April 9, 2024 4:56 am
Peters Township Council spent nearly 90 minutes in a public hearing, listening to opinions from residents and a land owner over a proposed zoning change for a property located along E. McMurray Road, adjacent to fire station number one. Andrew Zahalsky owns two parcels of land that are zoned as a mixed residential overlay. On one parcel he would like to develop a senior care facility. On the second, he would like to develop a neighborhood with 80-90 townhomes. It is the townhome property that the township wishes to rezone. At issue is the recent finding that five residential lots exist at the front of the property and Zahalsky does not wish to consolidate those lots into the bigger lot. County tax maps and township maps did not identify these lots when the property was rezoned to its current status in the mid 2010s. The half acre lots were subdivided in 1959. It was that reluctance to consolidate and a disagreement on funding of a traffic signal that has caused an impasse in development plans. The township questions the ability for a traffic light installation if the consolidation does not take place. Zahalsky presented new plans to the township on Monday morning. He was represented by an attorney that has been retained only in the last week. Public opinion was in favor of the rezoning, citing traffic and safety concerns. Zahalsky is claiming spot zoning issues. The public meeting was continued until April 22 to allow three absent council members the time to study the testimony. Council will close the meeting in two weeks and possibly vote on the measure that same night.
April 9, 2024 5:00 am
No injuries are reported after fire crews battled a house fire in Union Township. Washington County 9-1-1 says it broke out at a vacant home along Houston Run Road early Tuesday morning. There is no word on the cause of the fire.
April 9, 2024 5:11 am
State Police are investigating a fatal crash involving two motorcycles and an SUV late Monday night in Westmoreland County. The Washington County Coroner’s office says it happened just before 9 p.m. in the 100-block of Fellsburg Road in Rostraver Township. According to the report, the crash was witnessed by a State Trooper. 24-year-old Camden Ellin of Rostraver was pronounced dead at Penn Highlands Monongahela Valley Hospital just before 10 p.m. A cause and manner of death are pending. The other motorcyclist involved, 25-year-old Joshua Sethman was taken to Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh with suspected serious injuries. The female driver of the SUV is identified as 18-year-old Gracie Lynch suffered minor injuries and was transported to Jefferson Hospital. Uniontown State Police are handling the investigation.
April 9, 2024 4:53 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Efforts to ban TikTok from government devices have picked up steam in the past year in state legislatures and Congress even as politicians continue to use it to connect with and expand their base. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is a prolific poster, but legislation seeking to ban the app from state networks and devices could reach his desk soon. Researchers say using social media to connect with constituents has a long history. And it’s largely Democrats having the internal debate about using TikTok while weighing a significant ban over security concerns. A TikTok spokesman said there is “no regard for the facts” when bills like this are pushed through.
April 9, 2024 5:16 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Special counsel Jack Smith’s team is urging the Supreme Court to reject former President Donald Trump’s claim that he is immune from prosecution in a case charging him with scheming to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. The brief from prosecutors was submitted just over two weeks before the justices will take up the legally untested question of whether an ex-president is shielded from criminal charges for official actions taken in the White House. The outcome of the April 25 arguments is expected to help determine whether Trump faces trial this year in a four-count indictment that accuses him of conspiring to block the peaceful transfer of power after losing the 2020 election to Democrat Joe Biden.
April 9, 2024 5:15 am
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has escalated his pledge to invade Rafah. In a video statement Monday, he declared: “It will happen. There is a date,” without elaborating. He spoke as Israeli negotiators are in Cairo discussing international efforts to broker a cease-fire deal with the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Israel has insisted on sending troops into Rafah, saying the city on the Egyptian border is Hamas’ last stronghold. However, this has raised international alarm over the fate of the around 1.4 million Palestinians sheltering in Rafah, most of whom are displaced from other parts of the Gaza Strip. Israel’s top ally, the U.S., has said invading Rafah would be a mistake and has demanded to see a credible plan to protect civilians.
April 9, 2024 5:25 pm
NEW YORK (AP) — Beyoncé has made history once again. Her latest album, the epic “Act ll: Cowboy Carter,” hit No. 1 on the Billboard country albums chart, making her the first Black woman to top the chart since its 1964 inception. The album also topped the all-genres Billboard 200, marking her eighth No. 1 album. According to Luminate, “Cowboy Carter” totaled 407,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. since its March 29 release. As a Black woman reclaiming country music, she stands in opposition to stereotypical associations of the genre with whiteness. In February, “Texas Hold ’Em” reached No. 1 on the country airplay chart. (Photo: AP)
April 9, 2024 5:14 am
DALLAS (AP) — If you missed North America’s total solar eclipse or if you caught the eclipse bug, there are more chances to see the sun disappear. Full solar eclipses happen about every year or two or three, due to a precise alignment of the sun, moon and Earth. The next total solar eclipse will be in 2026 and will pass over the northern fringes of Greenland, Iceland and Spain. An eclipse on the scale of Monday’s event won’t happen again until Aug. 12, 2045 though the U.S. will get a taste of totality before then.
April 8, 2024 2:40 am
(WPXI) – A man accused of killing two people in Allegheny County is dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after being found by police in West Virginia. Dennis Rahuba, 50, was wanted for the shooting deaths of a man and woman inside a home in the 1300 block of Great Oak Drive in Scott Township just before 3 a.m. Monday. Around 6 a.m. Monday, 911 dispatchers were notified that Rehuba was possibly traveling on I-79 toward Charleston, West Virginia. Deputies from the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office spotted the suspect’s vehicle just before 7 a.m. on a Charleston interstate. Police from several surrounding agencies attempted to pull over Rahuba. The interstate was immediately shut down and Rahuba’s vehicle was surrounded. The Kanawha County Sherrif’s Office said one of its deputies tried to order Rahuba to get out of the vehicle when he saw and heard what he believed was a single gunshot. Once SWAT was able to approach the vehicle, they found Rahuba dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Allegheny County police continue to investigate.
April 8, 2024 5:10 am
MESQUITE, Texas (AP) — A chilly, midday darkness fell across North America as a total solar eclipse began its race across the continent. Monday’s spectacle was eagerly awaited by millions of spectators in the U.S., Mexico and Canada. It’s North America’s biggest eclipse crowd ever, thanks to the densely populated path. Cloud cover threatened to spoil the view in some places, especially in parts of Texas, but the skies cleared with minutes to spare. During a total solar eclipse, the moon passes in front of the sun and blocks the sunlight for a few minutes. The rest of North America will see a partial eclipse, weather permitting.
