WJPA News

WASHINGTON (AP) — In Pennsylvania, some U.S. House seats currently held by Republicans are being closely watched for their potential to turn blue. In three of those races, President Donald Trump outperformed the Republican House winners in the 2024 election, a warning sign that without his name on the ballot, incumbents now seeking reelection may struggle to generate the Republican turnout needed to stay in office. Democrats need to win three more seats in the midterm elections than they did in 2024 to take the majority back from Republicans.

Washington County Elections Director Melanie Ostrander says that her office is ready to take on Election Day. Ostrander says that because of the prediction of nice weather for Election Day, she anticipates that turnout will be in the range of 50%. She says that 19,461 mail in ballots have been sent, 16,334 have been returned. Ostrander reminds mail in voters that ballots must be returned to her office by 8:00 PM on Election Day. She stressed that postmarks do not count as the ballot being timely. Because of the current political climate, Ostrander says that if a voter feels like they are being intimidated, they are to report the harassment to the precinct’s judge of elections. They have been instructed on the proper steps to rectify that situation. Polls open at 7:00 a.m. and close at 8:00 p.m. 

It is budget season and municipalities are diligently preparing their spending plans for 2027. The City of Washington is delivering good news to its residents. There will be no tax increase in 2027. Councilman Ken Westcott is Council’s Director of Accounts and Finance and he delivered that good news at the City’s agenda setting meeting for November. The spending plan is for nearly $17.3 million dollars. That is an increase in spending of nearly two million dollars. The budget is balanced and comes with a nearly $300,000 carryover from last year. Westcott credits refinancing decisions that saved the city money to invest in certificates of deposit and other investment vehicles. The city saved $200,000 in overtime costs from the fire department and pension subsidies decreased by $300,000. Westcott says the paving program will be the big ticket spending item next year and council will continue to study the possibility of a public safety building for police and fire departments. The budget will be formally adopted in December.

A Fallowfield Township man, who is accused of exchanging graphic nude videos and photos with a juvenile will face trial. Aaron White, 30 is accused of corresponding with a 15 year old Peters Township male over the social apps Snapchat and Grindr. In White’s preliminary hearing, investigators say they found graphic messages exchanged between White and the juvenile while they were investigating the juvenile’s mobile phone in connection with the sextortion case investigation of Zachary Meyers in late 2025. Police said that White is not a subject in the sextortion case. Investigators detailed the pictures and videos between phone text messages and conversations held on Grindr and Snapchat. White’s attorney Gary Gerson confirmed that White believed that he was talking to an adult on Grindr because usage requirements state participants must be at least 18 years of age. He also confirmed that the juvenile made the first advances in the conversations. All charges against White were held for court. White faces charges of depicting a sex acts on film or video using a computer, child sexual abuse material, contact with a minor involving sexual abuse and others. He will be arraigned on December 29.

Canonsburg Borough Council hosted a public hearing Monday night regarding an amendment to a zoning ordinance. The amendment would permit non-commercial keeping of chickens within the Borough. The hearing lasted less than five minutes, and there were no public comments. Council President Eric Chandler says the individuals who wanted to have chickens were happy with the ordinance amendment, so he did not expect a large turnout at the hearing. Those who want to keep chickens within the Borough will have to follow some rules. There will be certain setbacks, a limit on the number of chickens a person is allowed, and cleanliness requirements. Council will vote on the ordinance amendment during their regular voting meeting on Monday, November 9.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says the U.S. will stop providing $4 billion in aid each year to Israel in 2027 but will sell arms to its closest ally in the Middle East. The Republican president told Fox News Channel during a phone call Tuesday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had approached him about the idea and that they’ve been talking about it for a couple of years. Trump says Israel doesn’t need the aid and it’s a lot of money for the U.S. to spend. But Trump also says U.S. aid to Israel has become a Democratic talking point for candidates such as Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed. Netanyahu’s office hasn’t commented.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The final day of voting in this year’s midterm elections arrives against a backdrop of uncertainty after a year in which President Donald Trump has tried to interfere in how states run their elections and sown doubts about the outcome should Republicans lose. Millions of Americans already have cast their ballots ahead of Tuesday, with early voting turnout on pace to eclipse that of the last midterm elections two years ago. In contrast to the president’s continued rhetoric about election cheating, voting so far has unfolded with relatively few problems.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has rejected a push for California to set aside thousands of mail ballots from people President Donald Trump’s administration claims are noncitizens. The decision that comes on the eve of the pivotal midterm elections. The high court refused Monday to intervene in a case involving 20,000 people the Republican administration flagged as likely noncitizens on the largely Democratic state’s voter rolls, even as years of evidence has shown voting by noncitizens is rare. It was the latest in a flurry of election-related litigation the day before the midterm elections, which will decide control of Congress for the last two years of Trump’s second term.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump stood silently while triumphant music played as he held up a poster showing an image of the algae-clogged pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial. It was the final moment of his last big speech before Election Day, far away from the campaign trail where Republicans were trying Monday to make their case to voters to hang onto control of Congress. The president’s decision to spend the day before the pivotal midterms showing off his renovations in the nation’s capital instead of barnstorming around the country was a puzzling way to pitch America on keeping his party in power. He said he has more such major projects to come.

The victims of a Sunday plane crash in Florida included a 20-year-old woman who got her pilot’s license while still in high school and a technology entrepreneur and his family. Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras was among nine people who died in the crash near West Palm Beach. Authorities say there were no survivors. Filgueiras’ mother says her daughter was the copilot flying a Learjet 60 from Austin, Texas, to the Bahamas. Filgueiras earned her license while in high school. The crash also killed Adam Robinson, his wife and their two children. Robinson was founder of Retention.com.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The death toll from a Russian attack in southern Ukraine has risen to 29, with 48 people still missing. People had gathered to receive humanitarian aid when the attack occurred. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday that Russia launched 289 attack drones, 17 ballistic missiles and 59 cruise missiles overnight across nine regions. He noted the barrage coincided with U.S. elections. The attack Monday in a village in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region targeted a school building and a nearby shelter. In Kharkiv, a combined missile and drone attack injured at least 62 people. In the Dnipro area, a Russian attack killed one person and wounded 17. Rescue efforts are ongoing.