July 23, 2026 4:13 pm
August is around the corner and that means the Printscape PONY League World Series is about to begin. According to Abe Key, President and CEO of PONY Baseball and Softball International, the PONY League organization will be celebrating 75 years from its humble beginnings of 6 teams in 1951, to now more than 30,000 teams in 50 countries with 500,000 13 and 14 year old players participating. The series will have 17 games between 10 teams before a champion is crowned on the fifth day of the tournament. The teams participating will come from all over the world. Teams from Paderborn, Germany; Guaynabo, Puerto Rico; Navojoa, Mexico and Taichung, Chinese Taipei make up the international teams. Bay County, Michigan will represent the US North Zone. The South Zone, East Zone and West Zone representatives will be decided over the next two weekends. Finally, Mt. Lebanon will be the Host Area team and The Founders League team made up of players from all over Washington County will round out the roster of teams. Activities begin August 1 with the Observer-Reporter Summer Concert Series presented by CNX at the Downtown Washington Pavillion. There you will be able to meet the Washington County team and contestants for PONY Princess. August 6 will be the Fan Fest at Dick’s Sporting Goods in Washington. Baseball action gets underway August 7 with a skills competition at 11:00 AM with the first game coming at 4:30 PM that afternoon. The championship game will be on August 12 at 7:00 PM. Tickets may be purchased at the door or on line at the PONY League World Series website.
July 23, 2026 9:15 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. applications for jobless benefits tumbled to the lowest level in decades last week as layoffs remain historically low despite global economic uncertainty. The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits in the week ending July 18 declined by 22,000 to 187,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That’s well below the 215,000 new applications forecast by analysts surveyed by the data firm FactSet. Weekly filings for unemployment benefits are considered a proxy for layoffs. The total number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits for the previous week ending July 11 was down by 2,000 to just under 1.8 million, also a historically healthy figure.
July 23, 2026 2:17 am
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is in Washington County conducting its National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Mailers to 650 randomly selected addresses were sent out to participate in the 60 year old survey. According to spokesperson Jenna Green-Ross, participants can be any age from “cradle to grave”. If you have been selected, a field interviewer will conduct a in home interview before you proceed to the mobile testing facility that is located in the Tanger Outlets parking lot. All participation is completely voluntary. Once at the mobile site, participants will have typical procedures for weight, height urine samples performed. Other tests include bone density scans and allergy tests for approximately 150 irritants. Data collected us used for assessing nutritional status of the country, developing national standards for height, weight and osteoporosis and research and development of safety products and procedures. It is also used in the CDC Pediatric Growth Charts. Data collected will be used for research only. Collection procedures are completely secure. Once data has been analyzed, it is completely de-identified. The mobile testing facility will be in Washington County until September 26.
July 23, 2026 4:44 am
You will want to watch your speed if you travel Waterdam Road in North Strabane and Peters Township. North Strabane Director of Public Safety Mark Grimm says a joint effort that has been going on for more than two weeks. North Strabane Township, Peters Township and State Police are all involved. According to Grimm, the crackdown has led to 196 warnings, 93 tickets and 3 arrests with excessive speed being the primary offense. One of those arrests involved a driver going 85 miles per hour. According to police, the road sees more than 7200 vehicles a day. Resident complaints and an excessive number of accidents prompted the department to apply for and receive a grant to cover the cost of the enforcement. Grimm said that speed enforcement will continue. He said that VASCAR speed lines have been painted on Waterdam Road for future enforcement. (Photo: North Strabane Township Police Department Facebook Page)
July 23, 2026 4:47 am
Funeral services have been set for former Congressman Tim Murphy, who died of an apparent heart attack over the weekend. Murphy represented the area in Congress for 15 years, and was a state senator before that. Viewing is scheduled for 2-8 p.m. on Friday at Beinhauer Funeral Home in McMurray. A Mass of Remembrance will take place Saturday at 10 a.m. at St. Thomas More Church, located at 126 Fort Couch Road. Mourners are asked to meet at the church. Instead of sending flowers, the public is asked to consider donating to the Band of Parents in support of pediatric cancer research, specifically Neuroblastoma.
July 23, 2026 4:56 am
CAIRO (AP) — Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels says they have attacked two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, and the U.S. military said it conducted a 12th night of strikes against Iran as the two countries vie for control of vital shipping lanes. The Houthi attack in the Red Sea announced Thursday threatened to open a new front in a war that has roiled the global economy, sending prices for fuel and other goods surging across the world. Saudi state media reported that a tanker named the Encelia was set ablaze by an attack while sailing overnight in the Red Sea, citing an unidentified source from the General Authority of Transport.
July 23, 2026 5:01 am
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. (AP) — President Donald Trump is honoring the lives of four U.S. service members who were killed in the Middle East and returned to their families at an air force base in Delaware. Trump saluted Wednesday as four transfer cases carrying the service members’ remains were escorted off an airplane during the dignified transfer. Earlier in the day, he called the ritual over the loss of life as “one of the hardest things to do as a president.” The service members were identified as 25-year-old Tyler James Feehan of Hawaii, 19-year-old Isabella Gonzales of Texas, 28-year-old Angel S. Rampersad of New York, and 30-year-old Michael Emmanuel Swinton of North Carolina.
July 23, 2026 4:58 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration has forged a new agreement with Saudi Arabia that could potentially provide the kingdom with uranium enrichment capability for its civilian nuclear program. U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Saudi Minister of Energy Abdulaziz bin Salman on Wednesday signed the nuclear cooperation agreement, known as a “123 agreement,” alongside what the Trump administration described as a “bilateral safeguards agreement.” The U.S. administration released scant details of the deal. But the framework of the agreement paves the way for the building of a uranium enrichment facility in Saudi Arabia after a joint U.S.-Saudi study. That’s according to two people familiar with the matter who were not authorized to comment publicly.
July 23, 2026 4:57 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House adopted a Republican-only $95 billion budget proposal, a long-shot effort to fund the Iran war and other White House priorities. Speaker Mike Johnson worked Wednesday to push it over objections from Democrats and some GOP holdouts as a priority before the midterm elections. The package includes $73 billion for the Pentagon and other national security needs, $12 billion for farmers struggling under President Donald Trump’s tariffs and $10 billion for voting law changes that are a Trump priority. Democrats argued the money should be spent at home, particularly on efforts to lower costs for Americans. It next goes to the Senate.
July 22, 2026 5:46 pm
(AP) – Tropical Storm Bertha has made landfall on the southern tip of Louisiana. The storm moving slowly along the Gulf Coast on Wednesday is packing strong winds that extend as much as 100 miles from its center. Damaging wind and storm surge are the main threats for the Deep South states. The National Hurricane Center says a tropical storm warning includes New Orleans and Lake Pontchartrain. Storm surge up to 3 feet is possible, as well as heavy rain. Bertha is expected to weaken as moves toward Texas. The storm earlier forced beach closures in the Florida Panhandle and along the tips of Alabama and Mississippi.
