February 24, 2025 5:21 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration says it’s placing all but a fraction of staffers at the U.S. Agency for International Development on leave worldwide and eliminating at least 1,600 U.S.-based jobs. The notices were sent to USAID workers and viewed Sunday by The Associated Press. It comes after a federal judge on Friday allowed the administration to move forward with pulling thousands of USAID staffers off the job in the U.S. and around the world. The agency said in the notices to staffers that it’s starting to cut 2,000 U.S.-based jobs. A version of the notice posted later on USAID’s website put the number of positions to be eliminated lower, at 1,600. The administration gave no explanation for the discrepancy.
February 24, 2025 5:19 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Elon Musk’s cost-cutting team is eliminating jobs at the vehicle safety agency that oversees Tesla and has launched investigations into deadly crashes involving his company’s cars. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has cut a “modest” amount of positions, according to a statement from the agency. Musk has accused NHTSA of holding back progress on self-driving technology with its investigations and recalls. Asked about whether the cuts would impact any probes into Tesla, the agency referred to a statement saying it will enforce the law on all automobile manufacturers.
February 24, 2025 5:13 am
ROME (AP) — The Vatican says Pope Francis remains in critical condition but has shown slight improvement in laboratory tests. He has resumed some work activities, including calling a parish in Gaza City that he has kept in touch with since the war there began. The Vatican’s evening bulletin was more upbeat than in recent days. It said the 88-year-old Francis. suffering from pneumonia in both lungs, hadn’t had any more respiratory crises. The slight kidney insufficiency detected on Sunday was of no concern. He is continuing to receive supplemental oxygen and doctors say his prognosis remains guarded. He received the Eucharist in the morning and resumed working in the afternoon.
February 24, 2025 5:11 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge has refused to immediately order the White House to restore The Associated Press’ access to presidential events, saying the news organization had not shown it had suffered irreparable harm in the matter. But he urged the government to reconsider its two-week-old ban. He said that case law “is uniformly unhelpful to the White House.” U.S. District Judge Trevor N. McFadden’s told attorneys for the Trump administration and the AP that the issue required more exploration before ruling. The AP filed a lawsuit Friday saying that its First and Amendment rights were being violated. President Donald Trump said it was punishment for the agency’s decision not to entirely follow his executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America.”
February 24, 2025 5:08 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – A pair of major public transit projects are underway, including the long-term closure of a key connection between South Hills Junction and Station Square Station. The work could be double trouble for people heading downtown during Monday morning’s commute. Over the next few days, riders should expect some delays and detours. The light rail tracks between Steel Plaza and Gateway stations remain closed heading into the week as one PRT project wraps up and another begins. The brief overlap means delays and detours for riders. The Wood Street Station is closed entirely, so riders will be shuttled between Steel Plaza and Gateway on buses. Riders can expect more detours, through October, during work on the Mt. Washington Transit Tunnel right next to Station Square Station. The tunnel will be closed for the next eight months to replace and repair more than 1,000 feet of light rail track, roadway, and overhead electric lines. During the closure, most trains and buses will be detoured through the Allentown neighborhood.
February 24, 2025 5:03 am
BUFFALO TOWNSHIP, Pa. — A driver was flown to a hospital after their vehicle crashed into a mobile home in Washington County Saturday afternoon. Washington County 911 dispatchers say the vehicle crashed into a building on State Route 40 between Club 40 and East Buffalo Church Rd in Buffalo Township just after 4 p.m. Photos posted by Bentleyville Fire-Rescue show the crash severely damaged the front of a home. First responders worked for two hours to stabilize the damaged structure. Dispatchers say no one was inside the home at the time of the crash. The driver was flown to a Pittsburgh hospital. Their current condition is not known. (PHOTO: Bentley Fire-Rescue)
February 24, 2025 4:59 am
ELRAMA, Pa. — Nearly three years after a devastating fire, a popular Washington County tavern has reopened. Elrama Tavern, which has been in business for decades, was destroyed by a fire in April 2022. Since then, the owners have been working to rebuild. Early Sunday morning, the long-anticipated announcement was made — Elrama Tavern will reopen its doors on Monday. The reopening comes less than a week after a “soft opening” with friends and family. “After a challenging journey following a fire in March 2022, we are thrilled to share our beautiful, cozy and inviting brand new space with you,” a statement on the tavern’s website says.
February 24, 2025 4:56 am
YORK, Pa. (AP) — Investigators are trying to determine why a man targeted a Pennsylvania hospital, taking workers inside the intensive care unit hostage and holding one staff member at gunpoint as her hands were bound by zip ties. A police officer was killed and two other officers were wounded in a shootout that left the gunman dead Saturday. Officer Andrew Duarte (pictured) of the West York Borough Police Department died in a shootout with suspect Diogenes Archangel-Ortiz, 49, who police said was holding a female hospital worker at gunpoint when police opened fire. Officer Duarte was a 2016 graduate of PennWest California, university officials confirmed Sunday. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in criminal justice.A doctor, nurse and custodian who suffered gunshot wounds in the chaos were reported in stable condition. Authorities released no new information Sunday about a possible motive for the attack. They had said that the man knew an individual who was recently in the hospital and that he specifically targeted the ICU.
February 24, 2025 2:12 am
PITTSBURGH, Pa. – A resident of Belle Vernon pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of harboring illegal aliens for financial gain and failing to pay employment taxes, Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today. Andy Ha, 28, pleaded guilty to two counts before United States District Judge Cathy Bissoon. Ha was charged by a two-count Information filed with the Court on January 28, 2025. In connection with the guilty plea, the Court was advised that, from September 2022 to April 2024, Ha owned a temporary staffing agency called Prosperity Services, Inc., that provided workers to companies in the Charleroi, Pennsylvania, area. As part of his business, Ha paid for more than 25 workers who were not legally authorized to be in the United States to stay in a former hotel, and his business paid for vans to transport those workers to and from their work. In addition, Ha provided Prosperity’s tax return preparer with spreadsheets listing only workers who were legally authorized to be and work in the United States. That information, in turn, was reflected on the company’s quarterly employment tax returns, representing less than 10% of the actual total number of workers employed by Prosperity. Ha then also signed those returns, knowing them to be false and causing a tax loss of at least $3.1 million. “The defendant broke the law by harboring and employing individuals not authorized to be in the United States,” said Acting United States Attorney Rivetti. “In addition, defendant Ha cost the U.S. government millions of dollars through his failure to pay taxes related to his business. Our office and our law enforcement partners at all levels will continue to ensure that those who seek to profit from the employment of such workers, and who fail to pay taxes, face appropriate consequences under the law.” Judge Bissoon scheduled sentencing for July 22, 2025. The law provides for a total maximum sentence of up to five years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the gain from the offense, or both on the tax charge and up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the gain from the offense, or both on the harboring charge. Under the federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
February 23, 2025 7:47 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — President Donald Trump says he may put the U.S. Postal Service under the control of the Commerce Department in what would amount to an executive branch takeover of the independent agency. Trump made the remarks Friday at the swearing-in of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. He called the move a way to stop losses at the $78 billion-a-year agency, which has struggled to balance the books with the decline of first-class mail. The Post Office was created during the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia in 1775, when Benjamin Franklin became the first postmaster general. In recent years, the Postal Service has fought calls from Trump and others that it be privatized. (Photo: AP)
