March 6, 2025 4:48 am
BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union leaders are holding emergency summit talks to beef up their own military defenses and make sure Ukraine will still be properly protected by its allies. Friedrich Merz, the likely next chancellor of Germany, was conferring with summit host Antonio Costa on Thursday morning. They want to meet the challenge on a short deadline only days after Merz pushed plans to loosen the nation’s rules on running up debt to allow for higher defense spending. At the same time, the 27-nation bloc was waking up to the news from French President Emmanuel Macron would confer with EU leaders the possibility of using France’s nuclear deterrent to protect the continent from Russian threats.
March 6, 2025 4:46 am
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean fighter jets have accidentally dropped eight bombs on a civilian area, injuring eight people on the ground. The South Korean air force says the MK-82 bombs released by the KF-16 fighter jets fell outside a firing range on Thursday morning. The air force apologized and expressed hopes for a speedy recovery of the injured. It says it will investigate the accident in Pocheon, a city close to the heavily armed border with North Korea. Pocheon’s disaster response center say six civilians and two soldiers were injured.
March 6, 2025 4:40 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania is spending more than $10 million to replace its electronic voter registration database with an election management system. Under a contract announced Wednesday, a new system is being developed that will also provide election night results and handle campaign finance filings and lobbyist registration. Secretary of State Al Schmidt announced the Civix system should be fully in use by the time of the next presidential election in 2028. It will replace the existing Statewide Uniform Registry of Electors, often called the SURE system. State officials say the Civix system’s functions for public use will provide information about voter registration, coming elections and voting data.
March 6, 2025 2:48 am
A man charged with attempted homicide who was mistakenly released from the Washington County Jail is back in police custody. Washington County District Attorney Jason Walsh says numerous Washington County police units swarmed a house on Murtland Avenue Wednesday afternoon and captured a fugitive who had been released from the Washington County Jail by mistake last December. Walsh says that Samuel Valle who was to appear in court last week on attempted homicide charges is now in custody. Walsh says a woman associated with Valle was arrested and she faces a criminal charge of harboring, among others. Authorities say the Sheriff’s Fugitive Unit, along with Washington County Detectives, State Police, City of Washington Police and Washington County SWAT were all involved in the apprehension. Valle was in jail – charged with attempted homicide, aggravated assault and reckless endangerment after police say he shot at a man following a house party and gunfight at a home in Charleroi in September of 2023. He was accidentally released from custody in December, but the Washington County District Attorney’s Office wasn’t aware until late February. Washington County commissioners say they will be collaborating with the county courts to identify where the mistake occurred and ensure it doesn’t happen again.
March 6, 2025 2:32 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro says he wants to recruit federal workers for job openings in the state’s workforce. These workers might be without employment as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to shrink the size of the federal workforce. Shapiro spoke at a news conference Wednesday at a state job fair in Harrisburg. He says his administration will raise its consideration of federal job experience when it looks to hire. It’s also assembled materials online to show federal workers how their experience translates to the state workforce. Shapiro gave as examples nurses, civil engineers, accountants and emergency response professionals.
March 5, 2025 5:24 pm
NEW YORK (AP) — A Cheeto shaped like the beloved Pokémon Charizard has sold at auction for a total cost of $87,840. The Goldin auction house listed the snack as sold on Sunday. “Presented is a 3-inch long Flamin’ Hot Cheeto in the shape of the Pokémon Charizard, affixed to a customized Pokémon card and encapsulated in a clear card storage box,” the auction’s description states. “It was initially discovered and preserved sometime between 2018-2022 by 1st & Goal Collectibles. The “Cheetozard” surged in popularity on social media platforms in late 2024. There were 60 bids on the uniquely shaped snack, according to the listing. The winning bid was $72,000 plus a buyer’s premium. (Photo: AP)
March 5, 2025 3:28 pm
(AP) – Makers of the popular obesity treatments Wegovy and Zepbound are cutting prices for people without insurance. Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk said Wednesday that it will drop prices 23% for all doses of Wegovy. The new monthly price of $499 takes effect immediately. The new pricing is available to both the uninsured and people who have insurance that doesn’t cover the weight-loss drugs. Last week, rival Eli Lilly said it would cut the monthly price of its starter dose of Zepbound to $349. The U.S. drugmaker also is making larger doses available for $499 through its self-pay program.
March 5, 2025 2:52 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is granting a one-month exemption on his stiff new tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada for U.S. automakers, amid fears that the trade war could harm U.S. manufacturers.The announcement comes after Trump spoke with leaders of the “big 3” automakers, Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis on Wednesday.“We spoke with the big three auto dealers,” Trump said in a statement read by his spokesperson. “We are going to give a one month exemption on any autos coming through USMCA,” referencing the North American free trade agreement he renegotiated in his first term.
March 5, 2025 10:18 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has said he wants his new education chief, Linda McMahon, to “put herself out of a job” and close the Education Department. McMahon was confirmed by the Senate on Monday, and an executive order to shut down the department could come as soon as this week. McMahon told employees it was the department’s “final mission” to eliminate bureaucratic bloat and turn over the agency’s authority to states. Eliminating the department altogether would be a cumbersome task, which likely would require an act of Congress.
March 5, 2025 9:36 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — A sharply divided Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected a Trump administration push to rebuke a federal judge who imposed a quick deadline to release billions of dollars in foreign aid. By a 5-4 vote, the court told U.S. District Judge Amir Ali to clarify his earlier order that required the Republican administration to release nearly $2 billion in aid for work that had already been done. Justice Samuel Alito led four conservative justices in dissent, saying Ali lacks the authority to order the payments. Alito wrote that he is stunned the court is rewarding “an act of judicial hubris.” The court’s action leaves in place Ali’s temporary restraining order that had paused the spending freeze, Ali is holding a hearing Thursday to consider a more lasting pause. The majority noted that the administration had not challenged Ali’s initial order, only the deadline. The court told Ali to “clarify what obligations the government must fulfill to ensure compliance with the temporary restraining order, with due regard for the feasibility of any compliance timelines.”
