March 8, 2025 3:31 am
A man from Cecil Township will stand trial on several involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and indecent assault of a minor charges. Ryan Wolstoncroft, 39 turned down a plea offer on a single involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a person less than 16 years old charge that would have him serve 5-10 years in jail. When asked by the judge about the plea deal the district attorney said that the offer has been the same for approximately two years. The judge asked Wolstoncroft if he was sure that he wanted to go to trial knowing that he could be convicted of all 6 offenses that he faces and that jail terms could be served consecutively calling for a much longer possible jail sentence. Wolstoncroft was firm in his reply to stand trial. The trial is scheduled for September 8. Wolstoncroft remains free on $250,000 bond. Wolstoncroft is accused of assaulting a minor from 2020 until 2021 multiple times. He would offer to purchase in-game currency for a popular internet video game in exchange for silence about the assaults.
March 8, 2025 1:42 am
Washington and Jefferson College Students and business leaders in Washington County were treated to a rare program. Jose Miguel Aleman Healy, Panama’s Ambassador to the United States shared his views on the history and current relationship between Panama and the United States. He stepped back in history to when business titans in the U-S negotiated with Panama in the 1850’s to build the Panama Railroad that preceded the Panama Canal by nearly fifty years. He detailed the business relationship with the U-S describing Panama’s trade deficit with the U-S as a 10:1 ratio in favor of the U-S. His description of Panama’s economy is one based in logistics. He detailed diverse business opportunities available in his county. He was particularly adamant about the United States maintaining its lead in creativity in innovations both in business and technology. He admires the United States Education system for that creativity and says the creativity is what keeps the United States as a world leader over other countries such as China that copy other country’s innovations. He says that Panama is looking to tap into that innovation by having American universities expand into their country. Panama has recently met with Carnegie Mellon University for that reason. Attorney Frank Botta is a graduate of W&J and invited Ambassador Aleman Healy to speak. He hopes that the visit will open an opportunity for W&J to take advantage of the expansion plan.
March 7, 2025 4:28 pm
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Authorities revealed Friday that actor Gene Hackman died of heart disease and showed severe signs of Alzheimer’s disease a full week after his wife died of hantavirus in their home. Authorities initially ruled out foul play after the bodies were discovered Feb 26. Immediate tests for carbon monoxide poisoning were negative. Arakawa, 65, was found with an open prescription bottle and pills scattered on the bathroom counter. Authorities linked her death to hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. Hackman, 95, was found in the home’s entryway. His death was tied to heart disease with Alzheimer’s disease contributing. (Photo: AP)
March 7, 2025 10:34 am
SALEM TOWNSHIP, Pa. — (WPXI) – A school van driver is dead and a teenager injured after a multi-vehicle crash in Westmoreland County. The crash involving a school van, a tractor-trailer and an SUV happened around 7:15 a.m. near the intersection of Route 22 and Route 819 in Salem Township. Route 22 was closed in both directions but has since reopened. The school van driver, identified by state police as Renee Davis, 60, was killed in the crash. There were no students on board the school van at the time. A district spokesperson said the van was on a route for the Greensburg Salem School District. The driver of the tractor-trailer was not hurt. The district said the driver of the SUV was one of its high school students on their way to school. The 17-year-old student is OK but being evaluated at UPMC Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh. State police said that the tractor-trailer ran a red light and that sun glare may have played a factor in the crash.
March 7, 2025 8:47 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. employers added solid 151,000 jobs last month, but the outlook is cloudy as President Donald threatens a trade war, purges the federal workforce and promises to deport millions of immigrants. The Labor Department reported Friday that hiring was up from a revised 125,000 in January. The unemployment rate rose slightly to 4.1%. The job market has been remarkably resilient over the past year despite high interest rates.
March 7, 2025 5:09 am
BEIJING (AP) — Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi says China will continue to retaliate for the United States’ “arbitrary tariffs” and accused Washington of “meeting good with evil” in a press conference Friday on the sidelines of the annual parliamentary session. Wang said China’s efforts to help the U.S. contain its fentanyl crisis have been met with punitive tariffs, which are straining their ties. He said, “No country should fantasize that it can suppress China and maintain a good relationship with China at the same time.” The two countries have been reengaging in tit-for-tat retaliatory tariffs since President Donald Trump’s return to office in January. The U.S. imposed flat tariffs of 20% of all Chinese imports, while Beijing has countered with additional 15% duties on key U.S. imports.
March 7, 2025 5:04 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Walgreens Boots Alliance says it has agreed to be acquired by the private equity firm Sycamore Partners as the struggling retailer looks to turn itself around after years of losing money. Walgreens said Sycamore will pay $11.45 per share, giving the deal an equity value just under $10 billion. Shareholders could eventually receive up to another $3 per share under certain conditions. A buyout to take the drugstore chain private would give it more flexibility to make changes to improve its business without worrying about Wall Street’s reaction. Walgreens has been a public company since 1927.
March 7, 2025 5:02 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s ever-changing, on-again, off-again tariff war with America’s three biggest trading partners – Mexico, Canada and China — is baffling businesses and causing them to delay or cancel the investments that help drive economic growth. Trade wars complicate the decisions businesses have to make – which suppliers to use, where to locate factories, what prices to charge. During Trump’s first-term trade battles, U.S. business investment weakened late in 2019, convincing the Federal Reserve to cut its benchmark interest rate three times in second half of the year to provide some offsetting economic stimulus. Trump 2.0 is proving even more unnerving to business.
March 7, 2025 5:01 am
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Police say a 17-year-old boy with a loaded shotgun boarded a plane in Australia before being restrained by a pilot and two passengers. Police and a passenger said the boy climbed through a hole in the airport fence and posed as a maintenance worker to board the plane Thursday. The boy was disarmed and detained before police arrived on the scene at Avalon Airport in Victoria state. Police said Friday the boy had been charged with unlawfully taking control of an aircraft, possessing a firearm and other crimes. Passenger Barry Clark, a former boxer and sheep shearer, said the boy got agitated when questioned by a flight attendant and he snuck behind the boy to push the gun away and restrain the boy.
March 7, 2025 5:00 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is expressing uncertainty that NATO would come to the United States’ defense if the country were attacked. That’s despite the alliance doing just that after Sept. 11 in what was the only time that the Article 5 defense guarantee has ever been invoked. He also suggested Thursday that the United States might abandon its NATO commitments if member countries don’t meet defense spending targets. Trump mentioned France during his remarks, saying if he called them and said, “We got a problem,” he’s “not so sure” they would protect the United States. French President Emmanuel Macron responded by saying that he and his country are “loyal and faithful allies” to the U.S.
