May 15, 2024 5:24 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have agreed to hold two campaign debates, on June 27 hosted by CNN and on Sept. 10 hosted by ABC. CNN says its debate will be held in its Atlanta studios with no audience present. The Democratic president earlier Wednesday announced he won’t participate in fall presidential debates sponsored by the nonpartisan commission that’s organized them for more than three decades. Biden proposed two debates with the Republican ex-president, excluding third-party candidates. Trump says, “Let’s get ready to Rumble!!!” CNN holds open the door to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s participation if he or any other third-party candidate meets polling and ballot access requirements.
May 15, 2024 4:59 am
A Washington man is facing charges that include attempted homicide, aggravated assault and reckless endangerment after a shooting in the city Tuesday evening. Washington Police say 29 year old Justice Walden fired five-to-seven shots from a handgun at an elevated position at a home along Burton Avenue around 6:30 p.m. A 42 year old man was struck in the abdomen. Police say a woman and two juveniles were nearby when the shooting occurred but were not injured. Police were then called to Washington Hospital after the victim showed up at the emergency room. He was flown to UPMC Presbyterian Hospital in Pittsburgh. There is no word on his condition. Police apprehended Walden a short time later inside a home along Maple Avenue. He is last reported in the Washington County Jail. Police say the investigation continues and additional charges could result. Meanwhile, City officers were called to a report of shots fired around 8 p.m at a home in the 800-block of Ewing Street. Police say charges are possible after, what they called “an accidental discharge”. No other details have been released.
May 15, 2024 8:43 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Consumer inflation in the United States cooled slightly last month after three elevated readings, likely offering a tentative sigh of relief for officials at the Federal Reserve as well as President Joe Biden’s re-election team. Prices rose 0.3% from March to April, down slightly from 0.4% the previous month. Measured year-over-year, inflation ticked down from 3.5% to 3.4%. And a measure of underlying inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy costs, also eased in April. Inflation had been unexpectedly high in the first three months of this year after having steadily dropped in the second half of 2023. The elevated readings had dimmed hopes that the worst bout of inflation in four decades was being rapidly tamed.
May 15, 2024 10:33 am
PRAGUE (AP) — Slovakia’s populist Prime Minister Robert Fico is in life-threatening condition after being wounded in a shooting Wednesday afternoon, according to his Facebook profile. The message posted to his account said that Fico “has been shot multiple times and is currently in life-threatening condition. At this moment he is transported by helicopter to Banská Bystrica, because it would take too long to get to Bratislava due to the necessity of an acute procedure. The next few hours will decide.” Reports on TA3, a Slovakian TV station, said that Fico, 59, was hit in the stomach after four shots were fired outside the House of Culture in the town of Handlova, some 150 kilometers northeast of the capital, where the leader was meeting with supporters. A suspect has been detained, it said.
May 15, 2024 4:54 am
The Washington County Bar Association hosted a panel discussion with members of the organization Keep Our Republic. That is a bipartisan organization of political leaders and former judiciary to help educate the community about how elections are administered in their counties and point out misinformation with regards to the election process. The group has offices located in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin. On the panel was former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett. His slant is from the legal side and as far as voter fraud is concerned,he says “show me the evidence.” As a former prosecutor, he says he has seen no evidence of widespread fraud. Former Judge on the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, Tim Lewis says the organization does not take a stand on legal rulings that occur in Pennsylvania. He said that recent rulings regarding material defects and efforts to cure those defects will eventually wind up in the U. S. Supreme Court. Rob Beecher, Deputy Policy Director from the PA Department of States described how since 2020, Pennsylvania has invested $90 million in programs and equipment to help administer elections. Also invited to attend the panel discussion were all three county commissioners. Absent from the panel were commissioners Nick Sherman and Electra Janis. In a statement provided to WJPA by text, Sherman stated that some questions presented to them before the event centered on ballot curing. The county solicitor advised them not to attend due to possible litigation from the ACLU, concerning ballot curing. Sherman further stated that the county will follow state law and the decision from the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and not allow ballot curing. Also invited to attend but did not was Washington County Director of Elections Melanie Ostrander. According to commissioner Larry Maggi, a majority vote among the commissioners directed her not to attend the event.
May 15, 2024 2:59 am
A South Strabane Township man charged with attempted kidnapping waived his case to common pleas court on Tuesday. According to the criminal complaint, Jose Zaragoza, 48 and his ex-girlfriend agreed to discuss issues with an upcoming court proceeding when police were called to the Giant Eagle parking lot in Strabane Square on May 6. The report indicates Zaragoza approached her with a roll of duct tape and tried to forcibly remove her from her car saying “you’re coming with me.” The report says that he tried to choke her and covered her mouth with his hand as she tried to call for help. Zaragoza fled in his pick-up truck. When police arrived they found the woman with scratches and swelling on her arms and neck. Zaragoza faces felony charges of attempted kidnapping, strangulation and flight along with a misdemeanor simple assault charge. He will be arraigned June 20.
May 14, 2024 2:14 am
(WPXI) – A West Virginia man was stopped with a loaded gun at Pittsburgh International Airport on Monday, May 13, a day after a Pennsylvania man who was also carrying a loaded gun was stopped. Transportation Security Administration agents found a .380 caliber handgun loaded with six bullets on Monday. The catch brings the total number of guns caught at the airport’s checkpoints to 14 so far this year. All of the guns were loaded.
May 15, 2024 5:03 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration has told key lawmakers it is sending a more than $1 billion in additional arms and ammunition to Israel. That’s according to three congressional aides who spoke of condition of anonymity to discuss an arms transfer that has not yet been made public. It’s not immediately known how soon the weapons would be delivered. It’s the first arms shipment to Israel to be revealed by the administration since it put another arms transfer — consisting of 3,500 bombs — on hold this month. President Joe Biden’s administration has said it paused that earlier transfer to keep Israel from using the bombs in its growing offensive in the crowded southern Gaza city of Rafah.
May 14, 2024 5:04 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s defense attorneys have grilled prosecutors’ star witness in his hush money trial, portraying former attorney Michael Cohen as a media-obsessed liar who’s determined to see the former president behind bars. Cohen on Tuesday endured intense questioning by Trump’s legal team after providing pivotal testimony tying the presumptive Republican presidential nominee directly to the hush money scheme at the heart of the case. Cohen will return to the witness stand Thursday for more cross-examination before prosecutors rest their case. Trump denies any wrongdoing in the case, which he has portrayed as an effort to hurt his 2024 presidential campaign.
May 14, 2024 5:05 am
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Republican voters have advanced strong Senate contenders in Maryland and West Virginia, giving the GOP a big boost in its push to claim control of Congress’ upper chamber. Former Republican Gov. Larry Hogan claimed the Republican nomination in what will be a marquee race in Maryland against Angela Alsobrooks, a top local official who could become the fourth Black woman in U.S. history to serve in the Senate. Another popular Republican, Gov. Jim Justice, won the Senate nomination in deep-red West Virginia, becoming the overwhelming favorite in the race that represents the GOP’s best pickup opportunity in the nation.
