September 5, 2024 5:38 pm
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Hunter Biden has pleaded guilty to federal tax charges to avoid facing another criminal trial months after his conviction in a separate gun case. President Joe Biden’s son entered the surprise plea Thursday, hours after jury selection was supposed to begin in the case accusing him of a scheme to avoid paying at least $1.4 million in taxes. Hunter Biden was already facing the prospect of potential prison time after his conviction in June on three felony gun charges. He was supposed to avoid trial in both cases under a plea deal last year with prosecutors that fell apart after the judge raised questions about it. (Photo: AP)
September 5, 2024 1:45 pm
A construction worker on Interstate 70 East near the Eighty-Four exit was hit by a vehicle just before one o’clock Thursday afternoon. Washington County 911 tells WJPA that the worker was reportedly struck by a construction vehicle and was flown from the scene. There has been no word on what caused the vehicle to hit the worker or how seriously they were hurt.
September 5, 2024 8:40 am
The legal fight over ballot curing in Washington County has resulted in legal fees of more than $75,000 so far. Commissioner’s Chairman Nick Sherman (pictured) tells WJPA that Pittsburgh-based attorney David Berardinelli submitted an initial invoice that totaled more than $96,000 for more than 200-hours of work. Reportedly, he then reduced that by 25-percent. The lawsuit resulted over the County Elections Board decision to no allow for errors on mail-in ballots to be corrected during the primary election. Sherman and fellow Republican Commissioner Electra Janis voted in favor of not allowing so-called curing. Democratic Commissioner Larry Maggi voted against. Sherman maintains that the county is simply following the letter of state law. He also questions the ruling by Washington County Common Pleas Court Judge Brandon Neuman who ruled that while the county is not required to offer ballot curing options it must notify voters of mistakes and permit them to cast a provisional ballot on election day if there ballot included a fatal error. Sherman says Judge Neuman, in his own ruling, said the matter should be a decision of the State Legislature. He says talks continue as they consider an appeal of that ruling.
September 5, 2024 8:57 am
The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell last week as layoffs remain relatively low despite other signs of labor market cooling. Jobless claims fell by 5,000 to 227,000 for the week of Aug. 31, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That’s less than the 230,000 new filings analysts were expecting. The four-week average of claims, which evens out some of the week-to-week volatility, fell by 1,750 to 230,000. Weekly filings for unemployment benefits, which are considered a proxy for layoffs, remain low by historic standards. The total number of Americans collecting jobless benefits declined by 22,000 to 1.84 million for the week of Aug. 24.
September 5, 2024 6:42 am
Cecil Township Supervisors held a fourth public hearing and revealed a brand new proposal for its oil and gas ordinance revision. This version differs radically from what had been proposed previously. Setbacks for drilling operations will be 2500 feet for protected structures, 5000 feet from schools. Gone are the zoning maps and overlay districts for possible drilling sites and finally, a waiver option to drill within the 2500 foot setback will be introduced. According to Supervisor Chairman Tom Casciola, the waiver will allow a property owner to permit drilling on their property within the 2500 foot setback as long as that property owner gets a waiver from all other property owners that would be inside that 2500 foot radius. Remaining from previous versions are sound and vibration regulations, stricter than what exist in the current ordinance. A special voting session took place just after the hearing to approve those changes and direct the solicitor to draft an ordinance to reflect those changes and to set a new public hearing date. The vote on both measures passed 3-2. Supervisors Tom Casciola, Frank Egizio and Cindy Fisher voted in favor. Supervisors Darlene Barni and Bill Ciaffoni voted against the changes. When asked for her reason for voting against the measure, Barni said “three words, illegal, exclusionary and it’s against the state law.” It is to be noted that Barni does have a business relationship with Range Resources, the dominant drilling company in Cecil Township. A new hearing date and possible vote will occur on November 4.
September 5, 2024 2:14 am
The Corning Ware/Anchor Hocking Plant in Charleroi will be shutting down by the end of the year. Employees there say they were given the news by their chief executive officer. The closure will affect about 325 jobs. The CEO reportedly told employees that 150 positions would be moved to their plant in Ohio. Charleroi Borough Council President Kristen Hopkins-Calcek tells WJPA that this is a very sad day for the community. This is the second business in Charleroi to close. Quality Pasta Company near the plant shut down as well, leaving some one-hundred people without jobs.
September 4, 2024 2:27 am
A Washington man will face trial on charges of arson and reckless endangerment. Christopher Collins, 46 waived his charges to court at his preliminary hearing. According to the criminal complaint, on August 23, Collins set fire to his apartment at 430 W. Chestnut St. and then turned himself in to Washington police admitting to what he had done. He told police that he was mad at his landlord because people in neighboring apartments were carrying on and partying loudly keeping him awake. He continued to tell police that he did not want to hurt anyone, he just wanted to burn down the building. Collins is in the Washington County Jail on $100,000 bond. He will be arraigned on October 24.
September 4, 2024 2:51 am
(WPXI) – A former doctor at UPMC Children’s Hospital has been charged with child sex crimes. Ashok Panigrahy, 53, is charged with transporting and possessing material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor, the Department of Justice said. Panigrahy was radiologist-in-chief and a John F. Caffey Endowed Chair in pediatric radiology with UPMC. UPMC officials said Panigrahy was placed on administrative leave in November after the company learned about the investigation. His employment was then terminated.
September 4, 2024 4:50 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – Kamala Harris will stay in Pittsburgh while preparing for next week’s Presidential debate. Harris is scheduled to arrive in Pittsburgh on Thursday and will stay in the city until she flies to Philadelphia for her first debate with former President Donald Trump on Tuesday night. The Vice President was last in Pittsburgh on Monday, where she visited with union members and opposed the sale of U.S. Steel to Japan’s Nippon Steel. This upcoming trip is her 10th visit to Pittsburgh. No further details about her activities while in the city have been released.
September 5, 2024 4:57 am
WINDER, Ga. (AP) — The teen charged with opening fire at a Georgia high school denied threatening to carry out a school shooting when authorities interviewed him last year about a menacing post on the social media site Discord. That’s according to a sheriff’s report obtained Thursday by The Associated Press. Jackson County Sheriff Janis Mangum told AP her investigators did all they could, but there was insufficient evidence to justify an arrest. The 14-year-old suspect was charged as an adult in the shooting Wednesday at Apalachee High School outside Atlanta. Four people were killed and nine wounded. The suspect is accused of using an assault-style rifle to kill two students and two teachers in the hallway outside his algebra classroom.
