April 9, 2026 2:36 pm
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he authorized direct negotiations with Lebanon aimed at disarming Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants and establishing relations between the neighbors. The two countries have technically been at war since Israel was established in 1948. The announcement Thursday offered a potential boost to ceasefire efforts in the region. There was no immediate response from Lebanese authorities. The tentative ceasefire in the Iran war has staggered under the weight of Israel’s bombardment of Beirut and Tehran’s continued chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz. Netanyahu made the announcement amid disagreement over whether the ceasefire deal included a pause in fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.
April 9, 2026 2:37 pm
(AP) – Air travelers are facing a new reality of higher fees, fewer flights and tough choices about whether a trip is worth the cost. The culprit is volatile oil and jet fuel prices that have been swinging since the war in the Middle East started and fighting near the Strait of Hormuz disrupted global oil shipments. Airlines around the world are responding by trimming schedules and raising fees and fares. Experts say budget carriers and the customers who rely on them will feel the pinch first, but even business travelers and front-cabin passengers won’t escape higher costs. Relief may not come quickly even if oil prices start to drop, experts warn, because airlines can take months to adjust fares while they wait for energy markets to stabilize. (Photo: AP)
April 9, 2026 9:27 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — A key measure of inflation stayed high in February, before the war in Iran spiked gas prices, a sign that everyday costs were elevated even before the conflict began. Thursday’s report is largely a warm-up for the more important inflation data to be released Friday, when the government will publish the higher-profile consumer price index for March. The Friday report will be the first to reflect the impact of the gas price spike from the Iran war. Economists forecast it will show a big increase of 0.9% just in March from February, and a 3.4% gain from a year earlier.
April 9, 2026 5:33 am
Two people were transported to area hospitals after separate crashes early Thursday morning. Washington County 911 dispatchers say one person was transported by ambulance to UPMC Washington Hospital after a rollover crash on the Interstate 79 flyover to Interstate 70 westbound just after 4 a.m. No other vehicles were involved. Earlier, dispatchers say a motorcyclist was injured in a crash along Interstate 70 eastbound just after midnight. The unidentified victim was flown by medical helicopter to UPMC Presbyterian Hospital in Pittsburgh. There is no word on their condition.
April 8, 2026 4:51 am
State Police made hundreds of DUI Arrests over the Easter holiday weekend. Troopers responded to 532 vehicle crashes. Six of those crashes were deadly and 42 were caused by impaired driving. Two of the deadly crashes were DUI-related. 268 people were arrested for DUI this year. Injuries caused by crashes were down this year. Last year, 95 people were hurt during the Easter holiday. This year, 91 people were hurt. Troopers handed out thousands of citations including 3,230 for speeding, 335 for failing to wear a seat belt and 40 for not securing children in safety seats.
April 8, 2026 2:55 am
HARRISBURG — Attorney General Dave Sunday announced that a pair of western Pennsylvania-based amusement companies pleaded guilty to felony corrupt organizations regarding the widespread distribution of hundreds of illegal video gaming devices. The companies — Buffalo Skills Games, Inc. and J.J. Amusement, Inc. — agreed to dissolution and the forfeiture of $5 million in assets, as part of the plea resolution. Investigators seized nearly 400 illegal gambling devices from more than 60 locations in several western Pennsylvania counties, including Washington County. ”This resolution secures a multi-million-dollar forfeiture for the Commonwealth, while assuring the companies will cease to exist,” Attorney General Sunday said. “I commend our partners at the Pennsylvania State Police for helping disband a large-scale operation that involved slot machines essentially dressed up as skill games.” The Pennsylvania State Police assisted the Office of Attorney General’s Gaming Enforcement and Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Sections in a series of 2024 seizures at bars, gas stations, and convenience stores in Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Cambria, Crawford, Indiana, Somerset, Venango, Erie, Washington, Armstrong, and Westmoreland counties.
April 9, 2026 5:03 am
HONOLULU (AP) — A Hawaii doctor who was accused of trying to kill his wife on a cliffside hike has been convicted of attempted manslaughter. Jurors reached their verdict against 47-year-old Gerhardt Konig Wednesday. He had been charged with attempted murder but was convicted on the lesser charge of attempted manslaughter based on extreme mental or emotional disturbance. It carries up to 20 years in prison. Konig’s attorney says he planned to appeal. Prosecutors argued Konig tried to kill Arielle Konig during a weekend trip to Honolulu for her birthday in March 2025. Konig testified he had hit his wife back in self-defense. Konig is a former doctor at UPMC, a University of Pittsburgh professor and resident of Mount Lebanon.
April 8, 2026 4:50 am
(AP) – Authorities say a stairwell roof at a parking garage being built in Philadelphia collapsed suddenly, killing one person and leaving two missing. Mayor Cherelle Parker told reporters that the section of roof at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s garage fell Wednesday, triggering a “progressive collapse of connected sections across all seven levels.” Officials say crews rescued three people, including one who later died at a hospital. Two people were still missing Thursday, and Parker vowed that searchers wouldn’t give up on finding them. She says the project had obtained all required permits and its inspections were up to date.
April 8, 2026 4:57 am
HONG KONG (AP) — Oil prices are rising again and Asian stocks are trading mostly lower on skepticism over a fragile ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran. Brent crude, the international standard, was up more than 2% to above $97 a barrel. Markets in Japan, South Korea and China were all lower Thursday. U.S. futures were also down. Investors are closely watching whether a two-week ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran is already slipping after deadly Israeli strikes on Lebanon. Iran again closed the Strait of Hormuz in response to the attacks in Lebanon. Wall Street closed sharply higher Wednesday after announcement of the temporary ceasefire agreement.
April 8, 2026 4:56 am
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Semiofficial news agencies in Iran have published a chart suggesting the country’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard mined the Strait of Hormuz during the war. The message may be intended to pressure the U.S. as uncertainty hangs over a days-old two-week ceasefire. Further negotiations are expected to be held in Pakistan. The shaky ceasefire has been largely holding between the U.S., Israel and Iran, although Tehran and Washington have offered vastly different explanations of the initial terms.
