January 10, 2020 12:24 pm
(WPXI) – Hundreds of first responders joined family and friends Friday for the funeral and procession for the Rostraver Township paramedic who was hit and killed Sunday while responding to a crash on Interstate 70. Forty-three-year-old Matthew Smelser, of Carroll Township, was killed about 5:30 a.m. Sunday when he got out of an ambulance on I-70 to help a crash victim. He was hit by a passing truck. Smelser, a father of two young children, worked at the Rostraver Ambulance Service for 24 years and was a supervisor for 20 years. Pennsylvania State Police said icy roads might have been a factor in the deadly accident. Gov. Tom Wolf ordered commonwealth flags to be flown at half-staff in Smelser’s memory, saying his death is a tragic reminder of the risks taken by emergency personnel each day.
January 10, 2020 8:51 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – U.S. employers downshifted their hiring in December, adding 145,000 jobs as consumer spending appeared to aid gains in the retail and hospitality sectors. The Labor Department says the unemployment rate held at 3.5% for the second straight month, prolonging a half-century low. Hiring slipped after robust gains of 256,000 in November caused in part by the end of a strike at General Motors. Still, the job growth has failed so far to put upward pressure on hourly pay. The pace of annual average wage growth slowed in December to 2.9% from 3.1% in the prior month, a possible sign that there is still room for additional job gains despite the decade-plus expansion. The U.S. economy added 2.1 million jobs last year, down from gains of nearly 2.7 million in 2018.
January 10, 2020 8:17 am
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) – MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, was briefly put on lockdown after a report of an armed suspect outside the base. Base spokesman Lt. Brandon Hanner says officials Friday morning are assisting local law enforcement in searching for the suspect. All MacDill gates to the base have been reopened except for the one closest to the location where the suspect was seen. News outlets report traffic was at a standstill on numerous roads around the base, which is near downtown Tampa. MacDill is the headquarters for U.S. Central Command and U.S. Special Operations Command.
January 10, 2020 4:24 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Edd Byrnes, who played Kookie on the hit TV show “77 Sunset Strip,” scored a gold record with a song about his character’s hair-combing obsession and appeared in the 1978 movie “Grease,” has died at 87. His son, Logan Byrnes, says Byrnes died Wednesday in Santa Monica, California. Born to a poor New York City family, Byrnes came to Los Angeles in 1955 and a few years later hit fame as Kookie, a hip parking attendant who helped LA private detectives solve cases. His teen idol fame also led to a hit record called “Kookie, Kookie (Lend Me Your Comb).
January 10, 2020 4:21 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Democratic-controlled House has approved a resolution asserting that President Donald Trump must seek approval from Congress before engaging in further military action against Iran. The war powers resolution is not binding on Trump and would not require his signature. But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi nonetheless insists it “has real teeth” because “it is a statement of the Congress of the United States.”áThe House approved the measure, 224-194. Trump claims he has no obligation to give lawmakers advance warning, saying Democrats like Pelosi “want us to tell them so they can leak it to their friends in the corrupt media.”
January 10, 2020 4:19 am
BEIRUT (AP) – Activists say unidentified planes have hit targets in Syria near the border with Israel, triggering a “huge explosion” amid soaring tensions in the region between the U.S. and Iran. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the planes targeted positions belonging to pro-Iran militias in the Boukamal area, near the border with Iraq. The Britain-based organization which documents the war in Syria through a network of activists on the ground said the planes struck among other targets weapons depots and vehicles belonging to the militias. The Sound and Picture collective also reports unidentified planes struck targets in the area.
January 10, 2020 4:18 am
MOSCOW (AP) – U.S. officials believe the Ukrainian jetliner that crashed in Tehran this week hours after Iran launched a series of strikes at air bases in Iraq may have been brought down by a Russian Tor system. The Tor short-range air defense system, code-named the SA-15 by NATO, was designed during Soviet times to shoot down aircraft and precision guided weapons. The missile explodes near a target, taking it down with shrapnel that devastates engines, fuel tanks and other vital components. The Tor system is highly efficient, reportedly scoring up to 100 percent of hits during tests.
January 10, 2020 4:13 am
MECHANICSBURG, Pa. (AP) – Authorities say two upstate New York businessmen aboard a helicopter were killed when it crashed in a Pennsylvania backyard. Authorities in Cumberland County say no one on the ground was injured in the Thursday night crash. The helicopter’s pilot was high-profile Buffalo, New York, developer Mark Croce. His passenger was a former trustee in the western New York suburb where both men lived. The aircraft was headed to Buffalo from Washington, D.C., when the crash took place near Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate.
January 10, 2020 4:11 am
DAISYTOWN, Pa. — (WPXI) – Three animals were found dead inside a Washington County apartment, and now humane officers are investigating it as abuse. State police said Dominique Cronin abandoned two cats and a dog inside an apartment on Whitehall Road in Daisytown. Investigators found the dead animals Sunday after receiving a tip, and now humane officers think the animals were left with no food or water for about a month. Vets believe each animal died from starvation, with no signs of other illnesses or conditions. Cronin was arraigned Wednesday and is awaiting a preliminary hearing on Jan. 22.
January 10, 2020 2:27 am
The Mayor of Washington and City Council all have an optimistic outlook for 2020. Council met for the first time on Thursday, and all members look forward to the challenges that the New Year will bring. One challenge that Mayor Scott Putnam would like to take on is bringing more home ownership to the city. Putnam explains that the city has a majority landlord base and is looking into ways to change that. He is looking into programs that will educate renters to become first time home buyers and the lending programs available. He feels that home ownership is one way that blight in the city can be battled. Director of Finance, Joe Manning states that the city is on good financial footing and is grateful to the Mayor and council for the cooperation of the group to keep the city on proper financial footing. Director of Streets and Public Improvements, Ken Westcott is looking at a busy paving season and points to the two year long PennDot Project beginning in April in Tylerdale and in the city, some larger projects like Springfield Ave. Director of Parks and Public Improvements, Matt Staniszewski is busy reserving pavilions at Washington Park but is working on funding for new pickle ball courts at the park and is looking into Councilman Joe Pintola’s suggestion of bocce ball courts. The next Regular Council Meeting will take place on February 6 at 7:00 P.M. in Council Chambers.
