October 13, 2022 2:25 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Millions of Social Security recipients will get an 8.7% boost in their benefits in 2023. That’s a historic increase and welcome news for American retirees and others – but it’s tempered by the fact that it’s fueled by record high inflation that’s raised the cost of everyday living. that means the average recipient will receive more than $140 a month extra beginning in January. The cost-of living adjustment is meant to help cover the higher cost of food, fuel and other goods and services. How well it does that depends on inflation next year.
October 13, 2022 2:14 am
An Allegheny County woman has been arrested in connection with the discovery of a shooting victim in Finleyville earlier this week. Authorities say Maurissa Spencer’s black Dodge Charger was found with multiple bullet holes in the passenger side at Tuscany Estates in Union Township. Spencer, of Library, is accused of driving away after police said a shooting victim later found dead, fell out of her car in Finleyville. Police say they were called to Bob’s Tavern on Route 88 for shots fired around 1 a.m. Monday and found the body of 29-year-old Jaisen Irwin of Monessen on Washington Avenue a short time later. Investigators found evidence of a firearm being discharged and parts of a car in the bar’s parking lot. According to police, Irwin’s brother called them, saying a fight forced Jim’s Bar in Monongahela to close early, so the crowd moved to Bob’s Tavern. The criminal complaint said when police interviewed Spencer, she admitted that Irwin was in the passenger seat of her car and fell out while she was driving but she didn’t stop. Spencer is facing multiple charges, including recklessly endangering another person and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence.
October 12, 2022 5:27 pm
CLEVELAND (AP) – Authorities say two anglers accused of stuffing fish with lead weights and fillets in an attempt to win thousands of dollars in an Ohio fishing tournament have been indicted on charges of attempted grand theft and other counts. Forty-two-year-old Jacob Runyan, of Broadview Heights, Ohio, and 35-year-old Chase Cominski, of Hermitage, Pennsylvania, were indicted Wednesday in Cleveland on felony charges of cheating, attempted grand theft, possessing criminal tools and misdemeanor charges of unlawfully owning wild animals. They’re due to be arraigned Oct. 26. They are accused of stuffing lead weights and fish fillets into walleye in attempt to win the Lake Erie Walleye Trail tournament, which had a first prize of $28,760.
October 12, 2022 1:22 pm
(AP) – The U.S. is about to offer updated COVID-19 booster shots to kids as young as 5. The tweaked boosters rolled out last month for Americans 12 and older – shots designed to target the currently spreading omicron variants. On Wednesday, the Food and Drug Administration authorized kid-size versions for those aged five to eleven. There’s one more step: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also must sign off. Officials hope to expand protection against an expected winter surge. The updated shots contain half the recipe that targeted the original coronavirus strain and half protection against the dominant BA.4 and BA.5 omicron versions.
October 12, 2022 4:15 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) – The Los Angeles City Council is mired in uncertainty. President Joe Biden is calling for three members to resign after a recording surfaced of them participating in a meeting in which racist language was used to mock their colleagues. Three current or former members have been indicted or pleaded guilty to corruption charges. It’s possible resignations could create new vacancies. It’s not known if the Council can assemble the required 10 members – out of 15 total – to conduct business Wednesday. Raphael Sonenshein – who heads the Pat Brown Institute for Public Affairs at California State University, Los Angeles – calls the situation chaotic.
October 12, 2022 4:14 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden says there will be “consequences” for Saudi Arabia as his administration begins reevaluating the U.S. relationship with the kingdom. That’s after the Riyadh-led OPEC+ alliance of oil-producing nations announced it would cut oil production. Biden said in a CNN interview Tuesday that he was weighing action against the Saudis but declined to detail potential next steps. The OPEC+ production cut is expected to help Russia pad its coffers as it continues its nearly eight-month war in Ukraine. Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Rep. Ro Khanna of California have introduced legislation that would immediately pause all U.S. arms sales to Saudi Arabia.
October 12, 2022 4:13 am
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) – The head of the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog said Wednesday that a Ukrainian nuclear plant surrounded by Russian troops has lost all external power needed for vital safety systems for the second time in five days. International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Rafael Grossi said agency monitors at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant reported the interruption and said backup diesel generators are keeping nuclear safety and security equipment operational. He said the repeated loss of power at the plant is “a deeply worrying development.”
October 12, 2022 4:10 am
At their September 27 legislative meeting, North Strabane Township Supervisors unanimously approved a measure to enter into a separation agreement with Police Chief Brian Hughes. No comments from township officials were offered that night. WJPA filed a Right To Know request to try and determine the circumstances surrounding the separation. Township Manager Andrew Walz provided a separation agreement signed by Hughes and the township that detailed the issue. According to the seven page separation agreement Chief Hughes is departing the department under a restructuring of the police department. He officially went on a “personal leave of absence” beginning September 20 and ending on December 31, 2022. He will continue to be paid his base salary and receive health care benefits. He will be paid $42,402 in accrued benefits such as vacation, sick and personal time off among others items. Regarding inquiries of reference, the agreement states that the township will issue a neutral reference only stating the beginning and end dates of Hughes’ employment and that his departure was due to a departmental restructuring. According to the agreement, Hughes’ duties are being assumed by the public safety director and others. No information regarding the hiring process for a new chief was provided.
October 12, 2022 2:56 am
WATERBURY, Conn. (AP) – Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones has been ordered by a Connecticut jury to pay $965 million to people who suffered from his false claim that the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting was a hoax. The verdict is the second big judgment against the Infowars host for claiming the massacre was staged. It came in a lawsuit filed by the relatives of eight victims. An FBI agent who responded to the shooting was also a plaintiff. Jones now believes the shooting was real, but he says he had a right to publicly question whether it happened. A Texas jury in August ordered Jones to pay $50 million to the parents of another slain child.
October 12, 2022 2:45 am
If you bought a Powerball ticket in Washington County recently, you’d better check that ticket – you could be a winner. The Giant Eagle at 200 Station Street, McDonald, sold a Powerball ticket worth $100,000 for the Monday drawing, according to a news release from the Pennsylvania Lottery. The ticket matched four of the five white balls drawn: 3-6-11-17-22 – and the red Powerball 11 to win $100,000. The McDonald Giant Eagle earns a $500 bonus for selling the winning ticket. Winners are not known until prizes are claimed and tickets are validated. Winners have one year from the drawing date to claim prizes.
