August 16, 2025 4:20 am
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Erin has become a Category 4 hurricane in the Caribbean, according to the National Hurricane Center. The storm is currently northeast of Anguilla, with winds of 130 mph. It is moving west-northwest. While it is not forecasted to hit land, strong winds are affecting nearby islands, raising concerns about flooding and landslides. Tropical storm watches are in place for several islands. Experts predict Erin will turn northeast, potentially affecting Bermuda. This is the first hurricane of the Atlantic season, which is expected to be unusually busy.
August 15, 2025 4:42 pm
(WPXI) – U.S. Steel has released new details on what investigators believe caused the explosion at the Clairton Coke Works plant that killed two people and injured ten others. U.S. Steel said an investigation conducted by third-party experts has revealed that the explosion happened while crews were flushing a gas valve in preparation for planned maintenance. Investigators learned pressure was building inside the valve, which caused it to fail. The failure caused coke oven gas to fill the area, which led to the explosion after it found a source of ignition. U.S. Steel CEO David Burritt said the plant is now safe to operate, but investigators continue to review surveillance video and interview employees as they work to find answers.
August 15, 2025 5:09 am
CHOSITI, India (AP) — Authorities are searching for missing people in a remote village in India-controlled Kashmir after flash floods caused by torrential rains. Teams of disaster management officials, police and soldiers helped by local villagers scoured the devastated Himalayan village of Chositi on Friday. Rescuers were searching for at least 80 missing people. Flooding that began a day earlier has killed at least 60 people. The floods on Thursday were triggered by a cloudburst in the Himalayan village. Sudden and intense downpours over small areas known as cloudbursts are increasingly common in India’s Himalayan regions. They are prone to flash floods and landslides.
August 15, 2025 5:08 am
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claims there is no hunger in Gaza, but malnourished children are regularly arriving at Nasser Hospital. The U.N. says starvation and malnutrition in Gaza are at the highest levels since the war began. The Gaza Health Ministry says 171 people have died of malnutrition-related causes since July 1, a quarter of them children. Aid has increased in recent weeks, but food remains scarce or unaffordable for many. While the influx of food might help much of Gaza’s population, experts say that is not necessarily the case for children who are already severely malnourished. They often require treatment first at a hospital, where vital micronutrients must be replenished before their bodies will be able to properly metabolize food.
August 15, 2025 5:07 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge has struck down two Trump administration actions aimed at eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion programs at the nation’s schools and universities. In her ruling on Thursday, U.S. District Judge Stephanie Gallagher in Maryland stated that the Education Department violated the law when it threatened to cut federal funding from educational institutions that continued with DEI initiatives. The judge’s ruling followed a motion for summary judgment from the American Federation of Teachers and the American Sociological Association, which challenged the government’s actions in a February lawsuit.
August 15, 2025 5:06 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) — California Governor Gavin Newsom has announced a special election for Nov. 4 to approve redrawn districts. The move aims to gain five more U.S. House seats for Democrats. It’s a response to a similar Republican effort in Texas, led by President Donald Trump. The nation’s two most populous states have emerged as the center of a partisan turf war in the House that could spiral into other states. Newsom launched the campaign Thursday in Los Angeles, framing it as a battle against Trump and for democracy. California’s new map would only take effect if a Republican state proceeds with redistricting. Some opposition has already emerged, with potential lawsuits and criticism from Republicans.
August 15, 2025 5:02 am
Washington High School football players were back on their home field for practice Thursday, after practicing at an undisclosed location earlier this week for safety reasons. Police say a teenager — wanted in connection with a July shooting in the City of Washington — is still on the run and is now allegedly making threats against members of the football team. Authorities are not naming the teen because he is being charged as a juvenile, but they are urging him to turn himself in “for his safety and everyone else’s.” Washington School District Superintendent George Lammay says that he, school police, city police and the coaching staff agreed the threat had to be taken seriously. “We just felt we had to err on the side of caution to keep our kids safe,” Lammay said. Extra school police and city officers were on hand when the team returned to the field Thursday. Another teen, 16 year old Tristan Lassic was taken into custody last week and faces charges that include attempted homicide for that July 29th shooting of Rashard Carter along Shannon Avenue.
August 15, 2025 4:53 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Pam Bondi has named the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration as Washington’s “emergency police commissioner,” saying she is granting him the powers of the police chief amid President Donald Trump’s takeover. Bondi said in an directive issued Thursday evening that DEA boss Terry Cole will assume “powers and duties vested in the District of Columbia Chief of Police.” But the capital’s attorney general responded that Bondi’s order was “unlawful” and said local officers must continue to follow Police Chief Pamela Smith’s orders. Mayor Muriel Bowser says “there is no statute that conveys the District’s personnel authority to a federal official.”
August 15, 2025 4:51 am
TOKYO (AP) — Japan is paying tribute tribute to more than 3 million war dead as the country marks its surrender 80 years ago, ending World War II. But there is growing concern about the fading memories of the tragedy of war and the bitter lessons from the era of Japanese militarism. In a national ceremony Friday at Tokyo’s Budokan hall, about 4,500 officials and bereaved families and their descendants observed a moment of silence at noon. Just a block away at Yasukuni Shrine, seen by Asian neighbors as a symbol of militarism, dozens of rightwing politicians came to pray.
August 15, 2025 4:50 am
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump is meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska at a U.S. military base for a crucial summit. This Friday’s meeting could influence the war in Ukraine and European security. Trump aims to showcase his skills as a dealmaker. For Putin, it’s a chance to negotiate terms that favor Russia. The summit excludes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, which could undermine Ukraine’s interests. Trump has expressed hopes for a broader peace deal, but success is uncertain. The meeting’s outcome could have significant implications for international relations and U.S. diplomacy.
