February 14, 2025 4:53 am
PETERS TOWNSHIP, Pa. — (WPXI) – Peters Township Police arrested a man on multiple child pornography charges after an online child predator hunter group tracked him down. William Jones was arrested this week, two months after the group’s sting was broadcast live on Facebook. The group, known as Niky Sal, goes across the country and meets up with suspected predators after chatting with them online. They confronted the suspect behind the restaurant where he worked. “They are difficult to prosecute because the law in Pennsylvania doesn’t allow a civilian to act in that manner,” said Washington County District Attorney Jason Walsh. In this case, you can watch the civilian explain to Peters Township police what is happening. He says in the video, “he was telling me that he had some child porn in his phone that he needed to get rid of…” Police did a full investigation and retrieved child pornography. Walsh said in similar cases he has not been able to prosecute because they cannot take the sting operation to court. “I understand they have their hearts in the right places, and no one wants child predators out there, we can all agree with that. But the best circumstance would be to alert law enforcement and not take things into your own hands.”
February 14, 2025 4:48 am
CHARLEROI, Pa. — There is another extension that will keep more than 300 employees on the job at the Anchor Hocking glass plant in Charleroi. The plant, which also goes by the Corelle and Pyrex plant has been a Washington County staple for 132 years. Employees got word back in September that the Ohio-based glass manufacturer would shut down. The closure date kept getting pushed back – until this week – when tiered layoffs started. Jim Watt, who is Vice President of the union that represents the workers confirmed Anchor Hocking recalling the employees who were laid off. Watt says the workers’ contract was due to expire at the end of this month, but that the union signed a 6-month extension that includes a 10% pay increase for everyone at the plant. He says the plant will now close sometime in May.
February 14, 2025 2:57 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is suing agencies under President Donald Trump, saying they are illegally and unconstitutionally withholding billions in federal aid from the state that had already been approved by Congress. Shapiro, a Democrat, filed the lawsuit Thursday despite the fact that federal courts have repeatedly rejected the Trump administration’s sweeping pause on federal funding. Shapiro’s lawyers suggest the Trump administration is ignoring court orders to restore access to the suspended money. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Philadelphia, calls actions by the federal agencies “flagrantly lawless” and says the agencies have no legal authority to unilaterally refuse to spend congressionally appropriated money over a policy disagreement.
February 14, 2025 2:56 am
Attorney General Dave Sunday announced that a Fayette County man has been sentenced to five to 15 years in prison for contacting a girl, via social media, sending her lewd images, and eventually, arranging a meeting for what he thought was a sexual encounter. Derek Allen Reed, 35, of Uniontown, was arrested at the pre-arranged meeting place in June 2023. Reed pleaded guilty in November to numerous felonies, including several counts of unlawful contact with a minor, and dissemination of explicit sexual materials to a minor. Following release from prison and parole, Reed will serve five years of probation. He must register as a sex offender for 25 years.
February 13, 2025 5:54 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has rolled out his plan to increase U.S. tariffs to match the tax rates that other countries charge on imports. The Republican is possibly triggering a broader economic confrontation with allies and rivals alike as he hopes to eliminate any trade imbalances. Trump said Thursday: “I’ve decided for purposes of fairness that I will charge a reciprocal tariff.’ The prospect of a dramatic hike on tariffs could send shockwaves through the world economy, possibly depressing growth while also causing inflation to intensify. Most economists say the tariffs would effectively be a tax increase on U.S. consumers. Trump says he’s decided “for purposes of fairness” he’ll charge reciprocal tariffs.
February 13, 2025 12:41 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has confirmed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as President Donald Trump’s health secretary. That vote Thursday puts the prominent vaccine skeptic in control of $1.7 trillion in federal spending, vaccine recommendations and food safety as well as health insurance programs for roughly half the country. Republicans fell in line behind Trump despite hesitancy over Kennedy views on vaccines. The GOP has largely embraced Kennedy’s vision to “Make America Healthy Again” by directing the public health agencies to focus on chronic diseases such as obesity. He’s earned a formidable following with his populist and sometimes extreme views on food, chemicals and vaccines. (Photo: AP)
February 13, 2025 5:41 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge has removed a key legal challenge in the way of President Donald Trump’s plan to downsize the federal workforce with a deferred resignation program. It was a significant legal victory for the Republican president after a string of courtroom setbacks. U.S. District Judge George O’Toole Jr. on Wednesday found that the labor unions that sued didn’t have legal standing to challenge the program, commonly described as a buyout. Trump wants to use financial incentives to encourage government employees to quit. According to the White House, tens of thousands of workers have taken the government up on its offer. The deferred resignation program has been spearheaded by Elon Musk, who is serving as Trump’s top adviser for reducing federal spending.
February 13, 2025 5:10 am
BRUSSELS (AP) — Several NATO allies are insisting that Ukraine and Europe must not be cut out of any peace negotiations, after U.S. President Donald Trump signaled that he would hold talks soon with Russian President Vladimir Putin. U.K. Defence Secretary John Healey said Thursday that “Ukraine’s voice must be at the heart of any talks.” The United States has rattled NATO by saying that Ukraine should never join and that European allies should take responsibility for Ukraine’s security. Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur said that Europe has driven sanctions against Russia, invested heavily in Ukraine’s defense, and will have to foot the bill for reconstruction. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth denied that the United States is betraying Ukraine.
February 13, 2025 5:07 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is intensifying its sweeping efforts to shrink the size of the federal workforce by ordering agencies to lay off all probationary employees who had not yet gained civil service protection. Hundreds of thousands of workers could be affected. In addition, workers at some agencies have been warned that large workplace cuts are coming. The Office of Personnel Management told agencies on Thursday to lay off all probationary employees. Even workers in the personnel office itself were not immune: Dozens of probationary employees at OPM were told on an afternoon group call that they were being dismissed and then instructed to leave the building within a half-hour.
February 13, 2025 5:06 am
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Elon Musk has called to “delete entire agencies” from the United States’ federal government. Musk has consolidated control over large swaths of the government with President Donald Trump’s blessing since assuming leadership of the Department of Government Efficiency. That’s included sidelining career officials, gaining access to sensitive databases and inviting a constitutional clash over the limits of presidential authority. Musk made the comments Thursday to the World Governments Summit in Dubai. Musk, the world’s wealthiest person through his investments in SpaceX and electric carmaker Tesla, also joked that he was the “White House’s tech support,” borrowing from his profile on the social platform X, formerly Twitter, which he owns.
