July 16, 2025 5:29 am
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — The United States says it has sent five men to the small African nation of Eswatini in an expansion of the Trump administration’s third-country deportation program. The U.S. has already deported eight men to another African nation, South Sudan, after the Supreme Court lifted restrictions on sending people to countries where they have no ties. In a post on X, Homeland Security Department Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin says the men, who are citizens of Vietnam, Cuba, Yemen and Laos, have arrived in Eswatini on a plane.
July 16, 2025 5:23 am
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Officials say Russian weapons pounded Ukrainian cities overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday, injuring at least 15 people in an attack that mostly targeted energy infrastructure. The latest bombardment in Russia’s escalating aerial campaign against civilian areas came ahead of a Sept. 2 deadline set by U.S. President Donald Trump for the Kremlin to reach a peace deal in the three-year war, under the threat of possible severe Washington sanctions if it doesn’t. No date has yet been publicly set for a possible third round of direct peace talks between delegations from Russia and Ukraine. Two previous rounds delivered no progress apart from prisoner swaps.
July 16, 2025 5:28 am
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — An American aid organization in Gaza says 20 Palestinians were killed at a distribution site in Khan Younis. The Gaza Humanitarian Fund said 19 died in a stampede, and one was fatally stabbed on Wednesday. The group accuses Hamas of spreading panic but provides no evidence. The United Nations reports 875 Palestinians have died near aid sites since May. Meanwhile, hospital officials say Israeli strikes killed 41 others, including 11 children. Israel claims its strikes target Hamas infrastructure, accusing the group of hiding among civilians. Gaza faces a severe humanitarian crisis, with over 2 million residents struggling amid ongoing conflict and blockades.
July 16, 2025 5:26 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says he has finally found a way to achieve his goal of removing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, accusing him of mismanaging the U.S. central bank’s $2.5 billion renovation project. The push comes after a monthslong campaign by Trump to try to rid himself of the politically independent central banker. Powell has resisted the president’s calls to slash interest rates out of concerns about the administration’s tariffs sparking higher levels of inflation. But the president indicated Tuesday that Powell’s handling of an extensive renovation project on two Fed buildings in Washington could be grounds to take the unprecedented and possibly legally dubious step of firing him.
July 16, 2025 5:24 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Authorities say two people in New Jersey were killed after their vehicle was swept up in floodwaters during a storm that moved across the U.S. Northeast overnight. Authorities said Tuesday their names haven’t been released yet. Meanwhile, York City’s subway system is fully operational following overnight heavy rains. But some roads in New Jersey and Pennsylvania remained closed and there were dozens of flight delays and cancelations at area airports, including 159 total cancelations at Newark Liberty Airport.
July 15, 2025 1:24 pm
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Four independent voters in Pennsylvania are asking the state Supreme Court to rule that the closed primary system violates the state constitution. They filed a lawsuit Tuesday arguing that keeping independents out of primaries effectively denies them the right to vote in many districts where primaries determine the outcome. Pennsylvania is one of 14 states with closed primaries. New Mexico passed a law this year allowing voters with no party affiliation to vote in primary elections without changing their nonpartisan status. Lawsuits are pending in Wyoming, Oregon and Maryland.
July 15, 2025 4:38 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — President Donald Trump and Sen. David McCormick of Pennsylvania have announced tens of billions of dollars of energy and tech investments at a new summit focusing on energy and innovation. The Republican president has repeatedly pledged U.S. “energy dominance” in the global market. Pennsylvania is a swing state critical to Trump’s wins in 2016 and 2024, and is at the forefront of his energy agenda. Coal is a key part of that and is a big industry in the state. In opening remarks to attendees, McCormick said Tuesday’s summit is about catalyzing ”$90 billion in investment and tens of thousands of jobs in Pennsylvania.” Participating companies at the summit include Blackstone, Bridgewater, SoftBank, Amazon Web Services and ExxonMobil.
July 14, 2025 4:43 am
PITTSBURGH — Crews were busy on Monday preparing the Carnegie Mellon University campus for President Trump’s visit. Leaders from energy companies, AI, investors and trade experts will be in Pittsburgh for a series of discussions and panels on the “technological revolution”. Senator Dave McCormick announced that President Donald Trump will be speaking in the afternoon. “For any president to come to your campus or community, that is a deep honor of itself,” Anthony Cacciato, told our news partners at Channel 11. Cacciato is the President of CMU Republicans, and says he and other students should be honored to host the event. Not everyone feels that way. Over the last few weeks, there has been pushback and petitions from CMU students who are against President Trump visiting campus. Congresswoman Summer Lee also spoke out against President Trump’s visit — while adding that his “Big Beautiful Bill” could hurt Western PA communities. There are planned protests and student organizers say they are expecting at least 1,000 people.
July 15, 2025 9:11 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Inflation rose last month to its highest level in four months as the cost of gas, food, and groceries rose, reversing several months of cooling price pressures. The Labor Department said that consumer prices rose 2.7% in June from a year earlier, up from an annual increase of 2.4% in May. On a monthly basis, prices climbed 0.3% from May to June, after rising just 0.1% the previous month. Worsening inflation poses a political challenge for President Donald Trump, who promised during last year’s presidential campaign to immediately lower costs.
July 15, 2025 4:58 am
Democrats in the Pennsylvania House have passed a $50.6 billion state budget over Republican objections. House Bill 1330 passed on a 105-97 vote on nearly partisan lines. Three Republicans did support the measure. Despite passage in the House, the process still has a long way to go. The Senate must still consider it and related legislation. Lawmakers remain under pressure to finalize a budget deal as they are more than two weeks past the June 30 deadline. Rep. Bud Cook (R-Greene/Washington) voted against the spending bill. In a statement, Cook said he voted ‘no’ because it spends $50.6 billion, and we still don’t know where the money to support those expenditures is coming from”. Cook also said “How can we approve a bill when House Democrats and Governor Josh Shapiro have failed to answer the simple question of how we are going to pay for it?”
