December 27, 2024 4:44 am
CENTER TOWNSHIP, Pa. – (WPXI) – A winning Mega Millions lottery ticket worth $1 million was sold in Beaver County. The ticket was sold at the Sunoco in Center Township on Pleasant Drive. The numbers matched all five of the white balls drawn on Christmas Eve. They were: 11, 14, 38, 45 and 46. It did not match the yellow Mega Ball 3. The Mega Millions jackpot is currently worth $1.15 billion.
December 27, 2024 4:55 am
DALLAS (AP) — Parts of Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas are under severe weather watches as the National Weather Service predicts a storm system in the Gulf of Mexico could bring high winds, hail and possible tornadoes to the region. The storm watches have continued early Friday after more than 100 flights were delayed and dozens more were canceled Thursday at airports in Dallas and Houston. The weather service says the greatest weather risk stretched from just east of Dallas and between Houston and portions of southern Arkansas and western Louisiana. The risk includes the possibility of tornadoes, wind gusts between 60 and 80 miles per hour and large hail.
December 27, 2024 4:57 am
Aviation experts say that Russian air defense fire was likely responsible for the Azerbaijani plane crash the day before that killed 38 people and left all 29 survivors injured. Azerbaijan is observing a nationwide day of mourning on Thursday for the victims of the crash. Azerbaijan Airlines’ Embraer 190 was en route from Azerbaijan’s capital of Baku to the Russian city of Grozny in the North Caucasus on Wednesday when it was diverted for reasons yet unclear and crashed while making an attempt to land in Aktau in Kazakhstan. Cellphone footage circulating online appeared to show the aircraft making a steep descent before smashing into the ground in a fireball.
December 27, 2024 4:58 am
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s opposition-controlled National Assembly has voted to impeach the country’s acting leader, Han Duck-soo. The assembly approved the impeachment motion in a 192-0 vote on Friday. Governing party lawmakers boycotted the vote. Han, the No. 2 official in South Korea, has been the caretaker leader after President Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached by the assembly over his short-lived imposition of martial law earlier this month. Han’s impeachment further deepens South Korea’s political crisis and damages its international image.
December 28, 2024 1:14 am
A Jubilee Year in the Catholic Church has begun. It is a special period of grace and celebration that takes place every twenty-five-years and is designed to offer the faithful a unique opportunity for spiritual renewal and a closer relationship with God. This year’s theme is “Pilgrims of Hope,” and locally, St. James Parish has a special place in the celebration. Bishop Zubik has named one church in each of the six counties of the Diocese of Pittsburgh as a place for Pious Visit. Father Ed Yuhas, Pastor of St. James Parish, says they are blessed that Bishop Zubik has selected Saint James Parish/Immaculate Conception church as the place in Washington County for Pious Visits – where pilgrims can make visits and obtain an indulgence all throughout the Jubilee Holy Year. The Diocese of Pittsburgh will celebrate the opening Mass of the Jubilee 2025 on Saturday, December 28th at Saint Paul Cathedral. Father Yuhas also mentioned a new addition to the Vatican, Luce (Lucy), which means light in Italian. She was introduced as part of the Jubilee Year Celebration to show the light of the Catholic Faith and a means to draw younger people into the church.
December 28, 2024 1:21 am
Hanukkah, Judaism’s eight-day Festival of Lights, began this year on Christmas Day, which has only happened four times since 1900. For some rabbis, the intersection of the two religious holidays provides an auspicious occasion for interfaith engagement. “This can be a profound opportunity for learning and collaboration and togetherness,” said Rabbi Josh Stanton, a vice president of the Jewish Federations of North America. He oversees interfaith initiatives involving the 146 local and regional Jewish federations that his organization represents. While Hanukkah is intended as an upbeat, celebratory holiday, rabbis note that it’s taking place this year amid continuing conflicts involving Israeli forces in the Middle East, and apprehension over widespread incidents of antisemitism. Locally, a Menorah was lit on the front lawn of the Washington County Courthouse> (Photo: AP)
December 28, 2024 1:26 am
(AP) – Kwanzaa has become a nationally recognized celebration of African culture and community in the United States since its founding in 1966 and also is celebrated in countries with large African descendant populations. The holiday, which serves as a nationwide communal event reinforcing self-determination and unity in the face of oppression, spans seven days from the day after Christmas through New Year’s Day. It is observed in large, city-sponsored events as well as in smaller communities and homes nationwide. Kwanzaa has grown in popularity in the decades since its founding and is celebrated by 3% of the country, according to a 2019 AP-NORC survey. Former Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama all released statements commemorating the holiday, and in 1997 the U.S. Postal Service began issuing Kwanzaa stamps. It is not recognized as a federal holiday. (Photo: AP)
December 27, 2024 4:46 am
PITTSBURGH — The Fort Pitt Museum will close for updates in January. Closure begins on Jan. 1 and is expected to reopen on Feb. 1. The updates include routine maintenance and cleaning of the diorama of 18th-century Pittsburgh, which has been on display since the museum opened in 1969. Kids can visit the museum now for free through Dec. 31. An exhibit about the culture of Native American tribes who lived in Western Pennsylvania is open too.
December 26, 2024 4:54 am
PETERS TOWNSHIP, Pa. — (WPXI) – A woman is dead after she was hit and killed by a vehicle in Peters Township. Washington County dispatchers said emergency crews were called to the 2000 block of Washington Road at 7:35 p.m. Peters Township Police said the crash happened as a 79-year-old woman and her daughter were crossing the road near the lower entrance of Pizzaz and Simmons Farm Market’s parking lot. The woman was hit by a Honda traveling in the northbound lanes. Her daughter was not hit. The woman was taken to St. Clair Hospital where she later died. The driver of the Honda, a 73-year-old man, immediately stopped and cooperated at the scene. Police said he was not impaired. The victim’s identity has not been released at this time.
December 26, 2024 5:06 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – The community came together on the first night of Hanukkah for a special ceremony in Squirrel Hill on Wednesday. The candle lighting of the larger-than-life menorah in front of the Tree of Life synagogue has a deeper meaning. “Remember it takes just a little light to dispel the darkness,” said Tree of Life synagogue Rabbi Jeffrey Myers. Standing strong outside the Pittsburgh synagogue, the menorah was a gift to the congregation in 2018, just weeks after the deadly antisemitic shooting where 11 Jewish worshipers were killed. Though plans are underway for a new synagogue on the site, the congregation, including Rabbi Jeffrey Myers, who survived the horrific mass shooting, said this will always be their home. “We’re temporarily not housed in this space but we’re still here,” Myers said. “Our spirit didn’t leave and the light that’s Tree of Life congregation didn’t go out. We are still here.” The Rabbi said Judaism and Christianity are intertwined through that light, especially on a rare double holiday. This December 25, Hanukkah and Christmas fall on the same day for the first time in 19 years.
