September 2, 2022 4:10 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania’s Republican nominee for governor is suing the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, contesting its legal ability to force him to answer questions about it. The lawsuit filed Thursday by Doug Mastriano contends that the committee lacks House Republican appointees, and doesn’t comply with House rules for conducting a compelled deposition of witnesses. A committee spokesperson declined comment. Mastriano’s lawyer has said his client is willing to voluntarily testify publicly before the panel. Mastriano helped organize efforts in Pennsylvania to submit alternate presidential electors beholden to former President Donald Trump and was seen outside the Capitol as pro-Trump demonstrators attacked police.
September 2, 2022 4:06 am
WASHINGTON COUNTY, Pa. — One person was taken to a hospital after a semitruck rollover accident in Washington County. The truck rolled over in the westbound lanes of Interstate 70 onto I-79 southbound. First responders were sent to the scene at around 10 p.m. The ramp was temporarily closed, but State Police say it has reopened.
September 1, 2022 9:42 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – As some children struggled to keep up with school in the early years of the COVID-19 pandemic, many states saw significant increases in the number of students held back to repeat grades. Twenty-four of the 28 states that provided data for the most recent academic year saw increases, according to an Associated Press analysis. Three states – South Carolina, West Virginia and Delaware – saw retention more than double. Experts have cautioned about risks to students’ social lives and academic futures, but many parents have asked for do-overs to help their children recover.
September 1, 2022 4:19 am
Local law enforcement agencies from suburban Southern California to rural North Carolina have been using an obscure cellphone tracking tool, at times without search warrants, that gives them the power to follow people’s movements months back in time, according to public records and internal emails obtained by The Associated Press. Police have used the “Fog Reveal” database to search hundreds of billions of records drawn from 250 million devices, and have used the data to assemble location analyses known among law enforcement as “patterns of life,” according to company records. Fog Reveal has been used since at least 2017 in criminal investigations ranging from the murder of a nurse in Arkansas to tracing the movements of a potential participant in the Jan. 6 insurrection.
September 1, 2022 4:17 am
DETROIT (AP) – About 2 in 10 Americans say they have had a personal experience with gun violence or a connection to someone who experienced gun violence. That’s according to a new poll that also found racial and ethnic disparities in how Americans experienced gun violence. The poll by the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that 23% of Americans overall reported a personal tie to gun violence. The poll also found that 54% of Black Americans and 27% of Hispanic Americans reported that they, a close friend or family member experienced gun violence.
September 1, 2022 4:16 am
MYKHAILO-KOTSYUBYNSKE, Ukraine (AP) – It’s the first day of school in Ukraine, but children won’t be sharing memories from their holidays. Their stories are of surviving war. For many, their last day of school was the day before the Feb. 24 Russian invasion of their country. After the first months of shock, 51% of schools in Ukraine, despite the risk, are reopening Thursday to in-person education, with an option to study online if the parents prefer. Attending school is one of the few things that can help children bring a sense of normality amid the war. But safety remains the priority. Schools that don’t have quick access to shelters or are located near active military zones will have online only study.
September 1, 2022 4:15 am
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) – A federal judge has appeared to give a boost to former President Donald Trump’s hopes for appointing an outside legal expert to review government records seized by the FBI. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon questioned the Justice Department’s arguments that Trump couldn’t make the request and that it would needlessly delay its investigation. But she did not rule on the request Thursday, saying she would do so later. Lawyers for Trump say the appointment of a special master is necessary to ensure an independent inspection of the documents seized by the FBI during the Aug. 8 search of Mar-a-Lago. The Justice Department has said an appointment is unwarranted because investigators have completed their review of potentially privileged records.
September 1, 2022 4:11 am
GREENE COUNTY, Pa. — (WPXI) – A Greene County man is in jail and accused of robbing the Circle K gas station earlier this week, and investigators are crediting the community with helping to identify the alleged suspect. He gained local notoriety on social media as the “pantyhose bandit.” ”The notable thing about the incident was he appeared to be wearing pantyhose over his face,” Cumberland Township Police Sgt. Eric Orr said. A post by the Cumberland Township Police Department asking for the public’s help in identifying an alleged gas station robber earlier his week produced a tip that led them right to their suspect. ”We received another tip on our Facebook page informing us he was at an address in Fayette county, in Uniontown,” Orr said. The man underneath the pantyhose, Kevin Elias, is in the Fayette County Prison. Just after 12:01 a.m. Monday, police said Elias robbed the Circle K in Carmichaels, demanded money and took off.
Elias got away with about $200. Elias was also wanted on an active warrant by state police in Uniontown for domestic violence charges from earlier this month.
September 1, 2022 4:05 am
WESTMORELAND COUNTY, Pa. — (WPXI) – The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Services held the first of two public hearings tonight at the Rostraver Fire Department and got an earful from concerned residents. “You sit before me in your suits. Have you been down in my storm drain? Have you taken a sample? Have you stopped at my business and seen me? The answer is no, you have not,” said John Lunt of Rostraver Township. One resident after another spoke out against Westmoreland Sanitary Landfill constructing and operating a leachate evaporation system. All who gave testimony opposed it. “I believe the people of the Mon Valley deserve and should demand clean air clean water and an environmentally safe place to live and thrive,” resident Lisa Fordanich said. According to the DEP, leachate is essentially liquid that comes into contact with waste material. The liquid, which is generated at all landfills, can pick up contamination that must be continually removed from the landfill and treated. WSL had transported the leachate out but now wants to treat it on sight. The citizens group, Protect Penn-Trafford, has been outspoken in fighting WSL’s proposal. It says the leachate would contaminate the air and put residents at risk. DEP officials say they are considering all public comments before making a final decision. The DEP is holding a virtual public hearing Thursday and is accepting public comment until Sept. 19.
September 1, 2022 2:41 am
(WPXI) – People who were at a T station in Allegheny County were evacuated after one of the cars caught fire. According to Pittsburgh Regional Transit, the South Hills Village light rail station was cleared after a rail car caught fire shortly after 2 p.m. PRT said the fire was caused by overhead power lines. PRT also said six people were on the car when the fire started. They all exited with no injuries. Light rail service was suspended from Washington Junction to South Hills Village station.
