April 28, 2025 5:05 am
VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican says the conclave to elect a successor to Pope Francis will begin on May 7. The date was chief on the agenda of cardinals holding informal meetings Monday to work out church business following the April 21 death of Pope Francis. They held off on announcing the opening of the conclave until after his funeral on Saturday. The Vatican said more than 180 participated in the fifth informal meeting in Rome. A smaller group of 135, known as the College of Cardinals, is eligible to elect a new pope.
April 28, 2025 5:04 am
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Murder charges have been filed against a suspect in a weekend car ramming attack that killed 11 people at a Filipino heritage festival in Vancouver. Hundreds attended vigils Sunday across the city for the victims and the Canadian prime minister visited the site on the eve of a federal election. Prosecutors have charged a 30-year-old man with eight counts of second degree murder and say more charges are possible. Investigators have ruled out terrorism and say he has a history of mental health issues. Those killed were between the ages of 5 and 65. Dozens were injured when a man driving an SUV struck people attending the Lapu Lapu Day festival on Saturday.
April 28, 2025 5:01 am
MECHANICSBURG, Pa. (AP) — Republican members of Congress have gone to great lengths to avoid public meetings with their constituents over their two-week Easter recess. Nationwide, Republicans hosted only a handful of in-person town halls during the congressional break. The most vulnerable House Republicans were especially shielded from public view. Some didn’t answer their office phones for days. None of them, a collection of swing-district conservatives from across states like Colorado, California, Iowa and Pennsylvania, hosted in-person events that were open to the public. Just one planned a telephone town hall. Others favored smaller invitation-only gatherings with local officials promoted only after they were over.
April 28, 2025 4:57 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – Thick smoke was pouring from a house fire in Pittsburgh on Sunday morning. Allegheny County 911 officials say first responders were called to a fire on Dawson Street near Frazier Street around 8:30 a.m. in the city’s South Oakland area. A second-alarm response was called just before 9 a.m., firefighters say. Fire erupted from the roof of the house moments after homeowner Tara Lewis said her husband saw the flames quickly crawl up the wall from the second floor. Heavy smoke filled the neighborhood as firefighters raced to save what they could and protect neighboring homes. Investigators said the fire started after a spontaneous combustion of construction materials inside the house. Lewis’ husband told Channel 11 he’s done a lot of renovation work to their home of 30 years and stored chemicals like paint thinner, rags and paint cans upstairs. The house is now condemned but the family said they do plan on rebuilding and eventually moving back in. The fire was contained to one house. No injuries were reported. The American Red Cross is helping provide resources to the displaced family.
April 28, 2025 4:50 am
Belle Vernon, Pa. — (WPXI) – Three people from Fayette County are facing charges on accusations that they misappropriated more than $500,000 from an elderly woman. State Police filed the charges against Todd Reppert, Ty Reppert and Laura Reppert, all of Belle Vernon. The agency says an investigation into financial misconduct involving Donna Reppert, Todd Reppert’s mother, began in 2019, shortly after Todd assumed the role of Power of Attorney. Investigators say “evidence indicates” that Todd, his son Ty and wife Laura used the authority for personal gain. They allege that between January 2019 and January 2023, the trio misappropriated more than $500,000. State police say funds were diverted for things like paying bills, buying a BMW, acquiring real estate and online gambling, “despite having no legal authorization to access or use these funds for their own benefit.” Todd, Ty and Laura are all facing several charges, including financial exploitation of an elder, theft and conspiracy. Online court documents show Ty and Laura are out on bond, but Todd is being held in the Fayette County Prison on $200,000 cash bail. PSP says the investigation is ongoing.
April 27, 2025 12:30 pm
Washington County 911 has confirmed to WJPA News that one man was shot around noon Monday, in the 100 block of West Walnut Street in Washington. The shooting occurred near JFK Catholic Elementary School and the facility was put on lock-down till further notice. We also spoke with official at Washington High School who tell us they were not ordered to lock-down, but, Superintendent George Lammay says they are not letting anyone in or out of the building till further notice. Dispatchers say police were called after five or six shots were heard. They found one man down and he is currently being airlifted to a Pittsburgh hospital. Police are searching for the shooter. (Photo: WPXI)
April 27, 2025 8:16 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Organizers and the Kennedy Center have canceled a week’s worth of events celebrating LGBTQ+ rights for this summer’s World Pride festival in Washington, D.C. The move comes amid a shift in priorities and the ousting of center leadership. Multiple artists and producers involved in the center’s Tapestry of Pride schedule told The Associated Press that their events had been quietly canceled or moved to other venues. Washington’s Capital Pride Alliance has disassociated itself from the Kennedy Center. The events at the center had been planned for June 5 to 8. The Kennedy Center’s website still lists Tapestry of Pride on its website with a general description. The center didn’t respond to a request for comment.
April 27, 2025 8:12 am
FAYETTEVILLE, W.Va. (AP) — The winner of this year’s West Virginia Coal Festival teen beauty pageant walks among the ruins of a community abandoned 70 years ago and imagines the rusted remains of coal tipples and processing plants coming back to life. Ava Johnson knows West Virginia coal will not ever be what it once was. But as she makes her way along overgrown railroad tracks near the abandoned Kay Moor mine in the New River Gorge National Park looking for spikes for her collection, the 16-year-old history buff says she has heard people talking with hope about the future of an industry that has brought good-paying jobs to her state for the better part of two centuries. “You can’t appreciate being a true West Virginian unless you realize that people risk their lives every single day to make ours better,” she said. Much of that renewed sense of hope is based on the actions of President Donald Trump, who earlier this month issued new executive orders aimed at reviving an energy source that has long been flagged by scientists as the world’s most polluting fossil fuel, one that directly contributes to the warming of the planet. (Photo: AP)
April 27, 2025 8:05 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers have in recent days deported the Cuban-born mother of a 1-year-old girl — separating them indefinitely — and three children ages 2, 4 and 7 who are U.S. citizens along with their Honduran-born mothers, their lawyers said Saturday. The three cases raise questions about who is being deported, and why, and come amid a battle in federal courts over whether President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown has gone too far and too quickly at the expense of fundamental rights. Lawyers in the cases described how the women were arrested at routine check-ins at ICE offices, given virtually no opportunity to speak with lawyers or their family members and then deported within three days or less. The American Civil Liberties Union, National Immigration Project and several other allied groups said in a statement that the way ICE deported children who are U.S. citizens and their mothers is a “shocking — although increasingly common — abuse of power.”
April 27, 2025 8:00 am
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A peace proposal by the Trump administration that includes recognizing Russian authority over Crimea shocked Ukrainian officials. They say they will not accept any formal surrender of the peninsula, even though they expect to concede the territory to the Kremlin, at least temporarily. Experts say giving up the land that was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014 is also politically and legally impossible. It would require a change to the Ukrainian constitution and a nationwide vote, and it could be considered treason. Lawmakers and the public are firmly opposed to the idea. (Photo: AP)
