June 29, 2022 4:12 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The latest testimony about the events surrounding the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol has Donald Trump rebuffing his own security’s warnings about armed protesters in the crowd gathering for a rally near the White House. A former White House aide also tells the House committee investigating the attack that Trump desperately attempted to join his supporters as they marched to the Capitol. In her testimony Tuesday, Cassidy Hutchinson described an angry, defiant president who grabbed at the steering wheel of the presidential SUV when the Secret Service refused to allow him go to the Capitol. Trump has dismissed her as “a total phony.”
June 29, 2022 4:02 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – Giant Eagle is joining other companies and vowing to cover travel costs for employees that need access to abortions in different states. This decision comes days after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, giving individual states the power to make abortions illegal. Giant Eagle has grocery stores in Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Maryland. Ohio currently has a ban on abortions after a heartbeat has been detected, which is around the 6-week mark during pregnancy. West Virginia’s only abortion clinic stopped performing abortions last Friday. Maryland was mentioned as one of the states likely to keep abortion legal after the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
June 29, 2022 3:57 am
North Strabane Township Supervisors on Tuesday approved five contracts to construct their new public safety building that will be built on Rt. 19. Bids in the amount of $11.2 million were awarded to four companies that will begin construction once demolition of the old fire station is complete. Spartan Construction Services will be the general contractor and plumbing contractor. Allegheny City Electric, Inc. will supply electrical needs, Interstate Fire Protection Co. will supply fire protection and East-West Manufacturing and Supply will be the mechanical contractor. Once construction begins, Spartan estimates that the project will be complete in 406 days. Township Manager Andrew Walz states that it will be great to have the police and fire departments together in one building on Rt. 19 so they both can respond together from the same location. Supervisors had to add an emergency agenda item. Late Tuesday the township and the North Strabane Township Municipal Authority were informed by JND Properties that they will no longer fund a sewage remedy in place for two properties on Vista Drive. The township declared a state of emergency regarding this notice. Officials had no comment as this is a late development and details of the notice need to be reviewed.
June 29, 2022 3:55 am
The former Treasurer of the Cecil Township Volunteer Fire Department Number 2 was sentenced on Tuesday for her role in a series unauthorized charges to the department’s debit card and checks being written to herself. Toni Zombeck, 68 of Muse entered an open plea of guilty to a felony charge of theft by failure to make required deposits. Her sentence was lenient in that she will serve seven years probation with the first six months on house arrest on electronic home monitoring. She will also be required to make $32,279 in restitution to the Utica Insurance Company. In her allocution statement Zombeck spoke of mental and physical health issues that she has been experiencing since the death of her husband several years ago. She blamed her addiction to gambling on lottery tickets as the reason that she used the fire department funds to make personal payments to herself. Zombeck apologized to the court, fire department and community at large. Zombeck could have been sentenced to three to twelve months in jail. The judge took into account her remorse and clean criminal record remarking that she does not even have evidence of a traffic ticket during the sentencing. Both, the defense attorney and district attorney described the sentence as fair.
June 29, 2022 2:39 am
(WPXI) – Ahead of this 4th of July weekend, two popular rides at Kennywood Park are closed for repairs. Kennywood General Manager Mark Pauls provided a statement confirming the Steel Curtain coaster is closed and they’re working to reopen it as soon as possible — although no timeline was given. Pauls said the record-setting ride is the first of its kind, and requires additional maintenance to best ensure guest and team member safety, which is their top priority. The Thunderbolt is also closed, but Pauls said they have a goal of opening in time for the holiday weekend.
June 28, 2022 4:11 pm
MENDON, Mo. (AP) – The toll from the Missouri railroad crossing where an Amtrak train slammed into a dump truck rose to four deaths and 150 injuries on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the county’s chief elected official says residents and county leaders have been pushing for a safety upgrade at the railroad crossing for nearly three years. A day after the deadly crash on Monday, the Missouri State Highway Patrol provided its first estimate of the injured – about 150 people taken to 10 hospitals with injuries ranging from minor to serious. At least 15 remain hospitalized. The dead – three passengers and the truck driver – have not been identified.
June 28, 2022 3:45 pm
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) – Tuition will increase by an average of more than 2.5% across the West Virginia University system for the coming fiscal year under a new $1.2 billion budget. The WVU Board of Governors approved the budget, which includes a 2.62% or $120 increase per semester for resident students. Nonresident students will pay 2.88% more, or $372, per semester. Housing rates will go up 3% except at WVU Tech in Beckley. The university said Friday after the board’s approval that dining fees will rise by 4.5%, partly due to inflation. Vice President for Strategic Initiatives Rob Alsop says employees will receive average increases of 4% to 5%, with the starting minimum hourly compensation raised to $13.
June 28, 2022 4:15 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Cassidy Hutchinson, a aide in Donald Trump’s White House, has told the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection that she was “scared, and nervous for what could happen” after conversations with Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and others. Meadows told Hutchinson that “things might get real real bad,” and Giuliani told her it was going to be “a great day” and “we’re going to the Capitol.” Hutchinson told the panel that she was apprehensive because she had heard plans for a rally and possible movements to the Capitol. (Photo: ABC News)
June 28, 2022 4:12 am
ELMAU, Germany (AP) – The Group of Seven developed economies is wrapping up a summit intended to send a strong signal of long-term commitment to Ukraine’s future, ensuring that Russia pays a higher price for its invasion while also attempting to alleviate a global hunger crisis and show unity against climate change. The leaders on Monday pledged to support Ukraine “for as long as it takes” after conferring by video link with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Zelenskyy’s address, amid a grinding Russian advance in Ukraine’s east, came hours before Ukrainian officials reported a deadly Russian missile strike on a crowded shopping mall in the central city of Kremenchuk.
June 28, 2022 4:12 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Ghislaine Maxwell has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for helping the wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse teenage girls. The sentencing Tuesday was the culmination of a prosecution that detailed how Epstein and Maxwell flaunted their riches and associations with prominent people to groom vulnerable girls and then exploit them. Those crimes occurred even as the couple hobnobbed with some of the world’s most famous and wealthy people, including former U.S. Presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump and England’s Prince Andrew. Epstein killed himself in jail while awaiting trial. Maxwell denied being Epstein’s accomplice. (Photo: ABC News)
