June 6, 2023 5:14 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The pilot of the business jet that flew over Washington and crashed in Virginia appeared to be slumped over and unresponsive, the fighter jet pilots reported, according to three US officials briefed on the matter. The officials were not authorized to discuss details of the military operation and spoke on condition of anonymity. Authorities say four people were killed in the crash in a remote part of Virginia Sunday. The identities of the four people weren’t immediately released. Federal investigators say it will take a few days to solve the mystery of why the plane veered off course and slammed into a mountain.
June 6, 2023 5:13 am
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine on Tuesday accused Russian forces of blowing up a major dam and hydroelectric power station in a part of southern Ukraine that Russia controls, sending water gushing from the breached facility and threatening possible massive flooding and what officials called an “ecological disaster.” Ukrainian authorities ordered hundreds of thousands of residents downriver to evacuate. Russian officials countered that the Kakhovka dam was damaged by Ukrainian military strikes in the contested area. Ukrainian authorities have previously warned that the failure of the Kakhovka dam could unleash 18 million cubic meters (4.8 billion gallons) of water and flood Kherson and dozens of other areas downriver.
June 6, 2023 5:10 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The Pennsylvania House of Representatives on Monday overwhelmingly approved a bill to increase the state’s property tax and rent subsidy for seniors and people with disabilities, plus raise the income eligibility cap to expand the program. The bill passed 194-9 and goes on to the state Senate. The legislation aims to follow through on one of Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro’s budget proposals, increasing the maximum rebate for seniors from $650 to $1,000, plus bumping the income cap to $45,000 for renters and homeowners.
June 6, 2023 5:07 am
Washington City Council held a public hearing for a conditional use application presented by CMR Enterprises. The group is looking to build Holden House of Hope, two recovery homes otherwise called ¾ houses on two properties on College Avenue, across the street from Washington and Jefferson College. Attorney Clark Mitchell, a possible neighbor to the project, stated to council that he is not against the mission of a ¾ house. He states that legally there are no definitions in city code that would allow such an arrangement to exist. He asks council to deny the request by the nature of the law. Laura Dieterle of the Washington Drug and Alcohol Commission spoke in favor of the project indicating that no medical services or treatment programs would be employed at the homes. The homes are strictly structured living facilities that have rules that residents would need to abide by in order to remain. Several proponents of the project stated that the homes would be better monitored than some of the dormitories at the college. Kiandra Foster from the University of Pittsburgh Program Evaluation and Research Unit indicated that she presented studies that debunk claims that programs such as this increase crime, devalue neighboring properties and have a negative impact on neighbors to the homes. Council will vote on the measure at Thursday’s voting meeting.
June 6, 2023 2:49 am
The Dairy Queen on Wylie Avenue in Washington is expected to reopen on Friday. Crews have been making repairs to a wall that was knocked down after an SUV plowed through it Monday afternoon. Authorities say an 84-year-old woman told them she mistakenly hit the gas pedal instead of the brake and rammed into the back of the building near the drive-thru. The impact sent her vehicle about three-quarters of the way into the structure. She suffered only minor injuries and refused treatment. The accident happened around four o’clock and there were people in the building at the time but no one was hurt. WJPA spoke with Colby Braughler, the owner’s son, who told us they are making repairs and waiting on the health inspector to okay their reopening which he hopes to be sometime Friday. Washington Police are investigating the crash.
