January 2, 2025 5:42 pm
NEW YORK (AP) — Wayne Osmond, a singer, guitarist and founding member of the million-selling family act The Osmonds, has died. He was 73. Sibling Merrill Osmond posted on his Facebook page that Wayne died this week at a Salt Lake City hospital after suffering a “massive stroke.” Wayne Osmond was the second oldest of nine children raised in a Mormon household in Ogden, Utah. The siblings’ musical career began in the late 1950s when Wayne, Alan, Merrill and Jay formed a barbershop quartet. The Osmonds were known for such 1970s teen hits as “One Bad Apple,” “Yo-Yo” and “Down By the Lazy River.”
January 2, 2025 5:26 pm
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Flags are at half-staff outside the Superdome and at nearby state buildings as fans arrived a day later than scheduled for a College Football Playoff quarterfinal game between Notre Dame and Georgia at the Sugar Bowl. The game was delayed by an attack in the nearby French Quarter that killed 14 and injured dozens more. Numerous security officers around the stadium were handling dogs trained to sniff for explosive devices. Bourbon Street was declared open and no longer a crime scene. While many traveling fans extended their stay to attend the game, the postponement meant many would not be able to attend. Numerous tickets listed for resale online were priced at $30 or less. (Photo: AP)
January 2, 2025 5:23 pm
Our first taste of winter weather for the new year is heading our way. Scattered snow flurries and and snow showers are heading our way and a fresh round of snow moves in early Friday and could bring a half-inch or so of snow to much of the area by lunchtime. The weather will also impact the morning and evening commutes. PennDOT closed the I-279/I-579 High Occupancy Vehicles (HOV) lanes closed around seven o’clock Thursday night due to the expected inclement weather and they say the HOV lanes will not reopen for rush hour Friday morning . They are expected to remain closed to traffic the remainder of the day. Officials say the HOV lanes will reopen on Saturday in the outbound direction to accommodate traffic leaving the Steeler game. Additional information will be provided in advance of the reopening. A Winter Weather Advisory will be in effect for our entire area from 4 a.m. Friday to 10 a.m. Saturday. A Winter Storm Warning will be in effect for the higher elevations of Indiana, Fayette and Westmoreland counties. Temperatures continue to get colder and colder the rest of the week. By Saturday, high temperatures will only be in the mid-20s. Wind chills will drop into the single digits many nights across the area. (Photo: AP)
January 2, 2025 1:45 pm
A Canonsburg man who was injured in the New Year’s attack in New Orleans that left fourteen people dead, is awake and talking following surgery on Wednesday. JFifthy-one-year-old Jeremi Sensky’s daughter Heaven updated her Facebook page to say that her father is alive and has been since taken off a ventilator and is talking. Heaven says the family was in New Orleans to celebrate the New Year, and she said her dad, who is confined to a wheelchair, was not able to get off the street when the truck plowed into the crowd of people and was thrown out of his chair. She said he was taken to University Medical Center with two broken legs and underwent several hours of surgery. (Photo Courtesy of the Sensky Family)
January 2, 2025 10:41 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Alcohol is a leading cause of cancer, a risk that should be clearly labeled on drinks Americans consume, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy proposed on Friday. Murthy’s advisory comes as research and evidence mounts about the bad effects that alcohol has on human health. Americans should be better informed about the link between alcohol and cancer, in particular, Murthy argues. About 20,000 people die every year from those alcohol-related cancer cases, according to his advisory. Bottles of beer, wine and liquor already carry warning labels about the risk of birth defects when a pregnant woman consumes alcohol. But Murthy’s proposed label would go even further, raising awareness about the risk for cancer, too.
January 2, 2025 7:44 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The new Congress convenes Friday with one major task at hand and that is the election of the House speaker. But current Speaker Mike Johnson’s weak grip on the gavel threatens not only his own survival but President-elect Donald Trump’s ambitious agenda. Tax cuts and mass deportations are all at stake as Republicans sweep to power in Washington. With opposition from his own GOP colleagues, Johnson was holed up in the Capitol on the eve of the vote, working to sway the hardline holdouts. A flop by Johnson could throw Monday’s congressional certification of Trump’s 2024 election victory into turmoil without a House speaker. Even backing from Trump himself is no guarantee that Johnson will stay in power.
January 2, 2025 5:14 am
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, in a message to conservative supporters rallying outside his Seoul residence, vowed to “fight to the end” against “anti-state forces,” while his legal team warned that police officers attempting to detain him could face arrest by his presidential security service or even civilians. Yoon’s statement came as the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials prepares to execute a detainment warrant against him that was issued by a Seoul court. The warrant was issued after Yoon evaded multiple requests to appear for questioning and blocked searches of his office, hindering an investigation into whether his short-lived power grab on Dec. 3 amounted to rebellion.
January 2, 2025 5:13 am
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Authorities say the highly decorated soldier inside a Tesla Cybertruck packed with fireworks that exploded outside Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas shot himself in the head just before detonation. The explosion caused minor injuries to seven people but virtually no damage to the hotel. Clark County Sheriff Kevin McMahill said 37-year-old Matthew Livelsberger likely planned a more damaging attack but the steel-sided vehicle absorbed much of the force from the crudely built explosive. Livelsberger was an active-duty member of the elite Green Berets. The Pentagon said he had served in the Army since 2006, rising through the ranks, and was on approved leave when he died.
January 2, 2025 5:10 am
President Joe Biden is bestowing the second highest civilian award on Liz Cheney and Bennie Thompson — the lawmakers who led the congressional investigation into the violent Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot by Donald Trump’s supporters. Trump has said both should be jailed. Biden will award the Presidential Citizens Medal to 20 people Thursday, including Americans who fought for marriage equality, a pioneer in treating wounded soldiers, and former Sens. Ted Kaufman of Delaware and Chris Dodd of Connecticut, two of the president’s longtime friends and allies.
January 2, 2025 5:04 am
SOUTH BEAVER TOWNSHIP, Pa. — (WPXI) – A man and woman were found dead in the garage of their home just before 3 p.m. on New Year’s Eve in an apparent murder-suicide. Police were called to the home just before 3 p.m. Tuesday. Sources say they found two people shot in the garage. The Beaver County Coroner said Joyce Kostandin, 41, was found dead with multiple gunshot wounds to the head and chest. John Kostandin, 48, died from a self-inflicted gunshot. State police are continuing to investigate.
