September 3, 2025 4:31 am
Canonsburg Council was happy to hear from their borough engineer that their recent enhanced maintenance efforts along Chartiers Creek are paying off. He announced to council on a tour of the creek with the United States Army Corps of Engineers, they said that they were impressed with the progress that has been made along the channel. The Corps issued an informal opinion. He said that the work done over the last several years will bring the creek into the Corp.’s higher level of the “minimally acceptable” range of approval. Despite the seemingly negative connotation, the engineer said that it was a great report. According to Council President Rich Russo, when the USACE completed their flood remediation project from 1968, maintenance of the creek’s channel became the responsibility of Canonsburg. Russo said that over the course of the last decade or so, that maintenance had been pushed aside. That caused the USACE to put the borough on warning. Over the last three years Canonsburg has worked to clean up the issue using all sorts of ideas. In 2023 and 2024, goats were employed to clear overgrown brush. This year herbicides were used along with manpower. The borough hired a company to clear 60 trees with a diameter of over 4 inches from the channel. Canonsburg will be voting on the advertising for bids for maintenance and repairs of the channel. Russo made a point to state that he wants future councils to understand that not doing the maintenance required to keep the creek channel clear could put the borough in a significant financial dilemma. He wants to make it clear that it is an obligation of the borough to continue the maintenance.
September 2, 2025 1:49 pm
State Police have released the identity of the suspect they believe is responsible for a string of fires in the Greene County area over the Labor Day weekend. Police say 37-year-old Jesse Patterson Jr. was arrested in connection with at least five different fires that broke out in Waynesburg Borough and the surrounding areas. The fires occurred at St. Ann Church, Buddy’s Motel, and multiple residential properties in the area. Patterson is facing multiple charges including arson and burglary. There were no injuries reported. In the meantime, Masses at St. Ann Catholic church, which is the oldest Catholic church in Greene County, have been canceled until further notice, including the diocesan Jubilee Mass scheduled for September 6th. Diocesan officials say the main body of the church “appears to be intact,” but adjoining spaces, particularly the basement, sustained extensive damage , but we are grateful to God that no one was injured.” Church officials say services will be temporarily moved to other nearby churches as restoration begins. Saint Ann Church was founded in 1839. The diocese said it’s one of the designated pious visit sites for the Jubilee Year of Hope. (Photo courtesy of Waynesburg Franklin Township Volunteer Fire Company Facebook Page)
September 2, 2025 4:59 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has plastered taxes on products from almost every country on earth. He’s targeted specific imports, too. But he isn’t done yet. Trump has promised another round of hefty import taxes on a category of products he’s so far spared in his trade war with the world: pharmaceuticals. For decades, in fact, imported medicine has mostly been allowed to enter the United States duty free. Now the president is threatening duties of 200% or more on foreign drugs. That could disrupt complex and fragile supply chains, drive cheap foreign-made generic drugs out of the U.S., create drug shortages and raise American drug prices.
September 2, 2025 4:58 am
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Powerball jackpot has risen to an estimated $1.3 billion after the winning numbers failed to appear. The numbers drawn Monday night were 8, 23, 25, 40, 53 with the Powerball 5. There have been no jackpot winners since May 31. That long winless streak has allowed the prize to swell to the fifth-largest in the game’s history. The $1.3 billion jackpot is for winners who opt for an annuity. Most people prefer cash and that value is now $589 million. The odds of matching all six numbers are astronomical: 1 in 292.2 million.
September 2, 2025 4:56 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says he’s awarding former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani the Presidential Medal of Freedom, announcing the honor two days after his longtime political ally was badly injured in a traffic accident. Giuliani was once lauded for leading New York after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and later sanctioned by courts and disbarred for amplifying false claims about the 2020 election. Giuliani was also criminally charged in two states; he has denied wrongdoing. Trump in a statement on social media called Giuliani the “greatest Mayor in the history of New York City, and an equally great American Patriot.”
September 2, 2025 4:55 am
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is on his way to Beijing by train to attend a military parade with his Chinese and Russian counterparts, an event that could demonstrate potential three-way unity against the United States. The North’s official Korean Central News Agency reported early Tuesday that Kim left Pyongyang for Beijing by his special train on Monday to participate in celebrations of the 80th anniversary of the end of the World War II. Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin are among the 26 world leaders who’ll join Chinese President Xi Jinping to watch Wednesday’s massive military parade in Beijing.
September 2, 2025 4:49 am
PLEASANT HILLS, Pa. — (WPXI) – A father and son are dead after an early morning shooting in Pleasant Hills. The Allegheny County Police Department says 911 officials were notified of a shooting in the 400 block of Nantucket Drive at 7:21 a.m. When first responders got on scene, no one responded at the home, so SWAT was called in to assist. When they entered the home at 9:21 a.m., two men, a father and adult son, were found dead inside from single gunshot wounds. ACPD is now investigating. Detectives say everyone involved in the incident has been identified and there’s no danger to the public. At around 10 p.m. on Monday, the Allegheny County Medical Examiner identified the men as Edgar Dawson, 72, and Bradley Dawson, 38. Their manners of death have not been determined at this time.
September 2, 2025 4:42 am
MCDONALD, Pa. — No injuries are reported after a man fired shots at officers in McDonald Borough Monday night. Officers were called to a house on the 300 block of Fairmont Street for a welfare check on a man who was intoxicated and in distress at 9:36 p.m. When they arrived, the man began swearing and yelling at them. He retreated into a house and came back outside with a gun, police said. According to a social media post, McDonald Police say Stephen Budai opened fire with multiple types of weapons as officers evacuated two Washington County Mental Health Crisis workers. Police say no injuries resulted but multiple vehicles and nearby buildings were struck by gunfire. According to McDonald Police their cruiser had tires flattened, windows shot out and several bullet holes. Budai barricaded himself inside the home but eventually surrendered peacefully. He was transported to a nearby hospital for evaluation.
September 2, 2025 4:33 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Kraft Heinz is splitting into two companies a decade after they joined in a massive merger that created one of the biggest food companies on the planet. One of the companies will include brands such as Heinz, Philadelphia cream cheese and Kraft Mac & Cheese. The other will include brands like Oscar Mayer, Kraft Singles and Lunchables. When the company formed in 2015 it wanted to capitalize on its massive scale, but shifting tastes complicated those plans, with households seeking to introduce healthier options at the table. Kraft Heinz’s net revenue has fallen every year since 2020.
September 1, 2025 10:08 pm
State Police say an individual has been taken into custody in connection with five different fires that occurred in Greene County over the Labor Day weekend. State Police said all of the fires happened in the borough of Waynesburg, and included St. Ann Church, Buddy’s Motel and multiple residential properties,. Troopers said they believe all of the fires are connected. No injuries were reported in any of the fires. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Waynesburg Borough police and the Allegheny County Fire Marshal’s Office K-9 team are helping state police investigate. In the meantime, Masses at St. Ann Catholic church, which is the oldest Catholic church in Greene County, have been canceled until further notice, including the diocesan Jubilee Mass scheduled for September 6th. Diocesan officials say the main body of the church “appears to be intact,” but adjoining spaces, particularly the basement, sustained “extensive damage and we are grateful to God that no one was injured.” Church officials say services will be temporarily moved to other nearby churches as restoration begins. Saint Ann Church was founded in 1839. The diocese said it’s one of the designated pious visit sites for the Jubilee Year of Hope. (Photo courtesy of Waynesburg Franklin Township Volunteer Fire Company Facebook Page)
