February 14, 2024 2:29 am
The City of Washington has put out an alert for roadwork that will begin Wednesday. The work is for the replacement of gas lines on Locust Avenue between Wilson and Wilbert avenues. There will be alternating lane restrictions between the hours of 7:30 am and 3:30 pm daily. The work is expected to last several weeks.
February 14, 2024 1:34 am
An Ohio man pleaded guilty on Monday for his role in a shooting that occurred in the 8th ward playground in the city of Washington in May of 2023. Tyler Shrieve, 21 of Bloomindale, Ohio was sentenced to three years of probation on a misdemeanor firearms possession charge. Felony drug possession and receiving stolen property charges were dropped. Shrieve and an accomplice T’kai Jett were arrested by City of Washington Police after a man was shot and those shots fired at the playground sent youngsters fleeing. The victim showed up at Washington Hospital later with a gunshot wound and survived. Jett pleaded guilty to similar charges and received a similar sentence in November of 2023.
February 13, 2024 1:35 pm
Wednesday will have special meaning on several levels for Roman Catholics as Ash Wednesday and Valentine’s Day coincide. According to the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh, the forty day Lenten season of prayer and penance is meant to convert hearts and minds back to God. Ash Wednesday is regarded as one of the most sacred days of the year for all Christians. It is important to note that Ash Wednesday is a holy day of obligation and also a day of fast and abstinence from meat. Many hoped for dispensation from the abstinence from meat, but Bishop David Zubik said that there will be no suspension from that obligation. A written statement from the diocese says “The observance of Lent, and its beginnings on Ash Wednesday, should always be of primary importance for Catholics. For that reason, although some might look for dispensation from the practices of fasting and abstinence from meat to celebrate Saint Valentine’s Day, Ash Wednesday is too important, too sacred to make such a concession. With that in mind, no dispensations from fasting and abstinence will be granted on February 14 in the Diocese of Pittsburgh. We should also remember that Saint Valentine was exactly that – a Catholic Saint! He would agree that the celebration that bears his name should take a back seat to Ash Wednesday!” said Bishop David Zubik. Distribution of ashes will be performed at all parishes. Contact your parish for their schedule for distribution of ashes.
February 13, 2024 7:59 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI)- Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen will be in Pittsburgh on Tuesday to highlight the Biden Administration’s efforts to lower health care costs and support small businesses. Yellen will tour the Skin Cancer Center at Allegheny Health Network West Penn Hospital in Bloomfield followed by a roundtable discussion on health care economy. She will also deliver remarks on the administration’s economic plan. Yellen will be joined by Congresswoman Summer Lee and several physicians and officials from Allegheny Health Network and its parent company Highmark Health.
February 13, 2024 5:06 am
HOUSTON (AP) — Authorities say the shooter who opened fire at a Texas megachurch over the weekend had a history of mental illness and used an AR-style rifle in the attack that also critically injured their 7-year-old son. Police identified the shooter as 36-year-old Genesse Ivonne Moreno. They noted Monday that Moreno sometimes used both male and female aliases. Investigators have not yet established a motive in the shooting at celebrity pastor Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church. They are looking into a dispute involving Moreno and the family of Moreno’s ex-husband. Moreno was killed by off-duty officers working security. Police say Moreno’s son remains in critical condition with a gunshot wound to the head.
February 13, 2024 5:05 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has passed a $95.3 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan after almost a week of debate and growing political divisions in the Republican Party over the role of the United States abroad. A small group of Republican senators who are strongly opposed to the $60 billion for Ukraine held the Senate floor through the night, arguing that the U.S. should focus on its own problems before sending more money overseas. But 22 Republicans voted with nearly all Democrats in the early morning Tuesday to pass the package 70-29, with supporters arguing that abandoning Ukraine could embolden Russian President Vladimir Putin and threaten national security across the globe.
February 13, 2024 5:04 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Inflation may have fallen below a 3% annual rate last month, which would be the lowest level in nearly three years and a potentially significant milestone as the Biden administration seeks to bolster Americans’ views of the economy before the November elections. Economists have estimated that when the government issues the latest consumer price index Tuesday, it will show that prices rose just 0.2% from December to January for a third month in a row. Falling gas prices are expected to have slowed overall inflation. And compared with a year earlier, inflation is thought to have cooled to 2.9%, down sharply from 3.4% in December. That would be the lowest year-over-year inflation since March 2021.
February 13, 2024 5:03 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Having failed to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas the first time, House Republicans are determined to try again. But it’s not at all certain Tuesday’s scheduled do-over will produce a better tally. The evening vote is expected to be tight, even with the arrival of Majority Leader Steve Scalise, who has been away from Washington for cancer care. Speaker Mike Johnson’s threadbare majority cannot spare defections or absences in the face of staunch Democratic opposition to impeaching Mayorkas. After last week’s embarrassing setback, Republicans are trying to make good on their priorities as they criticize the Biden administration’s handling of the record number of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border.
February 13, 2024 5:01 am
MOSCOW (AP) — Russia has put Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas on a wanted list, The move by the country’s Interior Ministry marks the first time that a foreign leader has been put on a wanted list in Russia. It appears to reflect an attempt by Moscow to up the ante as it faces pressure from NATO allies as fighting in Ukraine nears the two-year mark. Kallas has been a strong supporter of Ukraine, spearheading efforts to increase military assistance to Kyiv and tighten sanctions against Russia. She also has angered Moscow by pushing for the removal of monuments to Soviet World War II soldiers. Russia has laws criminalizing the “rehabilitation of Nazis” that include clauses punishing the desecration of war memorials.
February 13, 2024 4:58 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. — (WPXI) – If you drive down the road, you’ll see school buses all across the region. Big, yellow and considered one of the safest vehicles on the road. “If we can add more safety to it, I’ll be the first one in line no doubt about it,” said DJ Frye who owns Frye Transportation. Frye is a third-generation school bus owner in Beaver County. He’s heard the topic of seatbelts in large school buses debated for years. The latest conversation comes from 40th Legislative District Republican State Representative Natalie Mihalek who represents Allegheny County and Peters Township in Washington County. She is introducing a bill to add the three-point seatbelts to all new buses. “I say it’s sort of priceless when you are talking about the safety of our children. So it’s estimated it would be $7,000 to $10,000 for a new school bus, I’m not looking to retrofit the school buses already in service and it would be starting in the year 2029 or later depending on the timing,” Mihalek said. Those costs are just the upfront costs, according to Frye. He said the biggest hurdle for the bus companies will actually come from the capacity because right now you sit three kids a seat with seatbelts it takes it to two. Plus, drivers won’t be able to double up on routes, meaning you’ll need more drivers. Frye said the logistical costs will be passed on to the taxpayers, but the one thing he’d want no matter what for safety is an extra adult to help enforce, because why have the seatbelts if the kids won’t wear them? Frye hopes he can sit down with Mihalek to include his perspective in the bill to make sure it creates the safest situation for all the kids.The bill is currently still being drafted with the hopes to introduce and move to committee soon.
