September 16, 2026 2:38 am
During the agenda meeting for Washington County Commissioners, County Solicitor Gary Sweat alerted officials of closer monitoring of county data information. Sweat stated that pension office staff were able to access pension information from another county. Immediately, the organization responsible for county pension information, Pension Technology Group was notified. They are currently monitoring and working on the internal issue. In a second instance, the county C-Track system was compromised. The C-Track system monitors all of the information regarding the court system, not only in Washington County but throughout the Commonwealth. Thompson-Reuters is the organization that performs that service and they alerted the county to a data breach within their system. According to Sweat, both companies have been notified to keep the county informed of any changes in status. He says that he has been assured by both companies that no sensitive information for employees or citizens has been accessed. Sweat credits the county information technology staff for their efforts in these instances. Sweat says IT security has been significantly improved since a 2024 data breach to the county that held them hostage for several weeks.
September 16, 2026 4:41 am
North Strabane Township Supervisors will be finalizing a project that will hopefully keep car speeds down on two area roads and increase public safety. The DeMar Avenue and McDowell Lane Safety Device project will be voted on next week. The project is a traffic calming effort using flashing speed signs and pavement rumble strips to alert drivers that are travelling too fast on the roads. Supervisors are also developing a data center ordinance. Supervisors will look to alert the public on its availability to be reviewed and a public hearing will be scheduled. Supervisors will vote on the issues on September 22 at 7:00 pm in the municipal building.
September 16, 2026 4:39 am
Buffalo Township Supervisors are embarking on a project that has not been addressed in over 50 years. Supervisors are updating their Comprehensive Plan. The purpose of the plan is to guide township leaders in what the residents feel are priorities for the township over the next 10-20 years. Residents were mailed a survey with questions about the township’s future development. The survey is also available on line at the township’s website. Township Supervisor Randall Mounts says that feedback from the community will help them keep what residents want and make the improvements that they want. It will be a tool to guide governmental decisions and a demonstration to Pennsylvania officials to generate grant funding for possible infrastructure improvements. Terri Carroll is an engineer with Harshman, CE Group. They are assisting with developing the plan. She says that community input is vital to the process in proving to Pennsylvania officials that a project is a community priority, not a pet project for an individual. The township held a public meeting. Residents were asked for their input in several interactive displays. One asked if there were particular problems with a location and they were asked to mark the location with an adhesive dot. The most intriguing display was the Buffalo Bucks display. Residents were given $100,000 in Buffalo Bucks and were asked to divide the money among three priority projects from a list of 12 by inserting their “Bucks” into slots for projects such as roads, water and sewage, parks and recreation, business development and others. For those wishing to take the survey, the opportunity is still there. The plan will be developed and hopefully be ready for adoption in about 12 months.
September 16, 2026 2:41 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Pennsylvania officials are reporting a fourth measles-associated death. An 18-year-old from Mifflin County died from a severe neurological complication of the virus. None of the four who died were vaccinated. The U.S. is experiencing its worst measles year since 1991, with seven deaths in two years. Pennsylvania’s outbreak includes nearly 700 illnesses across 38 counties. These are the first measles-associated deaths in the state in 35 years. Health officials emphasize the importance of the MMR vaccine to prevent outbreaks. International health officials will meet in November to assess the U.S. and Mexico’s measles-free status.
September 16, 2026 2:19 am
CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP, Pa. — A Western Pennsylvania man accused of buying a gun and ammunition with intent to commit terrorism was arrested outside of a local hotel over the weekend. Federal agents arrested Jonathan Kramer, 21, of Valencia, Butler County, on Saturday in Cranberry Township. After Kramer was released from a juvenile detention facility in March of this year, someone submitted an anonymous online tip to the FBI, saying Kramer was ordering “mysterious” packages and “talking to his friends from before” his juvenile adjudication. Authorities said they confirmed he had been using an online persona who claimed affiliation with ISIS. He allegedly offered to share explosive manuals with others and expressed his intent to prepare for his “mission” and that he was just missing a “weapon.” The FBI executed search warrants on Kramer’s person, his hotel room and his home. According to court documents, agents seized a semiautomatic rifle, five rifle magazines (two loaded and the other three each offering a 30-round capacity), a rifle bipod and scope, a total of 190 rounds of rifle ammunition, an entrenchment tool, a prayer rug, pepper spray, and approximately 30 knives, along with a handwritten note stating “DoNt look For me[.] IDK what I did buT I cant live In constant Fear[.]”
September 16, 2026 4:45 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Officials say a news helicopter for NBC and Telemundo 52 crashed in Los Angeles and killed at least three people. NBC4 Los Angeles anchor Colleen Williams confirmed during live broadcasts Tuesday that the station’s chopper went down just before 7 p.m. She identified two people on the helicopter who were killed as reporter Eliana Moreno and pilot George Marciniw. An official says one person outside in a parking lot was killed. The helicopter was covering a fatal bus accident. Officials say two people were killed and six others were injured after an SUV crashed into a city bus. Photos and videos online showed around half an SUV lodged into the side of an MTA bus.
September 16, 2026 2:42 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The board of the Kennedy Center has voted to close the facility over financial issues and a dispute over putting President Donald Trump’s name on the iconic performing arts venue. That’s according to people familiar with the matter. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a private meeting. Prior to Tuesday’s board meeting, a federal judge blocked the Kennedy Center board from adding Trump’s name to the structure or grounds, saying it would violate an earlier ruling that his name was illegally added to the building. Trump says the Justice Department will appeal the judge’s ruling.
September 16, 2026 4:50 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Barely four months into the job, Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh is stuck between two strong but opposing forces: Financial markets that anticipate the central bank will raise interest rates, and President Donald Trump, who wants the Fed to cut them or leave them unchanged. Economists expect that on Wednesday, Warsh and his fellow policymakers will side with the markets. Warsh, many Fed-watchers say, has largely boxed himself into a rate hike after delivering a high-profile speech last month warning that inflation remains too far above the Fed’s 2% target and might require higher borrowing costs to bring it down.
September 16, 2026 4:57 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — FBI Director Kash Patel is defending the bureau’s loosening of hiring requirements regarding prostitution and bestiality, saying the changes were meant to enable victims of those acts to apply for employment without fear of automatic disqualification. The subject arose during a contentious Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in which Patel clashed with Democrats over his firing of agents who participated in investigations of President Donald Trump, a spate of media leak probes, and whether employees would be dispatched to the polls on Election Day in light of the bureau’s ongoing election-related investigations and Trump’s repeated and false claims about the existence of pervasive voter fraud.
September 16, 2026 4:58 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Democrats have blocked legislation to create a new regulatory framework for cryptocurrency. In doing so, they are stalling an industry-backed effort to place new guardrails around digital assets after demanding more limits on President Donald Trump’s investments. Tuesday’s vote was a pivotal election-year test for the $2.3 trillion cryptocurrency market and came as Trump has amassed significant crypto wealth while in office. While some Democrats are friendly toward the industry and support the idea of regulation, they have been adamant that the bill include strong ethics safeguards to prevent Trump and his family from enriching themselves in office.
