July 19, 2023 5:26 pm
(WPXI) – Emergency crews battled a house fire in Monessen Wednesday afternoon. According to Westmoreland County 911, crews were called to the 500 block of Summit Avenue at 2:17 p.m. Authorities say no people were in the home and no other homes were damaged, but three dogs died in the blaze. The cause of the fire is under investigation. Firefighters from Monessen, North Belle Vernon, Carroll Township, Charleroi, Rostraver, and Stockdale, along with Mon Valley EMS, responded to the scene.
July 19, 2023 5:12 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — A target letter sent to Donald Trump suggests that a sprawling Justice Department investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 elections is zeroing in on him. Federal prosecutors have cast a wide net, asking witnesses in recent months about a chaotic White House meeting that included discussion of seizing voting machines and about lawyers’ involvement in plans to block the transfer of power. They’ve also discussed with witnesses schemes by Trump associates to enlist slates of Republican fake electors in battleground states won by Democrat Joe Biden and interviewed state election officials who faced pressure campaigns over the election results.
July 19, 2023 5:10 am
PHOENIX (AP) — The extreme heat scorching Phoenix set a record Tuesday, the 19th consecutive day temperatures hit at least 110 degrees Fahrenheit in a summer of suffering that’s echoing around much of the globe. As human-caused climate change and a newly formed El Nino are combining to shatter heat records worldwide, the Phoenix region stands apart among major metropolitan areas in the U.S. Weather historian Christopher Burt of the Weather Company says no other major city has had any streak of 110-degree days or 90-degree nights longer than Phoenix.
July 19, 2023 5:08 am
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea has been silent about the highly unusual entry of an American soldier across the Koreas’ heavily fortified border although it test-fired short-range missiles in its latest weapons display. Travis King, who bolted across the border Tuesday, is the first known American detained in the North in nearly five years. The North’s missile launches Wednesday were seen as unrelated. Instead, they were suspected to be a protest of the deployment of a U.S. nuclear-armed submarine in South Korea the previous day. King had served time in a South Korean prison for assault and was being sent home to Fort Bliss, Texas, when he disappeared. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed King was likely now in North Korean custody.
July 19, 2023 5:07 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Whistleblowers claiming the Justice Department improperly interfered with a yearslong investigation into Hunter Biden will testify before Congress as House Republicans accelerate their probes into the president and his family. Leaders of the House Judiciary, Oversight and Accountability, and Ways and Means committees will lead a hearing Wednesday with two Internal Revenue Service employees — Greg Shapley and an as-yet-unnamed “whistleblower x.” The two agents have claimed there was a pattern of “slow-walking investigative steps” into Hunter Biden, including delayed enforcement actions in the months before the 2020 election won by Joe Biden. The Justice Department has vehemently denied the allegations by the whistleblowers.
July 19, 2023 5:05 am
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian officials say Russia has launched an intense series of nighttime air attacks using drones and missiles against targets across Ukraine. The head of Kyiv’s military administration said on Wednesday the southern port city of Odesa was targeted with especially fierce strikes for a second consecutive night. No casualties have been reported so far. Meanwhile, a fire at a military facility in Russian-annexed Crimea caused the closure of an important highway and the evacuation of over 2,200 civilians from four villages, according to Russian officials.R
July 19, 2023 4:56 am
North Strabane Township Supervisors held a public hearing prior to their agenda meeting on Tuesday. The hearing centered on proposed changes to its wireless communications facilities ordinance. Recent changes on the state and federal levels regarding zoning for those towers is what caused the proposed changes. The largest change will be how 5G antennas are governed. The current laws from the FCC and state now indicate that 5G antennas are now allowed anywhere in the public right of way. Larger wireless towers can still be zoned locally. In other township business, supervisors will consider demolition projects in the township using Community Development Block Grant funds. They will also take into consideration the K9 policy for the North Strabane Township Police Department. The voting meeting will be held on July 25.
July 19, 2023 4:55 am
Tuesday marked the day for groundbreaking on a new Metropolis Center for the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Pittsburgh that will be located in South Strabane Township. The new center was deemed a necessity when Metropolitan Savas took over as the Presiding Hierarch of the Greek Orthodox Church of Pittsburgh. The current center near the Shadyside section of Pittsburgh is a repurposed 125 year old mansion that was purchased 65 years ago. Growth of staff and activities made the current building obsolete so 12 years ago the idea for a new Metropolitan Center was conceived. Through contributions of $6 million over five years from the Peter Giorgi and the Giorgi Family Foundation, land donations from local parishioners Michael Kusturiss and Michael Pihakis and additional capital from Athena Sarris, the dream of the new center has become a reality. The new campus will be comprised of a 15,000 square foot building that will house a church, library/conference room, office space, multipurpose room with caterer’s kitchen and an outdoor terrace. The Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Pittsburgh serves eastern and central Ohio, West Virginia and the majority of Pennsylvania. Metropolitan Savas looks at this area as a Church of the Pittsburgh area that is also a part of a greater Church in the United States and finally the greater Church of the world.
July 19, 2023 2:57 am
A Canonsburg man has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh for violating the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan and Washington County District Attorney Jason Walsh announced on Tuesday. The one-count Indictment named Rodney Thomas, 50, as the sole defendant. According to the Indictment, Thomas shot and killed a mature bald eagle with an air rifle on or about May 12, 2023, in Mt. Pleasant, Pennsylvania. “This Office remains committed to investigating and prosecuting environmental and wildlife offenses under federal law, including the unlawful killing of bald eagles—the United States’ national bird since 1782,” said U.S. Attorney Eric G. Olshan. “This prosecution is the result of strong coordination with our state and local partners at the Washington County District Attorney’s Office, the Pennsylvania Game Commission, and the Mt. Pleasant Township Police Department.” If convicted, Thomas could face a maximum total sentence of up to one year in prison, a fine of up to $5,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
July 19, 2023 2:41 am
A Bethel Park man will face trial on multiple charges related to the alleged inappropriate contact with two Washington County juveniles. Following a preliminary hearing on Tuesday, twenty-six-year-old Evan Deckard was bound over for court on several charges of sexual assault. Authorities allege that Deckard began communicating with the 12-year-olds on social media last year and then drove to Canton Township to meet one of the alleged victims where he allegedly offered them vape pens in exchange for sexual favors. Authorities also allege that he then met the other child in Canton Township in April and made the same request. Deckard is in the Washington County Jail, where he is being held on one-hundred-thousand-dollars bond.
