April 9, 2024 5:11 am
State Police are investigating a fatal crash involving two motorcycles and an SUV late Monday night in Westmoreland County. The Washington County Coroner’s office says it happened just before 9 p.m. in the 100-block of Fellsburg Road in Rostraver Township. According to the report, the crash was witnessed by a State Trooper. 24-year-old Camden Ellin of Rostraver was pronounced dead at Penn Highlands Monongahela Valley Hospital just before 10 p.m. A cause and manner of death are pending. The other motorcyclist involved, 25-year-old Joshua Sethman was taken to Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh with suspected serious injuries. The female driver of the SUV is identified as 18-year-old Gracie Lynch suffered minor injuries and was transported to Jefferson Hospital. Uniontown State Police are handling the investigation.
April 9, 2024 5:00 am
No injuries are reported after fire crews battled a house fire in Union Township. Washington County 9-1-1 says it broke out at a vacant home along Houston Run Road early Tuesday morning. There is no word on the cause of the fire.
April 9, 2024 4:56 am
Peters Township Council spent nearly 90 minutes in a public hearing, listening to opinions from residents and a land owner over a proposed zoning change for a property located along E. McMurray Road, adjacent to fire station number one. Andrew Zahalsky owns two parcels of land that are zoned as a mixed residential overlay. On one parcel he would like to develop a senior care facility. On the second, he would like to develop a neighborhood with 80-90 townhomes. It is the townhome property that the township wishes to rezone. At issue is the recent finding that five residential lots exist at the front of the property and Zahalsky does not wish to consolidate those lots into the bigger lot. County tax maps and township maps did not identify these lots when the property was rezoned to its current status in the mid 2010s. The half acre lots were subdivided in 1959. It was that reluctance to consolidate and a disagreement on funding of a traffic signal that has caused an impasse in development plans. The township questions the ability for a traffic light installation if the consolidation does not take place. Zahalsky presented new plans to the township on Monday morning. He was represented by an attorney that has been retained only in the last week. Public opinion was in favor of the rezoning, citing traffic and safety concerns. Zahalsky is claiming spot zoning issues. The public meeting was continued until April 22 to allow three absent council members the time to study the testimony. Council will close the meeting in two weeks and possibly vote on the measure that same night.
April 9, 2024 4:53 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Efforts to ban TikTok from government devices have picked up steam in the past year in state legislatures and Congress even as politicians continue to use it to connect with and expand their base. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is a prolific poster, but legislation seeking to ban the app from state networks and devices could reach his desk soon. Researchers say using social media to connect with constituents has a long history. And it’s largely Democrats having the internal debate about using TikTok while weighing a significant ban over security concerns. A TikTok spokesman said there is “no regard for the facts” when bills like this are pushed through.
April 9, 2024 2:12 am
(WPXI) – The body of a missing Beaver County man was found Tuesday during a search of the Monongahela River in Elizabeth Township. Elizabeth Township Police and Fire Rescue say they were asked to assist in the search for Brian Posch, 36, of Brighton, who went missing Friday in a work truck. They were called to help because cell tower data put the township as his last known location. Crews began searching the river because the cell tower “ping” was within the waterway. Initially, divers didn’t find any signs of the truck Posch was driving, but on Monday afternoon found a “large metal mass” about 50 yards from the shore. The divers returned Tuesday to remove the mass and identified it as the missing truck. Brian Posch’s remains were inside. His cause of death will be determined on Wednesday. The Elizabeth Township Police Department, Allegheny County Police Department’s Homicide Unit and the Allegheny County Medical Examiner are all investigating.
April 8, 2024 5:34 pm
NEW YORK (AP) — A New York appeals court judge has rejected former President Donald Trump’s request to delay his April 15 hush money criminal trial while he fights to move the case out of Manhattan. The decision came Monday, a week before jury selection was set to start. Trump’s lawyers had argued at an emergency hearing that the trial should be postponed while they seek a change of venue to move it out of heavily Democratic Manhattan.
April 8, 2024 5:13 am
Israel’s military says it has withdrawn its forces from the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, wrapping up a key phase in its ground offensive against the Hamas militant group and bringing its troop presence in the territory to one of the lowest levels since the six-month war began. But defense officials said Sunday that troops were merely regrouping as the army prepares to move into Hamas’ last stronghold, Rafah. Israel for weeks has vowed a ground offensive in nearby Rafah. But the city shelters some 1.4 million people — more than half of Gaza’s population. The prospect of an offensive has raised global alarm, including from Israel’s top ally, the U.S., which has demanded to see a credible plan to protect civilians.
April 8, 2024 5:10 am
MESQUITE, Texas (AP) — A chilly, midday darkness fell across North America as a total solar eclipse began its race across the continent. Monday’s spectacle was eagerly awaited by millions of spectators in the U.S., Mexico and Canada. It’s North America’s biggest eclipse crowd ever, thanks to the densely populated path. Cloud cover threatened to spoil the view in some places, especially in parts of Texas, but the skies cleared with minutes to spare. During a total solar eclipse, the moon passes in front of the sun and blocks the sunlight for a few minutes. The rest of North America will see a partial eclipse, weather permitting.
April 8, 2024 5:08 am
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — President Joe Biden says student loan relief will empower Americans to pursue their dreams without the burden of debt. He is visiting Wisconsin on Monday to announce details of a new plan to help more than 30 million people. The trip comes a week after primary voting in the Midwest battleground state highlighted weaknesses for the Democratic president as he runs for reelection. Young voters have been impatient for Biden to follow through on his campaign promise to slash debt after the U.S. Supreme Court foiled his initial plan last year. The new plan is smaller and would expand federal student loan relief to new categories of borrowers through the Higher Education Act.
April 8, 2024 5:05 am
BRIGHTON TOWNSHIP, Pa. — The last 48 hours have been emotionally draining for Alanna Posch and her family after her devoted husband, Brian Posch, 36, went missing on Friday and never came home. “We’re extremely emotional and we really miss him, and we really want him to come home,” Alanna Posch said. That morning started out like any other. “Just saying, ‘I love you’ and I had said, ‘I love you’ to him,” said Alanna. “We always just say, ‘I love you’ in the morning.” Just a few hours before that last text message, Alanna said Brian left their house in Brighton Township to head to work but never showed up at the construction site. “He doesn’t miss work,” Alanna said. “He’s punctual. He’s the head of his job site. He’s not into drugs. This is very, very unusual.” Brighton Township Police said his license plate was last scanned going south along Route 51 near Jefferson Hills around 6:30 Friday evening. The white Ford 250 pickup truck has a Pennsylvania plate reading ZTH-8685. “This is very uncharacteristic,” Alanna said. “He’s a wonderful dad and a wonderful husband, and he loves us and his daughter so much. So, for him not to come home, for him not to call and to not ask about his daughter is extremely, extremely not him.” If anyone knows where he could be, call the Brighton Township Police Department, or the Beaver County Emergency Services Center at 724-775-0880.
