March 17, 2022 4:02 am
MONROEVILLE, Pa. — (WPXI) – Police say a man lied his way into Ramsey Elementary School in Monroeville and recorded a child in a bathroom. According to the criminal complaint, Brian Mintmier, 26, approached the school’s main entrance Tuesday afternoon. There he was met by a district employee who is responsible for screening visitors. Mintmier asked the employee to use the restroom, and when he was permitted, he gained access to a hallway restroom unaccompanied. A 10-year-old girl reported she was in a restroom stall when she looked down to see someone holding a cellular phone under the stall and recording her, according to the criminal complaint. School staff members eventually were able to get Mintmier out of the restroom and hold him in the school office until police arrived. A box cutter was also found on Mintmier, police said. According to reports, a letter sent to parents by Gateway School District superintendent William Short, Mintmier was in the bathroom for nearly 40 minutes. In the letter Short said, “This egregious error in judgment is against school district policy and procedures.” The employee who granted access to Mintmier has been placed on leave pending an investigation. Mintmier now faces many charges including invasion of privacy. According to court documents, he was denied bail. (Photo: WPXI)
March 17, 2022 3:56 am
Student violence and bullying has plagued Ringgold School District buildings in the last several months. At Wednesday’s school board meeting Superintendent Randall Skrinjorich announced that the district is having success with the issue. Skrinjorich spoke about a Parent Advisory Board that was created and had its first meeting the day before. Skrinjorich was pleased with the outcome and addressed parents’ concerns about student safety. He indicated that parents were pleased with the ongoing efforts as well. Skrinjorich also turned the meeting over to middle school principal Timothy McKay to allow him to update the board on his efforts in working with middle school students, reminding them of the rules in buildings and that there will be consequences if students get out of line. He also described ways that students can have input for their safety. Finally, the board voted unanimously to update their health and safety plan to eliminate the requirement for masks on buses. This goes against CDC guidance for public transportation but Skrinjorich and the district’s legal advisors studied communications that indicated that they are within their rights to drop a mask requirement on buses.
March 17, 2022 3:14 am
State Senator and President Pro Tempore Jake Corman stopped by in Washington and Canonsburg to push his plan to help Pennsylvania drivers save some money by cutting the state’s gas tax. Corman’s proposal would slice about half of the gas tax if it were implemented. His idea has State Police funding being removed from the gas tax funds, having PennDot float a $650 million bond and using $500 million of pandemic relief funds to achieve that goal. Corman states that this is a temporary solution that would last until the end of the year but it would bring some relief to Pennsylvania motorists. On the subject of tolling nine bridges across Pennsylvania, Corman calls that decision wrong and hopes to have legislation proposed by the end of the month to block any proposal to toll those bridges.
March 16, 2022 1:18 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden said Wednesday the U.S. is sending more anti-aircraft, anti-armor weapons and drones to Ukraine to assist in its defense against Russia. The president’s comments came as he formally announced his administration was sending an additional $800 million in military assistance to Ukraine. About $1 billion in military aid has been sent in just the last week. Biden spoke hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivered a video address to members of U.S. Congress in which he made an impassioned plea for the U.S. and West to provide more help to save his young democracy.
March 16, 2022 4:24 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – A Senate committee has approved a bipartisan blueprint to overhaul the nation’s public health system, applying the lessons of COVID-19 to future outbreaks through a new chain of command, a stronger medical supply chain, and clearer crisis communications. But Tuesday’s vote by the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee was only the first step. Lawmakers still must deliver the tens of billions of dollars it will take to translate the bill’s vision into reality. And right now, Congress is even having trouble meeting the White House request for additional funds to keep COVID-19 at bay the rest of this year.
March 16, 2022 4:21 am
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – South Korea’s military says a North Korean missile fired from its capital region exploded in mid-air in an apparent failed launch. The launch on Wednesday was detected amid speculation that the North could soon launch its longest-range missile in its most significant provocation since 2017. Details of the missile explosion weren’t immediately known. It was the 10th such weapons test this year and shows North Korea is determined to press ahead on its push to modernize its weapons arsenal and pressure its rivals. Experts say past failures still have moved North Korea closer to its goal of having a viable nuclear arsenal that could threaten the American homeland.
March 16, 2022 4:20 am
Hospital workers in Ukraine’s second-largest city find themselves on two frontlines, battling COVID-19 in intensive care units as war rages outside. The Kharkiv Regional Clinical Infectious Diseases Hospital director Dr. Pavel Nartov said air raid sirens go off multiple times daily, forcing fragile patients into the hospital’s makeshift bomb shelter. Handling ICU patients on ventilators is the most difficult and dangerous part of the process, but also the most crucial, given the dangers of exposing oxygen tanks to bombings and shrapnel, he said. Kharkiv has been under sustained fire from Russian forces since the outbreak of the war. Ukraine’s official daily COVID-19 cases have declined as virus concerns fell by the wayside and people focused on fleeing the fighting.
March 16, 2022 4:19 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky cited Pearl Harbor and the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 on Wednesday in appealing to the U.S. Congress to do more to help Ukraine’s fight against Russia. We need you right now,” Zelensky said in remarks live-streamed at the U.S. Capitol. He added, “I call on you to do more.” Lawmakers gave him a standing ovation as he appeared on the video screen. President Joe Biden has resisted Zelensky’s requests to send warplanes to Ukraine, which would risk escalating the war with Russia. Instead, Biden is expected to deliver an address later Wednesday announcing $800 million in additional security assistance for Ukraine.
March 16, 2022 4:17 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – Port Authority announced they will be providing free rides on all vehicles to acknowledge the challenges riders are facing with staffing shortages and cancelled routes. In a release from Port Authority, the agency said about 180 operators and 480 total employees will be held off work beginning March 16 for violating the COVID-19 vaccination requirement. The company also said a portion of the employees are expected to return to work within two weeks but service disruptions are expected to continue. Port Authority said anyone who bought and began a 7-day or 31-day pass, whether directly through them or a third party retailer, will receive a complimentary 7-day pass. Those riders are encouraged to bring their ConnecTix to the Downtown Customer Service Center beginning on Monday.
March 16, 2022 4:14 am
Tuesday afternoon was the first step in the every five year cycle of gambling license renewals for the Hollywood at The Meadows Casino. A public hearing was held by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) that heard testimony from the operators of the casino and racetrack. They commented on the importance of tax revenues generated by the casino and the local impact the casino has in the community by supporting well paying jobs with benefits, local spending in the region for supplies and what improvements have been made and what improvements are yet to come. The PGBC offered their own testimony through law enforcement and compliance investigations and police interactions between Pennsylvania State Police on the inside of the building and host community North Strabane Township Police. The nearly two hour meeting allowed the PGCB to zero in on such things as hiring ratios, security inside and outside of the building and criminal activity occurring around the venue. The next step is another public hearing in Harrisburg before final decisions are made on renewals later this year.
