May 24, 2023 4:23 am
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A criminal investigation in Texas over the hesitant police response to the Robb Elementary School shooting is still ongoing a year after a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers in Uvalde. Wednesday marks one year since the deadliest school shooting in Texas history. The continuing investigation underlines the lasting fallout over the shooting and how the days after the attack were marred by authorities giving inaccurate and conflicting accounts about efforts made to stop a teenage gunman. The Uvalde school district permanently closed the Robb Elementary campus and plans for a new school are in the works. Schools in Uvalde will be closed Wednesday.
May 24, 2023 4:21 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Politicians in Washington may be offering assurance that the government will figure out a way to avert default, but around the country, economic anxiety is rising and some people already are adjusting their routines. Government beneficiaries, social service groups that receive state and federal subsidies and millions more across the country are contemplating the possibility of massive and immediate cuts if the U.S. were to default on its financial obligations. Some are cutting back on necessities and others are finding ways to save money.
May 24, 2023 4:20 am
MIAMI (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has entered the 2024 presidential race. He’s stepping into a crowded Republican primary contest that will test his national appeal as an outspoken cultural conservative and the party’s willingness to move on from former President Donald Trump. DeSantis revealed his decision in a Federal Election Commission filing before a planned online conversation with Twitter CEO Elon Musk. It marks a new chapter in DeSantis’ rise from congressman to two-term governor to a leading figure in the nation’s bitter fights over race, gender, abortion, and other divisive issues. Questions loom about his readiness for the national stage. But DeSantis is seen as Trump’s strongest Republican rival.
May 24, 2023 4:18 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Debt ceiling negotiations are locked on a classic problem that has vexed Washington before: Republicans led by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy want to roll back federal government spending, while President Joe Biden and other Democrats do not. Time is short to strike a deal before a deadline as soon as June 1, when the Treasury says the government risks running out of cash to pay its bills. Negotiators are to reconvene Wednesday. McCarthy is rejecting a White House counter-offer to freeze spending instead of cutting it as the two sides try to strike a budget deal in exchange for a vote to raise the government’s borrowing limit.
May 24, 2023 4:15 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court will take its first crack at whether a governor can force power plant owners to pay for their planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions, or whether he first needed approval from a Legislature that opposed the plan. Hanging in the balance is Pennsylvania’s effort to become the first major fossil fuel-producing state to adopt carbon pricing. On Wednesday, the state’s highest court will hear arguments on whether a lower court was right to halt Pennsylvania’s participation in a multistate consortium that imposes a price and declining cap on carbon dioxide emissions from power plants. The way the justices react could give hints as to how they might ultimately rule.
May 24, 2023 4:13 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – You can now add electricity to what feels like a growing list of consumer goods rising in price, thanks to inflation. Starting June 1, the average cost of a kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity, which is how your electric bill is calculated, is going up. By how much? That depends on your provider. Duquesne Light customers will see a 1.8% increase in the cost of a kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity; but, if you’re a West Penn Power customer, the hike is 20.7% per kilowatt hour. Our news partners at Channel 11 crunched the numbers and found that the average electric usage in Allegheny County is about 1,168 kilowatt hours per month. Once the hike takes effect next Thursday, if you have Duquesne Light, the average bill will rise by roughly $2.30 a month, or $28 a year. If you have West Penn Power, the average bill will go up by $19.87 a month, which comes out to more than $238 a year.
May 24, 2023 4:10 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – A student is dead and another is in custody following a shooting outside of Oliver Citywide Academy in Pittsburgh Wednesday morning. A ShotSpotter alert was received around 7:25 a.m. for 11 rounds total in the area of the school, located at 2323 Brighton Road in the city’s Marshall-Shadeland neighborhood. Responding officers found the victim, identified as Derrick Harris, 15, with gunshot wounds and immediately began rendering aid, according to Cmdr. Richard Ford of Pittsburgh police. Harris was transported to a local hospital in critical condition but later died. Another officer saw the potential suspect running from the scene with a gun and took him into custody. The suspect was later identified as Jamier Perry, 15. He has been charged with criminal homicide, possession of firearm by minor and firearms not to be carried without a license. He’s currently being housed in the Allegheny County Jail.
May 24, 2023 4:07 am
North Strabane Township Supervisors were greeted with a lengthy agenda Tuesday night and they quickly moved through it. On the agenda was the approval of the 2023 paving program. The contract for $467,705.36 was awarded to A. Liberoni, Inc. The contract had to be rebid because the township received a statewide LSA grant to offset costs for the paving of McDowell Lane and that needed to be removed from the original bid proposal. Supervisors also approved the hiring of three part time police officers and two part time firefighters. Supervisors also scheduled several public hearings. On June 20 a hearing will be held to accept comment about Garden Street being a no left turn street onto Rt. 980. On June 27, Supervisors will take comment on the conditional use application for the Oak Grove Conservation subdivision. Finally, July 18 will have a public hearing on the amendments to the zoning ordinance governing communications facilities. All three meetings will begin at 6:00 PM.
May 24, 2023 2:17 am
Washington County Election officials began counting write-in votes on Tuesday from the May 16th Primary Election, and although all votes are unofficial until certified, the write-in results did not change the outcome of election night results. Democrat JoJo Burgess will be the new Mayor of Washington, ousting incumbent Democratic Mayor, Scott Putnam. Burgess led the ticket on election night, but Putnam had said he waged a write-in campaign on the Republican ticket, so there was still a chance, at that point, that he could see his name on the ballot in November – should he receive one-hundred write-in votes. That didn’t happen. Putnam received eighty write-in votes on the Republican ticket, Jo Jo had just over twenty, and the remainder were various other names. There was no Republican candidate for mayor. WJPA News spoke with Burgess after the write-ins were tallied and he tells us it’s an overwhelming feeling, especially knowing that he will be the city’s first black mayor.
May 24, 2023 2:01 am
The president of Washington & Jefferson College is planning to retire at the end of next year. In an email to alumni and friends of the school, Dr. John Knapp announced that he will be retiring at the end of his contract on June 30, 2024. Knapp, who has been with the college for the past seven years, said he and his wife plan to return to their home in Georgia to devote more time to personal interests and to spend more time with their children and grandchildren. Knapp says a search for a new president will get underway in early fall. (Photo: Courtesy of W&J)
