October 12, 2023 4:43 am
Candidates vying for public office in Washington County, City of Washington and the Washington School Board were hosted by the Washington Branch of the NAACP and the Washington County League of Women Voters on Wednesday at the LeMoyne Community Center. The three hour Meet the Candidates Forum allowed voters an up close look at candidates and their views so those voters could be more educated on their selections come Election Day. Voters were disappointed as both Republican candidates for County Commissioner, incumbent Nick Sherman and his running mate Electra Janis were absent from the event. An email statement indicated that both would be attending a fundraising event that had been previously scheduled. Also absent was incumbent candidate for Prothonotary Laura Hough. No reason was given for her absence. The mood of the event was cordial among the candidates. The most spirited debate occurred between District Attorney candidates, incumbent Republican Jason Walsh and his Democratic challenger Christina Demarco Breeden. They sparred over the number of death penalty cases now being prosecuted in Washington County. The City of Washington Mayor race was also lively. Democratic candidate Joseph Burgess and Independent Candidate Mark Kennison offered their views on tax revenues, gun violence and minority employment. David Gatling, President of the Washington Branch of the NAACP and Diane DiSalle, President of the Washington County League of Women Voters both felt the event was a success despite the absences of the Republican candidates for Commissioner and Prothonotary.
October 12, 2023 2:24 am
A North Franklin Township woman waived homicide and other charges to court at her preliminary hearing on Wednesday. Along with the homicide charge, Lindsey Reho, 32 faces endangering the welfare of children and reckless endangerment charges. According to State Police, emergency responders were called to Reho’s apartment on June 10 after the father of Reho’s 1 year old baby found her unresponsive in her crib. The baby was taken to Washington Hospital where it was pronounced dead. State Police interviewed Reho where she told them she purchases and uses heroin daily. She earlier that day discarded old drugs and paraphernalia in her kitchen trash. Emergency service officials overheard her ask “if the baby could have gotten into something.” Reho remains in the Washington County Jail without bond. Her formal arraignment is pending.
October 11, 2023 3:26 pm
Details are sketchy but WJPA News has confirmed with Washington School District Superintendent George Lammay that a Washington Junior/Senior High School student was struck by a vehicle while he was crossing Jefferson Avenue near the Subway Wednesday afternoon. Washington County 911 tells us the injuries were minor and he was transported from the scene by ambulance to an area hospital. Lammay says students were being dismissed from classes around three o’clock when the victim crossed the street and was struck by a vehicle. Washington Police are investigating the incident. This is a developing story. Please check back for further details.
October 11, 2023 5:05 am
Olympic gymnastics champion Mary Lou Retton has pneumonia and is in intensive care in a Texas hospital. Retton’s daughter, McKenna Kelley, shared Retton’s condition in an Instagram post. Kelley said the 55-year-old Retton, who became the first American woman to win the Olympic all-around title, is “fighting for her life” and not able to breathe on her own. Kelley started a fundraising campaign on Retton’s behalf for medical expenses. Kelley wrote that Retton does not currently have medical insurance.
October 11, 2023 5:04 am
High school students’ scores on the ACT college admissions test have dropped to their lowest in more than three decades, showing a lack of student preparedness for college-level coursework, according to the nonprofit organization that administers the test. Scores have been falling for six consecutive years, but the trend accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Students in the class of 2023 whose scores were reported Wednesday were in their first year of high school when the virus reached the U.S. The average ACT composite score for U.S. students was 19.5 out of 36. Last year, the average score was 19.8.
October 11, 2023 5:04 am
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says a Chinese Australian journalist who was jailed for three years in China on a murky espionage conviction has returned to Australia. Cheng Lei worked for the international department of China’s state broadcaster CCTV. China’s Ministry of State Security said that Cheng had been approached by a foreign organization in May 2020 and provided them with state secrets she had obtained on the job in violation of a confidentiality clause signed with her employer. A police statement did not name the organization or say what the secrets were. Albanese says Lei reunited with her two children in Melbourne on Wednesday. Her return comes ahead of Albanese’s planned visit to Beijing this year on a date yet to be announced.
October 11, 2023 5:02 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans have nominated Rep. Steve Scalise to be the next House speaker. Now they must try to unite their deeply divided majority to elect the conservative in a floor vote after ousting Rep. Kevin McCarthy from the job. In private balloting at the Capitol on Wednesday, House Republicans narrowly pushed aside Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, the Judiciary Committee chairman, in favor of Scalise, the current majority leader from Louisiana. A floor vote of the whole House could come as soon, but tensions are still running high among Republicans who’ve brought the House to a standstill with bitter infighting. And it’s uncertain whether Jordan, who was backed by Donald Trump, will throw his support to Scalise. (Photo: AP)
October 11, 2023 5:00 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is confirming that U.S. citizens are among the hostages captured by Hamas in this weekend’s attack on Israel. He condemned the militant group for “sheer evil.” Hundreds of civilians have been killed, including at least 14 American citizens. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris spoke by phone earlier Tuesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss the situation on the ground. Biden outlined the actions he and other allies have taken to support Israel in the aftermath of the attack and expressed his horror about “sickening” reports of torture inflicted by militants on innocent civilians.
October 11, 2023 4:59 am
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu joined with a top political rival on Wednesday to create a war-time Cabinet overseeing the fight to avenge a stunning weekend attack by Hamas militants. In the sealed-off Gaza Strip ruled by Hamas, Palestinian suffering mounted as Israeli bombardment demolished neighborhoods and the only power plant ran out of fuel. The new Cabinet cobbles together a degree of unity after years of bitterly divisive politics, and as the Israeli military appears increasingly likely to launch a ground offensive into Gaza. The new cabinet will consist of Netanyahu, Benny Gantz — a senior opposition figure and former defense minister — and current Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. It will focus only on the war.
October 11, 2023 4:56 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – Transportation Security Administration officers stopped a record-breaking 36th gun at Pittsburgh International Airport Tuesday. According to TSA, a Uniontown man was stopped with a 9mm handgun loaded with five bullets in his carry-on bag. The gun was confiscated and the man was arrested, officials said. “We seem to have a very disturbing number of guns being carried to our checkpoints this month,” said TSA’s Federal Security Director for the airport, Karen Keys-Turner. “Tuesday’s gun catch was the sixth firearm caught in the first 10 days of the month and the 36th gun caught so far this year. Thirty-six is now our record high number of guns caught at our checkpoints in a single year.” The previous record of 35 guns caught at airport security was set in 2019. Passengers are permitted to travel with guns only in checked baggage if they are unloaded and packed in a hard-sided locked case. Then the locked case should be taken to the airline check-in counter to be declared.
