September 6, 2019 10:18 am
WASHINGTON, Pa. — For the second time this week, a letter has been sent to the office of Governor Tom Wolf regarding the removal of Washington City Councilman Matt Staniszewski from office. This time, it comes from the councilman’s attorney with the threat of an injunction if the Governor decided to remove him. Sean Logue told WJPA in a call Friday morning that he has sent the letter to Governor Wolf, and says it would be unconstitutional to remove the councilman without a public vote. Earlier in the week, Mayor Scott Putnam and the rest of city council sent a letter to Wolf asking for him to step in to oust Staniszewski after his fourth D.U.I in late August. Council stated that they want Staniszewski to get the help he needs, but Logue claims the original letter is a political distraction in an effort to pull attention away from Putnam and the council during an election year.
September 6, 2019 6:44 am
SOUTH STRABANE, Pa. — Crews have cleared a single-vehicle accident involving a jackknifed tractor-trailer on the Interstate 70/79 corridor. Washington County 911 reports the truck wrecked near mile marker 18 while attempting to exit the eastbound lanes to Beau Street just before 3:00 a.m. Friday. According to reports, steel coils the truck was carrying loosened on the trailer, while diesel fuel spilled onto the roadway. South Strabane Volunteer Fire Department and a Hazmat Unit responded to the scene. There were no reports of injuries.
September 6, 2019 6:38 am
WASHINGTON, Pa. — City of Washington Police are investigating a shooting that took place Thursday night. A call to 911 was made around 7:45 p.m. for a man who had arrived at a home on West Hallam Avenue with gunshot wounds. Police found empty bullet shells in Osage Alley near the scene. The man was flown to a Pittsburgh-area hospital. There is no word on his identity or condition at this time. Additionally, police have not made any arrests in the case.
September 6, 2019 3:23 am
MIAMI (AP) – An American Airlines mechanic is accused of sabotaging a flight over stalled union contract negotiations. Citing a criminal complaint affidavit filed in federal court, The Miami Herald reports Abdul-Majeed Marouf Ahmed Alani was arrested Thursday on the sabotage charge and is accused of disabling the flight’s navigation system. The July 17 flight from Miami International Airport to Nassau in the Bahamas was aborted when the tampering caused an error alert. Alani told authorities he didn’t want to harm the aircraft or the 150 people aboard, but instead intended to cause a delay or cancellation “in anticipation of obtaining overtime work.” Alani said the monthslong dispute between American Airlines and the 12,000-employee mechanics’ union had affected him financially. In a statement, the airline said it is “taking this matter very seriously.”
September 6, 2019 3:21 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Crewmembers who jumped from a burning scuba diving boat off Southern California said they tried to rescue the 34 people who perished in the fiery sinking but couldn’t reach them. Federal investigators say crew members on the Conception couldn’t reach those in bunks below deck Monday because an entrance through the galley was on fire and they couldn’t open windows at the front before being forced to jump ship. The boat owner, Glen Fritzler, tells KEYT-TV that the crew did everything possible and the captain stayed aboard so long that he appeared to be trailing smoke when he leapt into the water. He also says flames kept the crew from reaching firefighting equipment. Fritzler says the five survivors are “breaking down” from the experience and are seeking counseling.
September 6, 2019 3:20 am
WILMINGTON, N.C. (AP) – Hurricane Dorian has come ashore at Cape Hatteras on North Carolina’s Outer Banks, marking its first U.S. landfall since it slammed into the Bahamas days ago. Dorian sideswiped most of the Southeast seaboard from Florida to Carolinas in recent days before its eye made landfall Friday morning. At 9 a.m. EDT, the storm’s center was moving northeast at 14 mph. On Thursday, Dorian raked the Carolina coast with howling winds and heavy rain, spinning off tornadoes and knocking out power to more than 200,000 homes and businesses. The U.S. National Hurricane Center says Dorian is expected to accelerate as it moves off extreme southeastern New England sometime Friday night and early Saturday before a weekend approach to Nova Scotia in Canada.
September 6, 2019 3:12 am
PITTSBURGH, Pa. (WPXI) – A man charged in connection with a July 4 double shooting in downtown Pittsburgh’s Cultural District will stand trial after waiving his right to a preliminary hearing Thursday. Camerin Caldwell remains in jail for the shooting that happened in Katz Plaza after the city’s fireworks show. He turned himself in July 15th after police issued an arrest warrant. Two teenagers, ages 16 and 18, were hurt in the shooting, which happened during one of several fights throughout the course of the night among a large group of juveniles. Police said the fights between two groups were over previously released rap videos in which one group would slander the other. Caldwell is charged with two counts of criminal attempted homicide, two counts of aggravated assault, two counts of reckless endangerment and firearms violations. Caldwell’s arraignment is scheduled for October 23rd.
September 6, 2019 3:08 am
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) – Federal prosecutors are recommending a 10-month prison sentence and supervised release for a man whose relatives reported concerns about his behavior and far-right extremist rhetoric after last year’s Pittsburgh synagogue massacre. Jeffrey Clark Jr. pleaded guilty to a federal gun charge in July. He is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 13 in Washington, D.C. Clark has been jailed since his arrest 10 months ago, and could be released immediately if he receives the sentence that prosecutors recommended in a court filing Thursday. The FBI said the 30-year-old Clark is a self-described white nationalist who followed Pittsburgh synagogue shooting suspect Robert Bowers on the Gab social media platform and called him a “hero” in a post after the October shooting that killed 11 and wounded seven at Tree of Life Synagogue.
September 5, 2019 5:23 pm
NEW YORK (AP) – Drug chains CVS and Walgreens as well as grocery chain Wegmans Food Market have joined the chorus of retailers requesting that customers refrain from openly carrying firearms in their stores even where state laws allow it. The announcements made Thursday follow similar moves by Walmart, the nation’s largest retailer, as well as Kroger earlier this week. Starbucks and Target have already asked customers not to openly carry guns unless they’re law enforcement officers. The retailers stopped short of introducing an outright ban because they say they don’t want to put their employees in confrontational situations. The moves come after a string of mass shootings, including one last month inside a Walmart store in El Paso, Texas, which killed 22 customers, the deadliest in the company’s history.
September 5, 2019 4:54 pm
(AP) – Washington National Opera has issued a statement saying it is “disturbed and disheartened” by new allegations in an Associated Press story in which 11 women accuse opera legend Placido Domingo of sexual misconduct. In the AP story published Thursday, soprano Angela Turner Wilson said Domingo sexually harassed her during a 1999 production of “Le Cid” at the Washington opera company. Wilson said Domingo forcefully grabbed her breast during a makeup session before a performance and on another occasion tried to kiss her in her dressing room and blocked her from leaving until she allowed him to kiss her cheek. Washington Opera’s statement did not mention Wilson by name and did not say if it plans to investigate her allegations. Wilson performed four seasons with the company and won its “Artist of the Year” award in 2000. The company added that it appreciated the courage it takes women to come forward with such allegations and noted it has zero tolerance policies with regard to harassment and discrimination. Domingo’s spokeswoman did not respond to specific accusations, but instead called the allegations “riddled with inconsistencies.” “
