January 9, 2025 5:06 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A fast-moving fire has broken out in the Hollywood Hills about a mile from the Hollywood Walk of Fame. About 130,000 people were under evacuation orders from out-of-control Los Angeles wildfires Wednesday. At least five people have been killed. Nearly 2,000 structures have been destroyed in the two fires, and the number is expected to increase. Three major blazes that erupted Tuesday have grown substantially. The fires have blanketed LA with a thick cloud of smoke and ash and ravaged the city from the Pacific Coast to inland Pasadena. One of the fires has become the most destructive in the modern history of the city of LA.
January 9, 2025 5:08 am
DALLAS (AP) — Schools and cities from Texas to Georgia are shutting down in anticipation of freezing rain and snow forecast for much of the Southern U.S. The severe weather is expected across a stretch from New Mexico to Alabama starting Wednesday night and early Thursday. The National Weather Service says the heaviest snowfall is likely in parts of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Texas. Classes have been canceled for more than 1 million students in northern Texas, and other closures are reported in Arkansas and Kansas. Virginia’s capital, Richmond, remains under a weather-related water-boil advisory.
January 8, 2025 5:10 am
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter will be honored Thursday with the pageantry of a funeral in the nation’s capital and second service in his tiny Georgia hometown that launched a Depression-era farm boy to the world stage. The dual funerals conclude six days of national funeral rights for the 39th president who died Dec. 29 at the age of 100. President Joe Biden will eulogize Carter in Washington. Carter’s other living successors are expected to attend, along with other dignitaries. His afternoon funeral in Plains, Georgia, is a small affair limited to family, friends and members of Maranatha Baptist Church. Carter will be buried alongside his late wife, Rosalynn Carter, in the same town where they were born, lived most of their lives and died.
January 8, 2025 5:13 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump ran on a return to his “America First” foreign policy platform. But since winning a second term, the president-elect has been embracing a new imperialist agenda. He’s talking about seizing the Panama Canal and Greenland — perhaps by military force — and saying he will use economic coercion to pressure Canada to become the nation’s 51st state. Such talk about undermining sovereign borders and using military force against allies, even if said lightly, is a stunning departure from decades-old norms about territorial integrity. Analysts say it could embolden America’s enemies at a time when Russia is pressing forward with its invasion of Ukraine and China is threatening Taiwan.
January 9, 2025 5:55 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — In a collision between free speech and national security, the Supreme Court will hear arguments over the fate of TikTok, a digital age cultural phenomenon that roughly half the U.S. population uses for entertainment and information. The case is being heard Friday. TikTok says it plans to shut down the social media platform in the U.S. by Jan. 19 unless the Supreme Court strikes down or otherwise delays the effective date of a law aimed at forcing TikTok’s sale by its Chinese parent company. Enforcement of the law would be left to the incoming Trump administration. President-elect Donald Trump has dropped his support for a TikTok ban. The court’s decision could come within days.
January 8, 2025 5:00 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Massive wildfires roaring through the Los Angeles area left neighborhoods in ruins, killed at least two people and threatened landmarks made famous by Hollywood. Desperate residents escaped through flames, hurricane-force winds and towering columns of smoke. Three major blazes that erupted just a day earlier blanketed the city with a dangerous, thick cloud of smoke and ash and destroyed homes across the metropolitan area, from the Pacific Coast inland to Pasadena, home of the famed Rose Parade. One of the fires was the most destructive in the modern history of the city of LA.
January 8, 2025 4:14 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department says it will release special counsel Jack Smith’s findings on Donald Trump’s efforts to undo the results of the 2020 presidential election but will keep the rest of the report under wraps for now. The revelation was made in a filing Wednesday to a federal appeals court that was considering a defense request to block the release of the two-volume report while charges remain pending against two Trump co-defendants in a Florida case. That case accuses the Republican former president and current president-elect of illegally hoarding classified documents. It’s unclear when the election interference report might be released. Trump has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and says it would be a “fake report.” (Photo: AP)
January 8, 2025 7:26 am
Crews from Pennsylvania American Water company were called to a large water main break in Chartiers Township Wednesday morning. Washington County 9-1-1 dispatchers tell WJPA News it happened around five o’clock at North Main Street and Museum Road. Traffic through the area was reduced to a single lane and the gushing water was shut off before 7:30 a.m. Officials with Pennsylvania American Water said in an emailed statement that the break was repaired and all service was restored. They said the break was due to an old pipe line. Eighteen customers were left without service until around ten-thirty, when final repairs were made.
January 8, 2025 4:51 am
BUTLER, Pa. (AP) — Three people found dead in a western Pennsylvania home this week apparently died from carbon monoxide poisoning. But authorities say it’s not yet known what caused the issue. The Butler County Coroner’s Office reports two men and a woman were found dead shortly before 5 p.m. Tuesday at the home in Butler, which is about 35 miles north of Pittsburgh. Two other people found there were being treated for undisclosed injuries and remained hospitalized Wednesday. The names of the five victims and further details about them have not been released. The source of the carbon monoxide remains under investigation.
January 8, 2025 2:45 am
Washington County has been put on notice of possible litigation surrounding the events of the assassination attempt of then presidential candidate Donald Trump at the Butler Farm Show Grounds on July 13th. County Solicitor Gary Sweat made Commissioners aware of a letter he received from attorneys representing the two injured rally goers, James Copenhaver and David Dutch. According to Sweat, the lawsuit would be seeking compensation for injuries that both men suffered after they were accidentally shot by suspected assassin Thomas Crooks. A third victim, Corey Comperatore was killed in the incident and is not part of the suit. Sweat says that the reason that the county is involved is because the Washington County Regional SWAT Team was called on for backup during the event. Sweat says the SWAT Team does not fall under the county umbrella, they are their own separate entity. He said they may not be involved in the case because, from his discernment, the Secret Service was the organization that was responsible for the development of the protection plan. The SWAT Team had no input into the plan, they just provided backup. The lawsuit is in its early stages of development, in fact an official complaint has yet to be filed. (Photo: AP)
