August 17, 2025 8:26 am
CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy (AP) — Pope Leo XIV is spending the last Sunday of his summer vacation with several dozen homeless and poor people and the church volunteers who help them. He is celebrating a special Mass for them and inviting them into the Vatican’s lakeside estate for a lunch of lasagna and roast veal. In his homily, Leo celebrated the “fire of charity” that had brought them together. Leo, the former Robert Prevost, spent most of his adult life working with the poor people of Peru, first as an Augustinian missionary and then as bishop. There, he greatly reinforced the work of the local Caritas charity, opening soup kitchens and shelters for migrants. (Photo: AP)
August 17, 2025 8:24 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Postal Service is facing congressional attempts to strip billions in federal EV funding. The effort comes a year after the agency was honored for its plan to replace thousands of aging, gas-powered mail trucks with a mostly electric fleet. In June, the Senate parliamentarian in June blocked a Republican proposal to sell off the agency’s new electric vehicles and infrastructure and rescind any remaining money, but the push continues. Republican Sen. Joni Ernst says she’s going ahead with a bill to rescind what’s left of the $3 billion in federal funding.
August 17, 2025 8:23 am
(AP) – Hurricane Erin has been downgraded to a Category 3 hurricane. A tropical storm warning is in effect for the Turks and Caicos Islands as winds and heavy rains hit the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. Erin, the first Atlantic hurricane of 2025, reached Category 5 before weakening. The National Hurricane Center in Miami reported Sunday that Erin had maximum sustained winds of 125 mph. The storm’s center is about 155 miles north of San Juan, Puerto Rico. Scientists link the rapid intensification of hurricanes in the Atlantic to climate change, with global warming causing more intense storms.
August 17, 2025 8:21 am
KYIV (AP) — European leaders will join Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for his crucial meeting with President Donald Trump, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Sunday. The move in relation to the key White House meeting on Monday is an apparent effort to prevent a repeat of the heated encounter Zelenskyy faced when he met Trump in February. Von der Leyen, head of the European Union’s executive branch, posted on X that “at the request of President Zelenskyy, I will join the meeting with President Trump and other European leaders in the White House tomorrow.”
August 17, 2025 8:17 am
(WPXI) – A man is dead after a “physical altercation” inside a West Mifflin home on Saturday night, police say. The Allegheny County Police Department says first responders were called to a home on the 1100 block of Thompson Run Road around 10:45 p.m. for a welfare check. Upon arrival, they found a man dead inside the residence and another man with lacerations. The injured man was taken to an area hospital in stable condition. Allegheny County Police Department Homicide Unit detectives are investigating. They say preliminary information shows both men were “involved ina physical altercation.” ACPD says detectives are working with the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office to determine what, if any, charges will be filed. Anyone with information on the incident is asked to call the County Police Tip Line at 1-833-ALL-TIPS. Callers can remain anonymous.
August 17, 2025 7:18 am
State Police are investigating a shooting late Sunday night in Ellsworth. The Washington County Coroners office says 21 year old Elijah Johnson of Carnegie was pronounced dead at a home along Walnut Street just after 4 a.m Monday morning. Washington County 9-1-1 dispatchers say police were called to the home around 11:15 p.m Sunday night. According to the coroner, Johnson was shot inside a friend’s home. A cause and manner of death are pending. There is no word on any suspects or a motive. No other injuries were reported.
August 17, 2025 7:00 am
PennDot is delivering limited good news in Peters Township. A portion of East McMurray Road will reopen on August 18. East McMurray Road will be open with its intersection with Bebout Road. It will be open from Demmel Drive to Bebout Road. East McMurray will remain closed from the entrance to the Coen store to Fulton Drive. East McMurray Road will remain closed after the Coen store heading east. Thompsonville Road will be open to all traffic. Left hand turns are not available. Bebout Road will also be open to all traffic. The remaining portion of East McMurray Road will remain closed until the completion of the project. It is estimated that the construction will last until mid September.
August 17, 2025 7:00 am
North Strabane Township Police raided a vape shop on Friday. According to a release from the police department, a search warrant was executed at Washington Vape & Tobacco located at Wildflower Circle following an investigation into the business activities of the store. Officers seized several illegal items including marijuana, THC products, counterfeit vape cartridges, psychedelic substances and various types of drug paraphernalia. The business was also operating in violation of multiple state and local laws. Police also found that sales were made to younger looking customers without requiring identification. The unidentified manager of the store was taken into police custody and is facing undetermined criminal charges.
August 17, 2025 7:00 am
A group of residents from West Finley Township approached Washington County Commissioner at their meeting on Thursday to ask their help in fighting the development of a data center near their homes. Henrietta O’Brien led the group. She said Florida land developer Next Generation Land Company has met with township supervisors. The company is interested in land off of Nuthatch Lane. She said the plans call for the construction of a data center that would be powered by a power plant using locally sourced natural gas. Residents are upset because of the widely reported emissions dangers from a power plant, but they are concerned about low frequency vibrations and hum. O’Brien says that those pollutions would negatively affect wildlife that is critical to the agricultural industry prevalent in the area. Jeff Hemmis raises bees. He said an electronics tower built near his home has wiped out his bee population and he still cannot revive them. Glenn O’Brien called the proposed construction terrible for the area water. He said that everyone is on a well. Sometimes they run dry in the summer. His research proved that data centers and power plants consume huge amounts of water. His concern is the construction was allowed, it would wipe out the water supply in the area.
August 17, 2025 5:09 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is bringing with him to the the White House an extraordinary cadre of European leaders to show U.S. President Donald Trump a united front against Russia. The European political heavy-hitters were left out of Trump’s summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin last Friday and they are looking to safeguard Ukraine and the continent from any widening aggression from Moscow. By arriving as a group on Monday, they hope to avoid any debacles like Zelenskyy’s February meeting in the Oval Office where Trump chastised him for not showing enough gratitude for American military aid.
