March 31, 2022 2:08 am
Two Washington County men pleaded guilty for their roles in the robbery of the Marathon gas station in North Strabane Township back in October. Evan Hryniewich, 30 of Washington entered an open plea of guilty to robbery with the threat of immediate serious injury. Jacob Shuman, 23 of North Strabane Township pleaded guilty to conspiracy theft by unlawful taking and possession of a controlled substance. Hryniewich entered the gas station and pointed a gun at the attendant demanding money. The attendant handed over $123 and Hryniewich left and got into Shuman’s car and drove to Shuman’s residence where police later tracked them down. Shuman will face two years probation for the robbery and one year probation for the unrelated drug charge. Hryniewich could face a maximum sentence of 10-20 years in prison with a maximum $25,000 fine. Both men will split the $123 restitution. Hryniewich will be sentenced on June 21.
March 30, 2022 4:38 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden has gotten a second booster dose of the Pfizer COVID vaccine, and he used the occasion Wednesday to call on Congress to pass billions of dollars in additional funding to fight the pandemic. Biden’s comments came a day after federal regulators approved a fourth shot for those aged 50 and older. His administration also launched covid.gov, which is designed to be a one-stop website to help people access COVID-19 tests, vaccines and treatments. The White House says that with the click of a button, people will be able to find information on those tools and latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on COVID-19 in their communities. (Photo: The White House)
March 30, 2022 2:19 pm
(WPXI) – Christopher Moran, 43, is behind bars at the Allegheny County Jail after reportedly threatening to blow up St. Clair Hospital in Mount Lebanon on Tuesday. Mount Lebanon police brought Moran to the hospital on Monday, but did not say why. On Tuesday morning around eleven o’clock, hospital risk management notified police of a bomb threat. Police said Moran called in the threat from inside the hospital, claiming he was discriminated against. He allegedly said, “If you throw me out to the wolves, you better believe I’m going to come back here with a (expletive) bomb, and I mean it,” before leaving his name at the end of the message. Moran was out of jail on a non-monetary bond at the time of the threat, for a separate incident in which he is currently facing charges including two counts of simple assault, reckless endangerment and terroristic threats. Police say Moran also has a past history of allegedly assaulting other patients and threatening staff. A judge denied bond in this latest incident, saying Moran poses a threat to the community. A preliminary hearing is set for April 6th.
March 30, 2022 9:45 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Maine Sen. Susan Collins says she will vote to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, giving Democrats at least one Republican vote and all but assuring that Jackson will become the first Black woman on the Supreme Court. Collins’ support Wednesday gives Democrats at least a one-vote cushion in the 50-50 Senate and likely saves them from having to use Vice President Kamala Harris’ tie-breaking vote to confirm President Joe Biden’s pick. It is expected that all 50 Democrats will support Jackson, though one notable moderate Democrat, Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, hasn’t yet said how she will vote.
March 30, 2022 4:20 am
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) – The Maryland General Assembly has passed a measure to expand access to abortion by lifting restrictions that only physicians provide them and by providing equitable insurance coverage. The Senate gave final passage to a House bill on Tuesday, sending the legislation to Gov. Larry Hogan, whose office did not immediately comment on his position on the bill. The measure would remove a legal restriction that prevents nurse practitioners, nurse midwives and physician assistants from providing abortions. It creates an abortion care training program and requires $3.5 million in state funding annually. The legislation also aims to provide equitable access to abortion coverage.
March 30, 2022 4:19 am
PHOENIX (AP) – Arizona’s Republican governor has signed a bill requiring voters to prove their citizenship to vote in a presidential election, drawing fierce opposition from voting rights advocates who say it risks affecting some 200,000 people. The bill signed Wednesday also requires anyone newly registering to vote to provide proof of their address. The Legislature’s own lawyers say the measure is unconstitutional, directly contradicts a recent Supreme Court decision and is likely to be thrown out in court. Ducey and others who support the bill say it promotes election integrity, though cases of noncitizens voting are extremely rare.
March 30, 2022 4:17 am
BERLIN (AP) – Germany’s economy minister says he’s triggering the early warning level for gas supplies amid Russia’s continued demand to be paid in rubles. Robert Habeck told reporters Wednesday that this was the first of three warning levels and entails the establishment of a crisis team in his ministry that will heighten monitoring of the gas supply situation. Habeck said he took the measure after Moscow indicated it would pass measures requiring payment in rubles despite the Group of Seven countries rejecting this demands on Monday. He said that Germany’s gas storages are currently filled to about 25% capacity.
March 30, 2022 4:16 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – U.S. intelligence officials have determined that Russian President Vladimir Putin is being misinformed by his advisers about his nation’s forces’ poor performance in Ukraine. That’s according to a U.S. official who spoke on the condition of anonymity Wednesday to discuss the recently declassified intelligence. The official added that the finding says Putin is aware of the situation and there is now persistent tension between him and senior Russian military officials. Meanwhile, the White House said President Joe Biden informed Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday that another $500 million in direct aid for Ukraine was on its way.
March 30, 2022 4:10 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania’s payrolls recorded a big jump in February and the unemployment rate sank to a new post-pandemic low. The state Department of Labor and Industry says Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate dropped three-tenths of a percentage point to 5.1% from January’s rate. The national rate was 3.8%. In a survey of households, the labor force was flat, although the number of employed grew by 12,000. In a survey of employers, non-farm payrolls in Pennsylvania grew in February by 34,000, driven primarily by hiring in manufacturing and the trade, transportation and utilities sectors. Pennsylvania has regained about 80% of the 1.1 million jobs lost in the early months of the pandemic.
March 30, 2022 3:17 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – A Republican proposal to prevent transgender girls from competing in girls’ school sports is advancing in the Pennsylvania Legislature. The measure was passed on party lines Tuesday by the Pennsylvania House Education Committee. The “Save Women’s Sports Act” bill would restrict players to male or female teams based on their reproductive organs, biology or genetics at birth. The bill says athletic teams designated for women or girls may not be open to “students of the male sex.” It would give students a route to sue if they feel harmed by violations of that rule. It covers K-12 school teams, college sports, intramurals and club teams sponsored by school entities.
