June 21, 2025 1:18 am
Detailing financial challenges and continued increases in costs, Penn Highlands Healthcare has announced it is laying off three dozen workers at Penn Highlands Mon Valley and Penn Highlands Connellsville. According to the Observer-Reporter, the Clearfield County based healthcare system says it is looking for financial stability and long-term strength. In a statement, Penn Highlands said it has struggled in the post-pandemic years with soaring inflation and rising costs of medication and equipment. In fiscal 2024, the healthcare company reported a $16 million operating loss. Some 26 layoffs are in leadership and non-clinical service positions. Anyone who is laid off is encouraged to apply for jobs elsewhere in Penn Highlands’ system. The company says that before laying off employees, they attempted to find other alternatives to reduce operating costs. That included eliminating positions through attrition, renegotiating contracts, restructuring management and consolidating office locations. Penn Highlands, which was formed in 2011, includes nine hospitals, pharmacies, surgery centers, senior living facilities and an ambulance service in 26 counties.
June 20, 2025 3:11 pm
PennDOT District 11 is announcing roadway improvement work on Hilltop Road (Route 3052) in Collier Township and Heidelberg Borough, Allegheny County will begin Monday, June 23 weather permitting. Single-lane alternating traffic will occur on Hilltop Road between Washington Pike and Thomas Run and Oakdale Road weekdays from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. through December of 2025. Crews will conduct drainage improvements, slope repairs, guider rail upgrades, milling and paving, and pavement marking installation work. Flaggers will assist motorists through the work zone. This $9.7 million group paving project includes includes milling and paving, drainage upgrades, shoulder repairs, guide rail updates, pavement markings, and other various construction related activities. Motorists can check conditions on major roadways by visiting www.511PA.com. 511PA, which is free and available 24 hours a day, provides traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information and access to more than 1,000 traffic cameras. 511PA is also available through a smartphone application for iPhone and Android devices, by calling 5-1-1, or by following regional X alerts.
June 20, 2025 4:04 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) — An appeals court is allowing President Donald Trump to keep control of National Guard troops he deployed to Los Angeles following protests over immigration raids. Thursday’s decision halts a ruling from a lower court judge who found Trump acted illegally by activating the soldiers over opposition from California Gov. Gavin Newsom. The deployment was the first by a president of a state National Guard without the governor’s permission since 1965 and the court case could have wider implications on the president’s power to deploy soldiers within the United States. Trump argued the troops were necessary to restore order, but Newsom said the move inflamed tensions and usurped local authority.
June 20, 2025 4:02 am
BEERSHEBA, Israel (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump says he will decide within two weeks on whether the U.S. military will get directly involved in the conflict between Israel and Iran. Trump sought to keep open the door to diplomacy on Tehran’s nuclear program. Israel and Iran exchanged attacks for a seventh day Thursday. Israel’s defense minister threatened Iran’s supreme leader after Iranian missiles damaged a hospital in southern Israel and hit residential buildings near Tel Aviv. At least 240 people were wounded. Defense Minister Israel Katz said “this man absolutely should not continue to exist.”
June 20, 2025 3:57 am
Iranian missiles have hit a major hospital in southern Israel and struck residential buildings in Tel Aviv, wounding 240 people and causing extensive damage. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz blamed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and said the military “has been instructed and knows that in order to achieve all of its goals, this man absolutely should not continue to exist.” Israel, meanwhile, carried out strikes on Iran’s Arak heavy water reactor on Thursday. It was Israel’s latest attack on Iran’s sprawling nuclear program. Iranian state television said there was “no radiation danger whatsoever.”
June 20, 2025 3:54 am
ACAPULCO, Mexico (AP) — Authorities in southern Mexico were still assessing damage and watching rising rivers as rain from the remnants of Hurricane Erick doused the region. Authorities reported landslides, blocked highways, downed power lines and some flooding. At least one death was confirmed late Thursday, a 1-year-old boy who drowned in a swollen river. Acapulco residents and remaining tourists emerged to walk outside or visit the few open businesses as the remnants of Hurricane Erick scraped by just inland of the resort.
June 20, 2025 3:51 am
GREENSBURG, Pa. — (WPXI)-After a hearing lasting more than two hours, a judge said all charges against a man accused of murdering a woman in Rostraver in April would be held for trial. Dorian Jeri-Greene is charged in the shooting death of Jennah Seibert. She was found dead in her bed on April 11. Prosecutors called four witnesses to the stand. Prosecutors showed surveillance video from Seibert’s home from the morning of the shooting. It shows a man they say is Jeri-Greene coming out from the back of a shed and coming toward the house — before the power was cut to the home. The defense argued that in one of the videos, it appears the man has a white sleeve, not black as in the other surveillance images, and argued there is no evidence directly linking Jeri-Greene as the man in these surveillance videos, or the one who shot Seibert. Detectives said Jeri-Greene stole Seibert’s Lexus SUV and ditched it in New Eagle. Lexus was able to track it. When police took it into custody, they say there were visible bleach stains inside the SUV, with a strong odor of bleach. Jeri-Greene’s next court date has not yet been scheduled.
June 20, 2025 3:42 am
The Third Street Park in Charleroi is now seeing long awaited renovations. Work began this week to install a new retaining wall, shade structure, picnic table and other amenities for visitors to enjoy. The project is a joint venture between Charleroi Borough and the Mon Valley Alliance. Borough Councilman Jerry Jericho says that this is the first of three park improvement projects. New pavilions at the Crest Avenue and Woodland Street parks are also planned. Council President Kristin Hopkins says “it is always a great feeling when we are able to improve our neighborhoods and make Charleroi better for our residents.” The total cost of the project is $125,255. The project was cooperatively funded by the Charleroi Neighborhood Partnership Program that was coordinated by the Mon Valley Alliance Foundation, and a $25,000 contribution from the Borough of Charleroi. The Mon Valley Foundation oversaw the design of the park project. No timeline has been set for completion, contractors expect the project to be completed quickly.
June 20, 2025 1:45 am
Washington County Commissioners announced a project that has begun in Meadowlands using the Blight Mitigation and Demolition Fund. Right now, three properties on Pike Street in Meadowlands are being torn down for future development. The properties at 500, 506 and 516 Pike Street have been described as abandoned and unsafe. They have also been deemed structural hazards. According to Commissioner Chairman Nick Sherman, these properties encapsulate the whole reason that the Blight Mitigation and Demolition Fund was conceived. The properties are recognized as prime targets for commercial revitalization and new visual appeal will be welcomed. Sherman said that it can be possible that someone coming off of Interstate 79 could see the potential for them to relocate their business to Washington County as they are on their way to visit the Washington County Fair. The fund is also available to individual owners should they meet the requirements for participation. According to Sherman, the whole reason for the fund is to bring properties that have long been off local tax rolls back to life and contribute once again. He said it is a method to have Washington County “shake off the rust.” The biggest property to participate in the Blight Mitigation Fund is the Washington Mall. $5.9 million has been dedicated to help tear down the structure to make way for an RV dealer and a Costco store.
June 19, 2025 5:13 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. State Department says it’s restarting the suspended process for foreigners applying for student visas but says all applicants will now be required to unlock their social media accounts for review. The department says consular officers will be on the lookout for posts and messages that could be deemed hostile to the United States, its government, culture, institutions or founding principles. In a notice made public Wednesday, the department said applicants who refuse to set their social media accounts to “public” and allow them to be reviewed may be rejected as the refusal could be a sign they are trying to evade the requirement or hide their online activity.
