March 13, 2024 7:00 am
(WPXI) – Seven people,including a Washington County man, are facing charges for trespassing in the old Century III Mall in West Mifflin. West Mifflin police say the trespassers accessed the dilapidated building through a boarded-up door on Tuesday night. They were all taken into custody and transported to the Allegheny County Jail. 23 year old Jared Chambers of Canonsburg was among those charged with criminal trespass and criminal mischief. Officials say the property has become a public nuisance and a magnet for trespassers, and last week, the owners asked the court for 30 days to continue demolition plans for the property. A fire broke out in the blighted property last April and several people have been charged with trespassing there. In June, a teenager fell through the roof while filming a video.
March 13, 2024 2:20 am
Washington County District Attorney Jason Walsh on Tuesday announced criminal charges against a California man for allegedly setting fire to the California Manor apartment building on March 1. According to the criminal complaint, Christopher Grasty, 38 confessed to police that he intentionally started the fire in his apartment. According to a Pennsylvania State Police Fire Marshal report, the fire caused approximately $750,000 in damage and displaced all 25 residents of the building. Grasty is charged with multiple counts of arson, aggravated arson, reckless endangerment, causing a catastrophe, risking a catastrophe and criminal mischief.
March 13, 2024 2:42 am
Washington County District Attorney Jason Walsh announced Tuesday that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has denied the appeals of the sentences of two Pagan gang members. Matthew Vasquez, 35 of Monessen (pictured) and Joseph Olinsky, 50 of Somerset were convicted in February 2020 of the beating of Troy Harris. Harris was a member of a rival motorcycle gang and Vasquez and Olinsky attacked Harris in the Charleroi Slovak Club in April of 2019. Both men were sentenced to 20-40 years in prison on charges of aggravated assault, criminal conspiracy and simple assault. They were acquitted of more serious charges of attempted homicide and conspiracy.
March 12, 2024 1:23 am
The Washington County Commissioners have announced the hiring of a new Department of Human Services Director. John Tamiggi will begin work on March 18. Tamiggi is a lifelong resident of southwestern Pennsylvania. Most recently Tamiggi was the Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity. He received his doctorate from Point Park University where he also served as a professor. He will oversee a department that includes four agencies, three units and a housing and homeless coordinator.
March 13, 2024 4:57 am
CRESCENT, Pa. (AP) — Authorities say a massive explosion killed two people and destroyed a house in the Pittsburgh area near the Ohio River. Allegheny County emergency dispatchers say the blast in Crescent Township in the northwest Pittsburgh suburbs was reported shortly before 9 a.m. Tuesday. Aerial images from the scene show smoking ruins with the structure reduced to rubble and some large pieces lodged in trees above. The Crescent Township fire chief says a man and woman were found dead at the scene. The Allegheny County medical examiner’s office has identified the victims as 89 year old David Mitchell Jr. and 87 year old Helen Mitchell. The cause of the explosion is under investigation.
March 13, 2024 3:41 pm
SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is unveiling a plan to fight climate change. Shapiro announced Wednesday that he’ll back legislation to make power plant owners in the state pay for their greenhouse gas emissions. The plan also would require utilities to buy more electricity from renewable sources. The legislation comes under pressure from activists for more action to fight climate change in the natin’s third-biggest energy-producing state. It would make Pennsylvania the first major fossil fuel-producing state to adopt a carbon-pricing program. But it’s likely to draw fierce opposition from business interests and faces long odds in a Legislature protective of the natural gas industry.
March 13, 2024 5:00 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have clinched their parties’ presidential nominations with decisive victories in a slate of low-profile primaries, setting up a general election rematch that many voters do not want. The outcome of contests Tuesday in Georgia, Mississippi, Washington state and Hawaii was never in doubt. Neither Biden, a Democrat, nor Trump, a Republican, faced major opposition. But the magnitude of their wins gave each man the delegate majority he needed to claim his party’s nomination at the summertime national conventions. There is no longer any doubt that the fall election will feature a rematch between two flawed and unpopular presidents. It will almost certainly deepen the nation’s searing political and cultural divides.
March 13, 2024 5:02 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The release of a transcript of President Joe Biden’s interview with prosecutors investigating his handling of classified documents is not likely to alter preconceived notions about Biden. But it does offer a rare window into the profound and mundane realities of day-to-day life for the president. In conversations with investigators, Biden makes offhand remarks about working in his pajamas as vice president, laments over his oh-so messy garage at his house in Delaware and talks of juggling international crises while other matters intrude. Taken together, the comments illustrate the idiosyncrasies of a presidency and showcase a hallmark of Biden’s political career: storytelling.
March 13, 2024 5:01 am
(AP) – President Vladimir Putin says that Russia is ready to use nuclear weapons if there is a threat to Russian statehood, sovereignty, or independence. Speaking in an interview with Russian state television released early Wednesday, Putin said he hoped that the U.S. would avoid any escalation that could trigger a nuclear war, but emphasized that Russia’s nuclear forces are ready for it. Asked if he has ever considered using battlefield nuclear weapons in Ukraine, Putin responded that there has been no need for that. He also voiced confidence that Moscow will achieve its goals in Ukraine and held the door open for talks, emphasizing that any deal would require firm guarantees from the West.
March 13, 2024 1:53 pm
NEW YORK (AP) — Researchers have linked another kind of amoeba to nasal rinsing. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday published a report that for the first time connects Acanthamoeba infections to use of neti pots and other nasal rinsing devices. For years, scientists have known people can become infected with a different germ — a brain-eating amoeba — through the misuse of neti pots. Officials also are renewing their warning against using common tap water for nasal rinsing. The CDC recommends using boiled, sterile or distilled water. If tap water is used, it must be boiled first. (Photo: ABC)
