July 18, 2026 4:06 am
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — President Donald Trump says Darline Graham, the sister of the late Lindsey Graham, has his support to run for a full term to replace her brother in the U.S. Senate. Graham is serving the remaining months of her late brother Lindsey Graham’s Senate term, but she’s weighing a possible run for a full term. Lindsey Graham’s funeral services will include services in Washington on July 28 and in South Carolina on July 29. Filing for a special Republican primary opens next week. Several people familiar with the deliberations said she has started having conversations about a potential campaign. Her current appointment runs until January. Lindsey Graham died last weekend.
July 18, 2026 4:04 am
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The United States and Iran have exchanged strikes aimed at infrastructure and military targets as their battle over the Strait of Hormuz intensifies. The region has endured days of back-and-forth attacks in a conflict increasingly focused on control of the strait. The U.S. Central Command said early Saturday it had hit “surveillance sites, military logistics infrastructure, underground weapons storage, and maritime capabilities,” and Iran retaliated, with reports of strikes from Kuwait, Jordan and Iraq while air sirens also sounded multiple times in Bahrain. Iranian officials say recent U.S. strikes have killed dozens of people and wounded hundreds, with new casualties reported Friday, when the U.S. military also acknowledged more injured service members.
July 18, 2026 3:51 am
Civil rights leader and community pillar James ‘Cookie’ McDonald has died. The 90 year old McDonald was a local businessman and community activist promoting racial equality. McDonald served as President of the NAACP Washington Branch from 1966-1970. He was a member of the Washington School Board. He was involved in founding the organizations Community Action Southwest and the Southwestern Pennsylvania Legal Aid Society. McDonald is a Washington native and father of Judge Traci McDonald-Kemp. She said that she is heartbroken but fondly remembers him as “a leader, a mentor, an advocate, a teacher, a righteous, loyal and honorable man and friend. He was a hero to me and so many others.” Funeral arrangements have not been announced.
July 18, 2026 3:53 am
The Avella Area Community Festival has been cancelled for today. In an announcement released by festival officials, they say the event scheduled from 4 pm to 10 pm this evening was cancelled due to inclement weather and poor air quality. Organizers are exploring options to reschedule the festival. They say updates will be shared as soon as they become available.
July 18, 2026 3:53 am
Penn Highlands Mon Valley Hospital is announcing plans to demolish its parking garage. Demolition is set to begin on Monday, July 20. Officials call it the first step of a modernization project designed to improve safety, accessibility and convenience for patients, visitors and staff. In its place the hospital will build a new, level, paved parking lot featuring safety lighting and easy access to the campus. Hospital operations, patient care and emergency services will remain fully operational throughout the demolition and construction process.
July 18, 2026 1:20 am
Emergency Responders in Washington County will now have a resource to reach out to should on the job stress become overwhelming. Washington County Department of Public Safety Deputy Director Daniel Harvey is announcing the creation of the Responders First Initiative. It is a Critical Incident Stress Management team. Emergency responders respond to incidents regularly that involve critical injury and death. Often times, responders have no one to talk to about what they just witnessed. The program will help emergency responders work through mental and emotional stresses, both immediate and those built up over time, by offering them counseling with trained first responder peers and mental health professionals. The program was established through a $179,000 grant from the Staunton Farm Foundation and a partnership with Healing Bridges, who Harvey says, recognized the need for such services for emergency responders. Harvey says that the program is active right now, but if any emergency responder peers are interested in helping their fellow responders, training is available. Contact Daniel Harvey at the Department of Public Safety or Natalie Ross at Healing Bridges.
July 17, 2026 12:32 pm
ATLANTA (AP) — Federal health officials have identified lettuce from Mexico served by Taco Bell locations across five U.S. states as a source of the widespread outbreak of diarrhea-causing parasite cyclospora. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention late Thursday confirmed the source and warned consumers not to eat shredded iceberg lettuce from Taco Bell restaurants in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia. Officials have identified a single supplier of the lettuce. The federal warnings to consumers did not identify the company, but a federal official who was briefed on the investigation and not authorized to discuss it told The Associated Press it was Taylor Farms of Salinas, California. Taylor Farms didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
July 17, 2026 9:09 am
Officials at Hollywood Casino at the Meadows cancelled harness racing on Friday because of air quality. In a statement posted on social media, officials said “the health and safety of our horses, drivers, trainers and all racing personnel are our top priority. The decision was made out of an abundance of caution to ensure the well-being of both the horses and human participants.” Live racing is scheduled to resume Saturday at 12:45 p.m. Also affected by the smokey conditions, Kennywood Park, Sandcastle and Idlewild were closed on Friday. On Saturday, the Avella Area Community Festival will not be held because of the threat of inclement weather and poor air quality. Organizers say they are exploring options to reschedule. The smokey conditions also forced postponement of the Pirates/Guardians game in Cleveland. It will be played as part of a split double-header on Saturday.
July 17, 2026 2:20 am
Harrisburg, PA –The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has declared a statewide Code Purple Air Quality Alert for particulate matter (PM2.5) for Friday, July 17th. Wildfire smoke from Canada and Minnesota will blanket Pennsylvania on Friday, creating Code Purple concentrations of PM2.5. Residents are strongly encouraged to check www.airnow.gov for current conditions in their area. Current local conditions could be more severe (Code Maroon) or less severe (Code Red or Code Orange) depending on your location at any given time. Residents should make informed decisions on their outdoor activity based on the conditions at the time. During Code Purple Air Quality Alerts all residents should avoid long or intense outdoor activities, and sensitive groups such as children, elderly residents, and those with respiratory illnesses should avoid all outdoor activities. All residents are encouraged to move activities indoors. There is good news though. State officials say Saturday’s air quality should improve considerably. (Photo of Washington)
July 17, 2026 4:49 am
The Hanover Township Board of Supervisors held their monthly meeting on Thursday. Even though the agenda was short, the meeting lasted nearly two hours due to public comments about the proposed data center in the township. A public hearing on the Conditional Use Permit for the construction of a data center in Starpointe Business Park was held on June 18th and was to be continued on July 8th. However, that hearing was canceled and a new hearing will be held on August 5th at 6:00 PM. The location of this meeting is still being determined. Kerri Hageter, a resident, believes that there will be a huge turnout at the hearing, and she hopes that supervisors are understanding the concerns of those in the township. Another resident, Cody, does not believe there is any evidence on how a data center will benefit residents. Supervisors refused to comment after the meeting.
