WJPA News

Pennsylvania State Police have identified a serial killer responsible for two murders in Washington County in the 1970s, and authorities say there could be more victims.  DNA evidence has helped bring answers to the two cold cases, identifying James Richard Clark Sr. as the suspect. Clark, however, died on July 17, 2023, at the age of 66.  More than five decades ago, Susan Rush was 21, and Brenda Ritter was 18. Both were raped and murdered.  Rush, of Washington, disappeared in 1976 after leaving a local shopping mall. She was scheduled to meet family members at a church for a Thanksgiving Eve dinner but never arrived at the services or her home.  On Nov. 25, her brother found her locked car parked along North Avenue in Washington with the driver’s side window open one inch. Rush was found dead inside. She had been sexually assaulted and strangled.  Six months after Rush was killed, a second homicide occurred in the county. Ritter was last seen leaving her boyfriend’s home in Chartiers Township on May 18, 1977. The next morning, her abandoned vehicle was located along Rankin Road in South Strabane Township. A State Police helicopter located her body on a hillside not far from her car, and her clothing was found nearby.  Ritter was also sexually assaulted and strangled to death. Early leads in her case similarly yielded no results until investigators submitted evidence from the Ritter homicide to a crime lab in late 2008 to create an offender profile, but the profile produced no matches until state police received grant funding for cold-case DNA testing in May 2022 and completed further testing three years later.  State police say they believe there may be more victims as Clark was employed at the time, as a long haul truck driver.

Harrisburg, PA – The Pennsylvania Department of Health (DOH) today confirmed that an unvaccinated resident of Jefferson County tested positive for measles and has died.   This is the sixth confirmed measles-associated death in Pennsylvania. The death was reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and added to Pennsylvania’s measles dashboard. The number of confirmed measles cases stands at 1,467 across 45 counties so far in 2026.  To protect the privacy of the individual and their family, DOH will not release any additional details that could personally identify them. DOH is bound by laws that limit what can be shared publicly, and families deserve the dignity to mourn in private. DOH continues to lead Pennsylvania’s robust response to the ongoing measles outbreak and is making the most up-to-date information on cases, hospitalizations, and deaths available on its measles dashboard.  While daily numbers fluctuate, tracking these trends provides Pennsylvanians and health care providers with visibility into community transmission across the Commonwealth and helps inform DOH’s ongoing robust response.  Key updates include thirty-four newly confirmed cases since November 2nd in forty-five counties.  Total hospitalizations are now at two-hundred and eighty-three and deaths now stand at six.

CRANBERRY, Pa. — After Tuesday’s election, Democrats in Pennsylvania will hold the Governor’s Office, State House, and State Senate. “We now have a responsibility to govern and govern responsibly with this new trifecta, and that is exactly what we will do,” Gov. Josh Shapiro said Wednesday.  He announced some things he wants to get done now that he has full party control in the legislature, including funding mass transit and raising the minimum wage. Despite the big wins for Democrats across the state and country, southwestern Pennsylvania Republicans performed very well, with only one GOP-controlled state house seat flipping blue, and one Democratic seat returning to GOP control.

TAYIBE, Israel (AP) — A veteran Arab lawmaker in Israel says his bloc is willing to break with decades of precedent and join forces with Jewish-led parties in a shared bid to end Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s long rule. But any such partnership could be politically fraught for both sides. For the Joint List, it would mean backing a government unlikely to end Israel’s wars or curb settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank. For Netanyahu’s opponents, it would mean aligning with parties that not only criticize Israeli policies, but reject its identity as a Jewish state.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump faces a tough decision on his unpopular war against Iran after the Republican Party’s midterm losses. He had hinted at escalating the conflict if Tehran didn’t meet his terms by Election Day. Now with the election behind him, Trump must decide whether to escalate, maintain the status quo or find a pathway out of the conflict. Despite acknowledging the political cost, Trump on Wednesday said his decision to launch the conflict was the right one. The war has caused significant casualties and had an economic impact around the globe. The AP Voter Poll found about one-third of voters said the war in Iran was “crucial” to shaping how they voted for Congress.