November 29, 2023 3:22 pm
Several fire departments were called out around twelve-thirty Wednesday afternoon for a barn fire at 545 Mount Tabor Road in Long Branch. Washington County 911 says the blaze broke out in an empty barn and there were no injuries. There’s been no word yet on what may have caused the fire.
November 29, 2023 1:55 pm
WAYNESBURG, Pa. (AP) — A judge has dismissed all charges against three western Pennsylvania emergency management supervisors accused of obstructing an investigation. The investigation was into an emergency dispatcher accused of failing to send an ambulance to the rural home of a woman who died of internal bleeding about a day later. The (Washington) Observer-Reporter reported that the judge said there wasn’t “a scintilla of evidence” that Gregory Leathers, Robert “Jeff” Rhodes and Richard Policz blocked investigators from accessing information within the Greene County 911 call center. The three were charged with public records and evidence tampering and obstruction in the probe of the July 2020 death of 54-year-old Diania Kronk.
November 29, 2023 10:15 am
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. life expectancy rose last year, but it still isn’t close to what it was before the COVID-19 pandemic. It was up by more than a year in 2022, after plunging two straight years at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s now 77 years, 6 months — about what it was two decades ago. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the numbers on Wednesday. Researchers say the rise was mainly due the waning pandemic. The snapshot statistic is considered one of the most important measures of the health of the U.S. population.
November 29, 2023 8:23 am
Washington County District Attorney Jason Walsh says he is not able to comment at this time – on a raid at the office of Washington County Coroner Tim Warco. Washington County Detectives and State Police raided the office on Tuesday and confiscated records associated with a recent coroner’s inquest into the fatal shooting, by a police officer, of 38-year-old Eduardo Hoover Jr., of Coraopolis, in April. Walsh had held a press conference earlier and declared the shooting, by Mt. Pleasant Police Officer Tyler Evans, to be a justifiable homicide. Following the coroner’s inquest, however, Warco recommended Evans be charged with involuntary manslaughter, saying he committed an unlawful act in a reckless or grossly negligent manner, in Hoover’s death. Following the release of that report, Walsh said he stood by his earlier decision in May that the shooting was justified and called Warco’s recommendation a “theatrical stunt.” Warco also said that if Walsh refused to take up the case, then the matter should be turned over to the State Attorney General’s Office for investigation. Hoover led police from Smith Township and Mt. Pleasant Township on a high speed chase that ended in Washington before Evans had his cruiser rammed by Hoover. Evans exited his vehicle, drew his weapon and fired into the rear of Hoover’s pick up truck killing him. WJPA has received no response from Warco when asked to comment on the matter.
November 29, 2023 4:20 am
PennDot and the Federal Highway Administration are inviting the public to participate in a Virtual Plans Display of the Dunlap’s Creek Bridge Rehabilitation and Brownsville Avenue Bridge Preservation projects in Brownsville Borough, Fayette County. The Dunlap’s Creek Bridge is the first cast iron metal arch bridge built in the United States in 1839. The restoration project is designed as a sensitive rehabilitation that will remove encumbrances and restore views of the historic bridge to maintain its significance. The Brownsville over Dunlap’s Creek Bridge Preservation Project includes the rehabilitation of the existing structure. The work will eliminate the posted weight limit. PennDot is inviting the public to view the projects virtually. The period to view the plans begins November 28 and lasts until December 12. Plans can be viewed here https://www.penndot.pa.gov/RegionalOffices/district-12/pages/details.aspx?newsid=2481. The project is expected to begin in summer 2024.
November 29, 2023 3:58 am
PLAINS, Ga. (AP) — With her frail husband as a silent witness, Rosalynn Carter was celebrated by her family and closest friends at her funeral in Plains, Georgia, the same tiny town where she and Jimmy Carter were born. The former president attended the intimate gathering at Maranatha Baptist Church. She and her husband spent decades there welcoming guests. Maranatha Pastor Tony Lowden gave tribute to what he called “the life and legacy of the greatest first lady” and said that as a humanitarian, she “served every nation around the world.” Hundreds watched her motorcade through town. Her burial plot is in view of the front porch of the home where the 39th American president still lives. (Photo: AP)
November 29, 2023 3:54 am
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis has presided at his weekly audience with the public at the Vatican. But the pontiff said that he’s still unwell and he asked an aide to read his remarks for him a day after canceling an overseas trip. Francis will turn 87 on Dec. 17 and had part of one lung removed as a young man. He stood up briefly at the start of the event in a Vatican auditorium on Wednesday and made the sign of the cross and then sat down. Francis has a lung inflammation causing breathing problems. The Vatican announced on Tuesday to skip a three-day trip to a U.N. climate conference known as COP28 in Dubai.
November 29, 2023 3:52 am
TOKYO (AP) — The Japanese coast guard says a U.S. Air Force Osprey based in Japan crashed during a training mission off of the country’s southern coast, killing at least one of the eight crew members. Japanese coast guard spokesperson Kazuo Ogawa says the cause of Wednesday’s crash and the status of the seven others on board were not immediately known. U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command says that the CV-22B Osprey was from Yokota Air Base and assigned to the 353rd Special Operations Wing. Ospreys take off and land like helicopters but can rotate their propellers to fly like planes . They have had a number of accidents in the past.
November 29, 2023 3:50 am
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — The Israeli military says Hamas has begun releasing 12 hostages from captivity in the Gaza Strip. The army said the first two hostages were transferred to Egypt late Wednesday. Ten others were expected to soon be freed. It was the sixth release of Israeli hostages under a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. Israel was to free some 30 Palestinian prisoners later Wednesday. The cease-fire is set to expire early Thursday. International mediators were working to extend the truce by several days to allow further releases of hostages. After Wednesday’s releases, roughly 150 hostages are believed to remain in captivity.
November 29, 2023 3:49 am
Kraft Heinz says it’s bringing dairy-free macaroni and cheese to the U.S. for the first time. The company, based in Pittsburgh and Chicago, says the new recipe has the same creamy texture and flavor of the beloved 85-year-old original but replaces dairy with ingredients like fava bean protein and coconut oil powder. Kraft NotMac&Cheese will be rolled out to U.S. stores over the next few months. It was developed in collaboration with Not Co., a Chicago startup that makes plant-based milk, burgers and other products. Kraft and Not Co. formed a joint venture last year and have also developed plant-based cheese slices and mayonnaise.
