Preliminary Hearing Continued For Incident At Frankie I’s

January 15, 2022 1:44 am

A North Strabane Township man accused in a New Year’s Eve incident at Frankie I’s restaurant had his preliminary hearing continued on Friday. Dee Frazee, 27 is facing charges of attempted homicide, aggravated assault and propulsion of missiles into oncoming vehicles. Frazee’s attorney was just hired two days ago and asked the judge for a one week continuance so he could gather information. Despite the strong objections from the district attorney the judge granted the continuance. The next hearing is tentatively scheduled for January 21st.

Washington County Vehicular Homicide Trial Concludes

January 15, 2022 1:35 am

A Virginia truck driver on trial for striking and killing a man who was working on his disabled truck on Interstate 70 awaits a verdict. Hosea Holcomb, 28 of Emporium, Virginia took the stand in his defense in his non jury trial on Friday. After his attorney played 90 minutes of Pennsylvania State Police interview footage of Holcomb as he was pulled over on I-70 and later at the police barracks, Holcomb gave his story of how events played out in January of 2021 and why he made decisions that he did. Holcomb testified that he did not realize that he struck and killed John Isenberg of Ohio as he worked on his disabled tractor trailer. He testified that he thought he had a close call with the disabled vehicle. Video footage played during the three day trial showed Holcomb driving in a state of what seemed to be extreme sleepiness, despite just finishing a 45 minute power nap minutes earlier. Footage of him twice using an expletive phrase and making a sign of the cross on his chest were explained by him saying he was grateful that, as he perceived the situation, he survived a close call. Judge Gary Gilman has taken the testimony under advisement and will have a decision in the coming weeks.

Free COVID Tests Available Starting Wednesday

January 15, 2022 1:20 am

WASHINGTON (AP) – The White House says the federal website where Americans can request free COVID-19 tests will begin accepting orders on Wednesday. The announcement on Friday comes as the administration looks to address nationwide shortages, but supplies will be limited to just four free tests per home. Americans shouldn’t expect a rapid turn-around on the orders and Americans will have to plan ahead and request the tests well before they meet federal guidelines for when to use a test. The White House said “tests will typically ship within 7-12 days of ordering” through the United States Postal Service, which reports shipping times of 1-3 days for its first class package service in the continental United States.

Mexico Seizes Cereal

January 14, 2022 5:28 pm

MEXICO CITY (AP) – Mexico wants to improve children’s diets, so it seized 380,000 boxes of Corn Flakes, Special K and other Kellogg’s cereal, claiming the boxes had cartoon drawings on them. While Cornflakes are clearly not the worst thing Mexican children eat, recently enacted laws prohibit food companies from using marketing tactics that might appeal to children, like cartoons or mascots. Mexico’s consumer protection agency also claimed Friday the cereal boxes did not clearly state nutritional values like calories, fats, salt or sugar, or didn’t have the warning signs for levels of those ingredients that are considered excessive. Kellogg’s did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Russia Refuses To Rule Out Troop Deployment

January 14, 2022 3:23 am

MOSCOW (AP) – A senior Russian diplomat has refused to rule out a Russian military deployment to Cuba and Venezuela if tensions with the United States over Ukraine and NATO’s expansion in Eastern Europe mount. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said in televised remarks on Thursday that he couldn’t confirm or exclude the possibility of Russia sending military assets to Latin America if the U.S. and its allies don’t curtail their activities on Russia’s doorstep. U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan dismissed the statement as “bluster.” Russia held talks with the U.S. and NATO this week amid a Russian troop buildup near Ukraine that the West fears might be a prelude to an invasion.

Biden Set To Nominate Three For Federal Reserve Board

January 14, 2022 3:22 am

WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden will nominate three people for the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors, including Sarah Bloom Raskin, a former Fed and Treasury official, for the top regulatory slot and Lisa Cook, who would be the first Black woman to serve on the Fed’s board. Biden will also nominate Phillip Jefferson, an economist, dean of faculty at Davidson College in North Carolina and a former Fed researcher, according to a person familiar with the decision Thursday who was not authorized to speak on the record. The three nominees, who will have to be confirmed by the Senate, would fill out the Fed’s seven-member board.

End Of Child Tax Credit Hits Home

January 14, 2022 3:20 am

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) – For the first time in half a year, families on Friday are going without a monthly deposit from the child tax credit. The program was intended to be part of President Joe Biden’s legacy but has instead become a flashpoint over who is worthy of government support. The monthly tax credits started arriving thanks to Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, and the president had proposed extending them for another full year as part of a separate measure focused on economic and social programs. But that bill is stalled in the Senate. More than 36 million families received the payments in December.

Fayette County Baby In Intensive Care After Neglect

January 14, 2022 3:14 am

GEORGES TOWNSHIP, Pa. (WPXI) — A baby girl from Fayette County is in the intensive care unit at Ruby Memorial hospital, after being found unresponsive with no pulse and ice cold to the touch in her playpen. Troopers in Uniontown arrested her father, 26-year-old Keith Kalbaugh, who told police that his daughter spends the majority of her time in the playpen, while he spends his time playing online computer games in his bedroom. The baby had been sleeping and living in the playpen that first responders found her in. She was found in just a diaper, surrounded by feces, decaying food, stains and dirt. Doctors at Ruby Memorial say she was “filthy” and “emaciated” as a result of severe neglect. She is severely underweight, experiencing kidney failure, and multiple abrasions were found on her body. Investigators say the conditions in the home were worse than the conditions outside, and that the floor was covered in trash, diapers, feces, toys, decayed food, dirt, and other unidentifiable items. A 3-year-old child was living there as well. Police say the baby’s mother has not been charged at this time and that she does not live in the home. (Photo: WPXI)

Bicyclist Injured On W&J Campus

January 13, 2022 4:50 pm

Information has been difficult to come by regarding an accident Wednesday night on the Washington & Jefferson College Campus.  Washington City Police say the investigation is being handled by the school’s police force, while the college’s police force tells WJPA News that the investigation is being done by the city police force.  A W&J Police spokeswoman told WJPA that a man was riding a bicycle around ten-thirty p.m. on East Beau Street, when he ran into a pedestrian sign in the crosswalk and tumbled off his bike.  Initial reports were that the man had been hit by a car.  The man was flown to a Pittsburgh area hospital for treatment but there has been no word on his condition.

Prince Andrew Stripped Of Many Royal Titles & Duties

January 13, 2022 3:25 pm

LONDON (AP) – Buckingham Palace says Queen Elizabeth II has stripped Prince Andrew of all his honorary military titles and royal roles in charities and other civic groups, amid a growing furor over allegations he sexually abused a teenage girl supplied to him by financier Jeffrey Epstein. The palace statement Thursday came after more than 150 navy and army veterans wrote to the queen asking her to strip Andrew of all his military ranks and titles. A U.S. district judge on Wednesday refused to dismiss a civil case against Andrew by an American woman, Virginia Giuffre, who alleges the royal sexually abused her when she was 17. Andrew’s lawyers deny the claims.  (Photo:  AP)