March 20, 2025 4:43 am
SOUTH FAYETTE TOWNSHIP, Pa. — (WPXI) – The treasurer of a local youth football organization is facing charges after police say she stole nearly $65,000. In October 2024, the president of the South Fayette Township Youth Football Association reported suspicions to the police. The president said Treasurer Jaella Starr Richard, 41, of Bridgeville, provided an Excel spreadsheet showing the association’s finances in June 2024 but told the board she was still working on updating it at every meeting after that. A statement from the organization’s Key Bank account showed only $745 remained but the president said Richard last reported over $60,000 in the account. Officers went through the bank statements from the account for November 2023 through October 2024. Court documents said those statements showed several Venmo transactions had been made to Richard’s husband, payments had been made to Amazon and checks had been written to an apparent relative. In total, police said $64,742.75 was taken from the football association’s account. The 70 Venmo payments made to Richard’s husband totaled $56,450 and another $1,855.82 was sent to Amazon. Authorities believe the money was used to make mortgage, credit card and utility payments and pay for entertainment, like Netflix, and food. Richard faces six different felony charges including dealing in the proceeds of illegal activity, theft by unlawful taking and unlawful use of a computer.
March 20, 2025 2:40 am
Washington School District Superintendent George Lammay tells WJPA News that there was never a threat made against the high school Thursday afternoon, but police did contact him to make him aware of a possible threat at the post office, which is across the street from the school. Lammay says he issued a call to parents and guardians notifying them of the situation and there was no official lock-down. He tells us that the school is essentially on lock-down every day, as they keep all doors locked and secured. There’s been no word from police on the situation at the post office, but Lammay says he was notified that the event was over.
March 20, 2025 2:37 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration has suspended approximately $175 million in federal funding for the University of Pennsylvania over the participation of a transgender athlete in its swimming program. That word comes Wednesday from the White House. The Ivy League university has been facing an Education Department investigation focusing on in its swimming program. That inquiry was announced last month immediately after President Donald Trump signed an executive order intended to ban transgender athletes from competing in girls and women’s sports. But the federal funding was suspended in a separate review of discretionary federal money going to universities.
March 20, 2025 2:15 am
Washington County Commissioners will work through a rather day to day agenda Thursday evening when they meet for their final meeting for March. There is an agenda item that will see continued progress for the new Public Safety Building. Commissioners will vote on a measure to award a demolition contract to Adamo Demolition of Detroit, Michigan. The contract is for $1,555,700 to demolish the Courthouse Square Building. No date has been set for the demolition. Commissioners will also vote on a measure to approve an agreement between the Redevelopment Authority of Washington County and the North Strabane Township Municipal Authority to extend sanitary sewer service to Somerset Township. The project is budgeted for $10,000 and will be financed by Pennsylvania Act 13 Marcellus Shale funds. Thursday’s evening meeting will begin at 6:30 PM.
March 20, 2025 2:13 am
A driver at the Hollywood Casino at the Meadows has died after a crash on the track Wednesday afternoon. 27-year-old driver Hunter Myers was injured in an accident involving six horses during the 11th race. He was flown to a Pittsburgh area hospital where family members said he was being treated for a brain injury. According to a post on DRF (Daily Racing Form), Myers was thrown from the bike after leader Uptown Callie, driven by Dave Palone, made a break before three-quarters and triggered a chain reaction spill impacting several horses. Myers was reportedly thrown backward, apparently hitting his head on the track. According to the DRF post, the other drivers involved suffered no serious injuries. Officials with the Meadows Standardbred Owners Association say that out of respect to the Meadows Racing Community, the Meadows has cancelled racing for the remainder of the week. (Photo: Hollywood Casino at the Meadows)
March 19, 2025 5:21 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged Wednesday and signaled that it still expects to cut rates twice this year, though more policymakers forecast fewer cuts. The Fed also now expects the economy to grow more slowly this year and next than it did three months ago, according to a set of quarterly economic projections also released Wednesday. It also expects the unemployment rate to tick higher, to 4.4%. Policymakers also expect inflation will pick up slightly by the end of this year, to 2.7% from its current level of 2.5%. Bother are above the central bank’s 2% target.
March 19, 2025 5:18 pm
ROME (AP) — Pope Francis’s condition has continued to improve and he no longer needs to use noninvasive mechanical ventilation to help him breathe at night. The Vatican said 88-year-old pontiff is also reducing his reliance on high-flow supplemental oxygen during the day. His double pneumonia infection, while not completely eliminated, is under control, the Holy See press office said. Francis celebrated Mass on Wednesday, which is an important feast day for the Catholic Church and is the anniversary of his installation as pope 12 years ago. Francis has been at Rome’s Gemelli hospital since Feb. 14 for a complex lung infection that turned into pneumonia in both lungs. (Photo: AP)
March 19, 2025 5:17 pm
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — President Donald Trump has suggested to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that the U.S. should take ownership of Ukrainian power plants to ensure the critical facilities’ security. According to a White House statement, Trump told Zelenskyy during a call Wednesday that the U.S could be “very helpful in running those plants with its electricity and utility expertise.” Trump added that “American ownership of those plants could be the best protection for that infrastructure.” The idea was floated even as the Trump administration looks to finalize an agreement to gain access to Ukraine’s critical minerals as partial repayment for U.S. support for Ukraine during the war. Wednesday’s call, which both sides say went well, comes weeks after Zelenskyy’s disastrous White House visit.
March 19, 2025 5:07 am
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have returned to Earth after being stuck in space for more than nine months. Their SpaceX capsule parachuted into the Gulf of Mexico early Tuesday evening, just hours after departing the International Space Station. The splashdown brought their space saga to an end. It all began with a bungled Boeing test flight last year. The two expected to be gone a week or so after launching on Boeing’s new Starliner capsule. So many problems cropped up that NASA ordered Starliner back empty and reassigned Williams and Wilmore to SpaceX for the ride home.
March 19, 2025 5:03 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge has blocked enforcement of President Donald Trump’s executive order banning transgender people from serving in the U.S. military. Judge Ana Reyes in Washington, D.C., ruled Tuesday that Trump’s order to exclude transgender troops from military service likely violates their constitutional rights. The judge issued a preliminary injunction requested by attorneys for six transgender people who are active-duty service members and two others seeking to join the military. She delayed her order until Friday to give the administration time to appeal.
