June 9, 2025 4:57 am
North Franklin Township will host a public hearing Tuesday at 5 p.m. to consider a zoning change requested by developers seeking to buy the Crown Center Mall and turn it into a mix use of retail, light industrial and other uses. Supervisors Chairman Bob Sabot says “the new prospective owners are to announce their plans for the property and Supervisors are expected to vote on the planned sale. The mall is currently owned by New York based Kohan Group and Sabot says the Township has repeatedly fined them “for failing to upkeep the mall and Supervisors have publically encouraged the sell of the mall which Kohan has owned for ten years”. According to Sabot, the mall “is struggling on the inside with just a few retail outlets” but is doing well on the outside with an auto dealership, Marshalls, Rural King, and Ollie’s. The original Franklin Mall opened in 1963 with Sears as its main anchor.
June 9, 2025 4:54 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – A man is facing several charges after Pennsylvania State Police say he lit a commercial firework at Rivers Casino, causing an explosion that hurt a casino employee. A Pennsylvania State Police spokesperson says the incident began when Jeremy Allen Hartman was taken into custody by casino security around 5:40 a.m. after reportedly being found trespassing in a closed restaurant, trying to steal bottles of alcohol worth up to $4,000. While being escorted to a secure holding area, PSP says Hartmas asked to go to the bathroom and was allowed to use an employee restroom. That’s where he’s accused of lighting a commercial-grade firework and putting it in a toilet. The subsequent explosion caused a minor injury to an employee who was also in the restroom. That employee was treated and released by medics at the casino. When authorities later executed a search warrant on Hartman’s vehicle in the casino parking garage, PSP says they found additional commercial-grade fireworks. The Pittsburgh Police Bomb Squad and K-9 unit searched the vehicle and casino, confirming both were free of explosive devices. Hartman is facing several charges, including arson, risking a catastrophe, theft and criminal mischief. The investigation into the incident is ongoing and PSP says there’s no immediate threat to the public. In a statement, a Rivers Casino spokesperson says they are cooperating fully with the authorities.
June 9, 2025 1:21 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Sly Stone, an electrifying musician, songwriter and showman whose Sly and the Family Stone transformed popular music in the 1960s and ’70s, has died. He was 82. His time on top was brief, from roughly 1969 to 1971, but his influence on music and culture lasted for decades after. No band better captured the gravity-defying euphoria of the Woodstock era or more bravely addressed the crash. From early hits as rousing as their titles —“I Want To Take You Higher,” “Stand!” — to the sober aftermath of “Family Affair” and “Runnin’ Away,” Sly and the Family Stone spoke for a generation whether or not it wanted to hear the message. (Photo: AP)
June 8, 2025 8:10 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has rejected a Republican appeal and left in place a Pennsylvania court decision allowing people to cast provisional ballots when their mail-in votes are rejected for not following technical procedures in state law. The court released the decision Friday, after an “apparent software malfunction” sent out early notifications about orders that had been slated to be released Monday. A technological error also resulted in an opinion being posted early last year. The justices acted in an appeal filed by the Republican National Committee, the state GOP and the Republican-majority election board in Butler County. Pennsylvania’s top court ruled last year that the county must count provisional ballots that were cast by two voters after they learned their mail-in ballots were voided because they arrived without mandatory secrecy envelopes. Pennsylvania Democrats had urged the court to stay out of the case. (Photo: AP)
June 8, 2025 7:59 am
BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — This year’s Boulder Jewish Festival is being reimagined to focus on community healing. That comes after an attack during a weekly gathering of a group that has been calling for Hamas to release Israeli hostages. The cultural celebration kicks off Sunday morning at the popular Pearl Street pedestrian mall — the same location where police say a man yelled “Free Palestine” and threw Molotov cocktails at the demonstrators. The man, Mohamed Sabry Soliman, has been charged with attempted murder and other crimes in a Colorado court. The festival will center the demonstrators’ cause — raising awareness of the 58 people believed to still be in captivity in the Gaza Strip.
June 8, 2025 7:57 am
(AP) – Russian officials say that Moscow is still awaiting confirmation from Kyiv on a planned exchange of 6,000 bodies of soldiers killed in action and is accusing Ukraine of delaying the process. Lt. Gen. Alexander Zorin, a Russian negotiator, said on Sunday that Russia delivered 1,212 bodies of Ukrainian troops to a border site and is receiving “signals” the transfer may be postponed until next week. The swap was agreed during direct talks in Istanbul, though both sides have since accused each other of undermining the plan. Ukraine has denied a date was agreed and accused Russia of manipulating facts and submitting incorrect repatriation lists.
June 8, 2025 7:56 am
(AP) – President Donald Trump says he’s deploying 2,000 California National Guard troops to Los Angeles to respond to immigration protests, over the objections of California Gov. Gavin Newsom. It’s not the first time Trump has activated the National Guard to quell protests. In 2020, he asked governors of several states to send troops to Washington, D.C. to respond to demonstrations that arose after George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police officers. Here are some things to know about when and how the president can deploy troops on U.S. soil. (Photo: AP)
June 8, 2025 7:41 am
WPXI — A state of emergency has been declared for Allegheny County after severe weather caused flooding throughout the area. Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato declared a countywide disaster emergency Saturday as people continue to clean up damage caused by flash floods that happened on Friday. The county said Monroeville, Penn Hills, Pitcairn, White Oak, McKeesport, North Versailles, Wall Borough and parts of Plum were among the communities hit the hardest. Five swift-water teams were sent to White Oak, McKeesport and North Versailles to help assess damage. Three rescues were conducted on Friday. Allegheny County said two of those happened at homes in North Versailles. Another was from a vehicle on Route 48 in White Oak. Officials said multiple landslides are under investigation. The state of emergency allows the Allegheny County Emergency Services Coordinator to “coordinate all emergency response efforts, take necessary actions to reduce the impact of this disaster, assist in restoring essential services, and implement all emergency response measures deemed necessary.” Allegheny County is also authorized to take any necessary actions to make repairs and ensure safety after the flooding. That includes hiring temporary workers, renting equipment, purchasing supplies and entering into emergency contracts. The American Red Cross and the County Department of Public Works are already working together.
June 8, 2025 5:12 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Thousands of protesters took to the street in Los Angeles on Sunday in response to President Donald Trump’s extraordinary deployment of the National Guard against Gov. Gavin Newsom’s wishes. The demonstrations centered on a cluster of federal buildings including a detention center where immigrants arrested on Friday were taken. As the protests swelled on Sunday, demonstrators blocked a freeway entrance, set self-driving cars on fire and threw objects including concrete and electric scooters at law enforcement officers and vehicles. Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell says some of the protesters engaging in the most aggressive behavior are agitators looking to cause trouble.
June 8, 2025 5:08 am
China has reported its exports to the United States fell 35% in May from a year earlier, straining the economy, as trade talks with Washington were due to start in London. Customs data released Monday showed total exports rose 4.8% in May from a year earlier, much lower than economists’ forecasts and down sharply from an 8.1% jump in April. Its imports declined 3.4% year-on-year, leaving a trade surplus of $103.2 billion. China’s exports to the U.S. fell 9.7% in May to June. Exports to the U.S. sank even after U.S. President Donald Trump struck a deal with Beijing in early May to delay imposing stiff tariff hikes to allow time for talks.
