March 31, 2022 4:14 am
Severe storms packing isolated tornadoes and high winds are racing across the Deep South, leaving scattered damages to buildings and homes in their path. The storm front spans several states and has been blamed for spinning off at least two confirmed tornadoes earlier Wednesday that left injuries elsewhere. High winds overturned semitrailers in Louisiana, toppled large trees in Mississippi and damaged a hotel in downtown Nashville. Senate lawmakers in Mississippi briefly suspended work when weather sirens blasted during a tornado warning Wednesday. Elsewhere, a warehouse roof collapsed as the storms moved through Southaven, Mississippi, near Memphis. But police said the warehouse had been evacuated and no injuries were reported there.
March 31, 2022 4:13 am
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) – Ukraine’s state-owned nuclear power company says Russian forces have begun leaving the damaged Chernobyl nuclear power plant. The operator says the exit comes after soldiers got “significant doses” of radiation from digging trenches at the highly contaminated site. The move came as fighting continued near Kyiv and other zones. There are indications the Kremlin is using talk of de-escalation as cover while regrouping and resupplying its forces and redeploying them for a stepped-up offensive in eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says defense forces are preparing for a stepped-up Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine.
March 31, 2022 4:11 am
GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) – Authorities say a student has been shot at a South Carolina middle school and taken to the hospital. The Greenville County Sheriff’s Office says the shooter is another student who was taken into custody hiding outside Tanglewood Middle School a short time after the Thursday afternoon shooting. School officials say they do not know the condition of the student who was shot. Other students at the school were being taken to a nearby church where parents could pick them up. Deputies say they haven’t figured out what led to the shooting.
March 31, 2022 4:10 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden is ordering the release of 1 million barrels of oil per day from the nation’s strategic petroleum reserve for six months in a bid to control energy prices. Biden says it’s not known how much gasoline prices could decline as a result of his move, but he’s suggesting it might be “anything from 10 cents to 35 cents a gallon.” Gas is averaging about $4.23 a gallon, compared with $2.87 a year ago, according to AAA. Prices have spiked as the U.S. and allies have imposed steep sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. Biden also is calling out oil companies that he says are focused on profits instead of putting out more barrels.
March 31, 2022 4:07 am
Pennsylvania United States Senate Candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz brought his Dose of Reality Tour to Comtech Industries in Canonsburg to discuss the nation’s energy policies. Joining Oz in the middle of the electric transformer factory was former Secretary of Energy and Governor of Texas Rick Perry, Founder of Continental Resources Howard Hamm and President and CEO of EQT Corporation Toby Rice. Oz addressed the crowd of about 150 people by explaining his view of how Russian President Vladimir Putin used energy as a weapon and gained control over Europe. Hamm spoke of policy changes needed to make the United States the most dominant energy producer of the world. He wants to restore permitting and leasing of gas development on federal lands. He is also calling for policies to create stability in the gas markets to allow private companies to develop infrastructure to deliver natural gas throughout the world. Perry is calling for the increased export of American gas to Europe and India to eliminate coal fired generation plants as a way to better effect climate change. Finally, Rice stated that increasing gas production in the United States by 50 BCF per day would have the environmental impact equivalent to electrifying every US vehicle, putting solar panels on every American home and adding 54,000 industrial scale windmills combined. All three energy experts called the use of natural gas the biggest green initiative on the planet.
March 31, 2022 4:04 am
WASHINGTON COUNTY, Pa. — (WPXI) – Washington Health System celebrated a much-needed milestone last week, the first day with no COVID cases since the summer of 2021. “Last week was the first day we had zero COVID-related patients in-house, in the system for about eight months, going back to July 2021,” said Dr. John Six, Chief Medical Officer at Washington Hospital. The critical care unit turned into the COVID unit, and has retained almost every member of the nursing team despite a very challenging two years. “We were stressed out, I will be honest about that,” said Dr. Abhishek Sharma, a critical care physician with Washington Health System. “It was hard to cope, but I’m glad that we held it together as a team.” Sharma says the medical team worked long hours and late nights, and saw a lot of tragic loss of life. He called his nurses the true heroes. “Unfortunately, patients had to pass without being around their loved ones. The nurses were by their sides 24/7 holding their hands when they’d pass,” Sharma said. Doctors here say they still worry about variants, but there is an overall feeling of hope, especially with zero cases one day last week.
March 31, 2022 2:24 am
The Charleroi Area School District moved to remote learning on Thursday, after an unspecified threat was received on their Safe2Say system overnight. Superintendent Dr. Edward Zelich said that after a thorough investigation by Pennsylvania State Police and the Charleroi Area Regional Police Department, it has been determined that the threat was unsubstantiated and all schools will operate as normal on Friday, April 1st. Zelich also said that authorities are working towards acquiring a search warrant to identify the person or persons involved in making the report. Zelich says the district has been informed that a recent phenomenon is occurring across the state involving individuals submitting false Safe2Say anonymous reports. In Bentworth, the high school and elementary schools were closed but the middle school remained in session. The Monessen School District in Westmoreland County, which is not far from the Charleroi School District, also moved to a flexible instruction day, but it’s unclear why.
March 31, 2022 2:08 am
Two Washington County men pleaded guilty for their roles in the robbery of the Marathon gas station in North Strabane Township back in October. Evan Hryniewich, 30 of Washington entered an open plea of guilty to robbery with the threat of immediate serious injury. Jacob Shuman, 23 of North Strabane Township pleaded guilty to conspiracy theft by unlawful taking and possession of a controlled substance. Hryniewich entered the gas station and pointed a gun at the attendant demanding money. The attendant handed over $123 and Hryniewich left and got into Shuman’s car and drove to Shuman’s residence where police later tracked them down. Shuman will face two years probation for the robbery and one year probation for the unrelated drug charge. Hryniewich could face a maximum sentence of 10-20 years in prison with a maximum $25,000 fine. Both men will split the $123 restitution. Hryniewich will be sentenced on June 21.
March 30, 2022 4:38 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden has gotten a second booster dose of the Pfizer COVID vaccine, and he used the occasion Wednesday to call on Congress to pass billions of dollars in additional funding to fight the pandemic. Biden’s comments came a day after federal regulators approved a fourth shot for those aged 50 and older. His administration also launched covid.gov, which is designed to be a one-stop website to help people access COVID-19 tests, vaccines and treatments. The White House says that with the click of a button, people will be able to find information on those tools and latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on COVID-19 in their communities. (Photo: The White House)
March 30, 2022 2:19 pm
(WPXI) – Christopher Moran, 43, is behind bars at the Allegheny County Jail after reportedly threatening to blow up St. Clair Hospital in Mount Lebanon on Tuesday. Mount Lebanon police brought Moran to the hospital on Monday, but did not say why. On Tuesday morning around eleven o’clock, hospital risk management notified police of a bomb threat. Police said Moran called in the threat from inside the hospital, claiming he was discriminated against. He allegedly said, “If you throw me out to the wolves, you better believe I’m going to come back here with a (expletive) bomb, and I mean it,” before leaving his name at the end of the message. Moran was out of jail on a non-monetary bond at the time of the threat, for a separate incident in which he is currently facing charges including two counts of simple assault, reckless endangerment and terroristic threats. Police say Moran also has a past history of allegedly assaulting other patients and threatening staff. A judge denied bond in this latest incident, saying Moran poses a threat to the community. A preliminary hearing is set for April 6th.
