December 24, 2025 1:50 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Justice Department has released tens of thousands more documents related to Jeffrey Epstein, a tranche that included multiple mentions of President Donald Trump but added little new revelatory information to the long-anticipated public file on the disgraced late financier. The documents also contain apparent correspondence between an Epstein co-conspirator and the U.K.’s former Prince Andrew. Many of the mentions of Trump come from news clippings. There is also an email from a prosecutor pointing out flights Trump took on Epstein’s private jet. The Justice Department said one of the letters in the file was fake, but had been included for reasons of transparency.
December 24, 2025 3:50 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — A new Department of Health and Human Services report reveals Medicaid programs made over $200 million in improper payments to health care providers between 2021 and 2022 for people who had already died. The inspector general report, released Tuesday, suggests that a new mandate in Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill could help reduce these kind of payments. The bill requires states to audit Medicaid beneficiary lists against the Social Security Administration’s Death Master File. Privacy laws currently restrict access to this file. The report recommends states comply with the new mandate to conduct quarterly death checks to prevent further improper payments.
December 24, 2025 11:50 am
The Powerball jackpot now stands at an estimated $1.7 billion and is one of the largest lottery prizes in U.S. history. The lottery group will be drawing the 4th-largest jackpot ever on Christmas Eve. The record U.S. jackpot is $2.04 billion from back in 2022. The odds of winning Wednesday’s jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million. One math professor says those odds are equivalent to selecting one marked dollar bill from a stack 19 miles high. Those unfavorable odds are by design to help the lottery create billion-dollar jackpots. There are still other million-dollar prizes that players can win.
December 24, 2025 3:02 am
Governor Josh Shapiro announced that 54 transportation projects that total more than $47 million have received funding from the Multimodal Transportation Fund. The awards were made in 34 counties across Pennsylvania to enhance safety, connect communities and grow local economies. Local projects that were awarded funds were the Clark Road Bridge in Buffalo Township with $101,850, and Miller Road culvert replacements in Canton Township for $165,050. In Greene County, culvert reinforcement under Goslin Road in Jefferson Township received $176,056.
December 24, 2025 3:27 am
CLAIRTON, Pa.—(WPXI)-In August, two employees died and several others were injured during a battery explosion at Clairton Coke Works. Now, the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board issued two safety recommendations for US Steel. They are to be implemented immediately. The CSB is recommending that U.S. Steel evaluate all buildings that could be occupied and assess any potential danger to workers based on where the buildings are located. The CSB said the occupied buildings in the area where the explosion happened were not capable of protecting workers from the blast. The agency also said that while US Steel has relocated the control rooms for battery 13/14 to another building 100 feet away, it’s not clear that it is a safe location for workers. The second recommendation is calling on U.S. Steel to address and reduce safety risks for its employees. The CSB is continuing its investigation.
December 24, 2025 11:47 am
BRISTOL, Pa. (AP) — Crews are using construction equipment to clear the rubble of a Pennsylvania nursing home after a powerful explosion killed two people and hospitalized 20 others. The blast happened Tuesday at the Bristol Health & Rehab Center, northeast of Philadelphia. Bristol Police Chief Charles Winik said Wednesday that searchers accounted for everyone who had been thought to be missing. Authorities say a utility crew was responding to reports of a gas odor when the explosion occurred. Investigators are examining whether a gas leak caused the blast. Emergency responders evacuated residents amid flames, a strong gas odor and a second explosion. On Wednesday, workers were clearing sections of collapsed roof and walls to help investigators gain better access.
December 23, 2025 11:48 pm
BRISTOL, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s governor says an explosion at a nursing home just outside Philadelphia killed at least two people. The explosion Tuesday collapsed a part of the building and happened just as a utility crew had been on site at Bristol Health & Rehab Center in Bristol Township looking for a gas leak. The extent of the casualties was unclear several hours later. Bucks County officials say a portion of the building collapsed. Fire officials said they were in “rescue mode” five hours later, with rescuers still digging by hand and using search dogs, earth-moving equipment and sonar to locate potential victims.
December 23, 2025 3:52 pm
Former Nebraska U.S. Senator Ben Sasse has announced his diagnosis of advanced pancreatic cancer. He shared the news on social media, revealing he learned of the disease last week. The 53-year-old Sasse resigned from the Senate in January 2023 to become the president of the University of Florida. He was a vocal critic of former President Donald Trump and one of seven Republican senators to vote for Trump’s conviction after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack. Sasse expressed determination to fight the disease, highlighting advancements in immunotherapy and other treatments as part of his hope.
December 23, 2025 8:50 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy economy expanded at a strong 4.3% annual rate from July through September as consumer spending, exports and government spending all grew. Tuesday’s report from the Commerce Department said U.S. gross domestic product — the economy’s total output of goods and services — up from its 3.8% growth rate in the April-June quarter. Analysts surveyed by the data firm FactSet forecast growth of 3% in the period. However, inflation remains higher than the Federal Reserve would like. The Fed’s favored inflation gauge — called the personal consumption expenditures index, or PCE — climbed to a 2.8% annual pace last quarter, up from 2.1% in the second quarter.
December 23, 2025 4:48 am
BROWNSVILLE, Pa. — A fatal pedestrian accident is under investigation. A man died after being hit by a vehicle Monday evening in Brownsville. Fayette County Coroner Bob Baker said Mark Smith, 30, of Brownsville, was struck by a vehicle while walking along Route 40 East. Smith was taken to the Uniontown Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. There is no word on whether the driver of the vehicle stopped.
