October 31, 2022 6:25 am
A Carroll Township man was killed in a motorcycle crash Sunday night in Union Township. The Washington County Coroner’s office says 54 year old Frank Eckels was pronounced dead at the scene. He was traveling south on State Route 88 when he crossed into the northbound lane and struck an oncoming vehicle near the intersection of Patterson Road just after 6:30 p.m. He was not wearing a helmet. No other details are currently available. Monongahela City Police continue to investigate.
October 31, 2022 4:35 am
The Washington Country Transportation Authority has taken a first step towards construction of its first bus maintenance and storage facility. Freedom Transit says it has closed on a 12-acre property in South Strabane Township. The property is currently the site of Tower Golf and the Amish Touch store just across Berry Road from Strabane Square. According to Executive Director Sheila Gombita, the property was purchased for $3.2 million and will be developed into an 88,000 square foot facility to include; bus storage, maintenance bays, a mechanical bus wash, outdoor CNG and gasoline fueling stations, and office space for dispatch and operations staff. Federal and state dollars were used to purchase the property. Gombita says the total project carries a price tag of some $48 million. Federal Transit Administration , PennDOT and a small percentage of local match dollars will be used to fund construction. The tentative timeline for the project to be completed is Fall of 2025. Gombita says the facility will help the agency efficiently maintain buses, improve service and meet safety requirements.
October 31, 2022 4:21 am
SAO PAULO (AP) – Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has done it again: Twenty years after first winning the Brazilian presidency, the leftist defeated incumbent Jair Bolsonaro Sunday in an extremely tight election that marks an about-face for the country after four years of far-right politics. With more than 99% of the votes tallied in the runoff vote, da Silva had 50.9% and Bolsonaro 49.1%, and the election authority said da Silva’s victory was a mathematical certainty. It is a stunning reversal for da Silva, 77, whose 2018 imprisonment over a corruption scandal sidelined him from the 2018 election that brought Bolsonaro, a defender of conservative social values, to power.
October 31, 2022 4:20 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The man accused of attacking House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband in their San Francisco home carried zip ties with him when he broke in. That word comes from a person briefed on the investigation who spoke on condition to anonymity to The Associated Press. It’s the latest parallel to the U.S. Capitol riot of Jan. 6, 2021. Police say the suspect confronted 82-year-old Paul Pelosi early Friday and, according to AP reporting, demanded to know, “Where is Nancy? Rioters who swarmed the Capitol trying to overturn Joe Biden’s election victory over Donald Trump roamed the halls and shouted menacingly, demanding “Where’s Nancy?” Some in the siege were seen inside the Capitol carrying zip ties.
October 31, 2022 4:18 am
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – South Korean police are investigating what caused a crowd surge that killed more than 150 people during Halloween festivities in Seoul last weekend. It was the country’s worst disasters in years. The Interior Ministry said Monday that police launched a 561-member task force to delve into details of the crush. Police say officers are analyzing footage taken by security cameras placed in the Itaewon area at the time of the crash and related video clips posted on social media. They were also interviewing witnesses to find exactly when and where the crowd surge started and how it developed.
October 31, 2022 4:07 am
It’s trick-or-treating time for Powerball players. For the second time in its history, the Powerball jackpot stands at $1 billion. There were no winning tickets for the grand prize in Saturday night’s drawing for $825 million, meaning that Monday’s drawing on Halloween night will be the second largest amount in the promotion’s 30-year history. According to lottery officials, Monday’s drawing trails only the world-record $1.586 billion won six years ago and will be the fifth-largest lottery in U.S. history. That jackpot was won on Jan. 13, 2016, and was split by winners in California, Florida and Tennessee. Powerball jackpot winning numbers for Saturday’s drawing revealed it has been nearly three months since someone won a Powerball jackpot, and Saturday night was the 37th consecutive drawing without a winner. The last Powerball jackpot was won on Aug. 3, when a ticket in Pennsylvania was worth $206.9 million, lottery officials said. Powerball tickets are sold in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Drawings are held on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays at 10:59 p.m. ET.
October 31, 2022 4:05 am
BELLE VERNON, Pa. — (WPXI) – A car was destroyed after it caught fire in Belle Vernon on Sunday morning. A member of the Rostraver Central Fire Department said the fire happened on the 1300 block of Rostraver Road in Belle Vernon. Firefighters say the vehicle caught fire after it crashed. Rostraver Township Police are investigating the cause of that crash. The department said there were no injuries at the scene. Rostraver Road was closed for around 2 hours as crews responded. (PHOTO: Rostraver Central Fire Department)
October 31, 2022 2:53 am
PennDot is reminding motorists of ongoing single lane restrictions on Jefferson Avenue (Rt. 18) between the intersections of Oakland Avenue and Rt. 844 in the City of Washington. These restrictions will occur as needed through late November. Beginning Monday, October 31, crews will begin milling and paving on Jefferson Avenue and East Wylie and West Wylie Avenues. Flaggers will be in place throughout the project area during the single lane restrictions
October 30, 2022 8:08 am
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — U.S. President Joe Biden has warned that global hunger could increase because of Russia’s suspension of a U.N.-brokered deal to allow safe passage for ships carrying Ukrainian grain. He spoke after Russia announced it would immediately halt participation in the agreement, alleging that Ukraine carried out a drone attack Saturday against Russia’s Black Sea Fleet off the coast of occupied Crimea. Ukraine has denied the attack. The grain initiative has allowed more than 9 million tons of grain in 397 ships to safely leave Ukrainian ports since it was signed in July. It was to be renewed in late November. The grain agreement has succeeded in lowering global food prices, which have fallen by approximately 15% from their peak in March.
October 30, 2022 8:08 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s administration is taking stock of a newly empowered Xi Jinping as the Chinese president begins a third, norm-breaking term as Communist Party leader. Xi’s consolidation of power comes as the United States has retooled its defense and national security strategies to reflect China as America’s most potent military and economic adversary. Biden takes pride in having built rapport with Xi since first meeting him more than a decade ago. But now Biden faces a counterpart buoyed by a greater measure of power and determined to cement China’s superpower status. Biden and Xi are expected to hold talks on the sidelines of next month’s Group of 20 summit in Indonesia.
