June 7, 2023 5:43 pm
ANKENY, Iowa (AP) — Mike Pence has opened his presidential bid with an unusually forceful denunciation of former President Donald Trump over Jan. 6, Trump’s temperament and abortion. Pence told an audience in a Des Moines, Iowa, suburb on Wednesday, “Anyone who puts themselves over the Constitution should never be president of the United States, and anyone who asks someone else to put them over the Constitution should never be president again.” And he accused Trump of abandoning conservative principles, particularly on abortion. Pence is the first vice president in modern history to challenge his former running mate. Trump leads the GOP 2024 presidential field in early polls. (Photo: AP)
June 7, 2023 5:01 am
ROME (AP) – Pope Francis underwent surgery to repair a hernia in his abdominal wall, the latest malady to befall the 86-year-old pontiff who had part of his colon removed two years ago. The Vatican said there were no complications after Wednesday’s three-hour surgery, which required Francis to be under general anesthesia. Soon after the procedure, the surgeon who performed the operation said the pope was awake and fine and that the hernia was fixed. The pontiff was expected to remain at Rome’s Gemelli hospital for several days. While hernia operations are rarely performed on an emergency basis, the procedure appeared somewhat urgent. It was scheduled just a day after Francis went to the hospital for tests.
June 7, 2023 5:08 am
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Police say a gunman who opened fire minutes after a high school graduation in Richmond, Virginia, targeted an 18-year-old graduate he had a long-running dispute with. Eighteen-year-old Shawn Jackson and his father, Lorenzo Smith, were both killed Tuesday in the shooting. The gunfire sent hundreds fleeing in panic outside the state capital’s city-owned Altria Theater after the graduation ceremony for Huguenot High School. Five other people were wounded. Richmond Interim Police Chief Rick Edwards says the shooting suspect, 19-year-old Amari Pollard, knew Jackson. He said the two had been embroiled in a dispute for more than a year. Edwards said the nature of the dispute is still being investigated.
June 7, 2023 5:07 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal prosecutors are using a grand jury in Florida as part of their investigation into the possible mishandling of classified documents at former President Donald Trump’s Palm Beach property. That’s according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press. The grand jury is in addition to a separate panel that has been meeting in Washington for months to consider charges against Trump over the retention of hundreds of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago and potential obstruction of government efforts to reclaim the records. A spokesman for special counsel Jack Smith declined to comment.
June 7, 2023 5:03 am
KHERSON, Ukraine (AP) — Floodwaters from a collapsed dam are still rising in southern Ukraine. Hundreds of people have been forced to flee their homes in a major emergency operation that has brought a dramatic new dimension to the war with Russia, now in its 16th month. Officials said the flood’s force was expected to slacken Wednesday following Tuesday’s breach of the Kakhovka hydroelectric dam and reservoir, which is one of the largest in the world. Even so, authorities said water levels were expected to rise by another meter (about 3 feet) over the following 20 hours. Some local residents spent the night on rooftops. Others, scrambling to flee the rising waters, were evacuated by buses and trains with the belongings they could carry.
June 7, 2023 2:16 pm
(AP) – Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri, known to millions as wrestling’s “Iron Sheik,” died Wednesday, according to Wrestling News. “Today, we gather with heavy hearts to bid farewell to a true legend, a force of nature, and an iconic figure who left an incredible mark on the world of professional wrestling. It is with great sadness that we share the news of the passing of The Iron Sheik, but we also take solace in knowing that he departed this world peacefully, leaving behind a legacy that will endure for generations to come,” a statement on his social media page read. According to the WWE, Vaziri, 81, “became WWE Champion the day after Christmas in 1983 when he defeated Bob Backlund at Madison Square Garden.” “The victory was a controversial one,” the website reports, “as Backlund’s manager Arnold Skaaland threw in the towel after Backlund refused to submit.” The Iron Sheik, who was born in Iran and was an amateur wrestler there, held the title for just under a month before losing the championship to Hollywood Hogan (eventually Hulk Hogan) on Jan. 23, 1984. (Photo: ABC)
June 6, 2023 3:51 pm
One person is dead following a shooting in Uniontown on Tuesday. State police have identified the victim as 38-year-old Anthony Jones and also said they have identified a person of interest and he should be considered armed and dangerous. The shooting occurred around eleven-thirty a.m. in an area around Clark Street on the east side of the city. Police say they found Jones lying in the street when they arrived and rushed him to a local hospital where he died.
