August 17, 2025 7:18 am
State Police are investigating a shooting late Sunday night in Ellsworth. The Washington County Coroners office says 21 year old Elijah Johnson of Carnegie was pronounced dead at a home along Walnut Street just after 4 a.m Monday morning. Washington County 9-1-1 dispatchers say police were called to the home around 11:15 p.m Sunday night. According to the coroner, Johnson was shot inside a friend’s home. A cause and manner of death are pending. There is no word on any suspects or a motive. No other injuries were reported.
August 17, 2025 7:00 am
PennDot is delivering limited good news in Peters Township. A portion of East McMurray Road will reopen on August 18. East McMurray Road will be open with its intersection with Bebout Road. It will be open from Demmel Drive to Bebout Road. East McMurray will remain closed from the entrance to the Coen store to Fulton Drive. East McMurray Road will remain closed after the Coen store heading east. Thompsonville Road will be open to all traffic. Left hand turns are not available. Bebout Road will also be open to all traffic. The remaining portion of East McMurray Road will remain closed until the completion of the project. It is estimated that the construction will last until mid September.
August 17, 2025 7:00 am
North Strabane Township Police raided a vape shop on Friday. According to a release from the police department, a search warrant was executed at Washington Vape & Tobacco located at Wildflower Circle following an investigation into the business activities of the store. Officers seized several illegal items including marijuana, THC products, counterfeit vape cartridges, psychedelic substances and various types of drug paraphernalia. The business was also operating in violation of multiple state and local laws. Police also found that sales were made to younger looking customers without requiring identification. The unidentified manager of the store was taken into police custody and is facing undetermined criminal charges.
August 17, 2025 7:00 am
A group of residents from West Finley Township approached Washington County Commissioner at their meeting on Thursday to ask their help in fighting the development of a data center near their homes. Henrietta O’Brien led the group. She said Florida land developer Next Generation Land Company has met with township supervisors. The company is interested in land off of Nuthatch Lane. She said the plans call for the construction of a data center that would be powered by a power plant using locally sourced natural gas. Residents are upset because of the widely reported emissions dangers from a power plant, but they are concerned about low frequency vibrations and hum. O’Brien says that those pollutions would negatively affect wildlife that is critical to the agricultural industry prevalent in the area. Jeff Hemmis raises bees. He said an electronics tower built near his home has wiped out his bee population and he still cannot revive them. Glenn O’Brien called the proposed construction terrible for the area water. He said that everyone is on a well. Sometimes they run dry in the summer. His research proved that data centers and power plants consume huge amounts of water. His concern is the construction was allowed, it would wipe out the water supply in the area.
August 17, 2025 5:09 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is bringing with him to the the White House an extraordinary cadre of European leaders to show U.S. President Donald Trump a united front against Russia. The European political heavy-hitters were left out of Trump’s summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin last Friday and they are looking to safeguard Ukraine and the continent from any widening aggression from Moscow. By arriving as a group on Monday, they hope to avoid any debacles like Zelenskyy’s February meeting in the Oval Office where Trump chastised him for not showing enough gratitude for American military aid.
August 17, 2025 2:00 am
PennDot is announcing several construction projects in South Strabane Township. Beginning Monday August 18, Vance Station Road will be closed between Lakeview Drive and the Interstate 79 flyover. The suggested detour is using Route 40 to Zediker Station Road to Vance Station Road. That detour will be in place until August 22. A second project will require nightly single lane restrictions on the northbound Interstate 79 flyover ramp and westbound Interstate 70. Those restrictions will be on the flyover ramp and on Interstate 70 from Exit 21 (I-79 South) to the end of the flyover ramp. Work will be performed Monday through Friday, 6:00 PM to 6:00 AM and will last through mid September.
August 16, 2025 4:30 am
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska (AP) — President Donald Trump has failed to secure an agreement from Vladimir Putin to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, falling short in his most significant move yet to stop the bloodshed, even after rolling out the red carpet for the man who started it. Putin said they had hammered out an “understanding” on Ukraine and warned Europe not to “torpedo the nascent progress.” But Trump said “there’s no deal until there’s a deal.” He said he would call Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders to brief them on the talks.
August 16, 2025 4:26 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration has reversed course and agreed to leave the Washington, D.C., police chief in control of the department after a court hearing. Attorney General Pam Bondi, in a new memo, is directing the District’s police to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement regardless of any city law. Bondi’s new order Friday came after officials in the nation’s capital sued to block President Donald Trump’s takeover of the Washington police. On Thursday night, his administration escalated its intervention into the city’s law enforcement by naming a federal official as the new emergency head of the department.
August 16, 2025 4:23 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Democrats have unveiled a proposal that could give California’s dominant political party an additional five U.S. House seats in a bid to win the fight to control Congress next year. The plan calls for the reshaping of district lines to greatly strengthen the Democratic advantage in the state ahead of midterm elections. Republicans will be defending a fragile House majority in 2026. Meanwhile Texas Republicans have ended a legislative session without approving new congressional maps but quickly began another. It is intended to satisfy President Donald Trump’s wishes for redistricting that bolsters the GOP. Democrats blocked the plan by leaving the state during a special session.
August 16, 2025 4:20 am
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Erin has become a Category 4 hurricane in the Caribbean, according to the National Hurricane Center. The storm is currently northeast of Anguilla, with winds of 130 mph. It is moving west-northwest. While it is not forecasted to hit land, strong winds are affecting nearby islands, raising concerns about flooding and landslides. Tropical storm watches are in place for several islands. Experts predict Erin will turn northeast, potentially affecting Bermuda. This is the first hurricane of the Atlantic season, which is expected to be unusually busy.
