June 18, 2022 2:43 am
Vice President Kamala Harris was in Homewood on Friday to talk about the White House’s Build Back Better Plan. She met with members of the community and other leaders to talk about how the plan could help replace lead water lines in the area. Harris was accompanied by Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Marcia Fudge and EPA Administrator Michael Regan. Harris told the gathering that Pittsburgh is a “model of what can and will happen around the country.”
June 18, 2022 2:43 am
WASHINGTON, Pa. — A local defense attorney who represented a current inmate at the Washington County Jail was charged with felony interception of communications charges on Thursday. Kimberly Ann Furmanek was appointed in March of 2021 as conflicts counsel to John Lazear who is in jail facing multiple drug and weapons charges dating back to 2020. Furmanek represented Lazear until December of 2021 when she withdrew as Lazear’s attorney and James Jeffries was appointed as Lazear’s counsel. In May of 2022 Furmanek and Lazear were still in communication and on a recorded telephone line in the jail. Furmanek contacted Jeffries on a separate phone and began discussing Lazear’s case with Lazear listening in on the recorded line. Furmanek never disclosed to Jeffries that the other line was in use and that Jeffries was being recorded on that other line. Later in May, Lazear contacted Jeffries’ office and spoke with his secretary and made threats to her over the phone. This call was recorded at the jail also. The Washington County District Attorney issued an arrest warrant for Furmanek on Tuesday. On Thursday she was charged with felony interception of communications and conspiracy to intercept communications. Lazear was charged with the same charges and an additional misdemeanor terroristic threats charge. The investigation into this case is ongoing. District Attorney Jason Walsh is looking into the possibility of an inappropriate relationship between Furmanek and Lazear. Lazear remains in the Washington County Jail. Furmanek is free on a $25,000 bond. Both will appear for preliminary hearings on June 29.
June 17, 2022 12:20 pm
(AP) – U.S. regulators have authorized the first COVID-19 shots for infants and preschoolers. That paves the way for vaccinations for children under 5 to begin next week. The Food and Drug Administration’s emergency use authorization Friday follows a unanimous recommendation by its advisory panel. The kid-sized shots are made by Moderna and Pfizer. The FDA’s action allows the companies to begin shipping millions of pre-ordered doses across the country. A final sign-off from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected this weekend. The nation’s vaccination campaign began with adults in late 2020, about a year into the coronavirus pandemic.
June 17, 2022 3:30 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden says the American people are “really, really down” after a tumultuous two years with the coronavirus pandemic, volatility in the economy and now surging gasoline prices that are hitting family budgets. But in an interview with The Associated Press, Biden says a recession is not inevitable and he bristles at claims by Republican lawmakers that last year’s COVID-19 aid plan was fully to blame for inflation reaching a 40-year high. He calls that argument “bizarre.” Biden adds that while people are feeling down, he sees reason for optimism with the 3.6% unemployment rate and America’s relative strength in the world.
June 17, 2022 3:28 am
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) – Montana’s largest city has restarted its water plant after shutting it down amid record flooding that’s caused widespread damage in Yellowstone National Park and surrounding communities. The city of Billings had asked residents to conserve water because it was down to a limited supply after shutting its treatment plant when the Yellowstone River hit record high levels. City officials said Thursday the plant was back to full capacity. But the slug of floodwater from rain and melting snow continued to move downstream. By Friday morning it was expected to reach Miles City in eastern Montana. Local authorities said there was no immediate risk to the city of more than 8,000 people.
June 17, 2022 3:28 am
BOSTON (AP) – A father has been acquitted of paying off a Georgetown University tennis coach to get his daughter into the school in the final trial linked to the college admissions bribery scandal. Amin Khoury’s case is the 57th stemming from the investigation to come a conclusion and is the only one to end in an acquittal at trial. Khoury was not found guilty Thursday on all counts. Khoury’s attorneys argued his daughter was properly admitted to the school. A defense attorney says the government’s case was seriously damaged by the testimony of the daughter. She told jurors she didn’t know anything about the payment.
June 17, 2022 3:27 am
SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) – Incarcerated lawyer Michael Avenatti has pleaded guilty to four counts of wire fraud and a tax-related charge in a Southern California federal court case accusing him of cheating his clients out of millions of dollars. Avenatti made the plea during a court hearing Thursday in Santa Ana. The 51-year-old lawyer said earlier this week that although he didn’t reach a deal with federal prosecutors he wanted to change his plea to be accountable and spare his family further embarrassment. Avenatti is serving five years in prison in a federal facility in California for convictions in two cases in New York.
June 17, 2022 3:26 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The chairman of the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection says the panel will ask Virginia Thomas for an interview. Thomas says she will comply. A conservative activist and the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, “Ginni” Thomas communicated with people in President Donald Trump’s orbit ahead of the attack and on the day of the insurrection. Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson said Thursday that “it’s time” for her to come talk to the committee after investigators discovered information that refers to Thomas in communications they have obtained relating to one of Trump’s lawyers, John Eastman.
June 17, 2022 3:25 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden signed legislation Thursday meant to lower the cost of shipping goods across oceans. It’s a move the White House says will help ease logistical costs for retailers that have remained high since the start of the coronavirus pandemic and helped fuel record inflation. The Ocean Shipping Reform Act passed unanimously by the Senate via voice vote in March after winning bipartisan House support. It empowers the Federal Maritime Commission to investigate late fees charged by carriers while prohibiting ocean carriers and marine terminals from refusing to fill available cargo space.
June 17, 2022 3:13 am
WASHINGTON, Pa. — Washington County Commissioners approved a large expansion to broadband in two areas of the county that are sorely underserved with access to internet services. Two expansion programs will serve West Finley Township and the Bentleyville area to include 944 structures, 829 of them homes and 115 of them businesses. The $5.3 million project will be headed up by Kinetic by Windstream and will consist of 79 miles of fiber. Washington County’s share of the project will be in excess of $3.2 million. Those funds will be spent from the American Rescue Plan Funds the county received from the federal government. Commissioner Diana Irey-Vaughn said that commissioners felt that it was important to invest in broadband in Washington County. Commissioner Larry Maggi called the West Finley Township area one of the most underserved areas of the county and said the area is looking forward to the better access to internet services for students and businesses. The project is being managed by the Washington County Authority.
