April 9, 2026 5:06 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — March has been the hottest month on record for the continental United States in 132 years, according to federal weather data. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reports that March’s average temperature was 50.85 degrees Fahrenheit, which is 9.35 degrees above the 20th-century norm. This surpasses the previous record set in March 2012. Climate Central meteorologist Shel Winkley highlights the unprecedented nature of this heat, noting the sheer volume of records broken. More than 19,800 daily temperature records were shattered, and 2,200 places set monthly highs. Experts predict that a brewing El Nino could intensify global warmth.
April 8, 2026 5:42 pm
BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon’s health ministry says that Israeli strikes during the day killed 182 people, the highest single-day death toll in the Israel-Hezbollah war. Israel launched a barrage of strikes in central Beirut and elsewhere in the country on Wednesday as a shaky ceasefire took effect between the U.S. and Iran. Iranian officials have maintained that the deal was supposed to include Lebanon, while Israel and the U.S. have insisted that it does not. The ministry says that another 890 people were wounded in the strikes. Altogether, 1,739 people have been killed and 5,873 wounded in Lebanon in just over five weeks since the outbreak of the war.
April 7, 2026 5:01 am
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran, the United States and Israel have agreed to a two-week ceasefire. The 11th-hour deal headed off U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to unleash a bombing campaign that would destroy Iranian civilization. But hours after the announcement, Iran and Gulf Arab countries reported new attacks Wednesday. It was not clear if the strikes would scuttle the deal. U.S. Vice President JD Vance called it “fragile.” Even before the new attacks Wednesday, much about the agreement was unclear as the sides presented vastly different visions of the terms.
April 8, 2026 4:52 am
CARROLL TOWNSHIP, Pa. — A North Charleroi man faces charges after Carroll Township police said he attacked a doctor and staff members at Penn Highlands Mon Valley Hospital. Court documents police were called to the hospital early Saturday for a report of a violent patient. Court documents said Victor Tyree attacked staff members after being asked not to live-stream video of the emergency room area. Police said surveillance video shows Tyree punching, pushing, and grabbing a doctor and two security guards.
April 8, 2026 3:29 am
North Strabane Township staff moved into their new Municipal Building last fall, but they waited for nicer weather to officially introduce the building to the public. Township officials and several elected officials participated in a ribbon cutting on Tuesday. Township Council President Neil Kelly was excited about the building saying it was desperately needed as their previous building suffered from structural and plumbing issues. Township Manager Andrew Walz said that the building will offer residents amenities that the old building did not have. Residents may rent an event space with a full kitchen for birthday parties, meetings or even exercise classes. Smaller areas are available for business people to rent if they need a temporary office. Instead of constructing a new building from scratch, the township purchased the former Lighthouse Electric offices. County Real Estate records indicate that the building was purchased for $2.75 million. Walz said that $1.6 million in renovations was needed. He said that $1 million of those costs were covered by grants through the state. Walz said the township is not done. A poll of residents last year indicated that they would like an indoor recreation facility. A feasibility study has been ordered for that. Walz said that the site of the old municipal building could be the location for that facility.
April 8, 2026 4:58 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Stock markets are surging worldwide, and oil prices are plunging back toward $90 per barrel after President Donald Trump pulled back from his threat to force a “whole civilization” to die in the war with Iran. The S&P 500 leaped 2.4% after Trump announced a two-week ceasefire, just 90 minutes before a deadline Trump had set for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz. The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared 1,332 points, and the Nasdaq composite rallied 2.9% following bigger gains in Europe and Asia. The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil tumbled 16.1% below $92, down from $119 earlier in the war.
April 8, 2026 5:41 pm
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A federal judge has handed down a sentence of 15 years in prison to a woman who pleaded guilty to selling “Friends” star Matthew Perry the ketamine that killed him in a 2023 overdose. Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett sentenced 42-year-old Jasveen Sangha on Wednesday. Sangha is the third defendant to be sentenced of the five people who have pleaded guilty in connection with the 54-year-old “Friends” star’s death. Prosecutors had recommend a 15-year sentence for Sangha. They cast her in court filings as a “Ketamine Queen” who had an elaborate drug operation catering to high-end clients.
April 8, 2026 5:38 pm
RIVERHEAD, N.Y. (AP) — A Long Island architect has pleaded guilty to murdering seven women and admitted he killed an eighth in a string of long-unsolved crimes known as the Gilgo Beach killings. Rex Heuermann entered the pleas on Wednesday in a courtroom packed with reporters, police and victims’ relatives. His decision brings finality to a case that bedeviled investigators, tantalized the public and spawned true-crime documentaries, podcasts and a Hollywood movie. Authorities say Heuermann killed the women over a 17-year span. Many of them were sex workers whose deaths received little attention until their remains were found buried together along an isolated beach highway. Heuermann faces life in prison and will be sentenced at a later date.
April 7, 2026 4:57 am
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s military says it detected North Korea firing several short-range ballistic missiles toward the sea Wednesday. North Korea has launched missiles in two consecutive days. The latest launches came hours after a senior North Korean official issued a statement ridiculing South Korean hopes for warmer ties. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missiles were fired from an area near the eastern coastal town of Wonsan. Seoul says North Korea also fired an additional ballistic missile toward its eastern waters later Wednesday, without giving further details. The South’s military was also analyzing a projectile launched from an area near the North Korean capital of Pyongyang on Tuesday.
April 7, 2026 5:04 am
RINGGOLD, Ga. (AP) — Republican Clay Fuller has won Marjorie Taylor Greene’s former U.S. House seat in Georgia. Fuller’s special election win Tuesday bolsters a slim GOP majority. President Donald Trump in February endorsed Fuller, a former district attorney, propelling him to the front of a large field. Fuller beat Democrat Shawn Harris, who led the first round of voting in March but couldn’t overcome the northwest Georgia district’s strongly Republican tilt. Fuller will have to run again later this year to secure a full two-year term. Greene, once among Trump’s most ardent supporters, resigned in January after a falling out with the president.
