November 4, 2026 5:50 pm
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks soared after President Donald Trump’s party lost its sole control of Washington in the midterm elections. Stocks generally do well in the months following any midterm U.S. election, regardless of who wins, and the S&P 500 jumped 1.6% Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged more than 1,500 points, and the Nasdaq composite rose 1.4%. Stocks of hospital owners and retailers focused on lower-income Americans helped lead the widespread rally. Investors meanwhile see risks for Trump’s social-media company, the AI industry and Elon Musk’s businesses. Oil prices tumbled, which helped Treasury yields ease in the bond market.
November 4, 2026 1:46 pm
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.
November 4, 2026 5:46 pm
Police continue their investigation into the apparent murder-suicide of a father and his two young children. Authorities say they found the bodies of 42-year-old Patrick Lynch, eight-year-old James Lynch and six-year-old Caroline Lynch, lying at the bottom of a parking garage at Municipal Way in Mt. Lebanon Tuesday afternoon.
November 4, 2026 5:44 pm
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.
November 4, 2026 10:43 am
Democrats have won control of Congress in a widespread repudiation of President Donald Trump and the Republican Party. Democrats have flipped at least seven Senate seats in ruby-red states and battlegrounds alike: Kansas, Iowa, Texas, Ohio, Maine, North Carolina and South Carolina. In the House, Democrats flipped more than two dozen districts, some that voted for Trump by double digits in 2024. House Speaker Mike Johnson will not seek election as House Republican leader following the Democrats’ win. Trump faces a profoundly reshaped Washington for the last two years of his presidency. Democrats will have the power to block his legislative agenda, reject his appointees and investigate his administration.
November 4, 2026 12:00 am
Republican candidates for office in Washington County bucked the national trend by electing Republican candidates to all contested races. In the 46th Senate district, Senator Camera Bartolotta held off independent candidate Jodi Borello 56% to 44%. In House races, in the 48th district Tim O’Neal held off Rebecca MacTaggart 57%-43%. In the 50th district Ben Humble beat Lois Bower-Bjornson 65%-35%, in the 15th district it was Josh Kail over Sydney Speicher 62%-38%. In the remaining races involving Washington County, In the 39th district, Andrew Kuzma beat Dylan Altemara 53.5%-46.5%, in the 40th district, Natalie Mihalek held on to defeat Jon Lloyd 51.5%-48.5% and finally in the 46th district Jason Ortitay beat Mike Crossey 53%-47%. Results are unofficial until certified by the counties where the elections were held.
November 4, 2026 12:01 am
Voters in Hanover Township voted against adding two supervisors to their board of supervisors. In a ballot referendum question, residents were asked if they would want to add two supervisors to the township board of supervisors to bring the total number of supervisors to five. The measure to add supervisors failed with 52% of residents wishing to retain the current set up. Those residents in favor of expansion only had 48% of the vote. The final vote total was 482 no and 443 yes.
November 4, 2026 12:23 am
United States Representative for the Pennsylvania 14th Congressional District Guy Reschenthaler will retain his seat in Washington D.C. The Associated Press called the election in favor of Reschenthaler. As of 11:50 pm on Election Day, Reschenthaler led challenger Alan Bradstock 59%-41%. Reschenthaler will be seated for his fifth term in January of 2027.
November 4, 2026 2:29 am
Washington County Elections Director Melanie Ostrander tells WJPA News an incident at the Chartiers-3 Precinct during Tuesday’s election is under investigation but could not offer any other details at this time. Ostrander says another hearing before Common Pleas Court Judge Tracy McDonald is being planned. WJPA News reached out to Judge McDonald’s office and we were told additional information on that hearing has not been given out. According to reports, twenty-three people were affected by signature issues between 7 a.m. and 11 a.m. at Miraculous Medal Church in Meadowlands. According to several officials, a Judge of Elections was removed and a hearing was held before Judge McDonald. That hearing resulted in an order to keep the precinct open for two additional hours until 10 p.m. Attempts were made to reach those voters and have them return to the church to cast a provisional ballot.
November 4, 2026 5:00 am
Within minutes of polls closing at 8 p.m., both the Associated Press and NBC declared Josh Shapiro the winner in Pennsvlvania’s Governors race, defeating Republican state treasurer Stacy Garrity. Not even 4% of the votes had been counted when the race was called. In remarks at his watch party, Shapiro focused on “getting stuff done.” “Pennsylvania, with your vision and your votes, you declared that we are ready to keep getting stuff done and moving this Commonwealth forward. Tonight, you declared that we are ready to keep delivering results — and that we reject the chaos, cruelty, and corruption in Washington, D.C.,” Shapiro said. “Over the last four years, we’ve gotten a lot done — growing our economy, making our communities safer, investing in our kids’ education, and protecting our freedoms and democracy. I could not be more humbled and grateful for the opportunity to keep serving as your Governor — and I am ready to keep fighting and delivering for you every single day. Thank you, Pennsylvania.”
