May 2, 2025 2:25 am
Washington County Commissioners dealt a heavy blow to the Washington County Tourism Promotion Agency (WCTPA) at their meeting Thursday morning. The board voted two to one to withhold future hotel tax disbursements until the agency provides documentation necessary to satisfy concerns regarding financial transparency and accountability. Democrat Larry Maggi cast the no vote but tells WJPA News that they will have to vote again on the measure since it was not included in the online version of the agenda. State law requires that it be placed on the county’s website 24-hours prior to the voting meeting to allow the public to review it. County solicitor Gary Sweat says commissioners will vote on it again when they meet May 15. Commissioners say they issued a letter to WCTPA Executive Director Jeff Kotula, requesting organizational and financial documents that would show that the hotel tax dollars – which are the public funds collected by the county – are being managed and utilized in a transparent and responsible manner. Kotula, however, is denying that his agency has refused to release the records. He says they have provided commissioners with the requested information and have also met with them and reached out to them, inviting the board to visit their offices and review documents. Kotula says he was completely blindsided by this decision and called it very poor timing because the start of the summer tourist season begins this weekend. Kotula says they do have some money in reserve but that has been earmarked for events and activities for the NFL Draft in Pittsburgh next year. Maggi told WJPA that he believes his colleagues want to take over the agency and have the county decide where the tourism funds are spent. Sherman, however, has denied that, saying he simply wants more information from the agency.
May 1, 2025 12:49 pm
(AP) – North America’s three biggest measles outbreaks have grown to a total of more than 2,500 known cases. Three people have died in the U.S. and one in Mexico. Mexican and U.S. officials say the strains of measles spreading in Canada match the other large outbreaks. One official says the “virus was imported, traveling country to country.” Cities on the borders, like El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, are informally working together to stop the spread. A recent World Health Organization report said measles activity in the Americas region is 11 times as much as the same time-frame last year and that the risk level is “high” compared to the rest of the world’s “moderate” level.
May 1, 2025 12:46 pm
)WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says he is nominating national security adviser Mike Waltz as United Nations ambassador while Secretary of State Marco Rubio would take over Waltz’s duties on an interim role. He announced the major shake-up of his national security team shortly after news broke that Waltz and his deputy are leaving the administration. Waltz has been under scrutiny for weeks after reporting from The Atlantic that he had mistakenly added the magazine’s editor-in-chief to a Signal chat being used to discuss military plans. There is precedent for the secretary of state to serve simultaneously as national security adviser. Henry Kissinger held both positions from 1973 to 1975. (Photo: AP)
May 1, 2025 5:06 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans have narrowly voted down a Democratic resolution that would have blocked global tariffs announced by Donald Trump earlier this month, giving the president a modest win Wednesday as lawmakers in both parties have remained skeptical of his trade agenda. Trump announced the far-reaching tariffs on nearly all U.S. trading partners April 2 and then reversed himself a few days later after a market meltdown, suspending the import taxes for 90 days. Amid the uncertainty for both U.S. consumers and businesses, the Commerce Department said Wednesday that the U.S. economy shrank 0.3% from January through March.
May 1, 2025 5:05 am
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Former Vice President Kamala Harris used a high-profile speech in San Francisco to deliver a sharp-edged critique of President Donald Trump, accusing him of “wholesale abandonment” of American ideals. Wednesday night’s speech was Harris’ most extensive public remarks since leaving office in January, after her defeat in the presidential election. She praised Democrats who have been especially prolific in criticizing Trump, name-dropping lawmakers diverse in their ideology and style. But she did not take a stand in one of her party’s central divides on how to best combat Trump. The speech comes when Harris has not ruled out a run for California governor or another White House try. Harris spoke to Emerge America, which recruits Democratic women to run for office.
May 1, 2025 5:03 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. and Ukraine have signed an agreement that will give the U.S. access to Ukraine’s vast critical mineral resources. The deal on reconstruction and investment could enable continued military aid to Kyiv amid concerns that President Donald Trump might scale back support during ongoing peace talks with Russia. It comes after a weekslong press by Trump on Ukraine to compensate Washington for billions of dollars in military and economic assistance to help Ukraine repel the Russian invasion. Trump has grown increasingly frustrated with the leaders of Russia and Ukraine. Treasury Scott Bessent said the “agreement signals clearly to Russia that the Trump administration is committed to a peace process centered on a free, sovereign, and prosperous Ukraine over the long term.”
May 1, 2025 5:00 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — A man who fell from the 21-foot-high Clemente Wall in right field at PNC Park during a game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Cubs remains in critical condition. Pittsburgh Public Safety, which includes Pittsburgh Police and EMS, posted on X says that the “incident is being treated as accidental in nature.” The man appeared to fall while celebrating as Pittsburgh star Andrew McCutchen delivered a go-ahead two-run single. McCutchen said the team is focusing on the man’s health. The fan was tended to for approximately five minutes by members of both the Pirates and Cubs training staffs as well as PNC personnel. The Southern Alleghany School District identified the man as 2022 graduate Kavan Markwood.
May 1, 2025 4:50 am
Three people are dead after severe storms blew through Southwestern Pennsylvania on Wednesday. Two storm-related deaths were reported in Allegheny County on Tuesday, including a man who was electrocuted by live wires on St. Martin Street in Pittsburgh at around 7 p.m. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner has identified that man as David Lepinsky, 59, of Reserve. Ross Township Police confirmed the other person who was killed in Allegheny County during the storms was a man who was hit by a tree on Evergreen Road. He has been identified as Raymond Gordon, 67. Police said he was walking back into his house from his deck when the tree was blown over and hit him. He was pronounced dead at the scene at 5:27 p.m. The third storm-related death was reported out of Greene County. Pennsylvania State Police said Andrew M. Celaschi, 25, of Jefferson, was traveling as a passenger on Jefferson Road in Franklin Township at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday when a tree fell on top of the vehicle he was in. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Troopers reported the tree was knocked over by high winds.
May 1, 2025 4:30 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — A man fell from the 21-foot-high Clemente Wall in right field at PNC Park during Wednesday night’s game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Cubs. Right after Andrew McCutchen hit a two-run double in the seventh inning to put the Pirates ahead 4-3, players began waving frantically for medical personnel. The fan was tended to for approximately five minutes by members of both the Pirates and Cubs training staffs as well as PNC personnel before being removed from the field on a cart. Players from both teams could be seen praying and McCutchen held a cross that hung from his neck while the fan was taken off the field.
April 30, 2025 5:52 pm
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks bounced back from steep early losses to end mixed, continuing their wild swings amid uncertainty about what President Donald Trump’s trade war will do to the economy. The S&P 500 rose 0.1% Wednesday, extending its winning streak to a seventh day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3%, and the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.1%. Indexes started the day lower after a report suggested the U.S. economy may have shrunk at the start of the year. But they rallied back after a report said inflation slowed in March. That could give the Federal Reserve more leeway to cut interest rates to support the economy.
