July 16, 2025 4:50 am
WEST PITTSTON, Pa. (AP) — Vice President JD Vance made the Trump administration’s first big pitch to sell the public on President Donald Trump’s sweeping budget-and-policy package in the swing political turf of northeastern Pennsylvania. The vice president, whose tiebreaking vote got the bill through the Senate, touted the legislation’s tax breaks and cast Democrats as opponents of the cutting taxes because of their unanimous opposition to the legislation. Democrats who’ve decried the law’s cuts to Medicaid and food stamps are expected to try to use it against Republicans in closely contested congressional campaigns next year, including one expected to play out in the working class-area where Vance promoted the legislation.
July 16, 2025 3:41 pm
(WPXI) PITTSBURGH — North Shore-based unicorn company Gecko Robotics announced two partnerships with local companies alongside the Pennsylvania Energy & Innovation Summit. Gecko, which uses robotics and AI to perform infrastructure analysis, will “explore a new collaboration” with U.S. Steel, according to a joint statement from Gecko CEO Jake Loosararian and U.S. Steel CEO David Burritt. “Pittsburgh is fast becoming the physical AI capital of the world,” Loosararian and Burritt’s joint statement reads. “U.S. Steel and Gecko Robotics are pleased to announce plans to explore a new collaboration focused on the health of steel mill infrastructure throughout the U.S. The future of manufacturing is taking shape now, where Gecko’s advances in AI and robotics could combine with U.S. Steel’s 120-plus-year legacy of industrial ingenuity and grit.”
July 16, 2025 2:11 pm
(WPXI) PITTSBURGH — A young man was killed and three others were injured in a rollover crash in Pittsburgh’s Point Breeze neighborhood. Just before 1 a.m. Thursday, police, fire and EMS were all dispatched to Beechwood Boulevard between Beechwood Lane and Gettysburg Street for a single vehicle rollover crash. The three survivors of the crash were able to get out of the car after it flipped upside down on the road after hitting a pole. The driver and one passenger were taken to the hospital in stable condition. The other passenger was taken in critical condition. On Thursday afternoon, the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the victim as Jakob James Sirlin, 18, of Squirrel Hill. Police say their investigation points to speed as a factor in this crash. That information did not surprise neighbors who say the stretch along Beechwood Boulevard in between Reynolds and Hastings Street can be dangerous because of speeding.
July 17, 2025 5:23 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House says President Donald Trump had a recent medical checkup after he noticed “mild swelling” in his lower legs. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday that tests by the White House medical unit showed that Trump has chronic venous insufficiency. It’s a relatively common condition in older adults that occurs when little valves inside the veins that normally help move blood against gravity gradually lose the ability to work properly. Leavitt also addressed bruising on Trump’s hand, saying it’s “consistent” with irritation from his “frequent handshaking and the use of aspirin.” Leavitt’s announcement was notable given the president has routinely kept basic facts about his health shrouded in secrecy.
July 16, 2025 5:01 am
NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump is lashing out at his own supporters as he tries to clamp down on criticism over his administration’s handling of much-hyped records in Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking investigation. And Trump told reporters Wednesday that “it’s all been a big hoax” that, in his words, has been ”perpetrated by the Democrats.” He says “some stupid Republicans and foolish Republicans” have fallen “into the net.” There is no evidence Democrats played any role in promoting conspiracies about the files, which members of Trump’s administration stoked for years. The rhetoric marks a dramatic escalation for the Republican president, who has broken with some of his most loyal backers on issues in the past, but never with such fervor.
July 16, 2025 4:57 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is gaining some key backing on Capitol Hill from Republican senators. They fear the repercussions if President Donald Trump follows through with threats to try and remove the politically independent central banker. As Trump seemingly waffled back and forth between moving to dismiss the Fed chair this week, some Republicans in Congress began to speak up to warn that such a move would be a mistake. Still, plenty of other Republicans think that dismissing Powell is a fine idea.
July 17, 2025 4:56 am
A U.S. Army veteran arrested during an immigration raid at a California marijuana farm says he was sprayed with tear gas and pepper spray before being dragged from his vehicle on his way to work. George Retes, a native of Ventura City, California, says he was pinned to the ground by ICE officials on his back and his neck after getting caught between protesters and authorities last week at Glass House Farms in Camarillo. Retes was held for three days before being release without charges and without being allowed to contact a lawyer. He said Wednesday he plans to sue the federal government over his ordeal.
July 17, 2025 4:59 am
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Communities along a 700-mile stretch of Alaska’s southern coast ordered their residents to higher ground after a powerful earthquake, but officials quickly downgraded and then canceled a tsunami warning in the area. There were no immediate reports of significant damage. Officials said the earthquake, with a preliminary magnitude of 7.3, struck at 12:37 p.m. local time south of Sand Point. The first waves were projected to land there, but the state’s emergency management division said an hour after the quake that it had received no reports of damage. The earthquake was reportedly felt as far away as Anchorage, almost 600 miles to the northeast.
July 17, 2025 3:58 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal health officials will allow Juul to keep selling its electronic cigarettes. The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday that Juul’s benefits as a less harmful alternative for adult smokers outweigh the risks of teen use. “This is an important milestone for the company and I think we made a scientifically sound case for the role that menthol can play in e-vapor,” Juul CEO K.C. Crosthwaite told The Associated Press. Parents, politicians and anti-tobacco advocates wanted a ban on the devices that many blame for the recent spike in underage vaping. “It is a big step in the wrong direction to authorize sales of the product that was responsible for this public health crisis in the first place,” said Yolonda Richardson, CEO of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids in a statement. The FDA decision applies to both tobacco and menthol-flavored versions of the reusable product.
July 17, 2025 2:35 pm
(AP) – The Steve Miller Band has canceled its U.S. tour, citing extreme weather as a safety concern for fans and crew. The tour was scheduled to begin in August with stops across the U.S., including New York, Tennessee, Florida, and California. Severe heat and unpredictable flooding have disrupted a number other music events this year. In June, Bonnaroo was cut short due to heavy rain. Last week, heat illnesses affected hundreds at the Rock the Country music festival in Kentucky. Scientists say climate change is fueling extreme weather events, which is making outdoor summer events increasingly difficult to plan safely.
