August 13, 2026 5:23 pm
If it is mid-August, the Washington County Agricultural Fair will be going on. This year the fair will have several attractions to compliment the traditional animal shows, baking contests and rides. According to Board Treasurer Joe McCloskey, a new addition to the popular rodeo event will be Women’s Bronc Riding. The demolition derby will take on a new look with a figure 8 travel pattern as opposed to the traditional oval travel path. And, monster trucks will be brought back after a brief hiatus. Kids will be able to watch the always popular High School Marching Band presentation followed by the school bus demolition derby. Wayne Hunnell is the board secretary, and he says improvements to the fairgrounds continue. This year attendees will see upgraded bathrooms and an addition that was added on to building 1. A new fence borders the race track and three new flagpoles were added to the memorial plaza. Trolley travel to the fair will go on for the 115th year. Jenine DeBor, Executive Director and CEO of the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum says that they will provide trolley service from the Eaton parking lot and museum parking lots to the fairgrounds for $5 per rider (kids 2 and under are free). Unlimited rides are available on day of purchase and that ticket entitles the rider to admission to the museum on the day of purchase. The fair kicks off on Saturday August 15 at 9:00 am and ends Saturday August 22. Admission is $15, tickets maybe purchased at the door or online.
August 13, 2026 1:22 pm
(AP) – A Powerball ticket sold in western Illinois has won a $1 billion jackpot. Lottery officials say the ticket that won the jackpot on Wednesday night was purchased at a Hy-Vee gas station in Quincy along the Missouri border. It’s not clear if the winner has come forward yet. The prize can be taken as a $1 billion annuity over 29 years or a lump sum of $450.5 million in cash. Most winners take the lump sum. This is the first jackpot win since May 2. The odds of winning the jackpot are one in 292 million. The Powerball jackpot now resets to $20 million for the next drawing on Saturday. (Photo: AP)
August 13, 2026 1:29 pm
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A company that operates a vast nationwide network of automated cameras that record the license plate numbers and other characteristics of all passing vehicles every day is making changes to its platform. The changes announced Thursday by Flock Safety are intended to quell privacy concerns and address documented abuses of its system by some members of law enforcement. They will make what were once optional guardrails mandatory by Jan. 1. Among them: All law enforcement customers will have to implement an audit tool that’s intended to flag abnormal search behavior. The company is increasingly under scrutiny from lawmakers from both parties, civil liberties advocates and citizens across the U.S. (Photo: AP)
August 13, 2026 4:09 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — The battle over the Kennedy Center’s future is escalating. President Donald Trump’s allies on the board voted on Thursday to add his name to the building’s facade so it would read “The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Restored and Renovated By President Donald J. Trump.” The plaza in front of the building would be named after Trump and most of the space at the venue would be closed for two years to allow for substantial renovations. But a federal judge had ruled in May that Trump’s name was added illegally to the building and the letter had to be removed. The judge also blocked a two-year closure set to take effect July 5.
August 12, 2026 8:50 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Wholesale inflation dropped last month as gas prices reversed some of their Iran war spike and other costs also cooled, a sign that consumer inflation could grind lower in the months ahead. The Labor Department’s producer price index — which captures inflation before it reaches consumers — rose 4.7% in July from a year ago, down from a much larger 5.5% increase in June. On a monthly basis, wholesale prices were unchanged from June to July, after they ticked down 0.1% the previous month.
August 13, 2026 9:44 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. applications for unemployment benefits rose last week, but layoffs remain at historically healthy levels. The Labor Department reported that 209,000 people filed jobless claims last week, up from a revised 200,000 the week before and higher than the 205,000 forecasters had expected. The four-week average of applications, which smooths out week-to-week-volatitlity, was unchanged at 199,000. Claims for jobless benefits are a proxy for layoffs, and they’ve been at a historically low range of around 200,000 to 230,000 a week for the past year, suggesting that Americans who have jobs enjoy unusual job security. The U.S. unemployment rate is low at 4.1%.
August 13, 2026 2:43 am
Due to persistent inclement weather and unsafe playing conditions, the championship game of the 2026 PONY League World Series at Lew Hays PONY Field in Washington has been cancelled. The championship game between Taichung City, Taiwan and Washington County, Pennsylvania, has been cancelled and will not be rescheduled. Organizers say they determined that the field was unplayable and out of an abundance of caution for the safety of the players and all involved, the game was called off. Abraham Key, President and CEO of PONY Baseball said that this is the first time in the seventy-five-year history of the league that they have had to make this decision. He offered apologies to all involved and said, “Sometimes Mother Nature does not cooperate.”
August 13, 2026 4:53 am
Nicole Lane says sheriff’s deputies kept her shackled to a hospital bed throughout six hours of unmedicated labor back in 2024, when she gave birth to her daughter. According to our news partners at WPXI, she is speaking out about what happened while she was pregnant and in labor after she was rushed from the Washington County Jail to Magee-Womens Hospital during what she says was a high-risk pregnancy. Lane is now suing Washington County, the Washington County Prison Board, several sheriff’s deputies and others. At the time, Lane was pregnant and incarcerated on a misdemeanor drug charge. She was released from jail, then rearrested for what she says was a probation violation involving an address discrepancy. She alleges deputies shackled one wrist and her opposite leg to the hospital bed. She says the restraints were removed only so she could receive an epidural, then put back on after she gave birth. Lane says the handcuffs remained on for the five days she spent in the hospital postpartum. Pennsylvania law says incarcerated women shall not be restrained during any stage of labor or any period of postpartum, unless there is a substantial risk of flight or security concerns. Jackie Perlow, an attorney with the Women’s Law Project, is representing Lane. She says those exceptions did not apply in this case. Washington County leaders told Channel 11 they cannot comment due to pending litigation.
August 12, 2026 4:54 am
A new law in Pennsylvania aims to resolve a long-standing legal battle over natural gas rights, but it might have sparked more complications. The dispute involves mineral rights beneath state game lands. The Proctor family trust claims ownership based on rights acquired over a century ago. The state Supreme Court sided with the Proctors in 2025, but the legislature reversed this decision last year. The law, Act 27, has drawn support from the natural gas industry, citing clarity concerns. The Proctors argue the law is unconstitutional and continue to fight in court. The outcome could impact large landowners and state funding.
August 13, 2026 5:42 pm
Harrisburg, PA – The Pennsylvania departments of Health and Education announced on Thursday that schools in southwestern Pennsylvania will receive $590,844 to continue providing free period products to their students. The funding is part of the $3 million allocated in the recently signed 2026-27 budget that will be distributed to more than 750 Pennsylvania school districts, intermediate units, career and technical centers, and brick-and-mortar charter schools. Building on the historic, first-time investment of $3 million in the 2024-25 budget, the Shapiro Administration has now invested a total of $9 million over three budgets to help ensure that girls can focus on their schoolwork and remain in the classroom. The funding enables schools to provide students with access to period products at no cost, in line with the Shapiro Administration’s work to improve health equity for 650,000 girls in Pennsylvania. All qualifying school entities in the state will receive funding proportional to the total number of students enrolled at a rate of $1.81 per student. Applications and reimbursement requests will not be required. Schools may use the funding for period product purchases made between July 1, 2026, and June 30, 2027. In our area, Washington County will receive $50,246; Greene County will utilize $8,379; and Fayette County schools will get $28,084.
