September 29, 2026 4:43 am
ATLANTA (AP) — Republican hopes of winning Senate races in Georgia and North Carolina have been fading, and the GOP is increasingly focused on playing defense elsewhere with five weeks until the midterm elections. Republicans haven’t abandoned the Southern battlegrounds, which President Donald Trump carried narrowly in 2024, though they are shifting greater resources to states they see as more competitive. The party now is spending heavily to defend GOP-heavy Texas, and Trump is planning to campaign for the Republican incumbent in Ohio, both places the president won easily in 2024. The shift comes as Republicans are becoming more vocal in their public criticism that Trump has squandered an opportunity to more comfortably hold off Democrats this fall.
September 28, 2026 5:09 am
FAIRFORD, England (AP) — British police say that five men arrested under counterterrorism laws near a U.S.-run air base in England will be released on bail but are still under investigation. The head of U.K. Counter Terrorism Policing said Monday that the men face stringent conditions and “absolutely remain under investigation as we explore multiple lines of inquiry.” Investigators haven’t concluded whether the incident was state-backed. They are investigating a possible link to Iran, Russia or non-state-backed militant groups. RAF Fairford is home to long-range U.S. bombers that have been used in the Iran conflict and has also been the focus of protests by anti-war campaigners.
September 29, 2026 4:46 am
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Authorities are looking into the possibility of a new ransom note related to the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie. The news Monday came nearly eight months after she went missing from her home outside Tucson. The Pima County Sheriff’s Department said Monday and the FBI Guthrie Task Force had been recently made aware of the possible ransom note as well as social media comments related to it. Investigators are working to determine its credibility. Officials did not immediately release details on how they found the note or what was in it. In July, authorities released two ransom notes after the mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie went missing on Feb. 1.
September 29, 2026 4:45 am
ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (AP) — Pope Leo XIV says concerns about artificial intelligence going rogue are not “fake news” and should be taken seriously. He is insisting that safety issues raised by AI experts should be discussed and acted on.Leo dedicated his first encyclical to AI and protecting humanity in its wake. He was asked during a press conference about what the United States and China especially should be doing to prevent AI from posing catastrophic risks to humanity. President Donald Trump has called concerns about AI going rogue a “hoax.” “This is a problem that I think we need to sit down and talk about,” Leo told reporters returning home from France. “We can’t just sit back and pretend nothing is going to happen.”
September 29, 2026 5:10 am
PUERTO SAN CARLOS, Mexico (AP) — Hurricane Polo has made landfall in Baja California, Mexico, with powerful winds and flash flooding. The Category 2 hurricane struck early Tuesday near Las Barrancas, bringing maximum sustained winds of 110 mph. The U.S. National Hurricane Center reports Polo is crossing the Gulf of California and could bring heavy rain to parts of the U.S. Southwest later this week. Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Rachel is moving parallel to Mexico’s coast. The Pacific storm activity is above average this season, consistent with El Niño patterns. Hurricane Nolo, still a Category 3, is moving away from Hawaii, where it caused flooding over the weekend.
September 28, 2026 5:40 pm
DETROIT (AP) — The Trump administration released new fuel economy standards on Monday, relaxing regulatory requirements for automakers to control pollution from gasoline-powered cars and light trucks. The new standards set the industry fleetwide average for light-duty vehicles at roughly 34.9 miles per gallon in the 2031 model year, down from a projected 50.4 miles per gallon in 2031 under rules put in place by the Biden administration. President Donald Trump claimed on his Truth Social media account Saturday that the less stringent mileage requirements would save Americans thousands of dollars on a new car.
September 28, 2026 4:24 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is announcing a new $15 billion steel plant in Iowa being built with backing from an Indian conglomerate. The White House says the project will create the largest steel plant in U.S. history. The White House said Trump will announce the project on Monday alongside steel industry executives and commerce officials. It comes as Trump is trying to energize voters ahead of difficult midterm races including in Iowa, where governor and Senate seats have become competitive. The new mill in eastern Iowa is being built by Mesabi Metallics, a Minnesota-based company owned by India’s Essar Group, an industrial conglomerate.
September 28, 2026 4:28 pm
PUERTO SAN CARLOS, Mexico (AP) — Residents of Mexico’s Baja California Sur state are preparing for Hurricane Polo, which threatens high winds, floods, and mudslides. On Monday, people in Puerto San Carlos feared high tides and waves could breach barriers. Some families planned to head to shelters in Ciudad Constitucion. Polo is a Category 3 storm with top sustained winds of 115 mph. It is expected to hit the Mexican mainland after affecting Baja California Sur. Meanwhile, Hurricane Nolo could still bring torrential rain to parts of Hawaii. The Pacific has seen above-average storm activity this season, consistent with El Niño years.
September 28, 2026 4:48 am
One woman is dead and two others were hurt, following a wrong-way crash on Route 22 in Washington County. The crash happened just after 10:30 p.m. in the eastbound lanes about a half-mile before the Burgettstown exit in Hanover Township. State police said a vehicle driven by fifty-three-year-old Dawn D’Andrea of Wintersville, Ohio, entered Route 22 the wrong way and collided head-on with another vehicle. Authorities say D’Andrea was killed , while a front-seat passenger in her vehicle and the driver of the other vehicle were both flown to hospitals. There’s been no word on the identities or the nature of the other individual’s injuries.
September 28, 2026 5:14 am
Efforts continue to assist local residents and businesses dealing with damage that resulted from recent flooding. The County will host a Multi-Agency Response Center for two days at the American Legion along Park Avenue in Washington. It will be held Thursday and Friday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Officials say the event is in partnership with the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency and will bring together multiple agencies, volunteer organizations, and State agencies including the American Red Cross, Salvation Army and Washington County Department of Human Services. They will provide assistance in regards to understanding insurance coverage, information on avoiding fraud and repair scams, and connections to local community support services.
