May 15, 2025 4:55 am
ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) — Russian officials say Russia’s delegation has arrived in Istanbul for peace talks with Ukraine. However, President Vladimir Putin was not part of the delegation, according to a list released by the Kremlin Wednesday night, prompting criticism from Western officials that Moscow isn’t serious about the peace effort. AUkrainian official said a delegation including President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was on its way the Turkish capital Ankara. Earlier this week, Zelenskyy challenged the Russian leader to meet in person in Turkey. Earlier this week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy challenged the Russian leader to meet in person in Turkey. Ukraine’s presidential adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, said Zelenskyy will sit at the table only with Putin
May 15, 2025 4:58 am
DOHA, Qatar (AP) — President Donald Trump says he’s not surprised that Russian President Vladimir Putin will be a no-show for anticipated peace talks with Ukraine in Turkey this week. Trump had pressed for Putin and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to meet in Istanbul this week. But on Thursday he brushed off Putin’s decision to not take part in the expected talks in Istanbul. Trump said, “I didn’t think it was possible for Putin to go if I’m not there.” The president’s comments came in an exchange with reporters as he took part in a business roundtable with executives in Doha, Qatar, on the third day of his visit to the Middle East.
May 15, 2025 4:03 am
WEST BROWNSVILLE, Pa. —(WPXI)- A body was found in the Monongahela River in Washington County on Wednesday afternoon. Washington County Coroner Tim Warco says a barge operator found the body floating in the river near West Brownsville around 4:30 p.m. According to Pennsylvania State Police, the body found belongs to a man and is “believed to have been in the water for a considerable amount of time.” Warco says the man’s age is between 30-50. The man has not yet been identified, but state police think he could be a previously reported missing person from Point Marion Borough in Fayette County. Anyone who may have information is asked to contact the Washington County Coroner’s office at 724-228-6785 or the Belle Vernon barracks of the Pennsylvania State Police at 724-929-6262.
May 15, 2025 3:56 am
ROSTRAVER, Pa. —(WPXI)- Law enforcement released an update Wednesday on the investigation into the murder of a 24-year-old woman in Rostraver. The Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office said the man considered a person of interest in the case is in custody on unrelated charges. According to sources, the person of interest, Dorian Jeri-Greene, was arrested in Florida. Jennah Siebert, 24, was found shot to death inside her home on Lenity School Road on April 11. A few days later, investigators said surveillance video showed the man they considered a person of interest inside a Monongahela gas station. The DA’s office said over the last few weeks, investigators have collected evidence, conducted hundreds of interviews and pursued every lead. Police said they do not believe there is any further threat to the public or the Rostraver Township community. Jeri-Greene is being held in the Hillsborough County Jail in Tampa. Tampa police picked him up on a fugitive warrant on Tuesday. Jeri- Greene has been charged in a home invasion and robbery in Washington County two months before Seibert’s murder. According to court documents, Jeri-Greene is accused of breaking into his ex-girlfriend’s home by destroying a door frame, then strangling her before running out of the home with a hatchet. The investigation into Siebert’s death remains active and is ongoing.
May 15, 2025 3:50 am
PITTSBURGH —(WPXI)- State lawmakers are preparing a first-of-its-kind legislation in Pennsylvania, seeking a regulatory framework around pet funeral home services. Patrick Vereb of Vereb Funeral Home and Eternity Pet Memorial is accused of dumping over 6,500 pets into a landfill after owners paid hundreds of dollars for the cremation of their pets. The memo about the bill, which will be known as Holding Funeral Homes Accountable for Pet Cremations, says it’s an effort to “create an offense related to misrepresenting the disposal of animal remains and include additional penalties on funeral directors and their licenses for violating this act. ”There is no timeline for when the bill will be introduced or reach the Governor’s desk, but Senator Nick Pisciottano (D-45), Co- Chairman of the Animal Protection Caucus, hopes it will move quickly as it has support from both sides of the aisle. A class action lawsuit was filed at the Allegheny County Courthouse against funeral home owner Patrick Vereb. He is also facing state charges and is currently out on bail. Vereb is scheduled for an arraignment on June 18 at 2 p.m.
May 15, 2025 1:46 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Gov. Josh Shapiro is warning that cuts to Medicaid health care that Congress is considering would mean billions of dollars in lost federal aid to Pennsylvania, hundreds of thousands of people losing access to the program and more rural hospitals shutting their doors. Shapiro said Wednesday that the state will be unable to make up that amount of lost federal aid. The precise contours of cuts to Medicaid are being hammered out in the GOP-controlled U.S. House. Republicans say they’re trying to make Medicaid work better. Estimates from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office show that at least 7.6 million people could lose health insurance with the proposed Medicaid cuts.
May 14, 2025 4:18 am
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — President Donald Trump is meeting with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, in a face-to-face with the onetime insurgent leader who spent years imprisoned by U.S. forces after being captured in Iraq. The White House says Trump has agreed to “say hello” Wednesday to al-Sharaa before the U.S. leader wraps up his visit to Saudi Arabia and moves on to Qatar. Trump is also scheduled to attend a meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council, the grouping of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. He then sets off Wednesday for Qatar, the second stop in his Mideast tour. Trump will be honored with a state dinner in Qatar.
May 14, 2025 4:16 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Tax breaks tallying more than $5 trillion. But also sizable reductions in Medicaid health care, food stamps for older Americans and green energy strategies to fight climate change. Those all faced sharp debate as House lawmakers pushed through marathon public hearings overnight into Wednesday on President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.” Republicans are working on Trump’s signature legislative package over mounting opposition from Democrats, advocacy groups and even some wary Republicans themselves. The first hearing was disrupted by protesters shouting against health care cuts. House Speaker Mike Johnson hopes to send the Senate the bill by Memorial Day.
May 14, 2025 4:12 am
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A federal grand jury has indicted a Wisconsin judge accused of helping a man evade immigration authorities. Federal prosecutors charged Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan in April with concealing an individual to prevent arrest and obstruction. A grand jury affirmed the charges after convening Tuesday to determine whether there was enough probable cause to continue the case. FBI agents arrested Dugan at the Milwaukee County courthouse a week after authorities said she directed Eduardo Flores-Ruiz out a back door in her courtroom when she learned immigration agents were in the courthouse searching for him. According to court documents, Flores-Ruiz illegally reentered the U.S. after being deported in 2013. Dugan’s attorneys say she maintains her innocence.
May 14, 2025 4:08 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Erik and Lyle Menendez will have a new shot at freedom after 35 years behind bars for murdering their parents. A judge ruled Tuesday to reduce the brothers’ sentences from life without parole to 50 years to life. They were convicted of murdering their entertainment executive father and mother in their Beverly Hills home in 1989. The brothers’ attorneys said their clients have worked hard over the decades to better themselves and give back to the prison community. Prosecutors opposed their resentencing, arguing that the brothers had not taken full accountability for their crime.
