March 16, 2025 5:15 am
Foreboding predictions of dangerous weekend weather came true as a dynamic storm spawned tornadoes, dust storms and wildfires that killed more than three dozen people. Hundreds of homes and businesses were destroyed. The weakening but still volatile weather system is moving east with forecasters warning of dangerous winds from Florida to New Jersey on Monday, while heavy rain was likely across New York and New England.
March 16, 2025 5:01 am
Strong storms rolled through Washington County on Sunday leaving behind some downed trees and power outages. According to West Penn Power’s outage map, there were still more than 200 customers without power as of 11 a.m. Monday. Areas impacted include; Fallowfield Township, Califonria, Centerville, Cokeburg and Donegal Township. According to their website. service is expected to be restored by 3 p.m. The Beth Center School District switched to remote instruction because a power outage in the district.
March 15, 2025 11:49 am
A Greensburg man is in custody after police say he threatened five Greensburg Salem High School Students while they were waiting for their bus to school early Thursday morning. According to our partners at WPXI, Greensburg Police were called to the intersection of West Otterman Street and North Hamilton Avenue just before 7 a.m. Thursday. They said Troy Konieczny came out of his house on West Otterman Street with a fire poker with three knives attached to it. Police say Konieczny grabbed one of the students waiting for the bus and put the weapon under his arm and told him to hold it, and referred to the student with a racial slur. From there, police say Konieczny tapped another student on the shoulder and messed with her backpack. Another student ran to her home nearby for a parent, who stayed with the students until they were safely on the bus. The school district sent a letter to parents praising the work of the students. This isn’t the first time police have dealt with Konieczny. In October 2022, he was arrested after police said he smashed cars with a claw hammer and then threatened to kill neighbors because they didn’t come to his party. In both incidents, police said Konieczny smelled strongly of alcohol. Konieczny remains in the Westmoreland County Prison.
March 15, 2025 11:35 am
At least 16 people have been killed in a monster storm sweeping across much of the U.S. Ten people were killed in Missouri after a tornado outbreak. That is according to the Missouri State Highway patrol. The agency said multiple people were also injured. Officials in Arkansas said on Saturday morning that three people died in Independence County and 29 others were injured across eight counties as storms passed through the state overnight. Authorities also say that three people were killed in car crashes during a dust storm in Amarillo in the Texas Panhandle.
March 15, 2025 9:47 am
More than a week after the disappearance of a University of Pittsburgh student in the Dominican Republic, her alleged companion has made a statement. Joshua Riibe, a college student from Minnesota, is reportedly the last person to see Sudiksha Konanki alive. He told investigators that he had just met Konanki the same evening she went missing. Riibe said they had been drinking with a group, but stayed behind on the beach. The two were embraced while in the ocean when a large wave reportedly slammed into them. Riibe said he thought he successfully brought Konanki back to shore before he passed out. He said he last saw her walking at an angle in knee deep water.
March 15, 2025 9:27 am
The Senate voted 54 to 46 to pass the bill. Friday evening, democrats voted with Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to keep the funding bill moving forward, despite blowback from other members of their party. The bill funds the government through September 30, which now heads to the desk of President Trump. A government shutdown would have put millions of federal workers at risk of losing a paycheck – this as federal workers grapple with layoffs and the closure of federal agencies.
March 15, 2025 9:23 am
The nuns who operate the Vatican’s switchboard are fielding a growing number of calls. Many want to know how Pope Francis doing, and some ask to speak with him as the head of the Catholic Church remains hospitalized in Rome. The Vatican’s number is public, and the sisters of the Pious Disciples of the Divine Master order make sure all who call it get a real person instead of an automation. They also take pride in the fact that it’s a woman’s voice that answers the line, providing the mother church’s comfort and aid instead of simply patching through a call.
March 15, 2025 5:21 am
Hamas says it will only release an American-Israeli and the bodies of four other hostages if Israel implements the existing ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip, calling it an “exceptional deal” aimed at getting the truce back on track. A senior Hamas official said Saturday that long-delayed talks over the ceasefire’s second phase would need to begin the day of the release and last no longer than 50 days. Israel would also need to stop barring the entry of humanitarian aid and withdraw from a strategic corridor along Gaza’s border with Egypt. Hamas would also demand the release of more Palestinian prisoners in exchange for hostages.
March 15, 2025 5:17 am
The replacements for NASA’s two stuck astronauts are on their way to the International Space Station. SpaceX launched the new crew from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center on Friday night. The four astronauts should reach the space station the next day. That will pave the way for next week’s return of Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams. The two have been living at the space station since June, ever since their Boeing Starliner capsule malfunctioned and had to leave without them. What should have been a weeklong test flight turned into a nine-month mission with a SpaceX ride home.
March 15, 2025 5:10 am
An appeals court has lifted a block on executive orders seeking to end government support for diversity, equity and inclusion programs, handing the Trump administration a win after a string of setbacks defending President Donald Trump’s agenda against dozens of lawsuits. The decision from a three-judge panel allows the orders to be enforced as a lawsuit against them plays out. The judges halted a nationwide injunction from U.S. District Judge Adam Abelson in Baltimore. Two of the judges on the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals acknowledged the anti-DEI orders could raise concerns about First Amendment rights, but said the judge’s sweeping block went too far. Abelson had found the orders violated free-speech rights and are unconstitutionally vague.
