WJPA News

Two people were transported to area hospitals after separate crashes early Thursday morning.  Washington County 911 dispatchers say one person was transported by ambulance to UPMC Washington Hospital after a rollover crash on the Interstate 79 flyover to Interstate 70 westbound just after 4 a.m.  No other vehicles were involved.  Earlier, dispatchers say a motorcyclist was injured in a crash along Interstate 70 eastbound just after midnight. The unidentified victim was flown by medical helicopter to UPMC Presbyterian Hospital in Pittsburgh.  There is no word on their condition.

State Police made hundreds of DUI Arrests over the Easter holiday weekend. Troopers responded to 532 vehicle crashes. Six of those crashes were deadly and 42 were caused by impaired driving. Two of the deadly crashes were DUI-related. 268 people were arrested for DUI this year. Injuries caused by crashes were down this year. Last year, 95 people were hurt during the Easter holiday. This year, 91 people were hurt. Troopers handed out thousands of citations including 3,230 for speeding, 335 for failing to wear a seat belt and 40 for not securing children in safety seats.

HARRISBURG — Attorney General Dave Sunday announced that a pair of western Pennsylvania-based amusement companies pleaded guilty to felony corrupt organizations regarding the widespread distribution of hundreds of illegal video gaming devices.  The companies — Buffalo Skills Games, Inc. and J.J. Amusement, Inc. — agreed to dissolution and the forfeiture of $5 million in assets, as part of the plea resolution.  Investigators seized nearly 400 illegal gambling devices from more than 60 locations in several western Pennsylvania counties, including Washington County.  ”This resolution secures a multi-million-dollar forfeiture for the Commonwealth, while assuring the companies will cease to exist,” Attorney General Sunday said. “I commend our partners at the Pennsylvania State Police for helping disband a large-scale operation that involved slot machines essentially dressed up as skill games.”  The Pennsylvania State Police assisted the Office of Attorney General’s Gaming Enforcement and Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Sections in a series of 2024 seizures at bars, gas stations, and convenience stores in Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Cambria, Crawford, Indiana, Somerset, Venango, Erie, Washington, Armstrong, and Westmoreland counties.

HONOLULU (AP) — A Hawaii doctor who was accused of trying to kill his wife on a cliffside hike has been convicted of attempted manslaughter. Jurors reached their verdict against 47-year-old Gerhardt Konig Wednesday. He had been charged with attempted murder but was convicted on the lesser charge of attempted manslaughter based on extreme mental or emotional disturbance. It carries up to 20 years in prison. Konig’s attorney says he planned to appeal. Prosecutors argued Konig tried to kill Arielle Konig during a weekend trip to Honolulu for her birthday in March 2025. Konig testified he had hit his wife back in self-defense. Konig is a former doctor at UPMC, a University of Pittsburgh professor and resident of Mount Lebanon.

Officials say one person is dead and two others are missing after a parking garage under construction in Philadelphia collapsed. The mayor says a roof segment fell Wednesday and triggered a progressive collapse across the garage’s seven levels. Officials say crews rescued three people. They say one was critically injured and later died at a hospital. Two others were treated and released. The mayor says the city will investigate the collapse, but that all required permits were properly issued and inspections were up to date.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A key measure of inflation stayed high in February, before the war in Iran spiked gas prices, a sign that everyday costs were elevated even before the conflict began. Thursday’s report is largely a warm-up for the more important inflation data to be released Friday, when the government will publish the higher-profile consumer price index for March. The Friday report will be the first to reflect the impact of the gas price spike from the Iran war. Economists forecast it will show a big increase of 0.9% just in March from February, and a 3.4% gain from a year earlier.

HONG KONG (AP) — Oil prices are rising again and Asian stocks are trading mostly lower on skepticism over a fragile ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran. Brent crude, the international standard, was up more than 2% to above $97 a barrel. Markets in Japan, South Korea and China were all lower Thursday. U.S. futures were also down. Investors are closely watching whether a two-week ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran is already slipping after deadly Israeli strikes on Lebanon. Iran again closed the Strait of Hormuz in response to the attacks in Lebanon. Wall Street closed sharply higher Wednesday after announcement of the temporary ceasefire agreement.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Semiofficial news agencies in Iran have published a chart suggesting the country’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard mined the Strait of Hormuz during the war. The message may be intended to pressure the U.S. as uncertainty hangs over a days-old two-week ceasefire. Further negotiations are expected to be held in Pakistan. The shaky ceasefire has been largely holding between the U.S., Israel and Iran, although Tehran and Washington have offered vastly different explanations of the initial terms.

Pro-Iran groups have used artificial intelligence to create slick internet memes in English to try to shape the narrative during the war against the U.S. and Israel, and foster opposition to it. Analysts say the memes appear to be coming from groups linked to the government in Tehran and are part of a strategy of leveraging its limited resources to inflict damage on the U.S. even indirectly. That includes Iran’s use of threats to control the flow of traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. A ceasefire reached Wednesday raised hopes of halting hostilities, but many issues remained unresolved.

RAINELLE, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia resident Rebecca Michalski struggles with soaring electricity bills that exceed her income. Despite efforts to conserve energy, her February bill hit $940.08. Many West Virginians are facing similar challenges, with utility costs surpassing rents and mortgages. President Donald Trump promised to cut electricity bills, but prices have risen instead. Nationwide, electricity increased 4.8% in February over a year earlier, with natural gas prices up 10.9%. during the same period. Rising energy costs are driven by increased demand, extreme weather, and infrastructure upgrades. West Virginia’s reliance on coal-fired plants contributes to the problem, leaving residents burdened by high utility costs.

WASHINGTON (AP) — March has been the hottest month on record for the continental United States in 132 years, according to federal weather data. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reports that March’s average temperature was 50.85 degrees Fahrenheit, which is 9.35 degrees above the 20th-century norm. This surpasses the previous record set in March 2012. Climate Central meteorologist Shel Winkley highlights the unprecedented nature of this heat, noting the sheer volume of records broken. More than 19,800 daily temperature records were shattered, and 2,200 places set monthly highs. Experts predict that a brewing El Nino could intensify global warmth.