December 11, 2024 5:13 am
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The East Coast is experiencing the early stages of what could be a whiplash-inducing stretch of winter weather. That’s due in part to an atmospheric river and developing bomb cyclone. The storm is expected to bring heavy rain and fierce winds to many areas until Wednesday night, and flooding is possible in some locales. Utilities are also gearing up for potential power outages from damage caused by winds that may exceed 60 mph in some areas. Forecasters say one of the key factors driving the weather is an atmospheric river, which is a long band of water vapor that can transport moisture from the tropics to more northern areas.
December 11, 2024 5:06 am
A Fayette County mother charged with abusing her 6-year-old daughter has been sentenced. Fayette County District Attorney Mike Aubele announced Tuesday that Mimi Frost, 24, was sentenced to 35 to 70 years. She previously pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including false imprisonment, aggravated assault and strangulation. Frost and her husband Jacob Weight were accused of locking their 6-year-old daughter naked in a dog cage, beating her and denying her food. Aubele previously told Channel 11 the girl was a heartbeat away from death when first responders were called to the Brownsville home for a report of an unresponsive child in January. A nephew living at the home testified against Frost and Weight in February, explaining he was instructed to lock the girl in the cage and forced to physically harm her. Weight is still awaiting trial for his alleged role in the abuse.
December 11, 2024 2:57 am
Mariah Carey’s Pittsburgh concert scheduled for Wednesday night was canceled because the singer has the flu. Ticketmaster’s website says the event organizer canceled the event, which was scheduled to be at PPG Paints Arena at 7:30 p.m. Refunds will be issued automatically, Ticketmaster’s website said. If you bought a ticket, the refund should be in your account within two to three weeks. No further information was released. Carey posted a message on her social media site: “Pittsburgh, I am sorry to say, I’ve come down with the flu. It breaks my heart that I unfortunately have to cancel tonight’s show. I love you all so much.” (Photo: AP)
December 11, 2024 2:55 am
Representatives from PennDot were on hand Tuesday to preview plans for bridge and culvert replacement plans at the junction of South Main Street and Park Avenue/Rt. 18 over Catfish Creek. According to Jeremy Hughes, Assistant District Executive for Design at PennDot, the replacement is planned to take place in two phases. Phase one of the project that involves Park Avenue will last 3 weeks. The portion of the culvert that will be replaced will be precast and dropped into place. In phase two, over South Main Street, the portion of the culvert to be replaced will need to be cast in place. That process will take 20 weeks because of utility work and the drawn out procedure of casting the culvert on location as opposed to trucking it in. Utilities in the area prevent a crane from being used to deploy a precast culvert. The Park Avenue detour will use state roads and be approximately 3 miles. The South Main Street detour will use state roads and be 10.5 miles. The project cost is $2 million. Bids for the project will be opened in July. Construction will begin in the spring of 2026. Residents may see the plans for the project and make comments by going to https://www.pa.gov/agencies/penndot/projects-near-you/district-12-projects/route-2001-route-18-over-catfish-creek.html
December 11, 2024 2:53 am
North Strabane Township Supervisors held their agenda meeting and the most important consideration will be the adoption of the 2025 budget. The balanced budget does not contain a tax increase and comes in at $22,932,084. In other business, supervisors began the evening with a public hearing concerning the definition of a personal warehouse. The township and CC Realty Advisors have been working for several months on a definition of the use as it would occur in a commercial zone. Supervisors and the applicant agree that they are close to a final definition. The only request from CC Realty Advisors is to allow parking in front of the garage door sections of each unit and a slight adjustment in parking ratio. Supervisors could vote on the definition at their meeting next week. If the definition was approved, the actual change to the ordinance could be voted on in January.
December 11, 2024 2:51 am
Holiday shoppers will be happy to know that power has been restored at Tanger Outlets in South Strabane Township. Tanger Director of Marketing Megan Hindes tells WJPA News that power was restored by Tuesday night. She says the initial power outage occurred Monday morning and crews worked diligently along with the South Strabane Township Fire Department to safely bring all of the suites back online. As for the exact cause of the outage, Hindes directed us to West Penn Power. We have not heard back from them. Hindes says some store were able to operate Tuesday but admits they faced some unspecified challenges and delays in getting service restored to all of the stores.
December 10, 2024 5:42 pm
NEW YORK (AP) — Prosecutors are trying to preserve President-elect Donald Trump’s hush money conviction as he returns to office, and they’re suggesting various ways forward. One novel notion is based on how some courts handle criminal cases when defendants die. In court papers made public on Tuesday, the Manhattan district attorney’s office proposed an array of options for keeping the historic conviction on the books. The proposals included freezing the case until he’s out of office, or agreeing that any future sentence wouldn’t include jail time. Another idea: closing the case with a notation that acknowledges his conviction but says that he was never sentenced and that his appeal wasn’t resolved because of presidential immunity. There’s no immediate response from Trump’s lawyers.
December 10, 2024 5:41 pm
ALTOONA, Pa. (AP) — The suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO struggled with deputies and shouted while arriving for a court appearance in Pennsylvania a day after he was arrested at a McDonald’s and charged with murder. Luigi Nicholas Mangione emerged from a patrol car, spun toward reporters and shouted something partly unintelligible while deputies pushed him inside Tuesday. At the brief hearing, the defense lawyer informed the court that Mangione would not waive extradition to New York but instead wants a hearing on the issue. Mangione was denied bail. Brian Thompson, who led the United States’ largest medical insurance company, was killed last Wednesday as he walked alone to a Manhattan hotel for an investor conference. (Photo: AP)
December 10, 2024 7:38 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The grinding war pitting Ukraine against its Russian invaders has escalated ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration. President Joe Biden is rushing out billions more in military aid before U.S. support for Kyiv’s defenses is thrown into question under the new administration. Russia, Ukraine and their global allies are scrambling to put their side in the best possible position for any changes that Trump may bring to American policy in the nearly 3-year-old war. The president-elect insisted in recent days that Russia and Ukraine immediately reach a ceasefire, and said Ukraine should likely prepare to receive less U.S. military aid. A Ukrainian military commander says his forces will keep fighting but when the aid runs out, they’ll be destroyed.
December 10, 2024 7:36 am
Emergency crews were busy Tuesday morning as they were called out to crashes in both the City of Washington and North Strabane Township. The first occurred in the 600-block of South Main Street in Washington. Washington County 9-1-1 dispatchers say a vehicle went into a utility pole. The driver was evaluated at the scene but was not transported . The pole was sheared off and wires came down across the roadway. West Penn Power crews were called in to make repairs. Meanwhile, crews responded to a one-vehicle, rollover crash along Route 519 near Wilson Road and International Paper just before 7 a.m. Dispatchers tell WJPA News that the female driver was transported to UPMC Presbyterian Hospital in Pittsburgh. There was no word on her identity or condition.
