June 17, 2022 3:27 am
SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) – Incarcerated lawyer Michael Avenatti has pleaded guilty to four counts of wire fraud and a tax-related charge in a Southern California federal court case accusing him of cheating his clients out of millions of dollars. Avenatti made the plea during a court hearing Thursday in Santa Ana. The 51-year-old lawyer said earlier this week that although he didn’t reach a deal with federal prosecutors he wanted to change his plea to be accountable and spare his family further embarrassment. Avenatti is serving five years in prison in a federal facility in California for convictions in two cases in New York.
June 17, 2022 3:26 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The chairman of the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection says the panel will ask Virginia Thomas for an interview. Thomas says she will comply. A conservative activist and the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, “Ginni” Thomas communicated with people in President Donald Trump’s orbit ahead of the attack and on the day of the insurrection. Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson said Thursday that “it’s time” for her to come talk to the committee after investigators discovered information that refers to Thomas in communications they have obtained relating to one of Trump’s lawyers, John Eastman.
June 17, 2022 3:25 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden signed legislation Thursday meant to lower the cost of shipping goods across oceans. It’s a move the White House says will help ease logistical costs for retailers that have remained high since the start of the coronavirus pandemic and helped fuel record inflation. The Ocean Shipping Reform Act passed unanimously by the Senate via voice vote in March after winning bipartisan House support. It empowers the Federal Maritime Commission to investigate late fees charged by carriers while prohibiting ocean carriers and marine terminals from refusing to fill available cargo space.
June 17, 2022 3:13 am
WASHINGTON, Pa. — Washington County Commissioners approved a large expansion to broadband in two areas of the county that are sorely underserved with access to internet services. Two expansion programs will serve West Finley Township and the Bentleyville area to include 944 structures, 829 of them homes and 115 of them businesses. The $5.3 million project will be headed up by Kinetic by Windstream and will consist of 79 miles of fiber. Washington County’s share of the project will be in excess of $3.2 million. Those funds will be spent from the American Rescue Plan Funds the county received from the federal government. Commissioner Diana Irey-Vaughn said that commissioners felt that it was important to invest in broadband in Washington County. Commissioner Larry Maggi called the West Finley Township area one of the most underserved areas of the county and said the area is looking forward to the better access to internet services for students and businesses. The project is being managed by the Washington County Authority.
June 17, 2022 3:11 am
WASHINGTON, Pa. — Residents in the Trinity Area School District will be paying a little more this coming school year. The school board adopted their budget for the 2022-2023 school year at $67,099,354 during their voting meeting Thursday night. The budget includes a tax increase of .58 mills. Taylor Hott, Director of Physical Services, last month pointed to a $60 million bond that the board took on to finance a new intermediate school as the main driver for the tax increase. He also pointed to higher health care and pension costs when the budget was introduced last month. According to Hott the tax increase should be $53 for every $100,000 of assessed value to each property in the district. The board also accepted the resignation of James Knapp effective May 21, 2022. They appointed Molly Hott to fill out the rest of Knapp’s term that expires in December of 2023.
June 17, 2022 1:40 am
WASHINGTON, Pa. — Washington County District Attorney Jason Walsh has confirmed that authorities were searching for a wanted man Thursday afternoon. Walsh confirmed to WJPA News that the search was for Javarr Thomas. No further information was released. The search was reportedly narrowed down to an area in the 400 block of Hancock Street near the Woodland Apartments complex in Washington. Washington City Police along with the Washington County Sheriff’s Department and K9 units were on the scene. The search was reportedly called off before nightfall. Thomas is currently wanted on multiple drug charges, fleeing police and illegal possession of a firearm.
June 16, 2022 4:45 pm
(WPXI) – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that Allegheny County and several other counties in southwestern Pennsylvania have reached the “low” community transmission level of COVID-19. The only county still at the “medium” level is Greene County. Washington, Butler, Beaver, Lawrence, Armstrong, Indiana, Westmoreland and Fayette Counties were some of the areas that have been dropped to the “low” level. Allegheny County has seen around 164 cases of COVID-19 in the last seven days. The county reached “high” community transmission levels on May 27.
June 16, 2022 4:20 pm
PennDot along with the Highway Safety Network and the PA DUI Association brought the DUI Victims Moving Memorial Wall to Washington. The wall is a replica of the one on display in Harrisburg. It contains 3000 names of people who have been killed by drivers that were driving under the influence. In a ceremony commemorating the loss of those people, local officials were on hand to ask that now that summer is here and celebrations become more frequent, people consider alternatives to getting behind the wheel after celebrating with alcohol or other substances. District Attorney Jason Walsh says that even those with marijuana cards are subject to DUI criminal charges if found to be impaired. Washington County Commissioner Larry Maggi said that the most difficult task he ever had as a state trooper or county sheriff was to tell someone in the middle of the night that they lost a loved one due to a DUI driver. Pennsylvania State Trooper Forrest Allison said that people should consider alternatives to driving impaired such as Uber or designated drivers or just call someone to come and get you. According to PennDot, 450 people were killed in 2021 due to DUI, 10 in Washington County.
June 16, 2022 1:40 pm
WHEELING, W.Va. (AP) – West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice has declared a state of emergency for a northern West Virginia county hit by high winds and flash flooding from severe storms that caused one death. The declaration that will remain in effect for 30 days allows emergency responders to mobilize personnel and resources in Ohio County. Nearly 7,000 customers in the county remained without electricity Wednesday from the storms on Monday night and early Tuesday. The governor’s office says the body of a 20-year-old woman was found Tuesday evening after she was swept away from a bridge in floodwaters in the Wileyville area.
June 16, 2022 12:54 pm
NEW YORK (AP) – Revlon, the 90-year-old multinational cosmetics company, is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, weighed down by debt load, disruptions to its supply chain network and surging costs. With household names like Almay to Elizabeth Arden, Revlon has been a mainstay on store shelves for decades. And it’s a company that broke race barriers and put supermodels like Iman, Claudia Schiffer, Cindy Crawford and Christy Turlington front and center. It has struggled in recent years, however, with mounting debt, rising competition and failure to keep pace with changing beauty standards. (ABC News)
