March 26, 2026 5:13 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate early Friday approved Homeland Security funds for Transportation Security Administration and most other agencies, but not the immigration operations at the heart of the budget impasse. The deal, which was approved without a roll-call vote, goes next to the House, which is expected to consider it Friday. It’s a potential endgame to the 42-day shutdown has jammed airports, disrupted travel and imposed financial hardship on workers. President Donald Trump said he will sign an order instructing the Homeland Security secretary to immediately pay TSA workers, but if the bill becomes law that won’t be needed. Democrats have been demanding changes to rein in Trump’s immigration enforcement operations.
March 27, 2026 5:15 am
VAUX-DE-CERNEY, France (AP) — Secretary of State Marco Rubio is in France to meet his Group of Seven counterparts after President Donald Trump attacked NATO over a reluctance or refusal to take part in the Iran war. Some of America’s closest and oldest allies have met the conflict with deep skepticism. Rubio will have a tough time Friday trying to sell the other top diplomats from G7 countries on the U.S. strategy for the Iran conflict, to which almost all nations have raised objections. Trump’s vitriolic comments about NATO during a Cabinet meeting Thursday will likely make the task even tougher. Most of those in the G7 are also members of the trans-Atlantic military alliance.
March 27, 2026 5:14 am
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Israel has launched a wave of strikes on Iran ahead of a planned U.N. Security Council meeting to discuss attacks on Iranian civilian infrastructure. Iran and the United States appeared stuck in a diplomatic impasse, setting the stage for more potential escalation as the first month of the Middle East war neared its end. Air raid sirens sounded in Israel early Friday as the military said it was working to intercept Iranian missiles. Iran kept up its attacks on its Gulf Arab neighbors, with incoming drones and missiles reported in both Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. After Wall Street’s worst day since the war began, Asian shares mostly fell over growing doubts about the chances for de-escalation.
March 27, 2026 2:17 am
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Iran is cementing its hold over the Strait of Hormuz, demanding vessels give up detailed information and detour into Iranian waters before being vetted by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. In some cases, vessels have paid for passage. Traffic through the strait has fallen by 90% since the start of the war, sending global oil prices skyrocketing and creating alarming shortages in the Asian nations that get their oil from producers in the Persian Gulf. Yet ships with connections to Iran and its chief energy customer, China, continue to transit the strait.
March 28, 2026 10:23 pm
(AP – Actor James Tolkan, known for his roles as a cigar-chomping naval commander in “Top Gun” and a gruff high school administrator in “Back to the Future,” has died. He was 94. Tolkan’s booking agent says Tolkan died Thursday in Lake Placid, New York. In “Back to the Future,” Tolkan portrayed the bow tie-wearing Vice Principal Gerald Strickland, who eyeballed students for trouble — in particular Marty McFly, played by Michael J. Fox. Tolkan also portrayed commanding officer Tom “Stinger” Jardian in “Top Gun.”
March 26, 2026 5:25 am
HONG KONG (AP) — Asian stocks have traded mostly lower after Wall Street had its worst day since the start of the Iran war over growing doubts about a de-escalation. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 has closed 0.4% lower, while South Korea’s Kospi has also dropped 0.4%. On Friday, oil prices gained around 1%, and U.S. futures edged up. President Donald Trump said he was postponing a threatened attack on Iran’s energy facilities shortly after U.S. stocks closed with sharp falls on Thursday. The S&P 500 slumped 1.7% for its worst day since January. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1%, and the Nasdaq composite sank 2.4%, after Iran rejected a U.S. offer for a ceasefire.
March 26, 2026 5:21 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Treasury Department plans to print President Donald Trump’s signature on every new U.S. paper bill. Treasury announced the idea Thursday. Treasury says it would mark the first time a sitting president’s signature appears on new currency. The announcement is part of a broader push to put Trump’s name and image on public symbols. Treasury also backs a separate effort for a Trump coin. Earlier this month, a federal arts commission approves a design for a gold commemorative coin with his face.
March 26, 2026 4:57 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court says the state cannot automatically give life without parole for felony murder without weighing each defendant’s culpability in the killing. The high court on Thursday ordered a new sentencing hearing for Derek Lee over a second-degree conviction, but paused it for four months to give state lawmakers time to consider legislation in response. Pennsylvania law has made people liable for second-degree murder if they participated in an eligible felony that led to death. Life with no possibility of parole has been the only possible sentence. The court says the current rule treats a lookout the same as the person who kills.
March 26, 2026 1:52 pm
The Fayette County Coroner’s Office has identified the man found dead in the Youghiogheny River last week as forty-two-year-old William Guidi of Somerset. He was identified using rapid DNA testing and advanced fingerprint analysis. His family has been notified. Two fishermen found Guidi’s body along the river. He reportedly had no ID, wallet, phone or fishing or hiking equipment on him. The coroner says preliminary autopsy findings suggest he died from accidental drowning, but final toxicology reports are still needed.
March 25, 2026 1:48 am
If you happened to notice a large police presence around the W&J Campus in Washington Wednesday afternoon, city police say they were called in to assist with an incident that began in East Washington Borough and ended in the city following a brief foot chase. They’ve released little information, except to say they did take a male into custody and there was no active threat to the community.