June 6, 2023 2:41 am
The South Strabane Fire Department and Pennsylvania State Police hosted an educational presentation bringing attention to the Move Over law that drivers must respect when they approach a disabled vehicle or first response vehicle with its emergency lights illuminated. According to Pennsylvania State Trooper Forrest Allison, when a driver encounters an emergency vehicle on a highway, drivers are to move to a non adjacent lane away from the vehicle. If that is not possible, drivers are to slow down to a speed of no less than 20 mph below the posted speed limit. According to Allison first offense fines begin at $250. Subsequent fines could reach $2000 with a drivers license suspension. A $10,000 fine is possible if a driver or first responder is killed by a speeding driver in an accident zone. South Strabane Township Fire Chief Jordan Cramer spoke of the need for the law’s adherence also. His department experienced a situation last month where the department’s ladder truck was on the scene of an accident on Interstate 70 and was struck by a speeding driver that ignored that Move Over law. Cramer also introduced a new safety device that will be installed on all South Strabane Twp. vehicles. The HAAS Alert device will send electronic notices to drivers up to a half mile away of emergency vehicles working ahead so that they may slow down to safely navigate the scene. The device works on Apple Maps and the Waze App. Developers are looking to get it included on Google Maps. In a gesture of support, Larry Winter, President of South Hills Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram and Kia, has offered to pay for the maintenance costs for the system for South Strabane Township, North Strabane Township and Cecil Township for the next five years. According to Winter, his wife was the impetus for the donation. She heard about the fire truck accident and insisted that they try and do something to help. Only later did they both learn that their son was directly involved with the accident.
June 6, 2023 2:07 am
A Greene County woman is on trial for the shooting of her boyfriend’s estranged wife. Michaela Hildreth, 28 of Ninevah is facing attempted homicide, aggravated assault and endangerment charges for her alleged shooting of Amy Mruk on July 20, 2022. According to testimony from John Mruk, he called his estranged wife in an effort to locate a missing rifle. Neither could find it in their homes so they met to travel to a friend of their son’s home to see if the rifle was there. When the Mruk’s met, Amy Mruk got into an SUV with John Mruk. The vehicle was being driven by Michaela Hildreth, John Mruk’s girlfriend. Amy Mruk and Hildreth got into several shouting matches, several turning physical. Near midnight on July 20, the vehicle being driven by Hildreth screeched to a halt on Moon Road in Chartiers Township. Amy Mruk exited the vehicle, walked around and began arguing with Hildreth again and Hildreth then shot Mruk through the driver side window. Further witnesses testified rendering aid to Amy Mruk. One witness stated that they heard Hildreth tell someone on her cellphone “I shot someone. I ruined my life.” Police testimony included finding a 9mm hand gun belonging to Hildreth near her at the scene and other evidence found at the scene. Closing arguments are set to begin Thursday.
June 5, 2023 5:55 pm
CUPERTINO, Calif. (AP) — Apple has unveiled a long-rumored headset that will place its users between the virtual and real world, while also testing the technology trendsetter’s ability to popularize new-fangled devices after others failed to capture the public’s imagination. After years of speculation, Apple CEO Tim Cook on Monday hailed the arrival of the sleek goggles — dubbed “Vision Pro” — at the the company’s annual developers conference held on a park-like campus in Cupertino, California, that Apple’s late co-founder Steve Jobs helped design. The Vision Pro will sell for $3,500 when it comes out early next year, a price likely to limit its appeal. (Photo: ABC)
June 5, 2023 5:54 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — A former FBI agent convicted in one of the most notorious spying cases in American history has died in prison. Robert Hanssen took more than $1.4 million in cash and diamonds to trade secrets with Moscow. Prison officials say Hanssen was found unresponsive in his cell at a federal prison in Florence, Colorado. He is believed to have died of natural causes. That’s according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to publicly discuss details of Hanssen’s death and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. He had been serving a sentence of life in prison without possibility of parole since 2002.
June 5, 2023 9:59 am
BANGKOK (AP) — The United States military has released video of what it called an “unsafe” Chinese maneuver in the Taiwan Strait on the weekend, in which a Chinese navy ship cut sharply across the path of an American destroyer, forcing the U.S. vessel to slow to avoid a collision. The incident occurred Saturday as the American destroyer USS Chung-Hoon and Canadian frigate HMCS Montreal were conducting a so-called “freedom of navigation” transit of the strait between Taiwan and mainland China. The video released Monday shows the Chinese ship cutting across the course of the American one. It came on a day when both U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chinese Defense Minister Gen. Li Shangfu were in Singapore for an annual defense conference.
