January 9, 2025 5:55 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — In a collision between free speech and national security, the Supreme Court will hear arguments over the fate of TikTok, a digital age cultural phenomenon that roughly half the U.S. population uses for entertainment and information. The case is being heard Friday. TikTok says it plans to shut down the social media platform in the U.S. by Jan. 19 unless the Supreme Court strikes down or otherwise delays the effective date of a law aimed at forcing TikTok’s sale by its Chinese parent company. Enforcement of the law would be left to the incoming Trump administration. President-elect Donald Trump has dropped his support for a TikTok ban. The court’s decision could come within days.
January 8, 2025 5:00 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Massive wildfires roaring through the Los Angeles area left neighborhoods in ruins, killed at least two people and threatened landmarks made famous by Hollywood. Desperate residents escaped through flames, hurricane-force winds and towering columns of smoke. Three major blazes that erupted just a day earlier blanketed the city with a dangerous, thick cloud of smoke and ash and destroyed homes across the metropolitan area, from the Pacific Coast inland to Pasadena, home of the famed Rose Parade. One of the fires was the most destructive in the modern history of the city of LA.
January 8, 2025 4:14 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department says it will release special counsel Jack Smith’s findings on Donald Trump’s efforts to undo the results of the 2020 presidential election but will keep the rest of the report under wraps for now. The revelation was made in a filing Wednesday to a federal appeals court that was considering a defense request to block the release of the two-volume report while charges remain pending against two Trump co-defendants in a Florida case. That case accuses the Republican former president and current president-elect of illegally hoarding classified documents. It’s unclear when the election interference report might be released. Trump has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and says it would be a “fake report.” (Photo: AP)
January 8, 2025 7:26 am
Crews from Pennsylvania American Water company were called to a large water main break in Chartiers Township Wednesday morning. Washington County 9-1-1 dispatchers tell WJPA News it happened around five o’clock at North Main Street and Museum Road. Traffic through the area was reduced to a single lane and the gushing water was shut off before 7:30 a.m. Officials with Pennsylvania American Water said in an emailed statement that the break was repaired and all service was restored. They said the break was due to an old pipe line. Eighteen customers were left without service until around ten-thirty, when final repairs were made.
January 8, 2025 4:51 am
BUTLER, Pa. (AP) — Three people found dead in a western Pennsylvania home this week apparently died from carbon monoxide poisoning. But authorities say it’s not yet known what caused the issue. The Butler County Coroner’s Office reports two men and a woman were found dead shortly before 5 p.m. Tuesday at the home in Butler, which is about 35 miles north of Pittsburgh. Two other people found there were being treated for undisclosed injuries and remained hospitalized Wednesday. The names of the five victims and further details about them have not been released. The source of the carbon monoxide remains under investigation.
January 8, 2025 2:45 am
Washington County has been put on notice of possible litigation surrounding the events of the assassination attempt of then presidential candidate Donald Trump at the Butler Farm Show Grounds on July 13th. County Solicitor Gary Sweat made Commissioners aware of a letter he received from attorneys representing the two injured rally goers, James Copenhaver and David Dutch. According to Sweat, the lawsuit would be seeking compensation for injuries that both men suffered after they were accidentally shot by suspected assassin Thomas Crooks. A third victim, Corey Comperatore was killed in the incident and is not part of the suit. Sweat says that the reason that the county is involved is because the Washington County Regional SWAT Team was called on for backup during the event. Sweat says the SWAT Team does not fall under the county umbrella, they are their own separate entity. He said they may not be involved in the case because, from his discernment, the Secret Service was the organization that was responsible for the development of the protection plan. The SWAT Team had no input into the plan, they just provided backup. The lawsuit is in its early stages of development, in fact an official complaint has yet to be filed. (Photo: AP)
January 7, 2025 2:52 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A Democrat is returning to the job of speaker of the Pennsylvania House after the Republican candidate bowed out. Speaker Joanna McClinton and Republican Floor Leader Jesse Topper tied 101 to 101 on Tuesday before Topper removed himself from consideration. Democratic Rep. Matt Gergely of Allegheny County wasn’t there after suffering a medical emergency. The House has a 102-101 Democratic majority, counting Gergely. Republicans control the state Senate with a 28-22 majority, but one of those GOP seats is vacant due to a recent resignation. (Photo: AP)
January 7, 2025 4:55 am
BANGKOK (AP) — President Joe Biden’s decision to reject a bid by Nippon Steel to acquire U.S. Steel isn’t the first time friction over trade and investment has irked Washington’s closest ally in Asia. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken sought to smooth ruffled feathers in a visit to Tokyo on Tuesday. But the assertion that the proposed $15 billion deal could threaten U.S. national security has stung. Many in Japan see the decision as a betrayal after decades of U.S. pressure to lift barriers to investment and trade. Japanese businesses already are bracing for tariff hikes under President-elect Donald Trump. Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba was blunt in warning that spoiling the deal might hurt Japanese investment in the U.S.
January 8, 2025 5:00 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former U.S. president Jimmy Carter will continue to lie in state after his remains arrived in Washington a day earlier as part of state funeral rites. The Georgia Democrat and 39th president died Dec. 29 at the age of 100. Carter served as president from 1977-81, winning office as an outsider in the wake of the Vietnam War and Watergate scandal but enduring a rocky four years of economic unrest and international crises that ended with his defeat to Republican Ronald Reagan. Carter will remain at the Capitol until Thursday morning, when he is transported to Washington National Cathedral for a state funeral. President Joe Biden, a longtime Carter ally, will deliver a eulogy. Carter will be buried in his hometown of Plains, Georgia.
January 8, 2025 5:06 am
NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — A developing winter storm is threatening to drop snow, sleet and freezing rain on parts of Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas. National Weather Service meteorologists predicted wintry precipitation across the southern Plains region starting Wednesday night. The new storm comes on the heels of an arctic blast that descended on much of the country east of the Rockies over the weekend. The wintry weather caused car accidents, flight cancellations and school closures. Crews in Arlington, Texas, were preparing the roads for an expected snowstorm Thursday that could make driving tricky ahead of Friday’s Cotton Bowl game between Ohio State and Texas.
