February 20, 2025 2:50 am
The end is near for the crumbling Washington Mall in South Strabane Township. Washington County Commissioners announced on Wednesday that after eleven years of working on it, the mall is finally going to be demolished to make way for retail establishments and other businesses. Washington County Commission Chair Nick Sherman says the initiative is supported by a major county investment from the newly established Blight Mitigation and Demolition Fund. He says the county’s decision to demolish the existing structure aims to re-purpose the site with new infrastructure, creating viable economic opportunities. Plans for the site’s development and revitalization are already underway and will include retail and dining establishments. Additional details are expected to be announced this spring. According to Commissioner Nick Sherman, “Eliminating blight is essential to sustaining healthy communities, fostering economic development, and improving the quality of life in Washington County. Blighted buildings drain municipal resources, inhibit economic growth, and create negative perceptions of our communities.” As for the cost, Sherman tells WJPA that it’s still an open bid and the bids are out. He says they have allocated funding not to exceed six-million-dollars. Sherman says most of the mall will be demolished to make way for other retail opportunities, but the former Toys ‘R Us and Giant Eagle sites will be renovated, and a new recreational vehicle dealership and service center will be established there. The tenant is an award-winning and respected nationwide brand, operating 36 locations nationwide.
February 20, 2025 5:06 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The IRS plans to lay off roughly 7,000 workers in Washington and around the country beginning Thursday. That’s according to a person familiar with the plans who was not authorized to discuss them publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. The layoffs affect probationary employees with roughly one year or less of service at the agency and largely include workers in compliance departments. Compliance work includes ensuring that taxpayers are abiding by the tax code, filing their returns and paying their taxes, among other duties. It’s unclear how the layoffs may affect tax collection services this year. The IRS has roughly 90,000 employees total across the United States.
February 20, 2025 5:11 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Newly installed Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told agency employees that a commission formed by President Donald Trump will investigate the childhood vaccine schedule and other issues as a way to examine the rise in chronic diseases. The announcement on Tuesday raises questions about the promise he made during his confirmation hearings to Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana physician. Cassidy harbored deep misgivings over Kennedy’s anti-vaccine advocacy, but said Kennedy had promised not to change the nation’s current vaccination schedule. Cassidy’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
February 20, 2025 5:12 am
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Relations between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.S. President Donald Trump are deteriorating rapidly. Zelenskyy said Wednesday that Trump was living in a Russian-made “disinformation space,” and Trump called Zelenskyy “a dictator without elections” in comments that were sure to complicate efforts to end the war. Zelenskyy also said he would like Trump’s team “to be more truthful” as he offered his first response to a series of striking claims that Trump made a day earlier, including falsely suggesting that Kyiv was to blame for the war, which enters its fourth year next week.
February 20, 2025 5:04 am
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — Hamas has handed over the bodies of four Israeli hostages, said to include a mother and her two children who have long been feared dead and had come to embody the nation’s agony following the Oct. 7, 2023, attack. The militant group said it released the remains of Shiri Bibas and her two children, Ariel and Kfir, as well as Oded Lifshitz, who was 83 when he was abducted. Kfir was the youngest captive taken that day. Hamas has said all four were killed in Israeli airstrikes.
February 20, 2025 2:38 pm
Long-time KDKA-TV reporter John Burnett has died. KDKA officials say Burnett, who was seventy-one, died of complications from suspected Chronic traumatic encephalopathy. Burnett was hired by KDKA in 1982 as the new co-host of Evening Magazine. Burnett was a native of Knoxville, Tennessee, but came to be a much-loved Pittsburgher. In 1985, he also began co-hosting Pittsburgh 2Day. And, when both Evening Magazine and Pittsburgh 2Day ended in the early 90′, Jon returned to his roots as a weather forecaster. He retired from KDKA IN 2019. (Photo: Courtesy of KDKA Facebook Page)
February 19, 2025 5:00 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – A teenager was shot in Downtown Pittsburgh Wednesday afternoon. An Allegheny County 911 dispatcher said police were sent to the 400 block of Smithfield Street just after 4 p.m. Public safety officials confirmed the shooting and said it was initially reported by an officer driving in the area who heard a gunshot and immediately apprehended a suspect seen holding a gun. The victim, a 17-year-old boy who was shot in the abdomen, was shot on the sidewalk across the street from the Burlington then ran around the corner and hid behind a dumpster. Pittsburgh and Port Authority police rendered aid until medics arrived. He’s been taken to a hospital in critical but stable condition. The shooting suspect, identified as a 21-year-old man, is being questioned at police headquarters.
February 19, 2025 5:41 pm
(WPXI) – A male was shot in Downtown Pittsburgh Wednesday afternoon. An Allegheny County 911 dispatcher said police were sent to the 400 block of Smithfield Street just after 4 p.m. Public safety officials confirmed the shooting and said it was initially reported by an officer driving in the area who heard a gunshot and immediately apprehended a suspect seen holding a gun. The victim, who was shot in the abdomen, ran around the corner from the shooting scene, where Pittsburgh and Port Authority police rendered aid until medics arrived. He’s been taken to a hospital in critical but stable condition. Police didn’t immediately know the age of the victim. The shooting suspect, identified as a 21-year-old man, is being questioned at police headquarters. “We’re just really fortunate that we have our Downtown Public Safety Center right here, close by, and they’re constantly on patrol and were able to take action right away,” said public safety official Cara Cruz.
February 19, 2025 5:37 pm
(AP) – A midair collision involving two small planes in southern Arizona has killed two people. Federal air-safety investigators said each plane had two people aboard when they collided near Marana Regional Airport on the outskirts of Tucson. National Transportation Safety Board says one plane landed uneventfully. The other hit the ground near a runway and caught fire. The deadly collision comes more than a week a plane crash in Scottsdale killed a pilot of a private jet owned by Mötley Crüe singer Vince Neil. It also followed four major aviation disasters that have occurred in North America in the last month.
February 19, 2025 9:54 am
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused U.S. President Donald Trump of living in a Russian-made “disinformation space.” The pointed comments risk further souring relations with Washington as the American leader pushes for an end to the war. Zelenskyy said he “would like Trump’s team to be more truthful” in his first response to a series of striking claims the U.S. president made the previous day. That included Trump suggesting that Kyiv was to blame for the war. Russia invaded on Feb. 24, 2022. The comments from Trump and Zelenskyy were a remarkable back-and-forth between leaders of two countries that have been staunch allies. Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he would like to meet with Trump, a day after senior American and Russian officials held talks.
