April 21, 2025 5:10 am
Norfolk Southern reached an agreement with one of two companies about how much each side will help pay for a $600 million class-action settlement, which the railroad agreed to after the disastrous 2023 Ohio train derailment and toxic chemicals that were released and burned. This lawsuit doesn’t change anything about how much money people will receive from the settlement or any payments to the village of East Palestine or anyone else — those are all established in various settlement agreements. This case only affects which companies have to write the checks to pay for the class-action settlement, which is separate from the cost of the massive environmental cleanup. The railroad and OxyVinyls, the chemical company that made the vinyl chloride that was released and burned after the derailment, announced the settlement Thursday in the midst of the ongoing trial over who should pay people affected by the derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. The two companies didn’t disclose any details of the agreement in their brief statement.
April 21, 2025 4:59 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says overcast weather for the annual White House Easter egg roll means no one has to worry about getting sunburned. More than 40,000 people were expected to participate in Monday’s event. Children used wooden spoons to guide colorfully dyed hard-boiled eggs across a patch of lawn to a finish line. A special station promoted next year’s 250th anniversary of America’s founding. The egg roll is one of the oldest White House traditions. It dates to 1878 and the presidency of Rutherford B. Hayes, who opened the lawn to children after Congress barred them from the grounds of the Capitol.
April 21, 2025 4:43 am
PITTSBURGH — Gov. Josh Shapiro has ordered all U.S. and Commonwealth flags to be flown at half-staff in honor of Pope Francis. The flags will be flown like this until sunset on the date of the pope’s internment, which has not yet been announced. All Pennsylvanians are encouraged to participate.
April 21, 2025 2:57 am
Washington County Coroner Tim Warco says a Uniontown teenager was shot and killed early Sunday morning inside his girlfriend’s home in the Washington Estates mobile home partk in Canton Township. The Coroner says it happened just after three-thirty and the victim, 19-old Devyon Dennis was pronounced dead a few hours later. Warco says Dennis’s death is being investigated by State Police as a homicide. A cause and manner of death are pending.
April 20, 2025 6:56 am
(AP) – President Donald Trump is claiming that tariffs on imported goods are bringing in billions of dollars a day — $2 billion to be exact. But, according to government data, the number is far smaller. Trump began raising tariffs in February. That month about $7.247 billion in custom duties were collected, or $258.82 million per day. In March, the number was about $263.48 million per day. U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which collects tariffs, said in an April 8 statement that as a result of 13 tariff-related presidential actions taken by Trump, it was collecting each day “over $200 million in additional associated revenue.”
April 20, 2025 6:53 am
(AP) – Marijuana culture’s high holiday known as 4/20 falls this year on Easter, as well as the last day of Passover. That means cannabis fans can celebrate in some unusual ways, including an Easter nug hunt in Los Angeles, kosher-style THC gummies in New York and a blaze and praise drag brunch in Portland, Oregon. Some 300 people are expected to partake in the Easter nug scavenger hunt this weekend, aided by a mobile app leading them through participating dispensaries, trivia challenges and so-called stoner activities. The origin of the term 4/20 dates to the 1970s and a group of bell-bottomed buddies at a high school north of San Francisco who called themselves the Waldos.
April 20, 2025 6:51 am
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Russia of trying to create an “impression of a ceasefire,” saying Russian forces continued attacks despite President Vladimir Putin’s unilateral declaration of an Easter truce. Zelenskyy reported on Sunday 59 instances of shelling, five and multiple drone strikes. He reiterated Ukraine’s offer to extend the truce for 30 days but said his country would respond based on the situation on the battlefield. Russian-installed officials in occupied Kherson accused Ukraine of violating the truce. Putin offered no details on how the ceasefire would be monitored.
April 20, 2025 6:49 am
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis has made a brief Easter Sunday appearance to bless the thousands of people in St. Peter’s Square. He drew cheers and applause from the crowd as he continues his recovery from a near-fatal bout of double pneumonia. Francis didn’t celebrate the Easter Mass in the piazza, delegating it to a cardinal. But after the Mass ended, Francis appeared on the loggia balcony over the basilica entrance. On his way there, Francis met briefly with U.S. Vice President JD Vance, who is spending Easter in Rome with his family. The Vatican said the meeting lasted a few minutes. (Photo: AP)
April 20, 2025 6:00 am
(WPXI) – The Fayette County District Attorney is seeking the death penalty against a Uniontown couple accused of murdering a toddler. According to WPXI-TV, Celia Nunn, the girl’s mother, and her fiancé, Emmanuel Dennis, are facing first-degree murder charges in the baby’s October 2024 death. Margaret “Maggie” Dunn, according to prosecutors, was beaten to death over several days. When medics were called to the family’s Menallen Township home, they found the 2-year-old face down with vomit on her mouth. The coroner said she’d been dead at least 12 hours. “This child was suffering. Within her final days, she couldn’t even sit up straight but the parents were continuing to punish her, continue to put her in time out and knew they needed to get help for her but thought they’d get in trouble if they did,” he said. Investigators say Dennis admitted to beating the child for several days, including one beating that lasted 5-10 minutes. She had bruises all over her body. Nunn said she was aware of the abuse and that her daughter needed medical attention, but did not take her to the hospital. “At some point, she’d either gone limp or flat out kicked across the hallway upstairs outside of the bathroom,” said Aubele. Dennis reportedly told investigators that Maggie was going through the ‘terrible twos’. He allegedly said he didn’t know his own strength and may have used excessive force when disciplining her. The DA said blaming the ‘terrible twos’ is a notion so disgusting, he won’t even address it. “It is not even worth addressing any assertion [that] this child somehow was acting or behaving differently than any other child. We have just a callous, disgusting attitude that was expressed not only by Mr. Dennis but by the child’s mother. There is just no excuse for it. ” Maggie and her siblings had just arrived to Fayette County with their mother three months before her death. Nunn has given birth to her fourth child in jail.
April 20, 2025 6:00 am
(WPXI) – Two people are dead after an early Saturday morning house fire in Findlay Township. Officials tell Channel 11 that a house fire on Poplar Street, near Steubenville Pike, began around 4:30 a.m. At one point, the home was fully engulfed in flames. We’re told that two people died in the fire. Their identities have not been released, pending next-of-kin notifications. Three police officers on scene received medical treatment. One was hurt while jumping out of a window, and two others were treated for smoke inhalation. The fire marshal and Allegheny County police are investigating.
