July 12, 2025 11:31 am
A man from Donora has pled guilty in federal court to charges of fentanyl and cocaine trafficking, as well as the unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition. According to Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti, Tre Robert Goins, 31, pled guilty before Senior United States District Judge Joy Flowers. In May of 2024, Goins fled from a traffic stop in the city of Duquesne. He led authorities on a high-speed chase before crashing his car. Police recovered the drugs and loaded firearm. Goins faces an October 22nd sentencing and due to several prior felony convictions, he could face up to 20 years in prison, a fine of $1 million or both.
July 12, 2025 10:35 am
[AP] President Donald Trump on Saturday announced he’s levying tariffs of 30% against the European Union and Mexico. Trump announced the tariffs on two of the United States’ biggest trade partners in letters posted to his social media account. In his letter to Mexico’s leader, Trump acknowledged that the country has been helpful in stemming the flow of undocumented migrants and fentanyl into the United States. But he said the country has not done enough to stop North America from turning into a “Narco-Trafficking Playground.” Trump is in the midst of an announcement blitz of new tariffs with allies and foes alike, a bedrock of his 2024 campaign that he said would set the foundation for reviving a U.S. economy that he claims has been ripped off by other nations for decades. Trump in his letter to the European Union said that the U.S. trade deficit was a national security threat. “We have had years to discuss our Trading Relationship with The European Union, and we have concluded we must move away from these long-term, large, and persistent, Trade Deficits, engendered by your Tariff, and Non-Tariff, Policies, and Trade Barriers,” Trump wrote in the letter to the EU. “Our relationship has been, unfortunately, far from Reciprocal.” Trump is in the midst of an announcement blitz of new tariffs with allies and foes alike, a bedrock of his 2024 campaign that he said would set the foundation for reviving a U.S. economy that he claims has been ripped off by other nations for decades. With the reciprocal tariffs, Trump is effectively blowing up the rules governing world trade. For decades, the United States and most other countries abided by tariff rates set through a series of complex negotiations known as the Uruguay round. Countries could set their own tariffs – but under the “most favored nation” approach, they couldn’t charge one country more than they charged another. With Saturday’s letters, Trump has now issued tariff conditions on 24 countries and the 27-member European Union.
July 12, 2025 9:14 am
An investigation continues into what caused a frantic day without 911 service. Washington County’s 911 service outage began around 2:30 in the afternoon Friday, and was on and off throughout the day. The emergency service came back on around 10:30 Friday night. The service came back on just in time for residents of a home in Scenery Hill. 911 dispatchers tell us someone in the 2100 block of East National Pike called at 11:21 to report a fire. Crews arrived a home with smoke and flames. They were on the scene for three ours and the Fire Marshall was called in to investigate. There appears to be no injuries as a result of the house fire.
July 12, 2025 5:06 am
[Washington] Washington City Council approved the suspension of two police officers Thursday. According to the Observer-Reporter, the officers were only identified by their badge numbers. One was reportedly demoted and suspended without pay for 15 days, and the other received a one-day suspension without pay. Mayor JoJo Burgess said grievances have been filed on behalf of the officers and more information will follow.
July 12, 2025 5:04 am
NEW DELHI (AP) — A preliminary finding into last month’s Air India plane crash has suggested the aircraft’s fuel control switches were turned off, causing a loss of engine thrust shortly after takeoff. The report, issued by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, also indicated that both pilots were confused over the change to the switch setting. The report did not say how the switches could have flipped to the cutoff position. The June 12 crash occurred in India’s western Ahmedabad city when the plane struck a residential area shortly after takeoff. It killed at least 260 people, including 19 on the ground. Only one passenger survived the crash.
July 12, 2025 5:02 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, has spawned state-level DOGE initiatives as Republican governors and lawmakers aim to show that they’re in step. Critics say some of these initiatives are nothing new or duplicative, while some governors are using their DOGE vehicles to target welfare programs or diversity, equity and inclusion programs. The state initiatives have a markedly different character than what some say are Trump’s slash-and-burn approach. Steve Slivinski of the libertarian Cato Institute says much of what he’s seen is the same mundane stuff states routinely do to save money. Analysts at the pro-labor Economic Policy Institute say some governors and lawmakers are using DOGE agendas to consolidate power.
July 12, 2025 4:48 am
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — Wyoming’s first new coal mine in 50 years is said to be operating soon but it won’t rely on the fossil fuel to make money. Ramaco Resources plans to process the coal to extract rare earth elements it says are present in profitable quantities. Rare earths are a family of 17 metallic elements used in technologies like wind turbines, electric car batteries, and military targeting hardware. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and others attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday for the Brook Mine in northern Wyoming. China supplies almost 90% of the world’s rare earth elements, and the Trump administration is seeking to encourage more U.S. production.
July 12, 2025 4:45 am
[Observer-Reporter] Pittsburgh-base EQT Corporation, one of the largest natural gas production company in the United States, has closed its $1.8 billion acquisition of Olympus Energy of Southpointe. EQT closed the deal with its former rival earlier this month. Olympus owns more than 100,000 acres it uses for drilling and fracking. Most of it is in Allegheny and Westmoreland Counties. EQT has a large presence in Western Pennsylvania, including Fayette, Greene and of course Washington County. It also extends into eastern Ohio and the West Virginia panhandle. A spokesperson said “this transaction strengthens our position nationally and in our core operating area in Appalachia.”
July 12, 2025 4:15 am
WASHINGTON, Pa. — A second arrest has been made in connection with a deadly shooting near an elementary school in Washington. Police continue to investigate the death of Nasstylejah Wilkerson, now filing new charges against a man they say was always a person of interest. William Howell now faces homicide and conspiracy charges. According to WPXI-TV, Wilkerson was shot several times near John F. Kennedy Catholic Elementary School. He later died in a hospital. Wilkerson’s half-brother, Trevon McCrary, was arrested in May and charged with homicide in this case. Police believe he was the shooter that day. Both Howell and McCrary were taken into custody in Allegheny County. A witness told police she saw her neighbor’s car leaving the scene. That vehicle was later found abandoned at a grocery store parking lot in South Fayette Township. Surveillance video showed two men getting out and walking away. Detectives say Howell appears to have been the getaway driver in the shooting. The car belonged to a woman who had loaned it to McCrary. Court documents show Howell was on parole at the time, and his ankle monitor put him at the scene, and where the vehicle was abandoned. Howell is expected to be brought back to Washington next week to face these charges. Under Pennsylvania law, even if he only drove the getaway car, he could face the same penalties as the accused shooter.
July 11, 2025 11:44 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says the United States is selling weapons to its NATO allies in Europe so they can provide them to Ukraine as it struggles to fend off a recent escalation in Russia’s drone and missile attacks. Trump said in an NBC interview, “NATO is paying for those weapons, 100%.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday some of the U.S.-made weapons Ukraine is seeking are deployed with NATO allies in Europe. Rubio says those weapons could be transferred to Ukraine, with European countries buying replacements from the U.S. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says talks with the U.S. president have been “very constructive.”
