January 12, 2025 6:07 am
As President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office, many elected officials in Republican and Democratic states are preparing to either aid or oppose his policies. From immigration to education to transgender rights, a red-state blue-state divide has become common. For example, Republican state officials are pledging to aid Trump’s deportation efforts while many Democratic state officials remain wary or vocally resistant. Democratic attorneys general also are preparing to sue over a variety of other expected Trump administration policies. In most states, one party controls both the legislature and governor’s office.
January 12, 2025 6:03 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles County medical examiner’s office says the confirmed death toll from the wildfires ravaging the area has risen to 16. The coroner’s office says Saturday evening in a statement that five of the deaths have been attributed to the Palisades Fire and 11 are the result of the Eaton Fire. Firefighters are racing to cut off the spreading wildfires before potentially strong winds return that could push the flames toward the world famous J. Paul Getty Museum and the University of California, Los Angeles. New evacuation warnings are leaving homeowners on edge while a fierce battle against the flames is underway in Mandeville Canyon. Firefighters are using hoses to beat back leaping flames as thick smoke blankets the hillside.
January 12, 2025 5:59 am
ATLANTA (AP) — Snow and ice across the U.S. South are expected to relinquish their grip only slowly as the weekend continues. Major airports including Atlanta and Charlotte, North Carolina continued to report disruptions Saturday,. Temperatures are expected to plunge after sundown Saturday, raising the risk that melting snow will refreeze, turning roadways treacherous. The storm that brought snow to the South was forecast to move out to sea off the East Coast on Saturday, leaving behind snow showers in the Appalachian Mountains and New England. Richmond, Virginia, lifted its boil-water advisory Saturday, nearly a week after an earlier snowstorm cut power and caused a malfunction to the city’s water system.
January 12, 2025 5:56 am
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is sending the director of the Mossad foreign intelligence agency to ceasefire negotiations in Qatar in a sign of progress in talks on the war in Gaza. It wasn’t immediately clear on Saturday when David Barnea would travel to Qatar’s capital for the latest round of indirect talks between Israel and the Hamas militant group. But there is U.S. pressure for a deal before the presidential inauguration on Jan. 20. Just one brief ceasefire has been achieved in 15 months of war, and that was in the early weeks of fighting.
January 12, 2025 5:51 am
(WPXI)-A cyber attack on a program that parents use to track their kids’ grades could have exposed the personal information of local families. The student information system impacted by the attack is called PowerSchool, and it stores some sensitive information for 60 million students across roughly 18,000 organizations around the world. In a statement, a PowerSchool spokesperson says the company learned of a “potential cybersecurity incident” on Dec. 28. That incident involved unauthorized access to PowerSchool information through a community-focused customer portal. Three local districts use the program: Fox Chapel, Mount Lebanon and Canon-McMillan. Canon-McMillan, in a letter to parents, further explains that a PowerSchool employee’s credential was compromised and used to access data through a backend support system. Canon-McMillan does not store teacher, student or parent social security numbers on PowerSchool, so that information is still protected. Contact information, health alerts, and grades for current and former students may have been accessed. Parent/guardian names and addresses may also be compromised. The Fox Chapel Area School District also sent a letter to families about this incident, saying that some of the district’s data was accessed. Either the district or PowerSchool will contact families when more information is available. PowerSchool’s spokesperson says it’s committed to providing affected customers, families, and educators with the resources and support they need.
January 12, 2025 5:13 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A surging death toll is accompanying a slight break in the weather as firefighters in Los Angeles cast a wary eye on a forecast for yet more wind. Deaths in the fires that have ravaged Los Angeles-area neighborhoods in the past week rose, reaching 24 with an update in the official count late Sunday. At least 16 people were missing, a number authorities said also was likely to rise. Relatively calmer weather allowed some people to return to previously evacuated areas but forecasters warned of the return of fierce winds and fire weather starting early Tuesday.
January 12, 2025 5:00 am
NORTH SEWICKLEY TOWNSHIP, Pa. — (WPXI) – Beaver County dispatchers said emergency crews were called to the 200 block of Shaffer Road in North Sewickley Township at 8:30 p.m. on Sunday. Investigators said two people were dead at that location. Police tell Channel 11 those two people, a husband and wife, were shot. Police say two boys, the couple’s sons, were flown to a hospital. Their conditions remain unknown. The North Sewickley Township Police Department said this is a contained incident and there is no threat to the public.
January 12, 2025 3:38 am
Commissioner Chairman Nick Sherman released a statement indicating that voter rolls are being analyzed and inactive voters are being removed from those rolls. According to Sherman 4573 voters who have not taken part in two consecutive federal election cycles have been removed. These actions are in line with state law and the federal National Voter Registration Act of 1993. Mail in ballot applications for eligible voters on the annual list are also now being sent out. Eligible voters that wish to vote by mail must have their application delivered to the elections office by the May 13 deadline.
January 12, 2025 3:34 am
The Washington County Community Foundation has released a statement saying that President and CEO Betsie Trew will be retiring. The Board of Directors has been working on a succession plan for the last year. They say that they are reviewing many options but the day to day operations are in capable hands of the staff under the direction of the Board of Directors. According to the statement the WCCF has awarded over $30 million in grants and has assets of approximately $60 million. Betsie Trew is planning to spend more time with her family and grandchildren. (Photo courtesey of WCCF)
January 12, 2025 1:02 am
The jury reached a split verdict decision in the trial of Brandon Allen, 33 of Washington. Allen is one of three men charged in the May 2022 drive-by shooting on Ridge Avenue in Washington that took the life of Kristin Barfield. The jury’s decision was delivered at about 5:40 on Friday evening. Allen was found not guilty of the most serious of the charges, criminal homicide. He was found guilty on charges of attempted homicide, conspiracy to commit aggravated assault, aggravated assault and two counts of recklessly endangering another person. Those were for attempts on the life of Trey Willis, the intended target of the shooting. He also was guilty of possession of a firearm without a license. Allen was found not guilty on charges of attempted homicide, aggravated assault and conspiracy aggravated assault for actions against Charles Dickson who was seated next to Barfield during the shooting. Allen is scheduled to be sentenced on April 9.
