February 27, 2025 4:59 am
Washington and Jefferson College has announced that all in-person activities will resume today and all students are expected to attend classes. In a release, President Elizabeth MacLeod Walls said “I am very happy to share with you that, thanks to outstanding and collaborative work across departments, we identified the individual who posted threatening remarks on Yik Yak. This individual already has a binding agreement with W&J not to be on campus; all evidence we have gathered indicates that he is not on campus and points to him being several hours away. Law enforcement will be recommending that prosecutors pursue legal recourse to ensure that the individual is held accountable for his actions. Our Student Life staff and others will take further disciplinary action regarding the student’s violation of our Code of Conduct and other policies.” The identity of the individual was not released. Yik Yak is an anonymous online platform that is used by college students. The anonymous threat reportedly asked, “How many people you think I can kill if I shoot the joint up?” And an anonymous response saying “30-50”. She thanked the “outstanding and collaborative work across departments”. As a result of the incident, she says they will be arranging for active shooter training again this spring.
February 26, 2025 5:47 pm
LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — A child who was not vaccinated has died from measles in West Texas. It’s the first death in an outbreak that began late last month and the first from measles in the U.S. since 2015. The Texas Department of State Health Services said Wednesday in a statement that the death was a “school-aged child who was not vaccinated” and had been hospitalized last week. Covenant Children’s Hospital in Lubbock didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment, nor did Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s office. There are 124 cases of measles across nine Texas counties.
February 26, 2025 5:45 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s administration says federal agencies should begin planning to eliminate employee positions. The process is known as a reduction in force. Agency leaders must submit their plans by March 13. Trump is setting the stage for what could become a dramatic realignment of the federal government. He’s already downsized the workforce by laying off probationary employees. Now the administration is turning its attention to career officials with civil service protection. Trump foreshadowed this goal in an executive order that he signed with Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur who’s advising the Republican president on overhauling the government.
February 26, 2025 1:44 pm
NEW YORK (AP) — Michelle Trachtenberg, the actor known for “Gossip Girl,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Harriet the Spy” died Wednesday. She was 39. New York City police say they responded to a call at a residential high-rise building in Manhattan where they found Trachtenberg unresponsive and emergency medical services pronounced her dead at the scene. No criminal involvement is suspected and the investigation remains ongoing. Trachtenberg rose to fame at just 10, as the plucky titular snoop in the 1996 film “Harriet the Spy.” Representatives for Trachtenberg did not immediately respond to a request for comment. (Photo: AP)
February 26, 2025 9:08 am
Following a threat on Yik Yak, an anonymous platform used by college students, officials at Washington & Jefferson College say law enforcement from Washington, East Washington, South Strabane, and State Police have sent or will be sending officers to campus and there will continue to be a police presence at large events and gathering times. School officials say they are taking the threat seriously and are aggressively investigating the post, including specifically the identity of the individual who posted the threat. Officials say Yik Yak has received a Magistrate-approved warrant to submit information on the individual and the school is exercising its internal systems to uncover this person’s identity as well. They say they will take action immediately when the perpetrator is known. Officials say that because this person is affiliated with W&J, and because the campus is integrated into downtown and residential Washington, they do not have a way to keep the perpetrator from entering campus, but will take steps to enhance safety on campus. Between now and end-of-business Friday, faculty who wish to do so, are encouraged to move their classes online; staff who wish to work remotely may do so with their supervisor’s permission; students may choose not to attend in-person classes or activities, but should they choose to do so they must inform faculty in advance. Officials say they hope to resume all in-person activity on Monday.
February 26, 2025 5:01 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — More than 20 civil service employees resigned Tuesday from billionaire Trump adviser Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, saying they were refusing to use their technical expertise to “dismantle critical public services.” “We swore to serve the American people and uphold our oath to the Constitution across presidential administrations,” the 21 staffers wrote in a joint resignation letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press. “However, it has become clear that we can no longer honor those commitments.” The employees also warned that many of those enlisted by Musk to help him slash the size of the federal government under President Donald Trump’s administration were political ideologues who did not have the necessary skills or experience for the task ahead of them. The mass resignation of engineers, data scientists, designers and product managers is a temporary setback for Musk and the Republican president’s tech-driven purge of the federal workforce. It comes amid a flurry of court challenges that have sought to stall, stop or unwind their efforts to fire or coerce thousands of government workers out of jobs.
February 26, 2025 4:57 am
CHICAGO (AP) — Pilots on a Southwest Airlines flight attempting to land at Chicago’s Midway Airport were forced to climb back into the sky to avoid another aircraft crossing the runway. Airport webcam video posted to X shows the Southwest plane approaching a runway just before 9 a.m. Tuesday before its nose abruptly pulls up. A smaller jet is seen crossing the runway that the passenger plane was set to use. Southwest Airlines says Flight 2504 from Omaha, Nebraska, safely landed after the crew performed a precautionary go-around to avoid a possible conflict with another aircraft that entered the runway. The Federal Aviation Administration says the second plane, a business jet, entered the runway without authorization.
February 26, 2025 4:55 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans have muscled their budget blueprint to passage, with a push from President Donald Trump. The vote late Tuesday evening is a crucial step toward delivering what he’s called his “big, beautiful bill,” with $4.5 trillion in tax breaks and $2 trillion in spending cuts. It kickstarts a weeks-long process to draft the details and merge it with the Senate’s package. The vote was 217-215 with all Democrats opposed. But even some Republicans are uneasy. As Elon Musk is tearing through the federal government, Republicans are being hammered at town halls back home. It’s a familiar GOP problem that slashing federal spending is easier said than done, as constituents rely on Medicaid and other programs and services.
February 26, 2025 4:49 am
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Three senior Ukrainian officials say that Ukraine and the U.S. have reached an agreement on a framework for a broad economic deal that would include access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals. The officials, who were familiar with the matter, spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. One of them said that Kyiv hopes that signing the agreement will ensure the continued flow of U.S. military support that the country urgently needs. President Trump called it “a very big deal,” adding that it could be worth a trillion dollars.
February 26, 2025 4:45 am
BUTLER COUNTY, Pa. — (WPXI) – A case of bird flu was detected in Butler County last week, and it has local farmers concerned. “It’s concerning because that’s my livelihood,” said David Jones, the owner of Jones Farm in Cabot. Jones said he’s taking every precaution to keep his flock safe from the viral infection. Pennsylvania’s Department of Agriculture confirmed an infection at a backyard flock in Butler County on Feb. 20, with 610 birds affected. It’s not a commercial farm and the location has not been released. This is the first confirmed bird flu case in Butler County since early 2022. So far in 2025, seven commercial folks and eight backyard folks have been affected in nine counties across the state. Agriculture officials say 2,345,170 birds were lost to the virus. For now, Jones is keeping his 275 hens indoors. He plans to do the same thing when he gets 150 more hens next month and 5,000 turkeys in April. Jones is allowing a few workers to have access to his flock and they will continue to wear clean sanitized boots and other protective gear. He also may have a new protocol in place for customers purchasing eggs at his farm.
