July 25, 2025 4:57 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department’s No. 2 official has met with Ghislaine Maxwell, the imprisoned former girlfriend of financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The meeting between Maxwell and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche is part of a Justice Department effort to cast itself as transparent following backlash from parts of President Donald Trump’s base over an earlier refusal to release additional Epstein records. A lawyer for Maxwell says she “answered all the questions truthfully, honestly and to the best of her ability.” Maxwell was convicted of helping Epstein sexually abuse underage girls. Epstein died in a New York jail in 2019 awaiting trial.
July 25, 2025 4:55 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States is cutting short Gaza ceasefire talks in Qatar, saying the latest response from Hamas “shows a lack of desire” to reach a truce. President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, said Thursday that mediators have made a great effort but Hamas does not appear to be acting in good faith. Witkoff says the U.S. will “consider alternative options to bring the hostages home and try to create a more stable environment for the people of Gaza.” The State Department offered no details at a press briefing on those “alternative options.” A breakthrough in talks on a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas has eluded Trump’s Republican administration for months.
July 25, 2025 9:25 pm
PHOENIX (AP) — Lori Vallow Daybell has been sentenced to life in prison on two murder conspiracy convictions in Arizona. The punishments mark an end to a winding legal saga for the mother with doomsday religious beliefs who claimed people in her life had been possessed by evil spirits. Vallow Daybell is already serving life sentences in Idaho in the killings of her two youngest children and a romantic rival. She was convicted at separate trials this spring in Phoenix of conspiring to murder her estranged husband, Charles Vallow, and her niece’s ex-husband, Brandon Boudreaux. Vallow was killed, while Boudreaux survived the attack.
July 24, 2025 2:41 am
CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) — Hulk Hogan, the mustachioed, headscarf-wearing icon in the world of professional wrestling, has died at the age of 71, Florida police and WWE said Thursday. Hogan’s real name was Terry Bollea. He was perhaps the biggest star in WWE’s long history. He was the main draw for the first WrestleMania in 1985 and was a fixture for years, facing everyone from Andre The Giant and Randy Savage to The Rock and even company chairman Vince McMahon. Hogan was also a celebrity outside the wrestling world, appearing in numerous movies and television shows, including a reality show about his life on VH1, “Hogan Knows Best.” (Photo: AP)
July 24, 2025 2:56 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Jazz musician Chuck Mangione, known for his hit “Feels So Good,” has died at 84. His attorney, Peter S. Matorin, says Mangione died Tuesday at his home in Rochester, New York. He achieved international fame in 1977 with “Feels So Good,” a smooth-jazz staple. He also composed “Give It All You Got” for the 1980 Winter Olympics. Mangione released over 30 albums and won two Grammy Awards. He started his career as a bebop musician inspired by Dizzy Gillespie. In 2009, he donated memorabilia to the Smithsonian. Mangione retired in 2015, leaving a lasting legacy in jazz music. (Photo: AP)
July 24, 2025 4:56 am
PITTSBURGH — Summer heat and humidity through the weekend is going to make it feel more like the mid to upper 90s, so plan ahead before heading outdoors. Temperatures will quickly climb from the low 70’s soon after sunrise to near 90 by early afternoon. Do your best to stay cool and limit time outdoors for pets, too. Friday will also be steamy, with heat indices above 90, and scattered showers and storms, especially after lunch into the evening. Storms will bring heavy downpours, which will raise the threat for localized flooding, along with frequent lightning and the threat for damaging winds. Areas from Pittsburgh south may see the strongest storms. Scattered showers and storms stick around Saturday and Sunday, mainly during the afternoon and evening.
July 24, 2025 4:52 am
PITTSBURGH — A big day for Pittsburgh International Airport on Wednesday as officials provided a sneak peak at the latest updates as the new terminal nears completion. The terminal tour highlighted improvements, with a focus on “universal access” and an effort to make the terminal accessible to as many people as possible. “Everybody in an airport is either pushing or pulling something. So if we make it accessible to somebody that needs to be in a wheelchair, we’re making it accessible to somebody who is pushing a baby in a pram,” Siri Betts-Sonstegard said. The airport will be holding a “dress rehearsal” at the terminal in September, then it will open to the public sometime after.
July 24, 2025 5:51 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department’s No. 2 official has met with Ghislaine Maxwell, the imprisoned former girlfriend of financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The meeting between Maxwell and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche is part of a Justice Department effort to cast itself as transparent following backlash from parts of President Donald Trump’s base over an earlier refusal to release additional Epstein records. A lawyer for Maxwell says she “answered all the questions truthfully, honestly and to the best of her ability.” Maxwell was convicted of helping Epstein sexually abuse underage girls. Epstein died in a New York jail in 2019 awaiting trial. (Photo: AP)
July 23, 2025 2:04 am
(WPXI) SOMERSET COUNTY, Pa — After months of testing the water at Blue Hole Creek for heavy metals, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection sent a notice of violation to Highlands Sporting Clay — a clay shooting range in Somerset County — saying they believe lead and other heavy metal concentrations in the water are because of lead shots at the range. “It’s a combination of poor events that lead to where we are today,” said Eric Harder, the Youghiogheny Riverkeeper with the Mountain Watershed Association. Harder said they started looking into concerns last fall after they went to sample bugs at the creek, and didn’t collect enough. Online records show Highlands Sporting Clay is owned by Highlands Ventures LLC, which is owned by Pittsburgh Pirates owner Bob Nutting.
July 23, 2025 5:02 am
A judge has rejected a Trump administration request to unseal transcripts from grand jury investigations of Jeffrey Epstein years ago in Florida. A similar request for the work of a different grand jury is pending in New York. U.S. District Judge Robin Rosenberg in West Palm Beach said Wednesday the request to release grand jury documents from 2005 and 2007 did not meet any of the extraordinary exceptions under federal law that could make them public. Supporters of President Donald Trump believe there was a conspiracy to protect Epstein’s clients, conceal videos of crimes being committed and other evidence.
