October 22, 2022 5:15 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Longtime Trump ally Steve Bannon has been sentenced to serve four months behind bars. He was convicted of defying a subpoena from the House panel investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. He’ll be free as he appeals the verdict, however. The 68-year-old was convicted in July of two counts of contempt of Congress: one for refusing to sit for a deposition and the other for refusing to provide documents. Prosecutors had asked the judge in his case to impose a hefty sentence of six months in jail. Bannon’s lawyers argued their client deserved a sentence of probation.
October 22, 2022 3:44 am
Middletown, PA – The Powerball® jackpot is now offering an estimated annuity value of $580 million, or $278.2 million cash, for the next drawing on Saturday, October 22. “This is very exciting because if won, this would be the 10th largest jackpot in the Powerball® game’s history,” said Pennsylvania Lottery Executive Director Drew Svitko. “We’re reminding our players that it only takes one ticket to win, and the proceeds are helping us generate funds for programs that benefit older Pennsylvanians.” The Powerball® jackpot has been rolling for more than two months, and this is the second time this year that a Powerball® jackpot run has crossed the half-billion-dollar mark. In January of this year, tickets sold in California and Wisconsin split a $632.6 million jackpot. The last time a jackpot was won in Pennsylvania was on August 3, 2022. In Pennsylvania, this recent jackpot run has generated more than $44.8 million in sales, creating a profit of more than $17.9 million to benefit older Pennsylvanians. If there is no Powerball® winner in tonight’s drawing, the jackpot for the Monday, October 24 drawing will be an estimated $610 million, or $292.6 million cash.
October 22, 2022 3:40 am
Washington County District Attorney Jason Walsh announced Friday the promotion of one prosecutor in his office, and the addition of three other assistant prosecutors. Cassidy Miller Gerstner, who has been with the office since 2015, was promoted to Deputy District Attorney and will prosecute major felonies in addition to her supervisory duties. She had previously been assigned to handle cases in DUI court and the county specialty courts (DUI treatment, drug treatment, mental health, and veterans) and to the general trial list. Walsh also announced the hiring of new Assistant District Attorneys Frank Kocevar, Zachary Moore, and Robert West. All four were sworn-in to their positions Friday by Washington County President Judge John DiSalle.
October 22, 2022 3:33 am
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court agreed Friday to hear an challenge to the state’s mail-in ballot law. The Court’s Order set a very quick briefing schedule, with briefs for both the challengers–Republican parties and their leaders–and the state due early next week. The Court did not schedule argument. The petitioners in the case include David Ball, chairman of the Washington County Republican Party, and the state and national GOP committees. The challenge to the 2019 mail-in ballot law relates to a provision that requires voters to date absentee and mail-in ballots. Previous federal court decisions found that those votes could be counted despite being missing dates, as required under the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
October 22, 2022 3:25 am
A Homestead man who traveled from New Castle to deliver drugs to a Washington man will face trial on conspiracy charges of drug delivery resulting in death and possession with intent to deliver. Calvin Ortiz, 33 is accused of selling six pills that were nearly 100% fentanyl to Bradley Remerowski in September of 2020. Remerowski ingested one of those pills causing his overdose death. Testimony came from the co-conspirator in the case Duane Berry. He testified that Remerowski and he were roommates at the Lighthouse for Men halfway house in Washington in 2018. Remerowski contacted Berry looking for drugs since both had relapsed into their addictions. Berry detailed the transaction from Facebook Messenger messages and text messages between him, Remerowski and Ortiz where he played intermediary to get drugs delivered to Remerowski. Berry testified that he is cooperating with authorities in an effort to right the wrong that he caused in Remerowski’s death. The judge held all charges including criminal use of a communications device for court. Ortiz is currently being held in the Washington County Jail. A request for bail was denied. Ortiz will be arraigned at a later date.
October 22, 2022 3:25 am
(WPXI) – A student at Canon-McMillan High School was removed by police after a weapon was discovered on them Friday morning. According to a letter sent to district families, North Strabane Police and administration members were able to remove the student from the classroom without incident. The school said that counselors are available to speak with any students affected by the incident. At this point, it’s unclear what the weapon was or how it was discovered.
October 21, 2022 1:28 pm
(WPXI) – Members of the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh have been on strike for three days. On Monday, Oct. 17, members voted to go on strike beginning at noon on Tuesday, should the ownership of the Post-Gazette not meet its demands to restart contract negotiations. The union members have been working without a contract since 2017. The action has drawn support from several local and national unions, as well as elected officials, and nationally, the Major League Baseball Players Association and the Service Employees International Union both gave support to the union members via tweets.
October 21, 2022 4:23 am
BOSTON (AP) – As the harmful effects of extended pandemic school closures become more apparent, some educators and parents have regrets. They’re questioning decisions in cities across the U.S. to remain online long after clear evidence emerged that schools weren’t COVID-19 super-spreaders – and months after life-saving adult vaccines became widely available. Talking about “learning loss” is controversial, but the casualties of Zoom school are real. The scale of the problem and the challenges in addressing it were apparent in Associated Press interviews with nearly 50 school leaders, teachers, parents and health officials, who struggled to agree on a way forward.
October 21, 2022 4:21 am
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Elon Musk plans to lay off most of Twitter’s workforce if and when he becomes owner of the social media company. That’s according to a report by The Washington Post. The report says Musk told prospective investors in his Twitter purchase that he planned to cut nearly 75% of San Francisco-based Twitter’s employee base of 7,500 workers, leaving the company with a skeleton crew. Twitter and a representative for Musk attorney Alex Spiro did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment. Already, experts, nonprofits and even Twitter’s own staff have warned that pulling back investments on content moderation and data security could hurt Twitter and its users.
October 21, 2022 4:20 am
LONDON (AP) – British Prime Minister Liz Truss quit Thursday after a tumultuous and historically brief term in which her economic policies roiled financial markets and a rebellion in her political party obliterated her authority. Truss became the third Conservative prime minister to be toppled in as many years, extending the instability that has shaken Britain since it broke off from the European Union and leaving its leadership in limbo as the country faces a cost-of-living crisis and looming recession. Financial markets were soothed, but bitterly divided Conservative Party lawmakers have just a few days to agree on a successor – or face yet another leadership contest.
