April 16, 2024 11:50 am
Former Congressman Austin Murphy has died. The longtime Democratic lawmaker passed away on Saturday at the age of 96. Murphy, lived in Monongahela, Farmington and most recently, Carroll Township, served on Speers Borough Council and then as an Assistant District Attorney in Washington County before beginning his legislative service in 1959. He served six terms in the Pennsylvania State House before moving on to the senate in 1971. He stayed there until he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1976. Friends will be received from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, April 18th in the Frye Funeral Home in Monongahela. Additional visitations will be held from 10 to 10:45 a.m. Friday, April 19th, in the First Christian Church, Disciples of Christ, in Charleroi, where funeral services will be held at eleven o’clock. Interment will follow in Howe Cemetery in Coal Center. (Photo: Frye Funeral Home)
April 16, 2024 5:21 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Mike Johnson is pushing for a vote on aid for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan this week. He has unveiled a plan to contort the package to squeeze it through the House’s political divides on foreign policy. Facing an outright rebellion from conservatives fiercely opposed to aiding Ukraine, the Republican speaker’s move on the foreign aid package is the first significant progress after he mulled it over for two months. But his plan to hold four separate votes on parts of the package also leaves it open to being significantly altered from the $95 billion aid package the Senate passed in February.
April 16, 2024 5:19 am
NEW YORK (AP) — The first six jurors for Donald Trump’s hush money criminal trial have been chosen after lawyers grilled members of the jury pool about their social media posts, political views and personal lives to decide whether they can fairly sit in judgement of the former president. The court began filling out the jury of 12 people, along with six alternates, who will decide whether to convict Trump of charges accusing him of falsifying business records to cover up a sex scandal during his 2016 campaign for president. Possible jurors were quizzed for hours about their views on Trump and other issues, and eight were excused after saying they could not be impartial or because they had other commitments.
April 16, 2024 5:18 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is questioning whether federal prosecutors went too far in bringing obstruction charges against hundreds of participants in the Capitol riot. Former President Donald Trump also faces the same charge for his efforts to overturn his election loss in 2020. The justices heard arguments Tuesday over the charge of obstruction of an official proceeding in the case of Joseph Fischer, a former Pennsylvania police officer who has been indicted for his role in disrupting Congress’ certification of Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential election victory over Trump. Fischer is among 330 people facing that charge, which stems from a law passed 22 years ago in the aftermath of the Enron financial scandal. Next week, the justices will weigh whether Trump can be prosecuted at all.
April 16, 2024 5:16 am
SPARROWS POINT, Md. (AP) — Salvage crews at the site of Baltimore’s collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge are using the largest crane on the eastern seaboard to remove sections of the wreckage and deposit them at a nearby processing yard. Over 1,000 tons of steel have been removed from the waterway so far as authorities work toward their goal of opening a temporary channel later this month that would allow more commercial traffic to resume through Baltimore’s port. Crews are also working to remove some containers from the cargo ship Dali before lifting steel spans off its bow and refloating the vessel. It will then return to the Port of Baltimore.
April 16, 2024 5:08 am
GERMAN TOWNSHIP, Pa. — (WPXI) – Police crime scene tape was still up at a remote spot two days after troopers found a man’s white Cadillac with his body inside. The disturbing discovery was made at a pull-off spot along Riffle Hollow Road in German Township on Saturday, April 13. State police said Anthony Dicenzo Sr., 83, was shot to death inside his car several hours after he was reported missing. Fayette County District Attorney Mike Aubele describes it as a cold-blooded killing. While there are no suspects at this point, Aubele said investigators are looking into the possibility that Dicenzo and the shooter knew each other. “We will be checking camera footage from miles around the area,” he said. Police said Dicenzo left his Brownsville home on Friday to look at real estate properties and didn’t come back. Aubele said he was a landlord who owned several rental properties and was well-known in his community.
April 16, 2024 5:04 am
WASHINGTON COUNTY, Pa. — (WPXI) – A local mom is grieving the loss of her daughter who was killed over the weekend. Annalaya Wilkerson, 18, was found shot to death in a remote area of Washington County. Her 17-year-old friend was also shot. She was flown to a local hospital after the shooting on Saturday. Wilkerson’s mom who was at the hospital visiting, says while she can’t bring her daughter back, she can and will fight for justice. “State police showed up at my door and told me that my daughter was gone,” Wilkerson’s mom said. It’s unclear how Wilkerson and the 17-year-old victim got to the area. The two girls were best friends who met in the Ringgold School District. Neighbors close to Jolly School Road called 911 after they heard gunshots. Those neighbors reportedly ran to help the girls they found in the road. State police say they’re looking at surveillance video from all over Washington County to help figure out who is responsible for the shooting. The 17-year-old’s condition isn’t known.
April 16, 2024 4:59 am
State Police are investigating a fatal motorcycle crash Monday afternoon in Amwell Township. The Washington County Coroner’s Office says 20 year old Noah Polites was pronounced dead at the scene. It happened just after 2:30 p.m in the 200-block of Amity Ridge Road. Polites lost control and struck a guardrail. He was not wearing a helmet. A cause and manner of death are pending.
April 16, 2024 4:58 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Philadelphia police say they’ve issued an arrest warrant for a state lawmaker for violating a restraining order. A police spokesperson said Tuesday that the agency was unable to discuss the details of the warrant for Rep. Kevin Boyle. The arrest wouldn’t be the first for Boyle, who was charged in 2021 with harassment and violation of a protection from abuse order after showing up at his wife’s house. His attorney at the time called it a “domestic issue” in which Boyle wasn’t accused of committing violence. Boyle has told of receiving treatment at a mental health facility and House Democratic leaders have said Boyle had “ongoing mental health challenges.” Neither Boyle nor his lawyer from the 2021 case immediately returned a telephone message Tuesday.
April 15, 2024 5:49 pm
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A movie weapons supervisor has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for the fatal shooting of a cinematographer by Alec Baldwin on the set of the Western film “Rust.” A New Mexico judge announced the sentence Monday against movie armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed. The judge said had it not been for the armorer’s recklessness, Halyna Hutchins would be alive. A tearful Gutierrez-Reed was unsuccessful in her plea for a lesser punishment. The armorer’s two-week trial and conviction was a prelude to the proceedings against Alec Baldwin, who has pleaded not guilty to a charge of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Halyna Hutchins. He is scheduled for trial in July.
