July 8, 2025 10:37 am
For the first time in almost 20 years, travelers may no longer have to take off their shoes during security screenings at certain U.S. airports. The Transportation Security Administration is looking to abandon the requirement, according to media reports. If implemented, it would put an end to a security screening mandate put in place almost 20 years ago, several years after “shoe bomber” Richard Reid’s attempt to take down a flight from Paris to Miami in late 2001. Travel newsletter Gate Access was first to report that the security screening change is coming, with ABC News citing an internal memo sent to TSA officers last week that states the new policy lets travelers keep their shoes on during screenings at many U.S. airports beginning on Sunday.
July 8, 2025 6:47 am
An unidentified man has been transported by ambulance to a Pittsburgh hospital after he was struck by a vehicle along State Route 50 near Coleman Road in Cecil Township. Washington County 9-1-1 dispatchers say the original call came in just after 5 a.m Tuesday. Police believe the man may have initially been involved in an accident. His vehicle was found with a smashed out read window. A Dispatcher says the man began to walk down the roadway and a short time later was struck by a Jeep. The driver of that vehicle told police they did not see the man. He suffered a head injury and was taken to UPMC Presbyterian Hospital. No other details are currently available.
July 8, 2025 5:17 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s decision to send more defensive weapons to Ukraine came after he privately expressed frustration with Pentagon officials for announcing a pause last week in the delivery of some critical weapons to Ukraine. It was a move that Trump felt wasn’t properly coordinated with the White House. That’s according to three people familiar with the matter who requested anonymity to discuss the private deliberations. The Pentagon announced that it would hold back delivering to Ukraine some weapons because of what U.S. officials said were concerns that stockpiles were in short supply. Trump later effectively reversed the move. One of the people described Trump as being caught “flat footed” by the announcement.
July 8, 2025 5:07 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) — U.S. military troops and federal immigration officers have made a brief but mighty show of force at MacArthur Park in Los Angeles. It was unclear if any arrests were made Monday before the National Guard soldiers and federal immigration agents left but their appearance baffled local officials and shook up an area dubbed the “Ellis Island of the West Coast.” The park is a community hub in a largely immigrant neighborhood. Bass and Gov. Gavin Newsom called it a political stunt and spectacle meant to intimidate the city’s immigrant communities. The Department of Homeland Security says it does not discuss its operations and declined to comment.
July 8, 2025 5:06 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is telling President Donald Trump that he is nominating the U.S. leader for a Nobel Peace Prize. The two were taking a victory lap Monday after their recent joint strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, with both hailing the 12-day war as an unmitigated success. The two leaders sat down with their top aides for a dinner in the White House Blue Room to mark the operation. They were are discussing efforts to push forward with a 60-day ceasefire proposal to pause the conflict in Gaza.
July 8, 2025 5:04 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former federal officials and outside experts have warned for months that President Donald Trump’s staffing cuts to the National Weather Service could endanger lives. After torrential rains and flash flooding struck Friday in the Texas Hill Country, the weather service came under fire from local officials who criticized what they described as inadequate forecasts. Democrats wasted little time linking staff reductions to the disaster, which is being blamed for the deaths of at least 80 people. Former federal officials and experts have said Trump’s indiscriminate job reductions at NWS and other weather-related agencies will result in brain drain that threatens the government’s ability to issue timely and accurate forecasts. Trump said job cuts did not hamper weather forecasts.
July 8, 2025 5:00 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says the U.S. will have to send more weapons to Ukraine, just days after ordering a pause in critical weapons deliveries to Kyiv. The comments from Trump on Monday appear to be an abrupt change in posture. The Pentagon announced last week that it would hold back delivering to Ukraine some air defense missiles, precision-guided artillery and other weapons. U.S. officials said the Defense Department was concerned that its own stockpiles have declined too much. Meanwhile, Russian attacks on Ukraine killed at least 11 civilians and injured more than 80 others, including seven children, officials said Monday.
July 8, 2025 4:58 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Monday set a 25% tax on goods imported from Japan and South Korea, as well as new tariff rates on a dozen other countries. Trump provided notice of the tariffs to begin on Aug. 1 by posting letters on Truth Social that were addressed to the leaders of the various countries. The letters warned them to not retaliate by increasing their own import taxes, or else the Trump administration would further increase import taxes. The higher tariffs could hinder economic growth, if not increase recession risks.
July 8, 2025 4:54 am
PITTSBURGH — The American Red Cross supplies about 40% of the nation’s blood, and while volunteers in the Pittsburgh area are looking for all types, there’s one they need the most. On Monday, the organization issued a call to action for local blood donors as the summer months continue and the Fourth of July holiday weekend comes to an end. “Holidays are typically a hard time for us to collect blood. That’s because people ar traveling, doing fun things,” said Nicole Roschella of the American Red Cross. Right now, donations are down in the region because people are busy this time of year, so the Red Cross is encouraging anyone of any blood type to make an appointment, especially those who are Type O, because it will likely run out first. “Type O positive is what’s given to patients more than any other blood type. Type O negative is the universal blood type, so that’s what doctors will reach for in an emergency,” Roschella said.
July 8, 2025 4:51 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Officials say a union representing thousands of city workers in Philadelphia and the city have reached a deal to end a more than weeklong strike that halted residential curbside trash pickup and affected other services. Word of the tentative agreement came early Wednesday, on what would have been the ninth day of the strike. Nearly 10,000 blue-collar employees from District Council 33 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees had walked off the job July 1, seeking better pay and benefits after failing to agree with the city on a new contract. District Council 33 is the largest of four major unions representing city workers. Its membership includes 911 dispatchers, trash collectors, water department workers and many others.
