March 18, 2025 4:51 am
SMITH TOWNSHIP, Pa. — (WPXI) – An Ohio man was flown to a hospital after he was hit by a car while changing a flat tire in Smith Township. A Pennsylvania State Police report says the incident happened on Monday just after 3 p.m. on U.S. Highway 22, just west of the Bavington Exit. Troopers say a man from Jacobsburg Ohio was on the shoulder trying to change his vehicle’s flat tire when he was hit by a Volkswagen Jetta driven by a West Virginia woman. The man was taken to an area hospital by helicopter. There’s no word on his current condition. The crash remains under investigation.
March 18, 2025 4:48 am
North Franklin Township residents can soon expect a new dining option as the Zoning Hearing Board has approved the construction of a Long John Silver’s restaurant. The new restaurant will be located next to the Burger King on West Chestnut Street. According to Barry Blose, Chairman of the North Franklin Township Zoning Board, the vacant lot will soon be transformed into a state-of-the-art facility. The restaurant will offer a modern drive-thru, a seating area for approximately 25 people, and restroom facilities.The new eatery will provide the community with a fast food option that includes all the familiar offerings of Long John Silver’s, while also enhancing the area with a modern design. Long John Silver’s also has reached an agreement with the neighboring Burger King to share their parking lot if their lot has reached capacity. Construction is expected to begin this summer.
March 18, 2025 4:47 am
Peters Township School Directors held a straight forward meeting disposing of day to day business items and approving a draft format for the school calendar two years from now. The draft of the 2026-2027 school year calendar is now available for public comment on the school district’s website. Prior to approval, Director Alex O’Neill suggested that the public’s attention be brought to the calendar, specifically regarding the length of spring break. In two years, the break will only be for 4 school days. By comparison, this year and in the 2025-2026 school year, spring break is scheduled for 6 school days. Directors asked staff to make sure parents are alerted by email to study the change.
March 17, 2025 5:42 pm
PLANTERSVILLE, Ala. (AP) — Residents and work crews in the South and Midwest are beginning to clean up and survey the destruction from a three-day outbreak of severe weather. The storms started Friday. They kicked up wildfires, tornadoes and dust storms. The severe weather barreled across eight states and left at least 41 people dead. Wind-driven wildfires across Oklahoma destroyed more than 400 homes. Four deaths were blamed on the fires or high winds. In North Carolina, two boys were killed when a 3-foot-wide tree fell on their home. And in Missouri, scattered twisters killed at least a dozen people.
March 17, 2025 10:15 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — US shoppers stepped up their spending a just bit in February after a sharp pullback the previous month, signaling that Americans are shopping more cautiously as concerns about the direction of the economy mount. Retail sales rose just 0.2% in February, a small rebound after a sharp drop of 1.2% in January, the Commerce Department said Monday. Sales rose at grocery stores, home and garden stores, and online retailers. Sales fell at auto dealers, restaurants, and electronics stores. The small increase suggests Americans may be growing more wary about spending as the stock market has plunged and President Donald Trump’s tariff threats and government spending cuts have led to widespread uncertainty among consumers and businesses.
March 17, 2025 5:14 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump told reporters that he would speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday. He disclosed the upcoming conversation while flying from Florida to Washington on Air Force One on Sunday evening. Trump said his team was making good progress toward ending the war in Ukraine, which began when Russia invaded three years ago. The U.S. leader suggested there could be an announcement of some kind on Tuesday, and he said there’s talk of “dividing up certain assets” to reach an agreement.
March 17, 2025 5:12 am
LONDON (AP) — New Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has met with the leaders of Britain and France during his first official overseas trip. He seeks support from two of Ottawa’s oldest allies as U.S. President Donald Trump targets Canada’s sovereignty and economy. Canadians have criticized the leaders of the two countries that founded Canada for their muted response to Trump’s attacks. However, Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer stressed Monday that Canada and the U.K. are “two sovereign allies” with “a shared history, shared values, shared king.” Trump has imposed tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum and repeatedly commented on turning Canada into the 51st state.
March 17, 2025 5:11 am
The Trump administration has transferred hundreds of immigrants to El Salvador even as a federal judge issued an order temporarily barring the deportations under an 18th century wartime declaration targeting Venezuelan gang members. Flights were in the air at the time of the ruling. U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg issued an order Saturday evening blocking the deportations but lawyers told him there were already two planes with immigrants in the air — one headed for El Salvador, the other for Honduras. Boasberg verbally ordered the planes be turned around, but they apparently were not and he did not include the directive in his written order.
March 17, 2025 5:07 am
HEMPFIELD TOWNSHIP, Pa. — (WPXI) – A man is accused of posing as a tree trimmer, then stealing guns and credit cards from a local home. The Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office alleges the incident happened last fall. They say Bobby Bryer, 33, of Greensburg, went to a Hempfield Township home in October to solicit business for a tree trimming service, but his offer was declined. He reportedly then later broke into the house and stole a passport, six guns and nine credit cards while the homeowner was at work. Bryer then reportedly spent $1,900 on the stolen credit cards at various retail stores over two days. Police say the victim learned his home was burglarized after his credit card company notified him of the charges. A neighbor told investigators that he saw a man walking around the victim’s home and leaving with a sack over his shoulder on the night of the alleged burglary. Police say surveillance video from the retail stores where the credit cards were used helped them identify Bryer as the suspect. Bryer now faces several charges, including theft, burglary, criminal trespass and access device fraud. He was already in jail for unrelated pending cases when new charges were filed. A woman seen with Bryer on surveillance videos is also facing charges of access device fraud, corrupt organizations and receiving stolen property.
March 17, 2025 5:03 am
PUNTA CANA, Dominican Republic — The man identified as a person of interest in the case of missing University of Pittsburgh student Sudiksha Konanki, who disappeared while on vacation in the Dominican Republic, was seen on the beach with investigators early Sunday morning. NBC News reports Joshua Riibe was spotted on a Punta Cana beach with his father and attorney, pointing toward the sea. Riibe, a tourist from Iowa, was possibly the last person to see 20-year-old Konanki. NBC previously reported that in an interview with local authorities, he said he had rescued her from drowning shortly before she disappeared. Riibe’s attorneys, in an email to NBC News, said that his passport was confiscated Friday as part of the ongoing investigation, and he’s “permanently escorted by the police anywhere he goes.” The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office told our news partners at Channel 11 that Riibe is considered a person of interest in the investigation, which is still being investigated as a missing persons case and is not a criminal case. Authorities in the Dominican Republic, on Thursday, said no one is considered a suspect.
