June 1, 2023 4:55 am
CECIL TOWNSHIP, Pa. — (WPXI) – A townhome in Cecil Township, Washington County erupted in flames just before 4:00 Wednesday afternoon along Old Farm Road in the Georgetown Estates development. The fire started in a garage and quickly spread to homes on either side, said Cecil Township Fire Chief Noel McMullen. According to McMullen, six townhomes suffered damage. Four are destroyed. But the outcome could have been much worse if it hadn’t been for neighbor Ed Kramer. He jumped into action from a few blocks away and helped rescue multiple people, including a hearing-impaired elderly woman. As his firefighters worked for multiple hours, McMullen noted the temperature posed an additional challenge. “The heat did play a role,” McMullen said. “I don’t know what the temperature is, but our firefighters were overcome fairly quick just from the heat today.” The cause of this fire is still under investigation by the State Police Fire Marshal.
June 1, 2023 4:51 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Testimony has resumed in the trial of a suburban truck driver charged with carrying out the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history. Carol Black told a federal jury in Pittsburgh on Wednesday about how she and her fellow New Light congregants, including her 65-year-old brother, Richard Gottfried, heard loud noises as they started Sabbath services in the basement of the Tree of Life synagogue on Oct. 27, 2018. She says they quickly realized it was gunfire and that some of them hid. Black says she watched as the gunman killed an 87-year-old member of her congregation. She found out later that her brother was among the 11 people killed that day. Robert Bowers could get the death penalty if convicted.
June 1, 2023 2:52 am
Washington County District Attorney Jason Walsh has ruled that a Charleroi business owner who shot an intruder earlier this month was justified. Charges of criminal trespass and terroristic threats have also been filed against Tony Troutman of California, who allegedly broke into a building at 513 McKean Avenue in Charleroi on May 25th. Walsh says Troutman threatened the building owner, telling him he had a gun while hiding behind a closed bathroom door. The business owner told police he feared for his life, so he shot through the door. There is now a warrant for his arrest.
June 1, 2023 2:45 am
A Washington man faced his preliminary hearing on Wednesday facing multiple felony counts of child pornography. Trevor Korba, 21 will face trial on 20 counts of child pornography possession and one count of criminal use of a communication device. Drop Box alerted law enforcement officials in January that an account related to Korba had 20 files of child pornography downloaded to it. State Police obtained a search warrant in April and found a cell phone containing 20 files of child pornography. Korba denies knowledge of the files. An agreement between the prosecution and public defender had all charges held for court. Korba is free on a $20,000 bond. He will be arraigned on June 29.
June 1, 2023 2:30 am
Emergency crews were called out just after two o’clock Thursday afternoon for an accident involving a motorcycle and a vehicle. Washington County 911 tells WJPA that it happened at the blinking light at the intersection of Route 40 and 519. Dispatchers say the operator of the motorcycle and a passenger on the bike were transported by medical helicopters to a Pittsburgh hospital. There was no word on what caused the crash or the nature of the injuries.
May 31, 2023 5:36 pm
NEW YORK (AP) — Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is expected to launch his second campaign for the Republican nomination for president next week in New Hampshire. Christie is planning to make the announcement at a town hall Tuesday evening at Saint Anselm College’s New Hampshire Institute of Politics. That word comes from a person familiar with Christie’s thinking who spoke on condition of anonymity to confirm Christie’s plans. The Associated Press had previously reported that Christie was expected to enter the race “imminently.” Christie also sought the GOP nomination in 2016. Christie dropped out of that race a day after finishing sixth in New Hampshire’s primary. (Photo: AP)
May 31, 2023 5:35 pm
NEW YORK (AP) — Former Vice President Mike Pence will officially launch his widely expected campaign for the Republican nomination for president in Iowa next week. That adds another candidate to the growing GOP field and puts Pence in direct competition with his former boss, Donald Trump. Pence will hold a kickoff event in Des Moines on June 7, the date of his 64th birthday, according to two people familiar with his plans who spoke on condition of anonymity to share details ahead of the official announcement. He’ll also release a video message as part of the launch. (Photo: AP)
May 31, 2023 5:21 pm
Washington County 911 says there were no injuries in a fire that broke out just before four o’clock Wednesday afternoon in the eleven-hundred block of Old Farm Road in Cecil Township in Lawrence. The fire reportedly affected multiple town homes there.
May 31, 2023 1:31 pm
The Pittsburgh Business Times has issued its new rankings guide of the top scoring school districts in Southwestern Pennsylvania. The list includes schools in Washington, Allegheny, Westmoreland, Fayette, Beaver and Armstrong counties. Coming in at number one – overall – was the Upper St. Clair School District. Peters Township took the top spot for Washington County schools. They were listed as number three. Canon-McMillan is 24th; Chartiers Houston is 34th; followed by Trinity and then Bentworth at 36. Fort Cherry was 46th; Avella was listed at 51 followed by California. McGuffey was number 71; Charleroi came in at 74; Burgettstown was 78; Ringgold was 84; Beth Center was listed at 90 and Washington was listed at 91. The paper says their rankings look at three years of state standardized test scores, including PSSA’s and Keystone Exams.
May 31, 2023 5:08 am
A drone attack on Moscow has exposed breaches in Russia’s air defenses and underlined the Russian capital’s vulnerability amid expectations of a massive Ukrainian counteroffensive. Tuesday’s strikes that lightly damaged three apartment buildings angered Russian hawks, who criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin and the military brass for failing to protect Moscow. Ukrainian authorities rejoiced over Tuesday’s attack but customarily avoided claiming responsibility. The raid followed a May 3 drone strike on the Kremlin that lightly damaged the roof of a building serving as one of Putin’s official residences. Previously, drones came down near Moscow in what Russian authorities described as botched Ukrainian attempts to attack the city.