June 6, 2023 2:49 am
The Dairy Queen on Wylie Avenue in Washington is expected to reopen on Friday. Crews have been making repairs to a wall that was knocked down after an SUV plowed through it Monday afternoon. Authorities say an 84-year-old woman told them she mistakenly hit the gas pedal instead of the brake and rammed into the back of the building near the drive-thru. The impact sent her vehicle about three-quarters of the way into the structure. She suffered only minor injuries and refused treatment. The accident happened around four o’clock and there were people in the building at the time but no one was hurt. WJPA spoke with Colby Braughler, the owner’s son, who told us they are making repairs and waiting on the health inspector to okay their reopening which he hopes to be sometime Friday. Washington Police are investigating the crash.
June 6, 2023 2:41 am
The South Strabane Fire Department and Pennsylvania State Police hosted an educational presentation bringing attention to the Move Over law that drivers must respect when they approach a disabled vehicle or first response vehicle with its emergency lights illuminated. According to Pennsylvania State Trooper Forrest Allison, when a driver encounters an emergency vehicle on a highway, drivers are to move to a non adjacent lane away from the vehicle. If that is not possible, drivers are to slow down to a speed of no less than 20 mph below the posted speed limit. According to Allison first offense fines begin at $250. Subsequent fines could reach $2000 with a drivers license suspension. A $10,000 fine is possible if a driver or first responder is killed by a speeding driver in an accident zone. South Strabane Township Fire Chief Jordan Cramer spoke of the need for the law’s adherence also. His department experienced a situation last month where the department’s ladder truck was on the scene of an accident on Interstate 70 and was struck by a speeding driver that ignored that Move Over law. Cramer also introduced a new safety device that will be installed on all South Strabane Twp. vehicles. The HAAS Alert device will send electronic notices to drivers up to a half mile away of emergency vehicles working ahead so that they may slow down to safely navigate the scene. The device works on Apple Maps and the Waze App. Developers are looking to get it included on Google Maps. In a gesture of support, Larry Winter, President of South Hills Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram and Kia, has offered to pay for the maintenance costs for the system for South Strabane Township, North Strabane Township and Cecil Township for the next five years. According to Winter, his wife was the impetus for the donation. She heard about the fire truck accident and insisted that they try and do something to help. Only later did they both learn that their son was directly involved with the accident.
June 6, 2023 5:07 am
Washington City Council held a public hearing for a conditional use application presented by CMR Enterprises. The group is looking to build Holden House of Hope, two recovery homes otherwise called ¾ houses on two properties on College Avenue, across the street from Washington and Jefferson College. Attorney Clark Mitchell, a possible neighbor to the project, stated to council that he is not against the mission of a ¾ house. He states that legally there are no definitions in city code that would allow such an arrangement to exist. He asks council to deny the request by the nature of the law. Laura Dieterle of the Washington Drug and Alcohol Commission spoke in favor of the project indicating that no medical services or treatment programs would be employed at the homes. The homes are strictly structured living facilities that have rules that residents would need to abide by in order to remain. Several proponents of the project stated that the homes would be better monitored than some of the dormitories at the college. Kiandra Foster from the University of Pittsburgh Program Evaluation and Research Unit indicated that she presented studies that debunk claims that programs such as this increase crime, devalue neighboring properties and have a negative impact on neighbors to the homes. Council will vote on the measure at Thursday’s voting meeting.
