May 13, 2025 2:37 am
Pennsylvania Representative Natalie Mihalek (R- District 40-Allegheny, Washington) held a press conference to promote House Bill 961 that she is sponsoring drawing attention to waterway safety especially as it relates to the dangers of low head dams. Mihalek was joined by Kathy Gentile, widow of Jonathan Gentile, who drowned in May of 2022 on the Delaware River in New Hope, PA when his kayak capsized as he encountered a low head dam. Mihalek was also joined by Kirk Kreider, Acting Chief of the Division of Dam Safety of the Pennsylvania DEP who stated that many of these dams were built in the 1700’s and early 1800s to power grist mills and early industry. Pennsylvania is home to 90,000 miles of creeks, streams and rivers that water enthusiasts enjoy each year. He said Pennsylvania has 265 low head dams and they are the most common dam related to loss of life. Lujane Doughener, a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers spoke of waterway maintenance and a safety victory on the federal level. She said that in 2024, a national inventory of low head dams was included in the Water Resource Development Act providing a resource that can save lives. House Bill 961 is a bi-partisan measure that has been referred to the Game and Fisheries Committee and is awaiting further action.
May 12, 2025 5:09 am
(AP) – President Donald Trump has signed an executive order meant to try to lower drug costs for American consumers. A White House official said the order also sets a 30-day deadline for the Health Department to broker new price tags for drugs. If a deal is not reached, a new rule will kick in that will tie the price of what the U.S. pays for medications to the lowest price paid by other countries.
May 12, 2025 5:07 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans have unveiled the cost-saving centerpiece of President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.” Tallying hundreds of pages, it involves at least $880 billion in cuts largely to Medicaid, the nation’s health care program for more than 70 million Americans. The savings are needed to help cover the cost of $4.5 trillion in tax breaks. But it’s setting off the biggest political fight over health care since Republicans tried to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, during Trump’s first term in 2017 — which ended in failure. While Republicans insist they are simply rooting out “waste, fraud and abuse” to generate health care savings, Democrats warn that millions of Americans will lose coverage.
May 12, 2025 5:05 am
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Hamas has freed an Israeli-American soldier who was held hostage in Gaza for more than 19 months. The release offered a goodwill gesture toward the Trump administration. The deal could lay the groundwork for a new ceasefire with Israel. Edan Alexander was released to the Red Cross, which transferred him to the Israeli military. His release was the first since Israel shattered an eight-week ceasefire with Hamas in March and unleashed fierce strikes on Gaza that have killed hundreds of Palestinians. Alexander was reunited with his mother before being flown to a hospital in Tel Aviv.
May 12, 2025 5:03 am
VILLANOVA, Pa. (AP) — Church bells rang out for hours in celebration at Villanova University in suburban Philadelphia after one of their graduates was elected the first pope from the U.S. in the history of the Catholic Church. Now known as His Holiness Pope Leo XIV, Robert Prevost graduated from Villanova with a Bachelor of Science in mathematics in 1977. He received an honorary Doctor of Humanities, honoris causa, from the university in 2014. In a letter to students Thursday, Villanova’s president called it a proud and extraordinary day for the Catholic Augustinian university in suburban Philadelphia.
May 12, 2025 4:54 am
GENEVA (AP) — U.S. and Chinese officials say they have reached a deal to roll back most of their recent tariffs and call a 90 day pause so they can keep talking to resolve their trade disputes. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Monday the U.S. has agreed to drop its 145% tariff rate on Chinese goods by 115 percentage points to 30%, while China has agreed to lower its rate on U.S. goods by the same amount to 10%. Greer and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the tariff reductions at a news conference in Geneva. They say the two sides have set up consultations to continue discussing their trade issues. The announcement by the U.S. and China sent shares surging.
May 11, 2025 6:39 am
GENEVA (AP) — The U.S. and China have resumed crucial tariff talks that have put the global economy on edge, but appeared to have diverging views of where the negotiations presently stand. President Donald Trump said on social media that “great progress” was being made and even suggested a “total reset” was a possibility as the sides took their seats for the second and final scheduled day of discussions in Geneva. Beijing has yet to comment directly, but its official news agency took a tough approach Saturday, saying China will “firmly reject any proposal that compromises core principles or undermines the broader cause of global equity.” No breakthroughs were announced after 10 hours of discussions on the opening day.
May 11, 2025 6:37 am
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Leo XIV has called for a just and lasting peace in Ukraine and an immediate ceasefire in Gaza with the release of hostages and delivery of humanitarian aid in his first Sunday noon blessing as pontiff. Leo said, “Never again war!” from the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica on Sunday. Recalling the end of World War II 80 years ago, Leo quoted Pope Francis in denouncing the number of conflicts ravaging the globe today, saying it was a “third world war in pieces.” The first American pope also wished all mothers, “including those in heaven,” a Happy Mother’s Day.
May 11, 2025 6:33 am
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he is pleased to see that Russia is finally engaging with finding an end to the war, but there must be a ceasefire before peace talks can start. Calling it a “positive sign,” he said in a post on X Sunday that “the entire world has been waiting for this for a very long time. And the very first step in truly ending any war is a ceasefire.” Russian President Vladimir Putin in remarks to the media overnight effectively rejected the ceasefire proposal and proposed restarting direct talks with Ukraine in Istanbul on Thursday instead.
May 11, 2025 6:30 am
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Palestinian health officials say Israeli strikes overnight and into Sunday killed 11 people in the Gaza Strip, mostly women and children. Two of the strikes hit tents in the southern city of Khan Younis, each killing two children and their parents. Other strikes killed a child, a 16-year-old and a man riding a bicycle. The Israeli military says it only targets militants and tries to avoid harming civilians. It blames Hamas for civilian deaths because the militants are embedded in populated areas. In a separate development, Israel said it retrieved the remains of a soldier killed in a 1982 battle in southern Lebanon.
