WJPA News

A Washington County jail guard is facing charges after investigators say he sent explicit images of himself to a teenage girl from Union Township earlier this year.  Authorities say 27-year-old Curtis Gardner Jr. of Canton Township was arrested earlier this week on felony charges of Disseminating Sexual Materials to a Minor and Unlawful Contact with a Minor.  According to the report, Gardner sent a video of his genitals using a social media app.  One of those photos reportedly showed him wearing his jail uniform. Investigators say they were notified after the girl went to a career day fair at her school and she saw a Jail corrections officer working a booth and told them about her Snapchat messages with a man named Curtis.  The corrections officer at the career fair then notified his supervisor. Monongahela Police and the Washington County District Attorney’s office then interviewed the girl in May. Gardner is reportedly jailed on $150,000 bond but it is unclear if he is being held at the Washington County Jail.  A preliminary hearing is set for Monday.

A new application to expand the Revolution Cryogenic Gas Processing Plant in Smith Township brought the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to town. The DEP held a public hearing on an Air Quality Plan Approval, submitted by ETC Northeast Pipeline, LLC, that would add to the Revolution Plant raising its gas production from 200 million cubic feet per day to 500 million cubic feet per day. The plant is located in an Environmental Justice Area. That is defined as an area that is disproportionally burdened by pollution, climate change or health hazards. Representatives from affiliated businesses and gas production organizations characterized the expansion as good for the economy and national security. Detractors felt that the approval process was flawed because it did not take into account the cumulative affects of the existing gas production sites combined with the new site as they relate to air pollution. They questioned why the DEP accepts the company’s self reporting on emissions and why the DEP does not do all of the emissions monitoring. On Christmas Day 2022, the Revolution Plant sustained an explosion. According to ETC, the fire burned for 11 hours and caused an uncontrolled release of ethane and other gasses for 9.5 hours. Anyone wishing to add their comments are still able to do so until July 6. Comments may be submitted to abruscemi@pa.gov.

A Washington County woman faces animal cruelty charges after multiple dogs were found in deplorable conditions on a property along Five Points Road in Hanover Township.  Police say there was a kennel building on the property, and nineteen dogs were allegedly kept there in compromised air quality due to ammonia and a large amount of feces.  Police say fifteen Yorkshire terriers had very matted coats of hair, including one with an “almost turtle shell” made of caked feces on its body.  Of the nine terriers surrendered to the Washington Area Humane Society, seven reportedly had ear infections, and all were infected with an intestinal parasite.  Also, authorities say a dog that froze to death over the winter was still in the kennel, some six months after its death.  Court records show the kennel’s alleged owner, 42-year-old Kayla Marie Rigole, was charged with one count of aggravated cruelty to animals, nineteen counts of animal cruelty and thirty-six counts of animal neglect.  Rigole told police that she’d been unable to take care of the kennel due to personal health and maintenance issues, records say.

Former Trump administration national security adviser John Bolton has pleaded guilty to illegally retaining classified information, sealing a deal with federal prosecutors that could allow him to avoid a prison term. Bolton became an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump after serving in the Republican’s first administration and is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 28. Also, Vice President JD Vance said Thursday the Watergate scandal that brought down President Richard Nixon would have been a blip in today’s news cycle, and he drew parallels between Nixon and Trump — arguing that both were targeted by “deep state” forces.

MEXICO CITY (AP) — People in Venezuela and abroad are desperately searching for loved ones after two powerful earthquakes struck Wednesday evening. The 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude quakes caused widespread damage and were among the strongest to strike Venezuela in more than a century. The official death toll rose to around 235 late Thursday and the number of casualties is expected to climb. Thousands are without cell service. Social media and online registries have become crucial for finding missing persons, with independent registries reporting up to 40,000 missing. The United Nations has urged Venezuela to lift social media restrictions to aid the search. Many Venezuelans abroad are struggling to get information about their families and are feeling powerless and anxious.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy expanded at a solid and unexpected 2.1% annual pace from January through March, the Commerce Department reported Thursday in its final estimate of first-quarter growth. The growth in gross domestic product — the nation’s output of goods and services — marked a rebound from a sluggish 0.5% in the last three months of 2025 when a 43-day federal government shutdown weighed on the economy. Thursday’s numbers marked an upgrade from of Commerce’s previous estimate of 1.6% first-quarter growth. Business investment surged, probably reflecting an investment boom in artificial intelligence. But consumer spending fell sharply from fourth-quarter 2025 and from Commerce’s previous estimate.

MIAMI (AP) — The Supreme Court ’s decision allowing President Donald Trump’s administration to end temporary legal protections for Haitian and Syrian immigrants may affect people from many other countries. Thursday´s decision directly applies to about 350,000 Haitians and 6,000 Syrians but may be a sign of what´s in store for nearly 1.3 million people from 17 countries on Temporary Protected Status. Many have lived and worked in the United States for decades and have American children. Aside from Haitians, large numbers of beneficiaries are from Venezuela, El Salvador, Ukraine and Honduras.

The Russian Defense Ministry says it intercepted 660 Ukrainian drones overnight over 12 Russian regions, as well as the illegally annexed Crimea, the Azov and the Black Sea. It appears to be one of the biggest drone attacks on Russia and Crimea since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. In recent months, Ukraine has stepped up its aerial campaign against Russian military installations and energy facilities. Its success has caused fuel shortages and disrupted army supply lines, stalling Moscow’s war efforts after more than four years of fighting.

NEW YORK (AP) — David Clayton-Thomas, the lead singer of Blood, Sweat & Tears whose husky, high-strung tenor on “Spinning Wheel,” “And When I Die” and other hits helped make the so-called “brass rock” band among the most popular acts of the late 1960s, has died at age 84. He was a stocky, onetime street fighter and petty thief in Canada who briefly became a rock superstar, the front man of a nine-member group that sold millions of records and won two Grammys for its self-titled second album. Backed by horns, keyboards and percussion, his urgent shout was a signature voice of the era. A spokesman says Clayton-Thomas died Wednesday in Toronto.