips much of the nation, the national average for a gallon of regular unleaded has gone up six cents over the past week with the average at $2.88.  Even though the national average is higher this week, prices are still 24 cents cheaper than they were one year ago.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — President Donald Trump is heading to Iowa as the White House tries to focus on affordability ahead of the midterm elections despite fallout over the administration’s immigration crackdown. While there, Trump will visit a local business and deliver a speech at the Horizon Events Center in Clive. Tuesday’s trip also highlights energy policy as part of a plan to have Trump travel weekly before the elections. This visit comes amid the Trump administration’s handling of the shooting death of ICU nurse Alex Pretti in Minnesota. Republicans hope Trump’s visit will refocus attention on the tax bill, a key part of their campaign strategy.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is taking a more conciliatory approach with Democratic leaders in Minnesota. This change follows the second fatal shooting there by federal agents this month. The incident has raised doubts about the administration’s aggressive deportation tactics — including from some Republicans. On Monday, Trump spoke with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, saying they were now on a “similar wavelength.” This marks a sharp U-turn from Trump’s previous personal attacks on Walz. It’s not the first time Trump has initially taken a maximalist position only to later retreat. This month, he has backtracked on threats over tariffs and on military action against Iran.

Prominent Republicans and gun rights advocates helped elicit a White House turnabout this week after bristling over the administration’s characterization of Alex Pretti as responsible for his own death because he lawfully possessed a weapon. Pretti was the second person killed this month by a federal officer in Minneapolis. His death produced no clear shifts in U.S. gun politics or policies, even as President Donald Trump shuffles the lieutenants in charge of his militarized immigration crackdown. But important voices in Trump’s coalition have been criticizing inconsistencies in some Republicans’ Second Amendment stances since the killing.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says he is increasing tariffs on South Korean goods because the country’s national assembly has yet to approve the trade framework announced last year. Trump said on social media Monday that import taxes would be raised on autos, lumber and pharmaceutical drugs from South Korea with the rate on other goods going from 15% to 25%. The U.S. president previously imposed the tariffs by declaring an economic emergency and bypassing Congress, while South Korea needed legislative approval for the framework announced in July and affirmed during Trump’s October visit to the country. The threat was a reminder that the tariff drama unleashed last year by Trump is likely to be repeated again and again this year.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Activists say that at least 6,126 people were killed in Iran’s crackdown on nationwide protests and many more are still feared dead. The new figures Tuesday came from the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in multiple rounds of unrest in Iran. The group verifies each death with a network of activists on the ground in Iran. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the death toll given authorities cutting off the internet and disrupting calls into the Islamic Republic. Iran’s government has put the death toll at a far lower 3,117, saying 2,427 were civilians and security forces, and labeled the rest “terrorists.”