March 6, 2025 1:45 pm
(WPXI) – Seven students and a bus driver were taken to the hospital after a school bus for the Mars Area School District crashed into a tree in Butler County. The crash happened a little after 8 o’clock Thursday morning in the 1600 block of Three Degree Road in Adams Township. A mass-casualty incident was initially declared for crews to get enough EMS resources to the scene. Mars Area School District superintendent Dr. Mark Gross said the all students on the bus at the time of the crash were evaluated by medics, and their parents were contacted. UPMC says seven students were treated at various hospitals and one student remains hospitalized under observation. The bus driver’s condition is currently not known. That individual was taken to Allegheny General Hospital. Gross said students who were determined by medics to be “not injured” were placed on another bus to continue to school. When those students arrived, they were checked by the school nurse before going to class. Social workers and guidance counselors will be available for any students who need assistance on Friday even though it is an in-service day for students.
March 6, 2025 12:54 pm
Parents and Guardians in the Albert Gallatin School District in Uniontown received a letter this week informing them of reports of a suspicious vehicle and person near the Edenborn, Footedale and McClellandtown areas. Officials said schools in those areas along with the district’s bus contractor have been notified as well. They say state and local police have also been contacted and will increase their presence around those areas for the next few days. The vehicle involved is described as a grey Ford Focus with a Pennsylvania license plate with the number LTL 1956.
March 6, 2025 12:52 pm
Officials in the Ringgold School District sent a letter to parents and guardians informing them of a case of Whooping Cough at their South Elementary School. Officials said children may have been exposed to a person suffering from the highly contagious disease. It is spread through the air when an infected person sneezes or coughs. It begins with a cold and cough and worsens over one to two weeks. The letter included recommendations from the Pennsylvania Department of Health along with a phone number to call for questions or concerns.
March 5, 2025 10:18 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has said he wants his new education chief, Linda McMahon, to “put herself out of a job” and close the Education Department. McMahon was confirmed by the Senate on Monday, and an executive order to shut down the department could come as soon as this week. McMahon told employees it was the department’s “final mission” to eliminate bureaucratic bloat and turn over the agency’s authority to states. Eliminating the department altogether would be a cumbersome task, which likely would require an act of Congress.
March 6, 2025 10:44 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House has voted to censure Al Green, Democratic congressman from Texas, for disrupting President Donald Trump’s address to Congress earlier in the week. Green offered no regrets when he explained his actions on the House floor and said he’d do it again. The resolution against Green was approved in a mostly party-line vote of 224-198 on Thursday. House Speaker Mike Johnson had Green removed from the chamber during the early moments of Trump’s speech Tuesday night. Green shouted at Trump after the Republican president said voters had given him a mandate not seen for decades. Green said Trump has no mandate to cut Medicaid. Trump has said about the health care program that “we’re not going to touch it.”
March 6, 2025 8:57 am
Applications for U.S. jobless benefits fell last week as the labor market remains sturdy ahead of an expected purge of federal government employees. The number of Americans filing for jobless benefits fell by 21,000 to 221,000 for the week ending March 1, the Labor Department said Thursday. That’s significantly fewer than the 236,000 new applications analysts expected. Weekly applications for jobless benefits are considered a proxy for layoffs, which have remained mostly in a range between 200,000 and 250,000 for years. The total number of Americans receiving unemployment benefits for the week of Feb. 22 rose by 42,000 to 1.9 million.
March 5, 2025 2:13 am
Authorities in Greene County have issued a warrant for the arrest of a Washington man. The District Attorney’s Office there says they have charged 65-year-old William Charles Smith, Sr. with multiple drug charges related to an investigation into the distribution of methamphetamine from Dubtown Vapes in Morrisville last year in November. They say an undercover Drug Task Force Detective purchased meth from Smith, as well as a pipe used to smoke the drug. Smith is facing charges that include delivery of a controlled substance, Possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and delivery of drug paraphernalia. Anyone with information on Smith’s whereabouts is asked to call police.
March 5, 2025 2:47 am
The Monongalia County Sheriff’s Office has confirmed that Singh Sukhjinder has been arrested in Phoenix, Arizona, on March 4th in connection with a fatal accident that occurred on January 19th on the Cheat Lake Bridge along I-68 East near Morgantown, West Virginia. Sukhjinder has been charged with negligent homicide following the investigation into the death of 59-year-old Kevin C. Lataille, of Smithfield in Fayette County, who died when his vehicle plunged into Cheat Lake after being struck by Sukhjinder’s tractor-trailer. Authorities say Sukhjinder’s reckless driving, including traveling at an unsafe speed and failing to stop after striking Lataille’s vehicle, directly contributed to the fatal crash. The investigation revealed that Sukhjinder’s actions led to Lataille’s vehicle being forced off the bridge into the lake, resulting in his death. Singh Sukhjinder’s arrest in Phoenix, Arizona, was the result of coordinated efforts by law enforcement agencies. He is currently in custody, and further legal proceedings will be handled by the Monongalia County Prosecutor’s Office. Authorities say this remains an active investigation, and additional charges could be forthcoming. (Photo courtesy of Monongalia County Sheriff’s Office)
March 6, 2025 4:40 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania is spending more than $10 million to replace its electronic voter registration database with an election management system. Under a contract announced Wednesday, a new system is being developed that will also provide election night results and handle campaign finance filings and lobbyist registration. Secretary of State Al Schmidt announced the Civix system should be fully in use by the time of the next presidential election in 2028. It will replace the existing Statewide Uniform Registry of Electors, often called the SURE system. State officials say the Civix system’s functions for public use will provide information about voter registration, coming elections and voting data.
March 6, 2025 2:32 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro says he wants to recruit federal workers for job openings in the state’s workforce. These workers might be without employment as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to shrink the size of the federal workforce. Shapiro spoke at a news conference Wednesday at a state job fair in Harrisburg. He says his administration will raise its consideration of federal job experience when it looks to hire. It’s also assembled materials online to show federal workers how their experience translates to the state workforce. Shapiro gave as examples nurses, civil engineers, accountants and emergency response professionals.
