April 20, 2023 4:12 am
ELIZABETH TOWNSHIP, Pa. — (WPXI)- A massive fire tore through part of Elizabeth Forward High School in February. It destroyed the auditorium, music wing and more. After two months of remote learning, teachers and students returned to the building earlier this month, and now, teachers tell our news partners at Channel 11 that people keep getting sick. “A whole lot of health problems from our staff and students since we’ve been back,” ninth-grade teacher and union vice president Justin Plansinis said. “The district has done testing and we don’t dispute the tests they’ve done so far have been accurate, but what we’re concerned about is that people are still feeling unwell, so whatever is doing that is not coming through on their tests.” It’s unclear what’s causing the illnesses, but Plansinis thinks it has something to do with cleaning products and a lack of ventilation. He says teachers sent a letter to the school board last week and received a reply reiterating that testing has come back clean. He says the right thing to do would be to shut back down temporarily.
April 20, 2023 4:07 am
WASHINGTON, Pa. — (WPXI) – A man is recovering in the hospital after he was hit by a vehicle at an intersection many people say is dangerous for pedestrians. “I just want him home,” said Paulette Boyer, the man’s fiancée. Paulette Boyer’s fiancée is in the ICU at UPMC Presby after he was hit by a car crossing Jefferson Avenue in Washington. She says the intersection is one people commonly worry about crossing. “I was worried about crossing the street myself! He was worried about me getting hit and I was worried about him getting hit and I said ‘Be careful crossing that street’ and he got hit,” said Boyer. There is a button on the intersection for pedestrians to press for crossing but there are no actual painted lines to show a crosswalk as cars come flying off the interstate. Workers in the area say they are too afraid to cross. A young woman was hit by a car at the same spot less than a year ago. The city of Washington and PennDOT have been working on changes for several years, trying to improve it but people are asking for more. They want to see sidewalks and proper crosswalks.
April 20, 2023 4:02 am
The Ringgold School Board met Wednesday night and received a draft presentation on their Strategic Improvement Plan. Dr. Wanda Creel made the presentation via Zoom. She outlined just how the plan is constructed, who was involved and where the plan is in its development. Creel indicated that the plan is built on four pillars of student well being, employee involvement, family and community input and organizational input. The study gathered its data from surveys from students, parents and employees. Also involved were a steering committee and a focus group of 203 people. The plan is in its final stages of formation. Students are currently finishing up surveys so that data from this year can be compared to last year’s student surveys. The final product will be presented at the May 17 school board meeting and once accepted, will be available to the public on the district’s website.
April 19, 2023 5:19 pm
(AP) – Anyone in the U.S. who has had a Facebook account at any time since May 24, 2007, can now apply for their share of a $725 million privacy settlement that parent company Meta has agreed to pay. Meta is paying to settle a lawsuit alleging the world’s largest social media platform allowed millions of its users’ personal information to be fed to Cambridge Analytica. That’s a firm that supported Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. It’s not clear how much money individual users will receive. To apply for the settlement, users can fill out a form and submit it online or print it out and mail it.
April 19, 2023 3:42 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has temporarily extended women’s access to an abortion pill until Friday. The justices are still considering whether to allow restrictions on mifepristone to take effect while a legal challenge to the medication’s FDA approval continues. In an order signed by Justice Samuel Alito on Wednesday, the court indicated it will act by Friday night.
April 19, 2023 12:18 pm
ELGIN, Texas (AP) — Authorities say a man shot and wounded two cheerleaders in a Texas supermarket parking lot after one of them said she mistakenly got into his car thinking it was her own. The shooting early Tuesday east of Austin was the latest in a string of recent U.S. shootings apparently sparked by someone showing up at the wrong place. Heather Roth says she got into what she thought was her car, but there was a man in the passenger seat so she got back into her teammate’s car. She says the man then approached her teammate’s car and opened fire. She was grazed and her teammate was critically wounded. The man fled but was later arrested.
April 19, 2023 11:29 am
DADEVILLE, Ala. (AP) — Alabama investigators say two people have been arrested and charged with murder in connection with an Alabama shooting. Four young people were killed at the Sweet 16 birthday party. Saturday’s violence shocked Dadeville, a sleepy town of 3,200. In addition to the four young people who died, another 32 were wounded, some critically. Witnesses have said multiple people were shooting. The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said only that shell casings from handguns had been found, noting that there was no evidence a high-powered rifle was used. Investigators repeatedly appealed for information from the public, including videos. (Photo: AP)
April 19, 2023 7:59 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – Streets and campus buildings have reopened after Pitt police declared a public safety emergency on O’Hara Street during a demonstration on campus on Tuesday evening. A planned demonstration took place outside of the O’Hara Student Center as Conservative commentator, Michael Knowles, took the stage in a debate about the transgender community. Police said an incendiary device, which was later identified as a smoke bomb, was set off outside the O’Hara Student Center. There was also an image of Knowles burned in effigy. During the protests, students were able to access residence halls with proper identification. Access for all guests not affiliated with the university was restricted. No injuries were reported during the demonstrations. Pitt police said medics were called to the area as a precautionary measure.
April 19, 2023 4:14 am
LIBERTY, Mo. (AP) — Andrew Lester, the 84-year-old white man who shot Ralph Yarl, a Black teenager in Kansas City, pleaded not guilty in his first court appearance Wednesday. Yarl mistakenly knocked on Lester’s door looking for his younger brothers. Lester walked with a cane in court as he answered charges of first-degree assault and armed criminal action in the shooting, which has attracted presidential attention and renewed national debate about gun policies. Lester remains free after posting 10% of his $200,000 bond. The bond agreement requires him to relinquish any weapons and have no contact with Yarl or his family. He also agreed to have his cellphone monitored.
April 19, 2023 4:11 am
NEW YORK (AP) — One person has been killed and five have been injured in a parking garage collapse in lower Manhattan’s Financial District. Officials say cars were crushed as concrete floors fell on top of each other like a stack of pancakes. Authorities believe everyone inside has been accounted for, but searches are continuing Tuesday evening to make sure no one was in any of the squashed cars. The garage caved in around 4 p.m., a few blocks from City Hall and the Brooklyn Bridge, and about half a mile (0.8 km) from the New York Stock Exchange. It’s not immediately clear what caused the collapse.
