Demolition work continues on the Courthouse Square building and Washington City Police are asking motorists to avoid East Beau Street from Main to Franklin on Thursday from six a.m. until noon. Crews will be working in that area once again so there will be no through traffic and no parking. Police say if you need to access the Crossroads Building, use the parking garage.
A Pennsylvania lawmaker has proposed a way to save drivers money as fuel costs continue to rise. State Sen. Lisa Boscola (D-District 18) says she plans to introduce legislation to temporarily suspend Pennsylvania’s gasoline tax. The move comes as conflict in the Middle East disrupts the global oil industry. “My legislation would temporarily suspend the state gasoline tax for 60 days to provide immediate relief at the pump for commuters and working families across the Commonwealth,” Boscola said in a request for co-sponsors. Boscola, who proposed similar legislation following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, says the state would use bonding to cover any short-term loss to the Motor License Fund so road projects and state police funding would not be affected. That measure, however, never made it out of the Senate Transportation Committee.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The head priest of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in downtown Pittsburgh is facing charges after being accused of stealing more than $1,000 in baseball cards from a Walmart. Police arrested the Very Rev. Aidan Smith on Feb. 27 just after he left a Walmart near Pittsburgh. Court records say Smith had 27 packs of baseball cards concealed under his clothing and in a cardboard box. The 42-year-old is charged with receiving stolen property and retail theft. Police say Walmart security video shows Smith also taking baseball cards each of the four previous days and leaving without paying. The Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh says Smith had been on administrative leave since January.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Unrelenting Iranian attacks on shipping traffic and energy infrastructure again pushed oil above $100 a barrel. Iran on Thursday hit a container ship off the coast of Dubai, caused a blaze near Bahrain’s international airport, targeted a major Saudi oil field with a drone attack and forced Iraq to halt operations at all the country’s oil terminals after an attack on its Basra port on the Persian Gulf. Meantime, American and Israeli strikes pounded the Islamic Republic with no sign of an end to the war in sight. Sirens wailed before dawn in Jerusalem after Israel said it was working to intercept missiles launched from Iran.
HEBRON, Ky. (AP) — President Donald Trump used a swing through Ohio and Kentucky to push an economic message and attack fellow Republican Rep. Thomas Massie — even as the conflict in Iran threatened to overshadow all else. On Wednesday, Trump talked in Ohio about pressuring drugmakers to cut prices. He acknowledged that fighting involving Iran has shaken markets, but insisted he remains confident. At a later rally in Massie’s northern Kentucky district, Trump called Massie a “nutjob” and backed primary challenger Ed Gallrein. Trump also said he plans to tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in an attempt to lower gas prices. Massie says Trump’s endorsement is all his opponent has.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is opening a new trade investigation into manufacturing in foreign countries. It’s an effort that comes after the Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump’s previous use of tariffs. Trump and his team have made clear that they’re seeking to replace the hundreds of billions of dollars in lost revenues by using different laws to establish new tariffs. The administration is starting investigations under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 to try to charge new import taxes. But U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told reporters that he didn’t want to prejudge the outcome of the process, even though he said that “the policy remains the same.”
WASHINGTON (AP) — House lawmakers are digging into Jeffrey Epstein’s sprawling financial portfolio. A committee deposed the late financier’s accountant on Wednesday. Richard Kahn worked closely with Epstein for years and now serves as an executor of his estate. He told lawmakers that he had not personally seen evidence of Epstein’s sexual abuse, but provided a fuller picture of how Epstein acquired his wealth. Lawmakers say that a better understanding of Epstein’s wealth could help the public understand how, for years, he was able to get away with trafficking and sexually abusing underage girls.
