March 23, 2022 4:07 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson is declaring at her confirmation hearing that she will rule “without any agendas” if approved as the high court’s first black female justice. At her second and last day of questioning on Wednesday, she rejected Republican efforts to paint her as soft on crime in her decade as a federal judge. Democrats, meanwhile, defended her and heralded the historic nature of her nomination. Her confirmation seems all but certain, and Democrats are hoping for approval by Easter. But Republicans are still trying to chip away at her record.
March 23, 2022 4:03 am
North Strabane Supervisors started their legislative meeting catching up on business delayed from last month. Supervisors granted Greenwood Village LP a conditional use application to develop 5 acres of ground, constructing approximately 25 homes. Developers asked to postpone any further site plan authorizations until they are able to supply additional supporting information. Supervisors also approved the paving program for the year. The program is budgeted for $891,762 and will cover 11 streets and basketball courts at the park. Supervisors also authorized the township engineer to begin investigations and formulate a plan with PennDot to better improve traffic conditions at the intersection of Garden St. and State Route 980. Initial plans could include temporarily making Garden St. a one way street. Supervisors also voted to move the May non-legislative and legislative meetings delaying both by one week because of the May 17 primary election. The meetings will now be held on May 24 and May 31.
March 23, 2022 3:59 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – A woman has been charged with third-degree murder and vehicular homicide while driving under the influence in an early morning crash on a Philadelphia interstate that claimed the lives of two Pennsylvania troopers and a civilian. State police said Tuesday that the charges against 21-year-old Jayana Tanae Webb of Eagleville would also include second-degree manslaughter of a law enforcement officer. Police said troopers Martin Mack III and Branden Sisca were trying to get 28-year-old Reyes Rivera Oliveras of Allentown off I-95 when all three were struck by a vehicle “traveling at a high rate of speed.” It’s unclear whether Webb has an attorney.
March 23, 2022 3:47 am
A Greene County man had involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child, indecent assault and corruption of minors charges held for court without testimony. Benjamin Crawford, 31 of Washington Township is accused of sexually assaulting a juvenile since 2018. The alleged assaults took place in the city of Washington and Canton Township. Pennsylvania State Police state that they were called by the victim in January. Crawford first denied the allegations when interviewed by police but in a second interview he confessed to an event when the victim was nine or ten years old. Crawford is being held in the Washington County Jail unable to post bond. Crawford will be arraigned on April 28.
March 23, 2022 2:54 am
The current Russian invasion of Ukraine has many implications for domestic energy providers here in Southwestern Pennsylvania. Daniel Weaver, who serves as the President and Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Independent Oil and Gas Association, spoke during a webinar on the situation Wednesday through W&J’s Center for Energy Policy and Management. Weaver says that policies both globally and domestically give U.S. natural gas companies issues exporting their product globally. Weaver explained shut down pipelines, capped wells, and policies like the Jones Act keep American companies from easily exporting liquefied natural gas. Weaver worries that sanctions placed on Russia’s supplies will disrupt the markets, and it could take the rest of the year to implement America’s supply worldwide, but is confident that it will eventually happen, likely by the end of 2022.
March 23, 2022 2:24 am
(WPXI) – A Sewickley Township woman who was killed when the vehicle she was driving was struck by a train in Westmoreland County on Wednesday morning. According to the Westmoreland County Coroner, 76-year-old Mary Ann Keegan of Sutersville was killed in the crash. Her death has been ruled accidental. Dispatchers said the crash happened at 4th Street Crossing at Sutersville Road in Sutersville around 10:35 a.m. CSX released the following statement: “CSX extends its deepest sympathies to everyone impacted by this tragic incident, and we will work on scene to support local law enforcement as they investigate. There were no reported injuries to the crew.”
March 22, 2022 5:36 pm
(AP) – Scientists worry that a contagious coronavirus variant may soon push cases up in the United States just as it has in Europe and Asia. One reason? After about two months of falling cases in the U.S., COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted across the nation. People are taking off their masks and returning to indoor spaces. At the same time, immunity from vaccines is waning and the amount of the variant called BA.2 is rising in the U.S. Experts are also monitoring another variant: a rare delta-omicron hybrid that they say is not posing much of a threat at this point.
March 22, 2022 4:51 pm
There were reportedly no major injuries this afternoon, when a Fort Cherry School Bus ran off the road in McDonald. Washington County 911 says police, fire and EMS units were called out just after three o’clock to Laurel Hill at Robinson Run Road. There were reportedly five children on the bus but none were injured. The bus driver reportedly suffered a minor injury and was checked at the scene by medics but didn’t need any further medical attention.
March 22, 2022 12:54 pm
NEW YORK (AP) – The show that entertained generations, fueled numerous paternity tests -and launched many “The test results reveal: that was a lie” memes – is leaving TV. Veteran daytime talk show host Maury Povich is hanging up his mic. NBC Universal has announced the last of his original episodes of “Maury” will air in September. Povich is 83 and his show will have been on for 31 years by the time it’s done. Povich says he’s proud of the work he has done and the people he’s worked with on the show. But now he wants to echo the words he often says to his guests: “enough already.”
March 22, 2022 12:36 pm
HARLAN, Ky. (AP) – Officials say crews have recovered the body of a Kentucky coal miner missing after a roof collapsed deep underground. INMET Mining CEO Hunter Hobson told WYMT-TV on Monday night that it was with “deepest sorrow” that he was confirming the death of 33-year-old James D. Brown of Lynch. The Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet said crews searched Monday for Brown, who began his shift as a roof bolter operator late Sunday at the D-29 Darby Fork mine in Harlan County. The cabinet said an equipment operator was nearby when the roof collapsed about an hour later, some 14,000 feet from the entrance. An investigation is continuing.
