January 26, 2023 4:09 am
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) – Ukrainian officials say Russia has launched a wave of missile and self-exploding drone attacks on the country. Air raid sirens wailed nationwide Thursday morning, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or of the missiles and drones striking targets. The head of the Kyiv city administration said that 15 cruise missiles were shot down. Serhii Popko said the missiles were fired “in the direction of Kyiv” but did not clarify if the capital itself was a target. The attacks came after Germany and the United States announced Wednesday that they will send advanced battle tanks to Ukraine as the Russian invasion enters its 12th month
January 26, 2023 4:08 am
Were you a winner? The numbers for Wednesday’s Powerball jackpot have been drawn. Wednesday’s jackpot was set at an estimated $526 million, with a lump-sum cash value of $284 million, according to lottery officials. The winning numbers for Wednesday were 9, 17, 20, 38 and 40, and the Powerball was 18, according to the Powerball website. The drawing’s Power Play multiplier was 2X. One ticket in Monday’s drawing matched all five numbers but not the Powerball and was worth $1 million. The odds of a single ticket winning the Powerball jackpot is 1 in 292 million. The next drawing is Saturday night.
January 26, 2023 4:04 am
FAYETTE COUNTY, Pa. — (WPXI) – Neighbors along Connellsville Road in Lemont Furnace dealt with wind damage Wednesday. Emergency officials tell Channel 11 they dealt with hundreds of wind-related calls within a two-hour span late Wednesday morning into the afternoon. It was so strong, it blew a carport over houses and across the street before settling in Laura Yauger’s yard. “The fire department alerted one of our neighbors and told us to message them because the carport was headed towards our house,” she said. There’s no clear timetable for when it can be returned to its rightful owner. “We tied it down as much as we could and we’re hoping that it just doesn’t go anywhere,” she said. Two houses away, it was more of the same. “My neighbor called while I was at work and told me my front screen door was ripped off and my front door was wide open,” Nicole Fisher said. The high winds knocked down a nearby power pole, taken the power with it. Electricity was restored around 8:30 p.m. It was also restored at G.C. Elementary School. A tree fell on the school’s HVAC unit causing kids to be evacuated to Laurel Highlands High School. No one was hurt. School will be back in session Thursday.
January 26, 2023 3:57 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania has enacted a statewide drinking water limit on two forms of highly toxic chemicals, nicknamed “forever chemicals.” The rule was published earlier this month and applies to all 3,117 water systems. Both chemicals belong to the group of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known collectively as PFAS, which are used in products such as nonstick cookware, carpets, firefighting foam and fast-food wrappers. There is no national limit. Former Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration initiated a plan to cleanup affected sites, test water systems and create a standard after testing in suburban Philadelphia communities near military installations showed tap water contaminated with the compounds.
January 25, 2023 3:28 pm
NEW YORK (AP) – “Sesame Street” co-creator Lloyd Morrisett has died at the age of 93, according to Sesame Workshop. No cause of death was given. Morisett’s background was in teaching, with a Ph.D in experimental psychology. Morrisett met Joan Ganz Cooney at a dinner party in 1966, where they started talking about the idea of using television to teach young children. Their first episode ran in the fall of 1969, sponsored by the letters W, S and E and the numbers 2 and 3. The show is now broadcast in more than 150 million countries and has won 193 Emmys, 10 Grammys and a Kennedy Center Honor. Sesame Workshop says Morrisett was a “wise, thoughtful, and above all kind leader.”
January 25, 2023 2:55 pm
(WPXI) – Greensburg police Chief Shawn Denning is facing federal drug charges. According to the federal indictment, Denning, 41, is facing six drug counts involving meth and cocaine, including aiding and abetting the distribution of the drugs, aiding and abetting the attempted distribution of the drugs, and conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute. The complaint alleges that Denning “facilitated the acquisition” of cocaine and methamphetamine by a confidential source multiple times from June 2021 to October 2022. The drugs were from California and Arizona, and were then delivered to the source through the U.S. mail. Denning is a 14-year veteran of the police force and was promoted to chief in March 2022. Greensburg Mayor Robert Bell issued the following statement: “We believe it is important that the community know that Mr. Denning is no longer with the City of Greensburg. Captain Sarsfield will be acting chief under further notice. We are conducting a thorough review and assisting the appropriate agencies as we can. There will be no further comment at this time.” Denning was escorted out of Greensburg City Hall Tuesday morning by DEA agents. He was taken into custody, but was later released on $250,000 bond.
January 25, 2023 4:20 am
BERLIN (AP) – Germany and the United States have announced that they will send battle tanks to Ukraine. It’s the first stage of a coordinated effort by the West to provide dozens of the heavy weapons to help Kyiv break combat stalemates as Russia’s invasion enters its 12th month. U.S. President Joe Biden said Wednesday that the U.S. will send 31 M1 Abrams tanks. The decision reverses months of persistent arguments by Washington that they were too difficult for Ukrainian troops to operate and maintain. Germany agreed to send 14 Leopard 2 A6 tanks from its own stocks. Germany had said the Leopards would not be sent unless the U.S. put its Abrams on the table.
January 25, 2023 4:17 am
HALF MOON BAY, Calif. (AP) – Officials say an agricultural worker killed seven people in back-to-back shootings at two mushroom farms that employed him in Northern California, and the massacre is believed to be a “workplace violence incident.” The state is mourning its third mass killing in eight days. Officers arrested a suspect in the latest shootings on Monday, 66-year-old Chunli Zhao, after they found him in his car in the parking lot of a sheriff’s substation. The Sheriff’s Office says seven people were found dead, and an eighth was wounded, at the farms on the outskirts of the coastal community of Half Moon Bay.
January 25, 2023 4:14 am
VATICAN CITY (AP) – Pope Francis has criticized laws that criminalize homosexuality as “unjust,” saying God loves all his children just as they are. He called on those Catholic bishops who support the laws to welcome LGBTQ people into the church. Speaking in an interview Tuesday with The Associated Press, Francis acknowledged Catholic bishops in some parts of the world, including Africa and the Middle East, support laws that criminalize homosexuality or discriminate against the LGBTQ community. He attributed their attitudes to cultural influences and said they need to undergo a process of change to recognize the dignity of everyone.
January 25, 2023 4:08 am
Timing is everything. A winter storm that rolled through Washington County Wednesday morning brought a quick coating of snow before temperatures began to rise and turn the precipitation to just rain. The snow hit just in time for the morning commute and led to reports of numerous accidents. Washington County 9-1-1 tells WJPA News there were several crashes on Interstate 70, but only minor injuries were reported and no major issues resulted. There was also a single vehicle crash along Route-40 at Anderson Drive near the border of South Strabane and Amwell Townships. Dispatchers tell us a vehicle struck a utility pole but the injuries that resulted were not considered serious. Road crews were busy throughout the morning. Several schools changed their schedules. Trinity reported a two-hour delay Tuesday night, but then changed to a ‘Flexible Instruction Day’ once roadways became snow covered. Canon McMillan also went with a “FID” day.
