November 24, 2021 2:25 am
The Washington School District met virtually Tuesday afternoon for a special voting meeting to appoint an interim superintendent. The board had a seven person quorum and voted unanimously to name George Lammay to the position. Lammay retired from the Bentworth School District in June of 2021 after nearly 14 years as high school principal and assistant superintendent. Lammay was appointed acting superintendent of the Belle Vernon Area School District in July only to resign a week later indicating he needed to be cognizant of his health. His appointment comes after the resignation of current superintendent Dr. James Konrad, who took a superintendent position with the Pleasant Valley School District in eastern Pennsylvania. Mr. Lammay will assume his position on December 1.
November 23, 2021 7:28 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden is ordering 50 million barrels of oil released from America’s strategic reserve to help bring down energy costs. He said Tuesday he is acting in coordination with other major energy consuming nations, including China, India, and the United Kingdom. It will take time, he said from the White House, “but before long you should see the price of gas drop where you fill up your tank.” The action is aimed at global energy markets, and also to help Americans who are coping with higher inflation and rising prices ahead of Thanksgiving and winter holiday travel. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve is an emergency stockpile to preserve access to oil in case of natural disasters, national security issues and other events.
November 23, 2021 4:15 am
MIAMI (AP) – An attorney for the family of Brian Laundrie says he fatally shot himself in the head. Attorney Steve Bertolino said in a statement that Laundrie’s parents have been informed that the cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head, and the manner of death was suicide. Laundrie’s skeletal remains found in a Florida nature preserve were positively identified last month using dental records. Laundrie had been the subject of a manhunt for more than a month as investigators searched for clues in the slaying of his girlfriend, Gabby Petito, during their cross-country van trip together.
November 23, 2021 4:13 am
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) – A jury has ordered white nationalist leaders and organizations to pay more than $25 million in damages over violence that erupted during the deadly 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville. After a nearly month long civil trial, the jury deadlocked on two key claims but found the white nationalists liable on four other counts in the lawsuit filed by nine people who suffered physical or emotional injuries during the two days of demonstrations. The lawsuit accused some of the country’s most well-known white nationalists of plotting the violence, including Jason Kessler, the rally’s main organizer; Richard Spencer, who coined the term “alt-right”; and Christopher Cantwell, a white supremacist who became known as the “crying Nazi.”
November 23, 2021 4:10 am
(AP) – Prosecutors in Wisconsin have charged a man with intentional homicide in the deaths of five people who were killed when an SUV was driven into a Christmas parade. Darrell Brooks Jr. was charged with five counts of first-degree intentional homicide in the crash Sunday in Waukesha, a Milwaukee suburb. He made his initial court appearance Tuesday. The city’s livestream video and bystander video captured the chaotic scene when an SUV sped along the parade route and then into the crowd. Authorities say 62 people were injured, including many children. Several remain in critical condition. Conviction on first-degree intentional homicide carries a mandatory life sentence.
November 23, 2021 4:09 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – A committee investigating the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol insurrection has issued subpoenas to five more individuals, including former President Donald Trump’s ally Roger Stone and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones (pictured). The subpoenas include demands for documents and testimony from Stone and Jones as well as three people accused of organizing and promoting the two rallies that preceded the deadly attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6. The committee has already interviewed more than 150 people across government, social media and law enforcement, including some former Trump aides who have been cooperative.
November 23, 2021 4:07 am
BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) – The case of three white men charged with murder in the killing of Ahmaud Arbery is now with the jury. Jurors got the case Tuesday after a nearly two-week trial in which prosecutors argued that the men provoked the fatal confrontation and defense attorneys insisted their clients acted in self-defense. Prosecutor Linda Dunikoski told jurors that the men cannot claim self-defense if they were the aggressors. The prosecution got the final word because it carries the burden of proving its case beyond a reasonable doubt. Prosecutors and defense attorneys spent hours on Monday delivering closing arguments that spilled into a second day.
November 23, 2021 4:02 am
PENN HILLS, Pa. — (WPXI) – Police confirm that a 6-year-old shot and killed their 5-year-old sibling at a home in Penn Hills. Investigators said at around 5:30 p.m. Monday, County 911 was notified of a shooting in the 100 block of Prescott Drive. First responders found the victim had been shot. The child was taken to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead at 6:33 p.m. County police detectives said they believe three young children were left unsupervised in a bedroom where an unsecured gun was located. This comes less than 12 hours after a 4-year-old child was able to get a hold of a gun in Pittsburgh’s East Liberty and kill himself.
November 23, 2021 3:59 am
Residents in Peters Township will see something in 2022 that they have not seen since 2018, a property tax increase. Peters Township Council held a public hearing on Monday evening to present the preliminary 2022 operating budget. The budget is a $39 million spending plan with $22 million in projected revenue. Township Manager Paul Lauer indicates that the gross expenditure numbers are not necessarily what will ultimately be spent. Built into the budget are two large capital projects, an aquatic center at roughly $10 million and a new fire station at roughly $4.5 million. According to Lauer, more than likely only one of the projects will be taken on in 2022 and the remaining project will be put off into the future. Regardless of which project is selected, it will be funded by bond issues. The budget was built to show the financial effect of both projects to allow council and citizens a better understanding of what is coming in the future. The tax increase will be a .078 mil raise. What that means to Peters residents is that based on the average house value of $330,000, the yearly tax increase would amount to $25 annually. Council will adopt the budget at their next meeting on December 13.
November 22, 2021 1:42 pm
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) – A legislative investigation has found “overwhelming evidence” that former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo engaged in sexual harassment and ordered state workers to help produce his book during work hours. The report released Monday also found that Cuomo’s executive chamber “substantially revised” a state report to exclude deaths of nursing home residents at hospitals to boost Cuomo’s reputation. In March, the Assembly Judiciary Committee hired a Manhattan law firm to investigate whether there were grounds to impeach Cuomo. The Democratic governor resigned in August to avoid a likely impeachment trial.
