March 15, 2024 4:48 am
NORTH STRABANE TOWNSHIP, Pa. — A man is in custody after an hours-long standoff with police in Washington County that shut down a main neighborhood road in North Strabane Township. Police were called to a home on Demar Boulevard around 3 p.m. Thursday after they said Edward Snarey Jr., 69, assaulted his 92-year-old mother. “They could see fresh wounds on her from the domestic and she was able to get out of the residence. In speaking to the actor, he would not speak to police anymore, closed the door, requested we get a warrant,” said Lt. Michael Miller, with North Strabane Police. When Snarey refused to come out of the home, police called in the SWAT team. Investigators say there were multiple complicating factors during the standoff. “We found out that there was also another female inside of the residence. Through our investigation we found out there were weapons inside of the house,” Miller explained. After multiple gas canisters were used by police, officers wheeled Snarey out of the home on a stretcher around 8 p.m. and put him in the back of an ambulance. Snarey is charged with simple assault, neglect of a care-dependent person, terroristic threats and disorderly conduct. (Photo: WPXI)
March 15, 2024 2:24 am
Washington County officials say the recent ransomware attack may have affected the security of some of the information that the county maintains, specifically personal information. The commissioners say they responded to a ransomware attack on January 24th and began working to secure the network, however, they eventually discovered that prior to their being notified of the attack, the cyber criminals took data from the county’s network that contained personally identifiable information. They say that although the review is ongoing, they are providing notification to the media and on its website, and once the review is complete, will provide written notice to individuals and will offer complimentary credit monitoring services where and when appropriate. So far, commissioners say they have not found any indication that data impacted by the hackers has been released or offered for sale on the dark web.
March 15, 2024 4:54 am
Severe storms with suspected tornadoes have damaged homes and businesses and killed at least three people in the central United States. Officials scrambled Friday morning to assess the extent of the destruction with the power out. The three reported deaths came in Logan County, Ohio. Thursday night’s storms also left trails of destruction in Kentucky, Indiana and Arkansas. Officials say there are “many, many significant injuries” after a suspected tornado in Winchester, Indiana. Search efforts are underway there. Officials say a tornado in Kentucky’s Trimble County damaged many structures. A suspected tornado struck the retirement community of Hot Springs Village in Arkansas.
March 15, 2024 4:56 am
FORT PIERCE, Fla. (AP) — A federal judge has rejected a bid by Donald Trump to throw out out his classified documents criminal case, and appeared skeptical during hours of arguments of a separate effort to scuttle the prosecution ahead of trial. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon issued a two-page order Thursday saying that though the Trump team had raised “various arguments warranting serious consideration,” a dismissal of charges was not merited. Cannon, who was nominated to the bench by Trump, is presiding over one of the four criminal cases against the 2024 presumptive Republican presidential nominee. This case involves records, some highly classified, he took with him from the White House.
March 15, 2024 4:59 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is opposing the planned sale of U.S. Steel to Nippon Steel of Japan, saying the U.S. needs “strong American steel companies powered by American steel workers.” The announcement Thursday comes as the Democratic president campaigns in the Midwest and could have ripples in his race against Republican Donald Trump. Nippon Steel announced in December it plans to buy the Pittsburgh-based steel producer for $14 billion in cash. That raised concerns within the federal government about what the transaction could mean for unionized workers, supply chains and U.S. national security. Nippon Steel promises no job losses and says it’s committed to keeping U.S. Steel’s Pittsburgh headquarters.
March 15, 2024 4:58 am
Voters are heading to the polls in Russia for a three-day presidential election that is all but certain to extend President Vladimir Putin’s rule by six more years after he stifled dissent. The election takes place against the backdrop of a ruthless crackdown that has crippled independent media and prominent rights groups and given Putin full control of the political system. It also comes as Moscow’s war in Ukraine enters its third year. Voters will be casting their ballots Friday through Sunday at polling stations across the vast country’s 11 time zones, as well as in illegally annexed regions of Ukraine.
March 15, 2024 4:51 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Jaromir Jagr is missing. Well, the bobbleheads of the former NHL star are anyway. The Pittsburgh Penguins say a shipment carrying bobbleheads of the franchise icon was stolen after arriving in California. The team had intended to give the bobbleheads away to fans during their home game against the San Jose Sharks. Instead, the club will give fans a voucher that will allow them to pick up the item at a later date. The team says it is “shocked” by the theft and is working with state and federal authorities in hopes of recovering the items.
March 14, 2024 5:44 pm
North Strabane Township Police say Demar Boulevard is closed due to an active police incident. SWAT has reportedly been called. This is a developing story. Check back for further details.
March 14, 2024 4:55 am
Houston Borough Council voted on Wednesday to disband their police department. Council just barely gathered a quorum with council members David Bails, Lisa Minney and Walt Nesic absent. The four remaining council members President Larry Scears, Vice President Nick Galbraith, Paul Hatalsky and Jon Taylor voted unanimously to enter into an Intergovernmental Cooperation Agreement with the Borough of Canonsburg. Canonsburg will now provide something to Houston that Scears says the borough never had, 24 hour a day, seven day a week police protection. The agreement is a three year deal that will cost Houston $337,000 over the life of the contract. It will release four part time police officers and Pennsylvania State Police from their duties. The contract will provide all customary police duties. Scears says that this is something that had to be done because of all of the businesses that are locating to the borough that are staying open to 11 or 12 at night. He pointed to the new Sheetz store that will be open for 24 hours a day. Scears says that public safety was the main driver in entering into the agreement. Canonsburg voted to approve the deal on Monday and have already begun their preparations to serve Houston. The contract is expected to begin on June 1, but if all parties agree, it could begin sooner.
March 13, 2024 2:25 am
The chair of the Local Share Account Committee, Jeff Kotula, says that, at the request of the Washington County Board of Commissioners, the Washington County Local Share Account Review Committee will convene virtually on Wednesday, March 20, 2024 at 9:00 a.m. to review the City Mission’s recent application to the Washington County Local Share Account program for a 50-bed Women’s Homeless Shelter. He says the committee will honor the commissioners’ recommendation to limit its review solely to the City Mission’s application. The public will be welcome to view the proceedings. The committee has also invited Diana Irey Vaughan, President & CEO of the City Mission, to attend the meeting and address the committee’s questions over the project’s readiness, availability of additional dollars to complete the shelter, and the alignment of the application with the county’s comprehensive plan. The committee has requested Ms. Irey Vaughan bring any necessary financial information or other documentation to support and clarify their application. Kotula says the LSA Review Committee reviewed 94 projects during this funding cycle and recommended 50 projects to the Washington County Board of Commissioners at a public meeting on February 6, 2024. Commissioners Sherman, Janis, and Maggi unanimously approved all 50 of the committee’s recommendations at their public meeting on February 15, 2024. The City Mission project was one of 44 projects not recommended by the committee nor approved by the commissioners at their respective public meetings. The commissioners have been disagreeing on the City Mission’s grant. Democratic Commissioner Larry Maggi said that the LSA Committee issued a list on January 30th, of recommended projects to be funded in 2024. Number 38 on the list was the homeless shelter with recommended funding of $500,000, but on February 6th, he says a new list was issued and the shelter project was removed. Maggi further stated that phone calls from the commissioner’s office were made to the LSA Committee indicating that the City Mission project be removed.
