August 17, 2024 4:41 am
PITTSBURGH — More mosquito samples in several Pittsburgh neighborhoods and Allegheny County communities have tested positive for West Nile Virus. The Allegheny County Health Department said crews will spray several communities next week. The first human case of West Nile Virus in Allegheny County this year was reported earlier this month. The person who tested positive lives in the area of Baldwin Borough. In addition to being the first reported case in Allegheny County in 2024, it was also the first case in Pennsylvania this year. According to the Health Department, There have been two human cases of West Nile Virus within Allegheny County as of Aug. 16. The pesticide is used to lower mosquito and minimize the risk of human transmission. The pesticide is classified by the EPA as low-risk and is not harmful to humans or pets.
August 17, 2024 4:36 am
WASHINGTON — The Secret Service will use bulletproof glass to protect former President Donald Trump during outdoor campaign events, NBC News reports. NBC News reports that ballistic glass is already available to sitting presidents and vice presidents. The glass is transported using military aircraft when the president travels.The addition of ballistic glass is one of several security measures being used to protect Trump after the assassination attempt on him in Butler on July 13.
August 17, 2024 4:33 am
OHIO TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Two men arrested this week for separate crime sprees in Washington and Allegheny Counties, Emmanuel Houghton and Tyler Stewart, are now charged with the murder of 18-year-old Jordan Geiger. Geiger was found in a crashed car with a single gunshot wound under his arm near the intersection of Gass Road and Ben Avon Heights Road in Ohio Township on Aug. 2. Allegheny County Police say Geiger met up with Houghton and Stewart on August 2 in the Giant Eagle parking lot off Ben Avon Heights Road to sell Houghton a tan Glock handgun. Investigators say Houghton and Stewart both arrived in stolen cars before Stewart got out of his and into Houghton’s and they approached Geiger’s car together. Stewart told police that Geiger handed Houghton the gun, Houghton told him, “You’re burnt,” and then a fight ensued. Police paperwork reveals Stewart told investigators he heard Houghton fire one shot before driving off. Houghton is the same man who eventually surrendered to police in Monongahela, Washington County on Wednesday night after a lengthy standoff. Stewart was caught on camera leading Pittsburgh police and Allegheny County Sheriff’s deputies on a chase before crashing into a car on Banksville Road in Pittsburgh’s Banksville neighborhood Wednesday night. Police say he was driving a stolen Jeep Cherokee. Houghton is at the Washington County Jail and Stewart is at the Allegheny County Jail. Both were already being held without bail for their prior charges.
August 16, 2024 4:51 pm
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris has announced a sweeping set of economic proposals meant to cut taxes and lower the cost of groceries, housing and other essentials for many Americans. She’s aiming to address the financial concerns that are at the top of the minds of voters and that Republican Donald Trump is attempting to blame on her. During a speech Friday in the battleground state of North Carolina, Harris said that “building up the middle class will be a defining goal of my presidency.” She endorsed a proposal for a federal ban on price gouging by food producers and grocers, and proposed $25,000 in down payment assistance for certain first-time home-buyers. (Photo: AP)
August 16, 2024 4:10 pm
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Peter Marshall, who played straight man to the stars for 16 years as host of “The Hollywood Squares,” has died at 98. The West Virginia-born Marshall was a singer and actor who appeared in films and on Broadway before landing the job in 1966 on “Hollywood Squares,” which he would host for more than 5,000 episodes through 1981. The questions Marshall would ask celebrity guests, most famously show regular and center square Paul Lynde, served as set-ups for joke answers before the real ones came. Major starring roles eluded him in Hollywood, but he would find them in musical theater. (Photo: AP)
August 16, 2024 1:58 pm
The Smith Township Police Department is investigating the death of a Midway man Friday morning. Washington County Coroner Tim Warco says 40-year-old Stephen Pasquale was operating an all-terrain vehicle along the Panhandle Trail in Smith Township, just before nine o’clock, when he lost control of the vehicle and was ejected. Warco says the ATV rolled on top of him. He was found by a passerby who called 911. Warco says he was not wearing a helmet and the vehicle did not have safety belts. An autopsy is pending.
August 16, 2024 12:55 pm
Widely scattered power outages within the city of Washington Friday morning have been confirmed, and a cause given. It was all thanks to a squirrel. West Penn officials say a squirrel managed to get past their animal guards that surround a sub-station in the city and came into contact with an energized piece of equipment – shutting down the electricity for about twenty-nine-hundred customers. Officials say the outage happened around eight-thirty and power was restored a short time later.
August 16, 2024 12:18 pm
NEW YORK (AP) — Jack Russell, the lead singer of the bluesy ’80s metal band Great White whose hits included “Once Bitten Twice Shy” and “Rock Me” and was fronting the band the night 100 people died in a 2003 nightclub fire in Rhode Island, has died. He was 63. Russell was leading his band during a show at The Station nightclub in Rhode Island when the band’s pyrotechnics sparked a fast-moving blaze that caused a bottleneck as fans tried to flee. The fire killed 100 people, including the band’s guitarist and injured more than 200 others. A statement posted Thursday on his Instagram page said Russell’s “unshakable contribution to rock and roll where his legacy will forever thrive.” (Photo: AP)
August 16, 2024 7:22 am
Washington County Commissioners were once again confronted with their decision to disallow ballot curing in county elections. In their meeting on Thursday, several residents voiced their displeasure over the costs that the county is paying to defend a lawsuit filed to overturn that decision. City of Washington Mayor JoJo Burgess asked commissioners for a cost comparison between the lawsuit and the amount that would be spent to cure the 259 ballots in question. In a response to Burgess, Commissioner Chairman Nick Sherman pointed out to Burgess his affiliation with the NAACP, who is a party to the lawsuit and Sherman’s concern in answering his question. The remark caused a brief outburst between the two over the reason Sherman needed to remark about the affiliation. The meeting was called back to order and ended quietly. A report says the county is paying $475 per hour fee to the special counsel hired to defend the county. Additional hourly fees of $350 for an associate attorney and $150 for paralegal work were also disclosed. Residents stepped up and complained that the money is being wasted and that ballot curing that had been done in past years would be much cheaper than a lawsuit. Sherman called the lawsuit frivolous and stood behind the decision saying that the county is following state law.
August 16, 2024 5:05 am
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Hurricane Ernesto has strengthened into a Category 2 storm as it barrels toward Bermuda after leaving hundreds of thousands of people in Puerto Rico without power or water. Sweltering heat enveloped the U.S. territory, raising concerns about people’s health. A hurricane warning is in effect for Bermuda, with Ernesto expected to pass near or over the island Saturday. Ernesto is forecast to possibly reach Category 3 strength Friday and drop between four to eight inches of rain in Bermuda, with up to 12 inches in isolated areas. Ernesto is then expected to pass near or east of Atlantic Canada on Monday.
