Police Review Surveillance Video From Local Club

December 3, 2025 2:37 am

A search warrant was executed at the Washington Community Club on North Main Street in the city of Washington, to obtain surveillance video following a shooting on Thanksgiving.  Early that morning, officers responded to the area of 127 North Main Street for a reported shooting. When they arrived, they found a man who had been shot multiple times. He was taken to a Pittsburgh hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. During the investigation, Washington Police said they had made several attempts to obtain surveillance footage from the club to help identify those involved, but they received limited cooperation, so they obtained a court-authorized search warrant for the club and on Tuesday, they got the surveillance video and are currently reviewing it.

10 Arrested In Regional Roundup

December 3, 2025 2:33 am

Washington County District Attorney Jason Walsh has announced the arrest of ten individuals as part of a roundup that involved numerous law enforcement organizations. Walsh tells WJPA News that seven of those arrests took place here in Washington County. Two were taken into custody in Allegheny County and one in West Virginia. Walsh says the affidavits of probable cause are sealed until the preliminary hearing per Court Order. Charges vary based on the individual but range from Riot, Corrupt Organizations, Robbery, Aggravated Assault and related offenses. Those involved in the Tuesday sweep include; Pennsylvania State Police Troop A, Troop B, Washington County Sheriffs Department, FBI, ATF, Washington Regional SWAT, Westmoreland SWAT and Pittsburgh SWAT.

Hegseth Cites “Fog of War” In His Defense

December 2, 2025 5:42 pm

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is citing the “fog of war” in defending a follow-up strike on an alleged drug-carrying boat in the Caribbean Sea in early September. During Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting at the White House, Hegseth said he did not see any survivors in the water, saying the boat “exploded in fire.” Hegseth also said he “didn’t stick around” for the remainder of the mission following the initial strike, and said the admiral in charge “made the right call” in ordering it, which he “had complete authority to do.” Lawmakers have opened investigations following a Washington Post report that Hegseth issued a verbal order to “kill everybody” on the boat.

Former Honduras President Freed After Trump Pardon

December 2, 2025 10:58 am

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) — The wife of former Honduras President Juan Orlando Hernández says he has been released from prison following a pardon from President Donald Trump. The U.S. Bureau of Prisons has confirmed his release from a penitentiary in West Virginia on Monday. Hernández was sentenced last year to 45 years for aiding drug traffickers. His wife thanked Trump for the pardon, saying it ends nearly four years of hardship. Hernández was arrested in 2022 at U.S. request and convicted in New York. Trump, speaking Sunday on Air Force One, said he believed Hernández was set up and that Hondurans had asked for his release.

Snow Leads To Traffic Headaches But No Major Injuries

December 2, 2025 9:55 am

The storm system that rolled through the region early Tuesday morning resulted in plenty of problems throughout Washington County.  Washington County 9-1-1 dispatchers were busy all morning with numerous calls for accidents and disabled vehicles.  PennDot reduced the speed limit along Interstates 70 and 79 but that didn’t prevent countless crashed.  Dispatchers told WJPA News there were no major accidents but there were several jack-knifed tractor trailers and vehicles off of the roadway into the median or jersey barriers.  Washington City Police closed Murtland Avenue between Locust and Ridge because vehicles became stuck.  The weather system led most area schools to switch to remote instruction while a couple did cancel classes for the day.

Trump-Backed Van Epps Wins Special Election

December 2, 2025 4:54 am

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Republican Matt Van Epps has won a special election in Tennessee for a seat in the U.S. House. Van Epps was backed by President Donald Trump. He defeated Democratic state Rep. Aftyn Behn to keep the 7th Congressional District in the GOP column. But the comparatively slim margin of victory fueled Democratic hopes for next year’s midterm elections. The special election followed Republican Rep. Mark Green’s resignation this summer. The race saw a surge in spending, with Van Epps receiving over $1 million from the Trump-backing super PAC MAGA Inc. The House Majority PAC supported Behn with $1 million.

Judge Restricts Immigration Arrests In Nation’s Capital

December 2, 2025 4:50 am

A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from making widespread immigration arrests in the nation’s capital without warrants or probable cause that the person is an imminent flight risk. U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell in Washington granted a preliminary injunction sought by civil liberties and immigrants rights groups in a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. An email to the department after hours Tuesday was not immediately returned. Plaintiffs’ attorneys argued federal officers were frequently patrolling and setting up checkpoints in Washington, D.C., neighborhoods with large numbers of Latino immigrants and then stopping and arresting people indiscriminately.

Abortion Opponents Take Challenge To Supreme Court

December 2, 2025 4:47 am

WASHINGTON (AP) — A faith-based pregnancy center will come before the Supreme Court to challenge an investigation into whether it misled people to discourage abortions. Arguments are being heard Tuesday. The facilities often known as “crisis pregnancy centers” have been on the rise in the U.S., especially since the Supreme Court’s conservative majority overturned abortion as a nationwide right in 2022. In New Jersey, the Democratic attorney general sent a subpoena for donor information as it investigated whether centers there had misled people into thinking they offered abortions. First Choice Women’s Resource Centers pushed back, eventually asking the Supreme Court to let it challenge the subpoena before a federal judge.

Mangione In Court In Bid To Exclude Evidence

December 2, 2025 4:45 am

NEW YORK (AP) — A Pennsylvania police officer has testified about confronting Luigi Mangione during an intense manhunt last year for UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s killer. Mangione was back in court Tuesday for the second day of a hearing in his bid to bar New York prosecutors from using some key evidence they say links him to last year’s killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Altoona, Pennsylvania, Officer Joseph Detwiler says that as soon as Mangione doffed his medical mask, the officer recognized the shooting suspect whose face had been on the news. The defense is seeking to keep jurors at Mangione’s eventual trial from hearing about some evidence. He has pleaded not guilty to state and federal charges.

Review; 44% Of Trucking Schools Don’t Comply

December 2, 2025 4:44 am

Nearly 44% of the 16,000 truck driving programs listed nationwide by the government may be forced to close if they lose their students after a review by the federal Transportation Department found they may not be complying with government requirements. Separately, the Department of Homeland Security is auditing trucking firms owned by immigrants to verify their drivers are qualified to hold a commercial license. The Transportation Department says it plans to revoke the certification of nearly 3,000 schools unless they can comply within the next 30 days. Another 4,500 schools are being warned they could face similar action.