February 14, 2025 4:48 am
CHARLEROI, Pa. — There is another extension that will keep more than 300 employees on the job at the Anchor Hocking glass plant in Charleroi. The plant, which also goes by the Corelle and Pyrex plant has been a Washington County staple for 132 years. Employees got word back in September that the Ohio-based glass manufacturer would shut down. The closure date kept getting pushed back – until this week – when tiered layoffs started. Jim Watt, who is Vice President of the union that represents the workers confirmed Anchor Hocking recalling the employees who were laid off. Watt says the workers’ contract was due to expire at the end of this month, but that the union signed a 6-month extension that includes a 10% pay increase for everyone at the plant. He says the plant will now close sometime in May.
February 14, 2025 4:53 am
PETERS TOWNSHIP, Pa. — (WPXI) – Peters Township Police arrested a man on multiple child pornography charges after an online child predator hunter group tracked him down. William Jones was arrested this week, two months after the group’s sting was broadcast live on Facebook. The group, known as Niky Sal, goes across the country and meets up with suspected predators after chatting with them online. They confronted the suspect behind the restaurant where he worked. “They are difficult to prosecute because the law in Pennsylvania doesn’t allow a civilian to act in that manner,” said Washington County District Attorney Jason Walsh. In this case, you can watch the civilian explain to Peters Township police what is happening. He says in the video, “he was telling me that he had some child porn in his phone that he needed to get rid of…” Police did a full investigation and retrieved child pornography. Walsh said in similar cases he has not been able to prosecute because they cannot take the sting operation to court. “I understand they have their hearts in the right places, and no one wants child predators out there, we can all agree with that. But the best circumstance would be to alert law enforcement and not take things into your own hands.”
February 14, 2025 2:56 am
Attorney General Dave Sunday announced that a Fayette County man has been sentenced to five to 15 years in prison for contacting a girl, via social media, sending her lewd images, and eventually, arranging a meeting for what he thought was a sexual encounter. Derek Allen Reed, 35, of Uniontown, was arrested at the pre-arranged meeting place in June 2023. Reed pleaded guilty in November to numerous felonies, including several counts of unlawful contact with a minor, and dissemination of explicit sexual materials to a minor. Following release from prison and parole, Reed will serve five years of probation. He must register as a sex offender for 25 years.
February 14, 2025 2:57 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is suing agencies under President Donald Trump, saying they are illegally and unconstitutionally withholding billions in federal aid from the state that had already been approved by Congress. Shapiro, a Democrat, filed the lawsuit Thursday despite the fact that federal courts have repeatedly rejected the Trump administration’s sweeping pause on federal funding. Shapiro’s lawyers suggest the Trump administration is ignoring court orders to restore access to the suspended money. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Philadelphia, calls actions by the federal agencies “flagrantly lawless” and says the agencies have no legal authority to unilaterally refuse to spend congressionally appropriated money over a policy disagreement.
February 14, 2025 5:01 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Manhattan’s top federal prosecutor, Danielle Sassoon, and five high-ranking Justice Department officials have resigned after she refused an order to drop corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. It’s a stunning escalation in a dayslong standoff over the Trump administration prioritizing political aims over criminal culpability. Sassoon is a Republican who was interim U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. She accused the department of acceding to a “quid pro quo” — namely, dropping the case to ensure Adams’ help with Trump’s immigration agenda. And she said she was “confident” the Democratic mayor committed the crimes spelled out in his indictment, and even more.
February 14, 2025 5:03 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has rolled out his plan to increase U.S. tariffs to match the tax rates that other countries charge on imports. The Republican is possibly triggering a broader economic confrontation with allies and rivals alike as he hopes to eliminate any trade imbalances. Trump said Thursday: “I’ve decided for purposes of fairness that I will charge a reciprocal tariff.’ The prospect of a dramatic hike on tariffs could send shockwaves through the world economy, possibly depressing growth while also causing inflation to intensify. Most economists say the tariffs would effectively be a tax increase on U.S. consumers. Trump says he’s decided “for purposes of fairness” that he’ll charge reciprocal tariffs.
February 13, 2025 5:07 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is intensifying its sweeping efforts to shrink the size of the federal workforce by ordering agencies to lay off all probationary employees who had not yet gained civil service protection. Hundreds of thousands of workers could be affected. In addition, workers at some agencies have been warned that large workplace cuts are coming. The Office of Personnel Management told agencies on Thursday to lay off all probationary employees. Even workers in the personnel office itself were not immune: Dozens of probationary employees at OPM were told on an afternoon group call that they were being dismissed and then instructed to leave the building within a half-hour.
February 14, 2025 5:06 am
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Nonprofit organizations across the country were plunged into uncertainty after the White House froze spending on federal loans and grants two weeks ago. The Trump administration’s order created chaos for nonprofits in the poorest, most rural states, like West Virginia. That state’s reliance on federal funds to help address deeply ingrained issues makes it particularly vulnerable to the sweeping actions. An economic development organization had to pause projects revitalizing abandoned coal-era factories and installing solar panels. An organization supporting young adults transitioning from foster care had to freeze funding it planned to use for school mental health support.
February 14, 2025 5:04 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Heavy rain is falling across Southern California, creating deluges of water and mud on roads at the bottom of hillsides left barren by recent wildfires. One swift debris flow in Malibu swept a Los Angeles Fire Department vehicle off the Pacific Coast Highway and into the ocean. Evacuations have been ordered in some Los Angeles neighborhoods due to Thursday’s weather. The West Coast storms are just the latest in a week of bad weather across the U.S. Snow and ice caused major pileups on highways in Oregon and Washington, injuring at least 10 people.
February 14, 2025 5:05 am
HONG KONG (AP) — TikTok has returned to the app stores of Apple and Google in the U.S., after President Donald Trump delayed the enforcement of a TikTok ban. TikTok, which is operated by Chinese technology firm ByteDance, was removed from Apple and Google’s app stores on Jan. 18 to comply with a law that requires ByteDance to divest the app or be banned in the U.S. The popular social media app, which has over 170 million American users, previously suspended its services in the U.S. for a day before restoring service following assurances from Trump that he would postpone banning the app. On Trump’s first day in office, he signed an executive order to extend the enforcement of a ban on TikTok to April 5.
