March 13, 2025 4:49 am
BRUSSELS (AP) — Canada and the European Union swiftly hit back at increased steel and aluminum tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump. Canada matched Trump’s 25% increase on steel and aluminum and raised tariffs – that is, import taxes – on a slew of other U.S. goods. Across the Atlantic, the European Union will raise tariffs on American beef, poultry, bourbon and motorcycles, bourbon, peanut butter and jeans. Combined, the new taxes will cost American companies billions of dollars. Companies will either take the losses and earn fewer profits, or, more likely, pass costs along to consumers in the form of higher prices.
March 13, 2025 4:51 am
LA MALBAIE, Canada (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio may be walking into unusually unfriendly territory this week when he meets his counterparts from the Group of 7 industrialized democracies. The strong American allies have been stunned by President Donald Trump’s actions against them. Just hours after Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs kicked in against close U.S. partners, Rubio arrived in Canada for two days of talks with the top diplomats of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan. Rubio will likely be hearing a litany of complaints starting Thursday about Trump’s decisions from once-friendly, like-minded countries in the G7, notably host Canada. Still, Rubio can expect cautiously optimistic responses after Ukraine accepted a proposed 30-day ceasefire with Russia.
March 13, 2025 4:46 am
(AP) – Russian President Vladimir Putin said he agrees in principle with a U.S. proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine. But he emphasized that the terms are yet to be worked out and noted that any truce should pave the way to lasting peace. Putin spoke Thursday at a news conference in Moscow. He said more discussions are needed with the U.S., including President Donald Trump. In Washington, Trump offered guarded optimism about Putin’s statement and reiterated that he stood ready to speak with him. The Russian leader made the remarks just hours after the arrival of Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, in Moscow for talks.
March 13, 2025 4:44 am
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A launch pad problem has forced a flight delay to replace NASA’s two stuck astronauts. The new crew needs to get to the International Space Station before Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams can head home after nine months in orbit. Concerns over a critical hydraulic system arose less than four hours before the Falcon rocket’s planned evening liftoff from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center. The decision to cancel finally came down with less than an hour remaining in the countdown. Officials say the launch is off until at least Friday.
March 13, 2025 4:41 am
ROME (AP) — Pope Francis marked the 12th anniversary of his papacy Thursday with increasingly positive medical updates four weeks into his hospitalization for double pneumonia. The pope spent another tranquil night, the Vatican said in its brief morning statement. A chest X-ray confirmed improvements, the Vatican said on Wednesday, just two days after days after doctors declared he’s no longer in imminent danger of death. The latest medical bulletin said that the 88-year-old pope’s condition remained stable, but indicated a complex picture considering his overall fragility.
March 13, 2025 4:28 am
City of Washington frefighters were called out to a structure fire at 2:35 Wednesday morning. The fire was located in the 400 block of Second Street. When firefighters arrived they found an active fire. According to 9-1-1 officials, the fire was brought under control in about 30 minutes. Two adults and a dog were affected by the fire, one of the adults was treated for smoke inhalation at the scene. The fire marshal will arrive later today to determine the cause of the fire.
March 13, 2025 4:24 am
Washington County held its first annual Real Estate Expo on Wednesday. Part of the event was the State of the County address. Commissioners Nick Sherman and Electra Janis detailed a number of projects that the county is involved with. They also made one big announcement about a big box store coming to the site of the soon to be demolished Washington Mall. Costco will be moving in. According to Commissioner Nick Sherman, bids to demolish the old Washington Mall will go out soon. Other projects include the construction of the new Public Safety Building on the site of the Courthouse Square Building, the addition of thirty cabins and RV sites at Cross Creek county park. Also, the construction of the new AHN Canonsburg Hospital, continued support for the UPMC Washington Hospital merger and welcoming a new medical partner WVU Medicine that will be moving into Southpointe.
March 12, 2025 1:46 am
The second day of testimony in the child rape trial of Anthony Ardeno, Sr. has ended with the defense resting its case after Ardeno took the stand in his own defense. Morning defense testimony centered on Ardeno’s family members offering their views on his life in the community as a law abiding citizen. They described his demeanor and the victim’s demeanor at large gatherings where he and the victim were both in attendance. In afternoon testimony, Ardeno took the stand and described photos from large gatherings in which he and the victim were together and their proximity to each other after the assault allegations were made. In testimony pertinent to the time frame of the allegations, Ardeno said he had not been able to have sex since his mid 60’s because of debilitating back issues and erectile disfunction. Ardeno admitted to having a pornography collection. Under cross examination, prosecutors asked why he had a pornography collection if he had ED. They pushed further asking if his performance issues were because he preferred a six year old girl to an adult. Ardeno denied the allegation. Closing arguments and deliberations will take place on Thursday.
March 13, 2025 1:14 am
Washington, PA – Governor Josh Shapiro and Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) officials joined Penn Mechanical Group and local leaders in Washington County on Wednesday to plug the 300th orphaned or abandoned well under the Shapiro Administration. The Shapiro Administration has surpassed the number of wells plugged in the previous decade in just two years – the latest historic milestone under Governor Shapiro’s leadership to protect public health and create jobs by aggressively plugging these wells all across Western Pennsylvania. The 300th well was plugged in North Franklin Township under an emergency contract with Penn Mechanical Group, a family-owned and operated company located in Indiana, PA. The well – which is leaking methane – sits between two reservoirs on the site of the township’s future Waterside Park, an 89-acre park to connect residents to green-spaces, outdoor recreation, environmental education, and serve as a community hub. “When I took office, I directed the Department of Environmental Protection to move aggressively to draw down state and federal funding to make a meaningful impact plugging orphaned and abandoned wells. Today, I’m proud to announce that this well will be the 300th well plugged during my time as Governor,” said Governor Josh Shapiro. “By plugging orphaned and abandoned wells, we’re tackling a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions and creating thousands of good-paying jobs in the process. This is a smart, commonsense way to protect public health and create jobs – and I’m going to continue to work with DEP to put state and federal funding to good use by plugging these wells that create problems across rural Pennsylvania.”
March 12, 2025 8:41 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. inflation slowed last month for the first time since September even as additional tariffs on steel and aluminum kicked in Wednesday that could send prices higher. The consumer price index increased 2.8% in February from a year ago, Wednesday’s report from the Labor Department showed, down from 3% the previous month. Core prices, which exclude the volatile food and energy categories, rose 3.1% from a year earlier, down from 3.3% in January. The core figure is the lowest in nearly four years. The declines were larger than economists expected, according to a survey by data provider FactSet.
