WJPA News

A twenty-year-old Chartiers-Houston graduate was  killed in a motorcycle accident Sunday night in North Strabane Township.  According to his family and the Waynesburg University Sports Information Office, Jesse Orbin Jr., suffered a severe brain injury when his motorcycle crashed in the area of 307 Linden Road.  He was flown to a Pittsburgh hospital where he later died.  Orbin was an outstanding wrestler at Chartiers-Houston High School and continued his education and athletic success at Waynesburg University.  A GoFundMe page has been set up to help his family with expenses.

Gas prices are 11 cents lower in Western Pennsylvania this week at $4.408 per gallon, according to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report.  The national average for a gallon of regular has been falling for three straight weeks, delivering some relief to drivers during the busy summer travel season. Since May 21, the national average has dropped from $4.56 to today’s average of $4.06 thanks to lower crude oil prices. After a deal was announced between the U.S. and Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, crude oil prices opened this morning at $80 per barrel. Pump prices remain at four-year highs, but the national average is currently far from the record set on June 11, 2022, of $5 per gallon. If the national average drops below $4 per gallon, it will be the first time since March 30^th.  According to new data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), gasoline demand increased last week from 8.59 million barrels per day to 8.73 million. Total domestic gasoline supply increased from 215 million barrels to 215.1 million. Gasoline production increased last week, averaging 9.7 million barrels per day.

MCMURRAY, Pa.  – Pennsylvania American Water announced today that it has satisfied all requirements of a Consent Order and Agreement (COA) issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for its Dilliner system in Greene County— marking a major milestone as the system returns to compliance for the first time in more than 12 years.  “This milestone marks one year since Pennsylvania American Water assumed ownership, and it’s already making a difference for our customers in Greene County,” said Justin Ladner, president of Pennsylvania American Water. “We’re proud of the progress we’ve made to address long-standing issues and remain committed to delivering safe, reliable water every day.”  In November 2023, an emergency order was issued, followed by a February 2024 Commonwealth Court order that appointed Pennsylvania American Water as receiver to stabilize operations and restore safe, reliable service. The company then took ownership of the system in April 2025.

WHITE TOWNSHIP, Pa. — The National Weather Service spent time Monday afternoon surveying damage left behind in White Township, Beaver County. It’s less than 10 miles from a confirmed tornado on Cannelton Road in Darlington. “We saw the skies get dark very quickly. It wasn’t even raining and the wind was whipping around. You kind of knew something was going to happen,” said Maura Watterson, who lives nearby in Patterson Township. The tornado on Cannelton Road was the second tornado from a storm that also produced a tornado in Salem, Ohio.  Alicia Miller, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh, said the path of that storm continued toward White Township. Right now, they’re trying to figure out if it also caused a tornado there.  “The one thing that we’re looking for is structural damage,” Miller said. “Also, whether there’s been damage to trees, power lines, and then what’s the significance of that damage? That helps us determine what the speed rating is, and also kind of gives us an idea of whether it was tornadic or not.”

EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France (AP) — Leaders at the Group of Seven summit of major industrialized nations face a packed agenda on Tuesday. The agenda includes ending the war in Ukraine and addressing the Middle East crisis. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will be in attendance at the invitation of host France. The Ukraine talks come on the heels of U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of an agreement to end the 3 1/2-month-old U.S. war against Iran. In recent weeks, the Iran conflict has overshadowed the war in Ukraine that Russian President Vladimir Putin launched more than four years ago.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans on Capitol Hill say they need more information about the agreement between the United States and Iran announced Sunday by President Donald Trump. Some are expressing skepticism as they ask the White House for details. The agreement is set for a ceremonial signing Friday in Geneva. It is centered around reopening the Strait of Hormuz and lifting the United States’ naval blockade in the region. But Senate Republicans and Democrats in Washington on Monday said there were still many unanswered questions about the deal and they need information before it is finalized.

NEW YORK (AP) — People around the world may be wondering how soon prices will drop for gasoline, groceries, flights and other items that got more expensive during the Iran war. The answer from experts after the U.S. and Iran announced a tentative deal to end the conflict is: not that soon. Economists and industry analysts say that even after oil starts flowing again from the Middle East, it could take a while for the war’s effects on consumer prices to recede. That’s because the fighting disrupted not only fuel supplies but also the supply chains for fertilizer, food and even footwear. Experts say that as long as business costs are elevated, customer prices are likely to be too.

NEW Y0RK (AP) — Fox Corp. is buying streaming platform Roku in a cash-and-stock deal valued at approximately $22 billion. The deal will give Fox access to the Roku Channel, first-party data and more than 100 million global streaming households. Fox is a media giant that includes sports, news and entertainment content as well as Tubi.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The U.S. Air Force says eight people aboard a B-52 bomber that crashed shortly after takeoff at a military base in Southern California’s Mojave Desert are dead. Officials said Monday that emergency crews responded after the aircraft went down around 11:20 a.m. at Edwards Air Force Base north of Los Angeles. The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is a long-range bomber that entered service in 1955. Designed to carry both conventional and nuclear weapons, it has been used in conflicts involving the U.S. military from Vietnam to Iran.