June 23, 2022 3:44 am
LOGAN, W.Va. (AP) – News outlets are reporting multiple people have been killed in a helicopter crash in West Virginia. The identities were not confirmed, but Ray Bryant of Logan Emergency Management told WSAZ-TV they were not local residents. He says the Vietnam-era helicopter was based at the Logan airport and used for tourism flights. The Federal Aviation Administration said a Bell UH-1B helicopter crashed near Route 17 in Logan County around 5 p.m. with six people on board. The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate. Bryant said the helicopter was on fire when crews arrived, and firefighters extinguished the flames.
June 23, 2022 3:43 am
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – California air regulators are likely to hear a barrage of criticism Thursday on a plan to slash fossil fuel use and reach carbon neutrality by 2045. It would require a sweeping shift in how the state powers its massive economy in the face of climate change. It will be the California Air Resources Board’s first public discussion of this year’s scoping plan, which is updated every five years. The 2045 goal is among the most ambitious in the nation, but the plan has many critics beyond the oil industry, which says the plan has too many bans and mandates. A wide range of environmental advocates say the plan does far too little to quickly lower planet-warming emissions.
June 23, 2022 3:42 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Facing stubbornly high gas prices that average about $5 a gallon nationwide, President Joe Biden has urged Congress to suspend federal gasoline and diesel taxes for three months. If savings from the 18.4 cents-a-gallon federal tax on gas are fully passed along to consumers, drivers would save about $2.76 for a 15-gallon fill-up. It’s unclear, though, if Biden can push his proposal through Congress, where lawmakers, including some Democrats, are skeptical or even opposed to the idea. Many economists also are wary of a gas tax holiday.
June 23, 2022 3:41 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Former top Justice Department officials have testified to the Jan. 6 committee that President Donald Trump hounded the department to pursue his false election fraud claims, contacting the agency’s leader “virtually every day” and striving in vain to enlist the government’s top law enforcement officials in his desperate bid to stay in power. The House panel investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol heard testimony Thursday that Trump was fixated on fake voter fraud claims and insisted the officials pursue them despite being repeatedly told that none had any merit.
June 23, 2022 3:37 am
CANONSBURG Pa. (WPXI) — After the deadly school shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas last month, safety is on everyone’s minds. Canonsburg Police surrounded South Central Elementary School on Wednesday to practice their response to a potential mass shooting. Officers were in riot and tactical gear with guns drawn. It was a serious scene, but only a drill, which the Canonsburg chief of police said is important. “Given the events that happened recently, active shooter is still a big problem,” said chief Al Coghill. “We wanted to take advantage of the summer hours when the school is unoccupied and do our mass shooting drills.”
June 23, 2022 3:32 am
WASHINGTON, Pa. — Severe Storms rolled through western Pennsylvania Wednesday evening, leaving thousands in the dark and some damage in the area. Washington County was mainly spared from the worst of the storms. The hardest hit areas included Hanover and Union Townships, which account for most of the power outages as of 3:00 a.m. Thursday morning. Locally, there were no reports of major damage and roughly 130 power outages in the county. Tree and power line damage was prevalent in Allegheny and Westmoreland Counties, which account for over 9,000 power outages Thursday morning.
June 23, 2022 3:21 am
Tony Siragusa, the charismatic defensive tackle who helped lead a stout Baltimore defense to a Super Bowl title, died Wednesday. He was 55. Siragusa’s broadcast agent, Jim Ornstein, confirmed the death Wednesday. The cause of death was not immediately available. The man known as “the Goose” was a University of Pittsburgh Panther before he played seven seasons with the Indianapolis Colts and five with the Ravens. Baltimore’s 2000 team won the Super Bowl behind a defense that included Siragusa, Ray Lewis and Sam Adams. Siragusa was popular with fans because of his fun-loving personality, which also helped him transition to broadcasting after his playing career.
June 23, 2022 3:17 am
WASHINGTON, Pa. — A North Charleroi man pleaded guilty to ten counts of possession of child pornography. John Eckert, 61 entered his open plea on Wednesday avoiding trial on as many as 35 child pornography charges and five charges of criminal use of a communications device. Eckert’s computer was found to contain multiple images of child pornography when his home was raided by the Department of Homeland Security and Charleroi Regional Police in May of 2021. Eckert will be sentenced on October 13 pending a pre-sentencing investigation. Eckert could serve 12-24 months in state prison for each charge. He will also be required to be registered as a sex offender, possibly for life.
June 23, 2022 1:53 am
Starting next week, cash will no longer be welcome at Kennywood, Sandcastle or Idlewild. Officials at all three parks say that starting June 28th, cash will no longer be accepted. Officials say the parks will then only accept credit, debit, prepaid cards or secure mobile payments. They say the move to accept only cards or secure mobile payments will allow them to provide a more efficient experience to guests. They say they expect to see wait times decrease for food and retails stores. They also said that Cash-to-Card Kiosks will be located throughout each park to provide guests with a simple and easy way to convert their cash into a card. They say the kiosks will be free of charge and will allow an individual to convert up to five-hundred-dollars in cash to a prepaid card that can then be used throughout the park.
June 23, 2022 1:47 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Proposals to hold Pennsylvania’s presidential primaries in March rather than April and to permit poll watchers to operate outside the counties where they live are advancing in the Legislature. A divided House State Government Committee voted to send both bills to the full House. They’ve already passed the state Senate. Pennsylvania’s primary during presidential election years would be moved from the fourth Tuesday in April to the third Tuesday in March. The poll watchers’ bill would give candidates an additional observer and says they can be posted close enough to see any canvassing and pre-canvassing.
