April 13, 2025 4:14 am
The Trump administration has paused the enforcement of the Silica Rule. The rule is aimed at combating rising black lung and silicosis cases being suffered by coal miners. In a statement released by the Center for Coalfield Justice, the pause is temporary and is intended for operators to secure necessary equipment and otherwise come into compliance. The rule has been finalized since April of 2024 and was set to go into effect this month. In addition to the pause of the Silica Rule, the Department of Government Efficiency is closing 34 Mine Safety and Health Administration offices in 19 states and has placed all 25 employees at the CDC’s Coal Workers’ Health Surveillance Program on administrative leave. Nick Hood, Senior Organizer at CCJ said that “Coal has been on a long and steep decline for decades, but miner issues have increased, and pausing the Silica Rule only hurts them more.
April 12, 2025 10:42 am
MUSCAT, Oman (AP) — Iran and the United States will hold more negotiations next week over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program. Iranian state television reported Saturday that U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi “briefly spoke in the presence of the Omani foreign minister” at the end of the talks Saturday. It was the first round of talks between the two countries. American officials have not acknowledged the Iranian reports. The two sides spoke for over two hours at a location in the outskirts of Oman.
April 12, 2025 4:36 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has summed up his annual physical by saying, “I did well.” He says he believes his doctors would release a report on Sunday. The 78-year-old spent nearly five hours at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Friday afternoon, undergoing what he called “every test you can imagine.” Trump said that “overall, I felt I was in very good shape.” He says he has a “good heart, a good soul” and took a cognitive test in which he says he got “every answer right.” Despite long questioning predecessor Joe Biden’s physical and mental capacity, Trump has routinely kept basic facts about his own health shrouded in secrecy.
April 12, 2025 4:32 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge is siding with the Trump administration in allowing immigration agents to conduct enforcement operations at houses of worship despite a lawsuit filed by religious groups over the new policy. U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich in Washington on Friday refused to grant a preliminary injunction to the plaintiffs, more than two dozen Christian and Jewish groups representing millions of Americans. The judge found that only a few such operations have been conducted in or around churches and attendance declines reported by the faiths could be due to more general increased immigration enforcement under President Donald Trump.
April 12, 2025 4:26 am
GREENBELT, Md. (AP) — Lawyers for the Trump administration say they are unable to provide information on the location and status of a Maryland man who was mistakenly deported to a notorious prison in El Salvador. The attorneys told U.S. District Court Judge Paula Xinis on Friday that they haven’t had enough time to review a ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court the day before. The Supreme Court had directed the administration to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the U.S. The judge said at a hearing on Friday that it was “extremely troubling” that the Trump administration couldn’t provide more details about Abrego Garcia or plans for his return.
April 12, 2025 1:52 am
CHARLEROI, Pa. — (WPXI) – The Correlle Brands glass plant in Charleroi will officially close on Friday, April 10th. A last batch of glass will be made at 7 a.m., ending a 132-year business, known globally for making Pyrex. Last year, the parent company of Anchor Hocking, a previous competitor, acquired the Charleroi plant. In September, it announced plans to move all glassmaking from Charleroi to its plant in Lancaster, Ohio. Workers at the factory were experiencing a mix of emotions, from sadness to anger. “Angry. Everybody hates Anchor Hocking here. Nobody will buy Anchor Hocking. Nobody will buy Pyrex ever again because it’s not the same quality, it’s completely different,” said Danielle Byrne. Bryne’s grandfather worked at the plant for fifty years. She’s now their union rep. The closure had been pushed back multiple times, reportedly to continue making Pyrex orders. Workers say there will never be a Pyrex made like theirs again, and you’ll never see that trademark blue tint on the glass. Corelle Brands recently reacquired their former lunch horn that rang at noon in the community for decades, and they have plans for it on the last day of operations. “We’re going to ring the lunch horn for 132 seconds for 132 years making glass here.”
April 11, 2025 5:54 pm
BOCA RATON, Fla. (AP) — Officials say three people were killed and one was injured when a small plane crashed Friday morning in South Florida near a major interstate highway and pushed a car onto railroad tracks. Boca Raton Fire Rescue officials say the plane crash that killed all three people on board emitted a fireball when it hit the ground, injuring a person in a nearby car. Several roads near the Boca Raton Airport will remain closed near Interstate 95. The FAA says the Tallahassee-bound Cessna aircraft went down about 10:20 a.m. after departing from Boca Raton Airport..
April 11, 2025 5:10 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court says the Trump administration must work to bring back a Maryland man who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador, rejecting the administration’s emergency appeal. The court acted Thursday in the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran citizen who had an immigration court order preventing his deportation to his native country over fears he would face persecution from local gangs. The administration has conceded that it made a mistake in sending him to El Salvador, where he is being held in a notorious prison, but also argued that it no longer could do anything about it.
April 11, 2025 5:08 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans narrowly got their budget plan over the finish line this week. Now comes the hard part. They’ll seek to craft a final bill with enough spending cuts to satisfy those on the right while not jeopardizing the reelection prospects of more vulnerable lawmakers whose constituents rely on key safety net programs such as Medicaid and nutritional assistance. House Speaker Mike Johnson had to pull the resolution from a Wednesday vote because more time was needed to win over some of the the chamber’s biggest deficit hawks. Sen. Chuck Schumer said the struggles Republicans have faced so far are only a glimmer of what’s to come.
April 11, 2025 5:05 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has confirmed President Donald Trump’s nominee to become the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Dan “Razin” Caine, before heading home for a two-week recess. Caine was nominated in February after Trump abruptly fired Gen. CQ Brown Jr. as part of his administration’s campaign to rid the military of leaders who support diversity and equity in the ranks. Caine is a decorated F-16 combat pilot who served in leadership in multiple special operations commands, in some of the Pentagon’s most classified programs and in the CIA.
