December 31, 2022 4:07 am
WEST NEWTON, Pa. — (WPXI) – One person has died after a fire at a senior apartment complex in West Newton on Thursday night. According to Westmoreland County 911, emergency crews were called to Filburn Manor on North Water Street at 7:04 p.m. Fire Chief Craig Sanner said the fire was contained to one unit on the 11th floor. The victim identified as 76 year old Joyce Marinos. The building was evacuated due to the fire. At this time, no other injuries have been reported. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
December 31, 2022 4:04 am
WASHINGTON, Pa. — (WPXI) – Washington police say they were in the right place at the right time on Christmas morning when they saw a woman breaking into a home. A 911 call from from a home on Broad Street early Christmas morning said a woman held another woman at knifepoint and robbed her. Washington city police have arrested Brittany Molinaro. According to court documents, the victim heard a knock at the door and asked who was there. Court documents say Molinaro identified herself as “Sherri.” When the victim opened the door, police said Molinaro pushed past her, straight into the home and into the kitchen where she grabbed a knife. The victim said Molinaro stood over top of her with the knife, threatening to hurt her if she didn’t hand over her purse. Investigators say a man inside of the home witnessed the whole incident and did not intervene. Police arrested Molinaro just a few blocks away from the scene after spotting her walking. She is in the Washington county jail and faces burglary, robbery and terroristic threats charges. She will be in court in January.
December 31, 2022 4:00 am
The lead witness for the prosecution who pleaded his fifth amendment rights during a preliminary hearing in December was held for contempt of court on Thursday. Elijah White, 24 of Donora was identified in a video arguing with 29 year old Jaisen Irwin in a Monongahela tavern before Irwin was killed and had his body dumped in Finleyville. When White was called to the stand to testify, he told the court that he was going to plead the fifth to every question asked of him no matter what the subject was. White is considered a key witness in the homicide trials of Keaundre Crews, 29 of Charleroi and Maurissa Spencer, 24 of Library who are charged in the killing of Irwin back in October near Bob’s Tavern in Finleyville. District Attorney Jason Walsh tells WJPA news that the judge that held the hearing on Thursday is holding White in contempt of court for not cooperating with his testimony. White will spend the next 5 days to 6 months in jail. He is also required to comply with all subpoenas.
December 30, 2022 4:11 am
KINGSHILL, U.S. Virgin Islands (AP) – President Joe Biden has signed a $1.7 trillion bill funding government operations through September 2023, the end of the federal budget year. The bill increases spending for domestic and Defense Department programs. It also includes roughly $45 billion in new aid for Ukraine and NATO allies, a sum larger than Biden had requested. Congress cleared the bill just before Christmas and Biden had until Dec. 30 to sign the measure to continue government operations. Biden signed the more than 4,000-page bill on Thursday in the U.S. Virgin Islands, where he is spending time with family.
December 30, 2022 2:22 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Gov. Tom Wolf will wrap up eight years in office next month, having steered Pennsylvania through unpredictable times when the Democrat made life-and-death decisions in the ravaging COVID-19 pandemic and managed the battleground state’s presidential election amid unprecedented Republican efforts to overturn it. Wolf, 74, leaves office with positive approval ratings from leading in-state polls and his endorsed successor, Attorney General Josh Shapiro, succeeding him — marking the first time since 1966 that a Pennsylvania governor has been succeeded by a member of the same political party. Wolf’s second term saw monumental challenges, beyond what many — if not every — governor before him had faced: a pandemic that transformed society, wiped out much of his second-term agenda and drew in the efforts of every agency under his command. He doesn’t hold any grudges and is largely satisfied with his achievements, although he acknowledges regret that he couldn’t get some initiatives through a Republican-controlled Legislature. Unemployment was at an all-time low in November, the treasury is stuffed with cash and Wolf points to a legacy of dedicating billions more dollars to public schools plagued by funding disparities. (Photo: AP)
December 29, 2022 5:27 pm
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – The U.S. Justice Department is alleging that a major drug wholesaler contributed to the deadly toll from opioids by turning a blind eye to warning signs about suspicious sales to its pharmacy customers. An 87-page civil enforcement action filed Thursday accuses AmerisourceBergen Corp. of failing to properly scrutinize orders for suspicious activity. AmerisourceBergen says the federal complaint is cherry-picking pharmacies among their tens of thousands of customers “while ignoring the absence of action” by the Drug Enforcement Administration. Opioids have been linked to more than 500,000 U.S. deaths during the past two decades.
December 29, 2022 2:31 pm
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (AP) – An Alabama actor who played small roles in movies including “Forrest Gump” and “Sweet Home Alabama” has died at age 87. Bob Penny spent three decades as a college English professor, mostly at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He acted in some commercials on the side, which led to small parts in movies and TV shows after Penny retired from teaching in 1990. He played a bumbling, small-town lawyer in “Sweet Home Alabama,” and had roles in “My Cousin Vinny” and “Mississippi Burning.” An obituary from Laughlin Service Funeral Home in Huntsville says Penny died on Christmas Day.
December 29, 2022 2:16 pm
SAO PAULO (AP) – Pele, Brazil’s mighty king of soccer, has died. He was 82. Since 2021, he had been undergoing treatment for colon cancer discovered during a routine medical exam. His agent Joe Fraga confirmed his death. Pele was one of the most commanding sports figures of the last century. He won a record three World Cups with Brazil and was the standard-bearer of “the beautiful game” with the national team and his club Santos. His exuberance and mesmerizing moves transfixed generations of fans around the globe. His flair personified his country’s samba-style elegance. Late in his career, he helped popularize soccer in North America by joining the New York Cosmos. (Photo: ABC News)
December 29, 2022 8:56 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The number of people seeking unemployment benefits rose modestly last week, the latest sign that the labor market remains strong despite the Federal Reserve’s efforts to cool the economy and hiring. Applications for unemployment aid for the week ending Dec. 24 climbed 9,000 to 225,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Unemployment benefit applications are a proxy for layoffs, and are being closely monitored by economists as the Fed has rapidly raised interest rates in an effort to cool job growth and inflation. Should the Fed’s rate hikes cause a recession, as many economists fear, a jump in layoffs and unemployment claims would be an early sign.
December 29, 2022 4:32 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The House Jan. 6 committee has dropped its subpoena against former President Donald Trump as it wraps up work and prepares to dissolve next week. The committee’s Democratic chairman wrote in a letter to Trump lawyer David Warrington on Wednesday that he is formally withdrawing the subpoena. Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson said the committee “has concluded its hearings, released its final report and will very soon reach its end” and will not be able to pursue the information in the subpoena. The committee had voted to subpoena Trump during its final televised hearing before the midterm elections in October, demanding testimony and documents.
