April 17, 2024 1:44 pm
(WPXI) – An iconic coaster at Kennywood will not open this season. Park officials say the Steel Curtain is undergoing an extensive modification project “to increase ride reliability and longevity.” Kennywood worked with third-party engineers and the ride’s manufacturer for several months to find a long-term solution for the coaster so it can run without interruption. “Our ultimate goal is to obviously ensure that the Steel Curtain is part of everyone’s Kennywood experience once the rides reopens,” said Rick Spicuzza, assistant general manager at Kennywood. The Steel Curtain was introduced to Kennywood in 2019 and quickly became a flagship attraction.
April 17, 2024 5:10 am
NEW YORK (AP) — The first seven jurors for Donald Trump’s hush money trial have been chosen after lawyers grilled members of the jury pool about their social media posts, political views and personal lives. The questioning was designed to help decide whether they can sit in fair judgment of the former president. The panelists who were selected are an information technology worker, an English teacher, an oncology nurse, a sales professional, a software engineer and two lawyers. Eleven more people still need to be picked before opening statements begin as early as next week. The Manhattan case accuses the Republican of falsifying business records to cover up a sex scandal during his 2016 campaign. Trump has denied any wrongdoing.
April 17, 2024 5:08 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Mike Johnson has pushed back against mounting Republican anger over his proposed U.S. aid package for Ukraine, Israel and other allies. He also rejected a call on Tuesday to step aside or risk a vote to oust him from office. Johnson said he is “not resigning,” after a testy morning meeting of House Republicans at the Capitol. The embattled Republican speaker pressed ahead for voting this week on the U.S. national security aid package, a situation that would force him to rely on Democrats to help pass it. But as night fell, Johnson’s resolve collided with GOP opposition, and he was meeting late into the night with lawmakers on other options.
April 16, 2024 4:58 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Philadelphia police say they’ve issued an arrest warrant for a state lawmaker for violating a restraining order. A police spokesperson said Tuesday that the agency was unable to discuss the details of the warrant for Rep. Kevin Boyle. The arrest wouldn’t be the first for Boyle, who was charged in 2021 with harassment and violation of a protection from abuse order after showing up at his wife’s house. His attorney at the time called it a “domestic issue” in which Boyle wasn’t accused of committing violence. Boyle has told of receiving treatment at a mental health facility and House Democratic leaders have said Boyle had “ongoing mental health challenges.” Neither Boyle nor his lawyer from the 2021 case immediately returned a telephone message Tuesday.
April 17, 2024 2:56 pm
(AP) – Boeing is in the spotlight as members of Congress examine allegations of major safety failures at the embattled aircraft manufacturer. The Senate held back-to-back hearings on Wednesday to hear from aviation experts and people who have worked at Boeing. The witnesses included two whistleblowers, a former Boeing manager and a current engineer at the company who has made serious safety allegations about two of Boeing’s biggest planes, the 787 Dreamliner and the 777. No Boeing representatives attended either hearing but the company has disputed the engineer’s claims. Boeing has been in crisis mode since a door-plug panel blew off a 737 Max jetliner during an Alaska Airlines flight in January.
April 17, 2024 2:55 pm
DETROIT (AP) — Tesla will ask shareholders to reinstate the compensation package for CEO Elon Musk that was rejected by a judge in Delaware this year and to move the electric carmaker’s corporate home from Delaware to Texas. In January, Chancellor Kathaleen St. Jude McCormick ruled that Musk is not entitled to a landmark compensation package awarded by Tesla’s board of directors that is potentially worth more than $56 billion. Musk said a month later that he would try to move Tesla’s corporate listing to Texas, where he has already moved company headquarters. In a document filed with federal regulators Wednesday, the company said it was putting that move up to a vote.
April 17, 2024 5:03 am
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Heavy thunderstorms have lashed the United Arab Emirates, dumping the heaviest rain ever recorded in the country in the span of hours as it flooded out portions of major highways and Dubai’s international airport. By the end of Tuesday, more 5.59 inches of rainfall had soaked Dubai over 24 hours. An average year sees 3.73 inches of rain at Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest for international travel and a hub for the long-haul carrier Emirates. The state-run WAM news agency called the rain “a historic weather event” that surpassed “anything documented since the start of data collection in 1949.”
April 16, 2024 4:16 pm
SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) — President Joe Biden has begun three straight days of campaigning in Pennsylvania in his childhood hometown of Scranton. The president used the working class city of roughly 75,000 as the backdrop for his pitch for higher taxes on the wealthy on Tuesday. He also slammed his campaign rival, former President Donald Trump, as elitist. Biden’s travels overlap with the beginning of Trump’s first criminal trial in New York. The Republican former president faces charges over a scheme to suppress allegations of a sexual encounter with porn actor Stormy Daniels. Pennsylvania is a crucial battleground state Biden has repeatedly visited in his bid for a second term.
April 16, 2024 11:50 am
Former Congressman Austin Murphy has died. The longtime Democratic lawmaker passed away on Saturday at the age of 96. Murphy, lived in Monongahela, Farmington and most recently, Carroll Township, served on Speers Borough Council and then as an Assistant District Attorney in Washington County before beginning his legislative service in 1959. He served six terms in the Pennsylvania State House before moving on to the senate in 1971. He stayed there until he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1976. Friends will be received from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, April 18th in the Frye Funeral Home in Monongahela. Additional visitations will be held from 10 to 10:45 a.m. Friday, April 19th, in the First Christian Church, Disciples of Christ, in Charleroi, where funeral services will be held at eleven o’clock. Interment will follow in Howe Cemetery in Coal Center. (Photo: Frye Funeral Home)
April 16, 2024 4:59 am
State Police are investigating a fatal motorcycle crash Monday afternoon in Amwell Township. The Washington County Coroner’s Office says 20 year old Noah Polites was pronounced dead at the scene. It happened just after 2:30 p.m in the 200-block of Amity Ridge Road. Polites lost control and struck a guardrail. He was not wearing a helmet. A cause and manner of death are pending.
