December 18, 2025 12:52 pm
STATESVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Retired NASCAR race driver Greg Biffle, his wife, and their two children are among the seven people killed in a plane crash in North Carolina. The Cessna C550 crashed at Statesville Regional Airport, north of Charlotte. Records show the plane was registered to a company run by Biffle. AccuWeather reports some drizzle and clouds at the time of the crash. The Statesville airport serves NASCAR teams and Fortune 500 companies. NASCAR says the news is devastating. The 55-year-old Biffle won more than 50 races across NASCAR’s three circuits.
December 18, 2025 2:18 am
A Washington man had his preliminary hearing and will face trial for causing a disturbance at the Waffle House restaurant in South Strabane Township. Joshua King, 30, faces charges of aggravated assault, terroristic threats and reckless endangerment. All charges were held for court. The criminal complaint says King got into an argument inside the restaurant and then left to go to his vehicle in the parking lot. He retrieved a semi-automatic handgun and then pointed it thru the front windows of the restaurant towards occupants inside. King then allegedly went back inside and threatened to kill employees. King then fled the scene but was stopped by City of Washington Police. A 9-mm handgun was found inside the vehicle. King remains in the Washington County Jail unable to post his $800,000 bond. He will be arraigned January 27.
December 18, 2025 4:59 am
MONESSEN, Pa. — A Monessen mother is offering a $1,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest after her 16-year-old son was shot in the head in broad daylight a month ago. She is also sharing newly obtained doorbell audio she hopes will prompt someone to come forward. Janae Michaux said her family is frustrated that there has not been an arrest and fearful because her son is still being threatened online. “It’s upsetting that nothing has been done, and this young man is taunting my family through social media,” Michaux said. Police said the shooting happened in the late afternoon on Nov. 11 on Rostraver Street in Monessen. Doorbell camera video captured the sound of 10 shots before a suspect ran from the scene. The teen was flown to UPMC Children’s Hospital and underwent surgery. His mother said he survived and has made a miraculous recovery. Michaux said her son was on his way to visit friends and a newborn baby when he was shot. She said she believes the shooting may be gang-related, but said her son was not involved in a gang. Police have not publicly identified a suspect or announced an arrest.
December 18, 2025 5:03 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says he is sending a $1,776 bonus check to U.S. troops for Christmas. It was a highlight of an unusually partisan address carried live on network television on Wednesday. Trump said his tariffs were funding the payments as he tried to reassure a worried public about the health of the economy. Trump says 1.45 million military service members will get what he called a “warrior dividend” before the holiday. “The checks are already on the way,” he said. His bonus payments for the troops come as millions of Americans are fretting about the costs of groceries, housing, utilities and their holiday gifts as inflation remains elevated and the labor market has weakened in recent months.
December 18, 2025 5:06 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that could reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug. This move could ease regulations and expand medical research by shifting marijuana from a Schedule I drug, like heroin, to a Schedule III substance, similar to ketamine. This change won’t legalize recreational use nationwide but may alter regulation and taxation. Former President Joe Biden’s Justice Department had also proposed reclassifying marijuana, but Trump’s order on Thursday could speed up the process,. Some Republicans oppose the change, arguing marijuana remains dangerous. Trump has focused on combating other drugs, like fentanyl, during his second term. (Photo: AP)
December 17, 2025 5:07 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Four centrist Republicans have broken with their party’s leadership over health care. They’ve signed onto a Democratic-led petition that will force a House vote on extending for three years an enhanced pandemic-era subsidy that lowers health insurance costs for millions of Americans. The stunning move Wednesday comes the same day House Republican leaders pushed to passage a health care bill that doesn’t address the soaring monthly premiums coming for those with insurance through the Affordable Care Act. A House vote on the subsidies could come as soon as early January. Even if it passed, it would face an arduous climb in the Republican-led Senate.
December 18, 2025 5:04 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino says he’ll resign from the bureau next month, ending a brief tenure in which he clashed with the Justice Department over the handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files and was forced to reconcile the realities of his law enforcement job with provocative claims he made in his prior role as a popular podcast host. The departure, which had been expected, would be among the highest-profile resignations of the Trump administration. It comes as FBI leadership has been buffeted by criticism over Director Kash Patel’s use of a government plane for personal purposes and social media posts about active investigations.
December 18, 2025 2:25 am
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The proposed $85 billion merger of the Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern railroads has lost the support of two unions that represent more than half their workers. The unions representing engineers and maintenance workers worry the deal will jeopardize safety and jobs, and lead to higher shipping rates and consumer prices. They are now among the most prominent critics of this deal. But the deal does have the support of the nation’s largest rail union that represents conductors and hundreds of individual shippers. The U.S. Surface Transportation Board will weigh the opinions of all stakeholders to determine if the merger is in the public interest.
December 17, 2025 4:52 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Four centrist Republicans have broken with their party’s leadership over health care. They’ve signed onto a Democratic-led petition that will force a House vote on extending for three years an enhanced pandemic-era subsidy that lowers health insurance costs for millions of Americans. The stunning move Wednesday comes after House Republican leaders pushed ahead with a health bill that doesn’t address the soaring monthly premiums coming for those with insurance through the Affordable Care Act. A House vote on the subsidies could come as soon as January. Even if it passed, it would face an arduous climb in the Republican-led Senate.
December 17, 2025 5:42 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith has told lawmakers in a closed-door interview his team “developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt” President Donald Trump criminally conspired to overturn his 2020 election loss. That’s according to portions of Smith’s opening statement obtained by The Associated Press on Wednesday. Smith says investigators had “powerful evidence” Trump broke the law by hoarding classified documents at his Florida estate from his first term as president and by obstructing government efforts to recover the records. Smith says decisions in the investigations were made without regard to consideration of Trump’s Republican candidacy in 2024. Trump has said he’d rather see Smith testify publicly. (Photo: AP)
