July 13, 2025 7:29 am
OCHOPEE, Fla. (AP) — Democratic lawmakers are condemning Florida’s new Everglades immigration detention center after making a state-arranged visit. They are describing crowded, unsanitary and bug-infested conditions that officials have dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz.” But Republican legislators said they saw a clean and well-run facility while on the same tour Saturday. Five Democratic state lawmakers tried to visit the site July 3 but said they were denied access. The state subsequently arranged Saturday’s tour. The lawmakers have sued over the earlier denial, accusing the DeSantis administration of impeding their oversight authority. A DeSantis spokesperson has called the lawsuit “dumb.” The state rapidly built it on an isolated airstrip surrounded by swampland. DeSantis and fellow Republicans have touted the makeshift detention center, constructed in days as an efficient and get-tough response to President Donald Trump’s call for mass deportations. The first detainees arrived July 3, after Trump toured and praised the facility.
July 13, 2025 7:32 am
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s security agency said Sunday it tracked down and killed Russian agents suspected of shooting one of its senior officers to death in the Ukrainian capital. The Security Service of Ukraine, or SBU, said in a statement that the suspected Russian agents were killed in the Kyiv region after they offered resistance to arrest. A video released by the agency showed two bodies lying on the ground. The agency said earlier that a man and a woman were suspected to be involved in Thursday’s assassination of Ivan Voronych, an SBU colonel, in a bold daylight attack that was caught on surveillance cameras. Media reports claimed that Voronych was involved in covert operations in Russia-occupied territories of Ukraine and reportedly helped organize Ukraine’s surprise incursion into Russia’s Kursk region last year.
July 13, 2025 7:35 am
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Witnesses and health workers say at least 31 Palestinians have been shot dead in Gaza while seeking food aid. Separately, hospitals say Israeli airstrikes killed at least 28 Palestinians overnight and into Saturday. The Red Cross said its field hospital saw its largest influx of dead in more than a year of operation after the shootings. Israel’s military says it fired warning shots toward people it said were behaving suspiciously. The 21-month war has left much of Gaza’s population of over 2 million reliant on outside aid while food security experts warn of famine. There is no sign of a breakthrough in ceasefire talks. Israelis rallied yet again for a ceasefire deal. “Arrogance is what brought the disaster upon us,” former hostage Eli Sharabi said of Israeli leaders.
July 13, 2025 7:14 am
(WPXI) A newly released report found the U.S. Secret Service knew of a threat to President Donald Trump’s life more than a week before an assassination attempt at his Butler rally, but never relayed the information. The report is from the Government Accountability Office and was commissioned by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee. During the July 13 rally, Trump was hit in the ear, and attendee Corey Comperatore was killed after gunman Thomas Crooks started shooting. The report states the Secret Service received classified intelligence about a threat to Trump’s life 10 days before the Butler rally, but never relayed that information to federal and local law enforcement tasked with securing the event. The threat was reportedly “not specific to the July 13 rally or gunman.” The release of this report comes days after Channel 11 learned six Secret Service agents involved in securing the property at the Butler Farm Show were suspended without pay.
July 13, 2025 7:22 am
(WPXI) MCKEESPORT, Pa. — A person was stabbed as a fight broke out at the McKeesport Transportation Center. Port Authority Police said initial reports found an irate man approached the 61C-McKeesport-Homestead bus driver who was on their lunch break at 11:15 a.m. That person began taking off their clothes and fighting with bystanders. During that brawl, the irate person was stabbed in the chest and arm and was taken to a hospital. It is unclear who stabbed them. A second person suffered superficial cuts to their arm but was treated at the scene. The operator of the bus was not injured. Port Authority Police have charged Brayden Dixon, 21, of Indianapolis, Indiana, in this incident. He faces charges of aggravated assault, simple assault, indecent exposure, open lewdness and disorderly conduct.
July 13, 2025 7:19 am
WASHINGTON, Pa. — Saturday was the final day of the 2025 Whiskey Rebellion Festival in Washington County. It is held in the area of the Bradford History House, along Main Street, on the second weekend of July every year. The rebellion began in 1791 in Western Pennsylvania as a tax protest and ended in 1794 after George Washington sent 14,000 troops into the region. “Thankfully, it did not end in too much bloodshed but there were people who did get tarred and feathered,” said reenactor Noah Hilton. During the festival, whiskey is sold in the area for adults and reenactors bring history to life for families who visit. A local blacksmith showed off how some of the equipment used at the time was made. The free-to-attend festival ended with a series of musical and theatrical performances, including the Washington Symphony Orchestra.
July 12, 2025 11:31 am
A man from Donora has pled guilty in federal court to charges of fentanyl and cocaine trafficking, as well as the unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition. According to Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti, Tre Robert Goins, 31, pled guilty before Senior United States District Judge Joy Flowers. In May of 2024, Goins fled from a traffic stop in the city of Duquesne. He led authorities on a high-speed chase before crashing his car. Police recovered the drugs and loaded firearm. Goins faces an October 22nd sentencing and due to several prior felony convictions, he could face up to 20 years in prison, a fine of $1 million or both.
July 12, 2025 10:35 am
[AP] President Donald Trump on Saturday announced he’s levying tariffs of 30% against the European Union and Mexico. Trump announced the tariffs on two of the United States’ biggest trade partners in letters posted to his social media account. In his letter to Mexico’s leader, Trump acknowledged that the country has been helpful in stemming the flow of undocumented migrants and fentanyl into the United States. But he said the country has not done enough to stop North America from turning into a “Narco-Trafficking Playground.” Trump is in the midst of an announcement blitz of new tariffs with allies and foes alike, a bedrock of his 2024 campaign that he said would set the foundation for reviving a U.S. economy that he claims has been ripped off by other nations for decades. Trump in his letter to the European Union said that the U.S. trade deficit was a national security threat. “We have had years to discuss our Trading Relationship with The European Union, and we have concluded we must move away from these long-term, large, and persistent, Trade Deficits, engendered by your Tariff, and Non-Tariff, Policies, and Trade Barriers,” Trump wrote in the letter to the EU. “Our relationship has been, unfortunately, far from Reciprocal.” Trump is in the midst of an announcement blitz of new tariffs with allies and foes alike, a bedrock of his 2024 campaign that he said would set the foundation for reviving a U.S. economy that he claims has been ripped off by other nations for decades. With the reciprocal tariffs, Trump is effectively blowing up the rules governing world trade. For decades, the United States and most other countries abided by tariff rates set through a series of complex negotiations known as the Uruguay round. Countries could set their own tariffs – but under the “most favored nation” approach, they couldn’t charge one country more than they charged another. With Saturday’s letters, Trump has now issued tariff conditions on 24 countries and the 27-member European Union.
July 12, 2025 9:14 am
An investigation continues into what caused a frantic day without 911 service. Washington County’s 911 service outage began around 2:30 in the afternoon Friday, and was on and off throughout the day. The emergency service came back on around 10:30 Friday night. The service came back on just in time for residents of a home in Scenery Hill. 911 dispatchers tell us someone in the 2100 block of East National Pike called at 11:21 to report a fire. Crews arrived a home with smoke and flames. They were on the scene for three ours and the Fire Marshall was called in to investigate. There appears to be no injuries as a result of the house fire.
July 12, 2025 5:06 am
[Washington] Washington City Council approved the suspension of two police officers Thursday. According to the Observer-Reporter, the officers were only identified by their badge numbers. One was reportedly demoted and suspended without pay for 15 days, and the other received a one-day suspension without pay. Mayor JoJo Burgess said grievances have been filed on behalf of the officers and more information will follow.
