August 18, 2025 5:15 am
Members of the African American Mayors Association started noticing last year declines in violent crime in their cities. But, those accomplishments, which they felt were already overlooked, became further buried this week with the Trump administration’s unprecedented law enforcement takeover in the nation’s capital. President Donald Trump has deployed the first of 800 National Guard members to Washington, D.C. But, the Republican president is setting his sights on other cities including Baltimore, Chicago, Los Angeles and Oakland, California. One thing they all have in common: They’re led by Black mayors. The federal government’s actions have heightened some of these mayors’ desires to champion the strategies they’ve used to help make their cities safer.
August 18, 2025 5:10 am
MIAMI (AP) — Hurricane Erin pelted parts of the Caribbean and was forecast to create dangerous surf and rip currents along the U.S. East Coast this week. It reintensified to a Category 4 storm with 130 mph winds and early Monday had edged closer to the Southeast Bahamas. Additional strengthening was forecast for Monday followed by gradual weakening, but Erin was expected to remain a large, major hurricane into midweek. Hurricane-force winds extended up to 60 miles and tropical-storm-force winds up to 230 miles. Erin will impact coastal areas even though it isn’t forecast to make a direct landfall.
August 18, 2025 5:10 am
TORONTO (AP) — Air Canada has suspended plans to restart operations after the union representing 10,000 flight attendants decided to defy a return-to-work order. The Canada Industrial Relations Board ordered staff back by Sunday afternoon, but the union refused, calling the order unconstitutional. Air Canada now plans to resume flights Monday evening. The shutdown, which began early Saturday, affects about 130,000 people daily. The airline has canceled hundreds of flights, and it could take days to stabilize operations. Passengers can request refunds or alternative travel options, but rebooking may be difficult due to peak travel demand.
August 17, 2025 8:21 am
KYIV (AP) — European leaders will join Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for his crucial meeting with President Donald Trump, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Sunday. The move in relation to the key White House meeting on Monday is an apparent effort to prevent a repeat of the heated encounter Zelenskyy faced when he met Trump in February. Von der Leyen, head of the European Union’s executive branch, posted on X that “at the request of President Zelenskyy, I will join the meeting with President Trump and other European leaders in the White House tomorrow.”
August 17, 2025 8:24 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Postal Service is facing congressional attempts to strip billions in federal EV funding. The effort comes a year after the agency was honored for its plan to replace thousands of aging, gas-powered mail trucks with a mostly electric fleet. In June, the Senate parliamentarian in June blocked a Republican proposal to sell off the agency’s new electric vehicles and infrastructure and rescind any remaining money, but the push continues. Republican Sen. Joni Ernst says she’s going ahead with a bill to rescind what’s left of the $3 billion in federal funding.
August 17, 2025 8:23 am
(AP) – Hurricane Erin has been downgraded to a Category 3 hurricane. A tropical storm warning is in effect for the Turks and Caicos Islands as winds and heavy rains hit the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. Erin, the first Atlantic hurricane of 2025, reached Category 5 before weakening. The National Hurricane Center in Miami reported Sunday that Erin had maximum sustained winds of 125 mph. The storm’s center is about 155 miles north of San Juan, Puerto Rico. Scientists link the rapid intensification of hurricanes in the Atlantic to climate change, with global warming causing more intense storms.
August 17, 2025 8:26 am
CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy (AP) — Pope Leo XIV is spending the last Sunday of his summer vacation with several dozen homeless and poor people and the church volunteers who help them. He is celebrating a special Mass for them and inviting them into the Vatican’s lakeside estate for a lunch of lasagna and roast veal. In his homily, Leo celebrated the “fire of charity” that had brought them together. Leo, the former Robert Prevost, spent most of his adult life working with the poor people of Peru, first as an Augustinian missionary and then as bishop. There, he greatly reinforced the work of the local Caritas charity, opening soup kitchens and shelters for migrants. (Photo: AP)
August 17, 2025 7:00 am
North Strabane Township Police raided a vape shop on Friday. According to a release from the police department, a search warrant was executed at Washington Vape & Tobacco located at Wildflower Circle following an investigation into the business activities of the store. Officers seized several illegal items including marijuana, THC products, counterfeit vape cartridges, psychedelic substances and various types of drug paraphernalia. The business was also operating in violation of multiple state and local laws. Police also found that sales were made to younger looking customers without requiring identification. The unidentified manager of the store was taken into police custody and is facing undetermined criminal charges.
August 17, 2025 7:00 am
A group of residents from West Finley Township approached Washington County Commissioner at their meeting on Thursday to ask their help in fighting the development of a data center near their homes. Henrietta O’Brien led the group. She said Florida land developer Next Generation Land Company has met with township supervisors. The company is interested in land off of Nuthatch Lane. She said the plans call for the construction of a data center that would be powered by a power plant using locally sourced natural gas. Residents are upset because of the widely reported emissions dangers from a power plant, but they are concerned about low frequency vibrations and hum. O’Brien says that those pollutions would negatively affect wildlife that is critical to the agricultural industry prevalent in the area. Jeff Hemmis raises bees. He said an electronics tower built near his home has wiped out his bee population and he still cannot revive them. Glenn O’Brien called the proposed construction terrible for the area water. He said that everyone is on a well. Sometimes they run dry in the summer. His research proved that data centers and power plants consume huge amounts of water. His concern is the construction was allowed, it would wipe out the water supply in the area.
August 17, 2025 8:17 am
(WPXI) – A man is dead after a “physical altercation” inside a West Mifflin home on Saturday night, police say. The Allegheny County Police Department says first responders were called to a home on the 1100 block of Thompson Run Road around 10:45 p.m. for a welfare check. Upon arrival, they found a man dead inside the residence and another man with lacerations. The injured man was taken to an area hospital in stable condition. Allegheny County Police Department Homicide Unit detectives are investigating. They say preliminary information shows both men were “involved ina physical altercation.” ACPD says detectives are working with the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office to determine what, if any, charges will be filed. Anyone with information on the incident is asked to call the County Police Tip Line at 1-833-ALL-TIPS. Callers can remain anonymous.
