May 16, 2026 4:20 pm
Borrowing a line from former Pittsburgh Steelers’ head coach Mike Tomlin and “jumping on a moving train” when he became the first black Mayor in the city of Washington’s history, JoJo Burgess, 55, announced Saturday that he is running for re-election. Burgess said that the city had been moving in a positive direction when he took office but he wants that momentum to continue. He says he’s looking forward to bringing new businesses infrastructure improvements to the city. Burgess made the announcement with four other black Mayors in attendance (two remotely) at the “State of ‘Our Communities’ town hall meeting in downtown Washington. He says he hopes to continue to bring a unique voice to the Mayor’s office. Burgess is up for re-election in 2027.
May 16, 2026 4:01 pm
A small, but engaged and enthusiastic group attended the PA Black Mayor’s Coalition “State of ‘Our’ Communities event in downtown Washington Saturday afternoon. The interactive town hall meeting became a discussion as about 20 residents talked about a variety of subjects, from the role of a town or city’s mayor, school funding, drugs use, and youth mentorship. Activist Carmina Taylor of Philadelphia hosted the event, and several mayors from throughout Pennsylvania were either in attendance or participated via Zoom. City of Washington Mayor JoJo Burgess was among those in person, as were leaders from Aliquippa and Lewisburg in Union County. One of the highlights of the event was when two Washington high school students talked about how they used their civics class activities to approach the school board and make changes to the dress code. In addition to the mayors from there were Democratic candidates for U.S. Congress and the Pennsylvania State House. Taylor said the meeting was needed to “get a pulse” of the area and he hopes to build on this meeting and have more in the future. [Photo Thomas Leturgey, WJPA News]
May 16, 2026 10:25 am
Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on a two-day trip to Beijing next week, the Kremlin says. The announcement comes less than 24 hours after U.S. President Donald Trump finished his own state visit to China, where he also met Xi to discuss trade and the U.S. and Israel’s war in Iran. Relations between China and Russia have deepened in recent years, particularly since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. Meanwhile, Ukraine on Saturday repatriated the bodies of fallen soldiers following an earlier exchange with Moscow involving prisoners of war.
May 16, 2026 10:22 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says U.S. and Nigerian forces carried out a mission to kill a leader of the Islamic State group. Trump made the announcement of the joint operation to take out Abu-Bilal al-Mainuki in a late-night social media post Friday that offered few details. The president said al-Mainuki was second-in-command of the Islamic State group globally. Al-Mainuki was viewed as the key figure in the group’s organizing and finance, and had been plotting attacks against the United States and its interests, according to a U.S. official.
May 16, 2026 10:29 am
NEW YORK (AP) — North America’s largest commuter rail system has shut down as unionized workers have gone on strike. The Long Island Rail Road in New York ceased operations early Saturday morning after five unions representing about half its workforce walked off the job. The two sides have been negotiating for months on a new contract, but the unions were legally allowed to strike starting at 12:01 a.m. The MTA has said it will provide limited shuttle buses to New York City subway stations in the event of a strike. Gov. Kathy Hochul has urged Long Islanders to work from home if possible.
May 16, 2026 4:05 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has rejected Virginia’s bid to restore a congressional map that would have given Democrats a chance to pick up four seats in the closely divided House of Representatives. The court’s order Friday leaves in place a 4-3 ruling by the Virginia Supreme Court that struck down a constitutional amendment redrawing congressional districts that voters narrowly passed just last month. It is the latest twist in the nation’s mid-decade redistricting competition that was kicked off last year by President Donald Trump urging Republican-controlled states to redraw their lines. It was supercharged by a recent Supreme Court ruling severely weakening the Voting Rights Act that opened up even more winnable seats for the GOP.
May 16, 2026 4:01 am
NEW DELHI (AP) — Iran’s foreign minister says that a lack of trust remains the biggest obstacle in negotiations to end the war with the U.S. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said contradictory messages from the U.S. have made Iran reluctant about its intentions in the stalled ceasefire negotiations. U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this week dismissed Iran’s latest formal proposal as “garbage.” Trump has demanded a major rollback of Iran’s nuclear activities while Iran has said that it has a right to enrich uranium. Iran’s top diplomat says the issue of its enriched uranium stockpile is another one of the difficult sticking points in its negotiations.
May 16, 2026 4:12 am
DENVER (AP) — Colorado Gov. Jared Polis is commuting the sentence of a former county clerk and election conspiracy theorist following pressure from President Donald Trump. The announcement Friday stated Tina Peters will be released on June 1. The former Mesa County clerk had been serving a nine-year state prison sentence. Peters was convicted in a scheme to make a copy of her county’s election computer system in 2021. Since returning to office, the Trump administration has cut funding to Colorado as the president pressured the Democratic governor to free Peters.
May 16, 2026 4:03 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration’s top drug official is leaving in the latest shake-up at the powerful health agency. Dr. Tracy Beth Hoeg said in a social media post late Friday that she was fired from the FDA. She had been leading efforts scrutinizing antidepressants, COVID-19 vaccines and other therapies at FDA. Her departure follows the resignation of FDA Commissioner Marty Makary earlier in the week. The FDA has been rocked for months by layoffs, leadership upheavals and scientific controversies. Hoeg and Makary both came to the agency as medical contrarians and critics of COVID-19 health measures. That stance aligned with health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s agenda.
May 16, 2026 3:54 am
Residents that are in the Washington School District received some good news when the district released their preliminary budget for the 2026-2027 school year. There is going to be a tax decrease. According to the Observer-Reporter, the district has a spending plan of $36,851,554 and anticipated revenues of $$35,707,124. The budget gap will be made up by using reserve funds. The tax decrease for residents comes by way of the funding formula used by the Pennsylvania Tax Code that governs the homestead and and farmstead exclusion. According to Businesss Manager Emily DiNardo, residents will see a tax decrease of about $32. The budget is available for inspection at the district office. Earlier this week, the district revealed that there are plans under consideration to upgrade their football stadium. Renovations could cost anywhere from $7.1 million to $8.9 million depending on the complexity of the project.
