June 20, 2025 1:45 am
Washington County Commissioners announced a project that has begun in Meadowlands using the Blight Mitigation and Demolition Fund. Right now, three properties on Pike Street in Meadowlands are being torn down for future development. The properties at 500, 506 and 516 Pike Street have been described as abandoned and unsafe. They have also been deemed structural hazards. According to Commissioner Chairman Nick Sherman, these properties encapsulate the whole reason that the Blight Mitigation and Demolition Fund was conceived. The properties are recognized as prime targets for commercial revitalization and new visual appeal will be welcomed. Sherman said that it can be possible that someone coming off of Interstate 79 could see the potential for them to relocate their business to Washington County as they are on their way to visit the Washington County Fair. The fund is also available to individual owners should they meet the requirements for participation. According to Sherman, the whole reason for the fund is to bring properties that have long been off local tax rolls back to life and contribute once again. He said it is a method to have Washington County “shake off the rust.” The biggest property to participate in the Blight Mitigation Fund is the Washington Mall. $5.9 million has been dedicated to help tear down the structure to make way for an RV dealer and a Costco store.
June 19, 2025 5:13 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. State Department says it’s restarting the suspended process for foreigners applying for student visas but says all applicants will now be required to unlock their social media accounts for review. The department says consular officers will be on the lookout for posts and messages that could be deemed hostile to the United States, its government, culture, institutions or founding principles. In a notice made public Wednesday, the department said applicants who refuse to set their social media accounts to “public” and allow them to be reviewed may be rejected as the refusal could be a sign they are trying to evade the requirement or hide their online activity.
June 19, 2025 5:11 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve kept its key rate unchanged Wednesday as it waits for additional information on how tariffs and other potential disruptions will affect the economy this year. The Fed’s policymakers signaled they still expect to cut rates twice this year, even as they also project that President Donald Trump’s import duties will push inflation higher. They also expect growth to slow and unemployment to edge up, according to their latest quarterly projections. Fed policymakers had cut their rate three times late last year but have since have been on hold.
June 19, 2025 5:09 am
PUERTO ESCONDIDO, Mexico (AP) — Hurricane Erick has made landfall in western Oaxaca state in Mexico. Earlier, forecasters upgraded Erick to an “extremely dangerous” Category 4 hurricane before lowering it to a Category 3. Early Thursday, the hurricane’s center was located about 20 miles east of Punta Maldonado. Its maximum sustained winds were clocked at 125 mph (205 kph). It was moving northwest at 9 mph,
June 19, 2025 5:08 am
A SpaceX rocket being tested in Texas has exploded, sending a dramatic fireball high into the sky. The company says the Starship “experienced a major anomaly” at about 11 p.m. Wednesday while on the test stand at Starbase, SpaceX’s launch site at the southern tip of Texas. The company says in a statement on X that “all personnel are safe and accounted for.” SpaceX says there are no hazards to nearby communities. It has asked people not to try to approach the site.
June 19, 2025 5:05 am
An Iranian missile hit the main hospital in southern Israel early Thursday, wounding people and causing “extensive damage” but no serious injuries, the medical facility said. Other missiles hit a high-rise apartment building in Tel Aviv and other sites in central Israel. At least 240 people were wounded by the Iranian missiles, four of them seriously, according to Israel’s Health Ministry. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz blamed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and said he “should not continue to exist.” Israel, meanwhile, carried out strikes on Iran’s Arak heavy water reactor, its latest attack on Iran’s sprawling nuclear program. Iranian state TV said the facility had been evacuated before the attack.
June 19, 2025 4:55 am
UNIONTOWN, Pa. — (WPXI) – Four people are now facing charges after police say an arrow filled with cocaine was fired at the Fayette County Jail in June. Police said that arrow was fired from the opposite side of Route 21, or McClellandtown Road, toward the jail in Uniontown. They said it was being aimed toward a window, but ended up hitting the building and not reaching the intended target — two inmates who were already in the jail. Staff found the arrow on the ground on June 6. Police checked surveillance video and saw the arrow hit the jail just after 8 p.m. on June 2. Police used bolt cutters to cut the arrow open and found something odd – tips that were cut off of the fingers of a rubber glove. Inside those glove tips? “A significant amount of cocaine,” District Attorney Mike Aubele said. Now, several people are charged with trying to smuggle cocaine into the jail. Charles Smith, Alfonso Pugh, Amanda Frey, and Seth Stepich — who is not yet in custody. Smith and Pugh were already in the jail on other charges, and police say Smith and Frey are in a relationship.
June 19, 2025 2:10 am
Many area businesses and organizations are stepping up to the plate this week to help those who were devastated by the flooding in the Wheeling area on Saturday, including the Canonsburg Fire Department. Fire Chief Tim Solobay and Assistant Fire Chief Dave Rhome say they are now collecting much needed supplies that will be delivered to Ohio County over the weekend. They say they are seeking cleaning supplies right now – no furniture, clothing or appliances at the moment. Donations are being accepted this week from nine a.m. until nine p.m. at the fire hall on 1 Greenside Avenue.
June 18, 2025 4:43 pm
DEDHAM, Mass. (AP) — A jury has found Karen Read not guilty of second-degree murder in death of her Boston police officer boyfriend but guilty of a lesser charge of drunken driving. The jury handed down its decision Wednesday after deliberating for at least 22 hours since June 13. The verdict comes nearly a year after a separate jury deadlocked over whether Read killed John O’Keefe in 2022. Along with the second-degree murder charge, Read also faced charges of manslaughter and leaving the scene for allegedly striking O’Keefe with her SUV during a blizzard and leaving him to die in the snow. The case attracted international attention, with many people siding with the defense argument that Read was framed by police. (Photo: AP)
June 18, 2025 10:19 am
It’s official. Japan’s Nippon Steel has finalized its $14.9 billion takeover of U.S. Steel. The companies making the announcement Wednesday morning. In addition, the companies have entered into a national security agreement with the federal government to mitigate concerns about a Japanese company having control over a domestic steelmaker. Nippon has committed to investing some $11 billion in U.S. Steel facilities by 2028 and keeping its headquarters in Pittsburgh. The federal government will have a so-called “golden share” in the company giving the president veto power over some matters, including reductions in capital investments, relocating its headquarters, transferring jobs outside the country and closing existing facilities.
