April 14, 2024 7:00 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – An investigation is underway after 26 barges broke loose on the Ohio River. Pittsburgh Public Safety says police, fire and EMS responded to a report of barges breaking loose and floating uncontrolled down the Ohio River around 11:25 p.m. Police say 26 barges broke loose, 23 of which were loaded with dry cargo. None of the barges had hazardous materials on board. So far, no injuries have been reported, but Peggy’s Mariana sustained “extensive damage.” Of the barges that broke loose, 11 are pinned against the bank by Brunot Island and are being held by a tugboat. The other 14 continued down the river, and six of those have gone over the Emsworth Dam. The barges are owned or operated by Campbell Transportation Company, which is just downstream of the West End Bridge. The loose barges shut down the McKees Rock Bridge and West End Bridge, and also stopped trail traffic to Brunot Island.
April 14, 2024 7:00 am
Another clean up effort is underway across Washington County after heavy rains pounded the region. The City of Washington and McDonald Borough have declared a State of Emergency while areas like Washington Estates in Canton Township look to recover from what officials have called “significant damage”. Thursday night’s heavy rain was also devastating to many in Houston Borough. The Chartiers-Houston Youth Softball team says their fields were destroyed in back-to-back storms. James Hollenbach is the President of the Chartiers-Houston Youth Softball League. This year, the popular program has 60 girls enrolled from age 4 to 15. Hollenbach says the Houston Fields, where the Lady Bucs play home games were first flooded last week after storms swept through. The organization jumped into action with 40 volunteers pitching in some 30 hours of work to get the field back to normal. Things were looking great, until Thursday night – when storms pummeled the newly rehabbed fields. Hollenbach says when he went to assess the damage Thursday night he was shocked. Water destroyed the fields, fences, concession stand and equipment needed to start the season. Hollenbach says it’s going to cost thousands of dollars to get the Bishop Road Fields up to par. A GoFundMe has been set up to help raise money. Officials from Houston Borough were there Friday assessing the damage
April 14, 2024 5:19 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump has arrived at a New York court for the start of jury selection in his hush money trial, making history as the first former president to stand trial on criminal charges. It’s the first of Trump’s four indictments to go to trial and will present a split-screen of a presidential candidate spending his days in court while, he has said, “campaigning during the night.” Scores of people are expected to be called into the courtroom as the process to find 12 jurors and six alternates begins. Trump is accused of falsifying internal business records and making payoffs to two women as part of a scheme to bury stories he worried would hurt his 2016 campaign.
April 14, 2024 5:18 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is set to host Iraq’s leader this week for talks that come as tensions across the Middle East have soared over the war in Gaza and Iran’s attack on Israel in retaliation for an Israeli military strike against an Iranian facility in Syria. The sharp rise in security fears has raised further questions about the viability of the two-decade American military presence in Iraq. Iranian proxies there have launched attacks against U.S. interests throughout the region. Monday’s meeting between Biden and Iraqi Prime Minister Shia al-Sudani will include a discussion of regional stability and future U.S. troop deployments but will also focus on economic, trade and energy issues.
April 14, 2024 5:05 am
Former President Donald Trump is endorsing U.S. Senate candidate David McCormick of Pennsylvania. Trump spoke during a rally in the eastern Pennsylvania town of Schnecksville on Saturday and urged his supporters in the state to vote for McCormick in one of the year’s most hotly contested Senate races. Trump’s endorsement came two years after he successfully helped sink McCormick in Pennsylvania’s Senate GOP primary, creating an awkward dynamic between the two men. McCormick didn’t attend the rally. McCormick responded on social media, saying: “Thank you, President Trump! Together we will deliver a big win for Pennsylvania and America in November.” McCormick is trying to unseat Democratic Sen. Bob Casey.
April 13, 2024 5:35 am
SYDNEY (AP) — Police in Sydney say a man stabbed five people to death at a busy shopping center before he was fatally shot, leaving multiple people including a small child injured. Police say the suspect attacked nine people at the Westfield Shopping Centre in Bondi Junction, which is in the city’s eastern suburbs, before a police inspector shot him after he turned and raised a knife. Assistant Police Commissioner Anthony Cooke said he believed that the suspect acted alone, and there was no continuing threat. He said officials didn’t know who the offender was and an investigation was just beginning. Cooke said the police inspector was alone when she confronted the suspect and engaged him soon after her arrival on the scene, “saving a range of people’s lives.”
April 13, 2024 5:06 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is headed to his hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania, to talk about who he believes should be paying more in taxes and who should be paying less. Biden’s campaign says the speech will be Tuesday, the day after Tax Day. The campaign said Friday the speech will drive home a simple question: “Do you think the tax code should work for rich people or for the middle class?” The Democratic president is working to convince voters ahead of the November election he’s their best choice even as as inflation persists and Americans feel the sting in their pocketbooks. Biden usually releases his tax returns on or around Tax Day.
April 13, 2024 5:03 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump is holding a rally in northeast Pennsylvania, his last before his criminal hush money trial begins next week. The presumptive Republican nominee and former president is scheduled to speak Saturday at the Schnecksville Fire Hall in Lehigh County. It will be Trump’s third visit this year to a vital swing state, one that could decide who wins this year’s presidential race. He also plans to attend a fundraiser in nearby Bucks County before the event. Pennsylvania is a critical battleground in the rematch between Trump and Biden, with both candidates expected to visit the state frequently through November.
April 13, 2024 5:02 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — U.S. Steel shareholders have overwhelmingly approved the firm’s sale to Nippon Steel of Japan for $14.1 billion in cash, voicing unequivocal support for a combination that has drawn opposition from the Biden administration on economic and national security grounds. More than 98% of the shares voted Friday at a special investor meeting approved the takeover, according to a preliminary count of ballots announced by U.S. Steel. The deal has raised concerns about what the sale could mean for unionized workers, supply chains and U.S. national security, and is opposed by President Joe Biden.
April 13, 2024 4:59 am
PennDOT says most roads that were closed because of flooding or debris issues after the recent storms have reopened. In their most recent update later Friday afternoon they listed just two road closures;
· Route 1010 (Georgetown Road) between Spring Avenue in Cecil Township and Buckeye Street in Peters Township.
· Route 2019 (Almond Road) between Route 917 (Main Street) in Ellsworth Borough and Wherry Road in Somerset Township.
