April 28, 2025 4:50 am
Belle Vernon, Pa. — (WPXI) – Three people from Fayette County are facing charges on accusations that they misappropriated more than $500,000 from an elderly woman. State Police filed the charges against Todd Reppert, Ty Reppert and Laura Reppert, all of Belle Vernon. The agency says an investigation into financial misconduct involving Donna Reppert, Todd Reppert’s mother, began in 2019, shortly after Todd assumed the role of Power of Attorney. Investigators say “evidence indicates” that Todd, his son Ty and wife Laura used the authority for personal gain. They allege that between January 2019 and January 2023, the trio misappropriated more than $500,000. State police say funds were diverted for things like paying bills, buying a BMW, acquiring real estate and online gambling, “despite having no legal authorization to access or use these funds for their own benefit.” Todd, Ty and Laura are all facing several charges, including financial exploitation of an elder, theft and conspiracy. Online court documents show Ty and Laura are out on bond, but Todd is being held in the Fayette County Prison on $200,000 cash bail. PSP says the investigation is ongoing.
April 27, 2025 12:30 pm
Washington County 911 has confirmed to WJPA News that one man was shot around noon Monday, in the 100 block of West Walnut Street in Washington. The shooting occurred near JFK Catholic Elementary School and the facility was put on lock-down till further notice. We also spoke with official at Washington High School who tell us they were not ordered to lock-down, but, Superintendent George Lammay says they are not letting anyone in or out of the building till further notice. Dispatchers say police were called after five or six shots were heard. They found one man down and he is currently being airlifted to a Pittsburgh hospital. Police are searching for the shooter. (Photo: WPXI)
April 27, 2025 8:16 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Organizers and the Kennedy Center have canceled a week’s worth of events celebrating LGBTQ+ rights for this summer’s World Pride festival in Washington, D.C. The move comes amid a shift in priorities and the ousting of center leadership. Multiple artists and producers involved in the center’s Tapestry of Pride schedule told The Associated Press that their events had been quietly canceled or moved to other venues. Washington’s Capital Pride Alliance has disassociated itself from the Kennedy Center. The events at the center had been planned for June 5 to 8. The Kennedy Center’s website still lists Tapestry of Pride on its website with a general description. The center didn’t respond to a request for comment.
April 27, 2025 8:12 am
FAYETTEVILLE, W.Va. (AP) — The winner of this year’s West Virginia Coal Festival teen beauty pageant walks among the ruins of a community abandoned 70 years ago and imagines the rusted remains of coal tipples and processing plants coming back to life. Ava Johnson knows West Virginia coal will not ever be what it once was. But as she makes her way along overgrown railroad tracks near the abandoned Kay Moor mine in the New River Gorge National Park looking for spikes for her collection, the 16-year-old history buff says she has heard people talking with hope about the future of an industry that has brought good-paying jobs to her state for the better part of two centuries. “You can’t appreciate being a true West Virginian unless you realize that people risk their lives every single day to make ours better,” she said. Much of that renewed sense of hope is based on the actions of President Donald Trump, who earlier this month issued new executive orders aimed at reviving an energy source that has long been flagged by scientists as the world’s most polluting fossil fuel, one that directly contributes to the warming of the planet. (Photo: AP)
April 27, 2025 8:05 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers have in recent days deported the Cuban-born mother of a 1-year-old girl — separating them indefinitely — and three children ages 2, 4 and 7 who are U.S. citizens along with their Honduran-born mothers, their lawyers said Saturday. The three cases raise questions about who is being deported, and why, and come amid a battle in federal courts over whether President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown has gone too far and too quickly at the expense of fundamental rights. Lawyers in the cases described how the women were arrested at routine check-ins at ICE offices, given virtually no opportunity to speak with lawyers or their family members and then deported within three days or less. The American Civil Liberties Union, National Immigration Project and several other allied groups said in a statement that the way ICE deported children who are U.S. citizens and their mothers is a “shocking — although increasingly common — abuse of power.”
April 27, 2025 8:00 am
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A peace proposal by the Trump administration that includes recognizing Russian authority over Crimea shocked Ukrainian officials. They say they will not accept any formal surrender of the peninsula, even though they expect to concede the territory to the Kremlin, at least temporarily. Experts say giving up the land that was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014 is also politically and legally impossible. It would require a change to the Ukrainian constitution and a nationwide vote, and it could be considered treason. Lawmakers and the public are firmly opposed to the idea. (Photo: AP)
April 27, 2025 7:55 am
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Police in Canada say a car struck revelers at a street festival, killing at least nine and injuring an unknown number of people. The Vancouver Police Department says the vehicle drove into a crowd at a Filipino community festival at 8:14 p.m. Saturday. The exact number of casualties was not immediately available. Police say the driver was taken into custody and the incident is not being considered an act of terrorism. The Lapu Lapu Day festival was being held in South Vancouver. Video posted on social media showed victims and debris strewn across a long stretch of road. A black SUV with a crumpled front section could be seen in still photos.
April 27, 2025 7:53 am
VATICAN CITY (AP) — World dignitaries and Catholic faithful have attended Pope Francis’ funeral in St. Peter’s Square. Despite the presence of presidents and princes, prisoners and migrants met Francis’ coffin outside St. Mary Major Basilica, where he was buried, reflecting his priorities as pope. The Vatican said Saturday that about 250,000 people flocked to the pope’s funeral Mass. U.S. President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, the U.N. chief and European Union leaders, as well as Prince William and the Spanish royal family, were in attendance. Francis broke with recent tradition and was buried in the basilica outside the Vatican in a simple underground tomb. (Photo: AP)
April 27, 2025 7:51 am
(WPXI) – Firefighters battled a four-alarm fire at a large commercial building in Pittsburgh’s Lawrenceville neighborhood for hours Saturday morning. A spokesperson with Pittsburgh Public Safety said police, fire and medics were called to the CleanCare warehouse on 51st Street just after 10 a.m. Flames could be seen shooting up from the roof of the hospitality and restaurant linen business. Heavy smoke was billowing out. A Pittsburgh Public Safety official says the fire spread rapidly through the industrial space used by a linen laundering business. With flames continuing to spread despite firefighter efforts and a sprinkler system, the blaze was raised from a first to a fourth alarm in less than an hour. At one point, all firefighters were evacuated from the building. The fire was deemed under control by 12:24 p.m., while crews were still working to put out hotspots throughout the facility. Crews maintained a fire watch for several hours after to prevent re-ignition. CleanCare COO Jason Preffer says the fire damaged some offices, including the break room and they lost some new inventory. Preffer, however, said it won’t stop them from serving customers, adding it’ll be business as usual at the two other plant locations in Pittsburgh and Buffalo.
April 27, 2025 5:07 am
China’s leaders have shrugged off the potential impact from U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war, saying they have the tools needed to protect jobs and limit damage from higher tariffs on Chinese exports. Several senior officials of different government ministries sought to shore up confidence with promises of support for companies and the unemployed, easier lending conditions and other policies to counter the impact of combined tariffs of up to 145% on U.S. imports from China. The briefing Monday followed a meeting of China’s powerful Politburo last week that analysts said had focused on ways to counter slowing exports due to higher costs in the all-important U.S. market.
