May 28, 2025 5:05 am
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says COVID-19 vaccines are no longer recommended for healthy children and pregnant women. In a 58-second video posted on the social media site X, Kennedy said he removed COVID-19 shots from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendations for those groups. No one from the CDC was in the video. U.S. health officials, following recommendations by infectious disease experts, have been urging annual COVID-19 boosters for all Americans ages 6 months and older. A CDC scientific advisory panel is set to meets in June and will consider recommending vaccination for high-risk groups but still giving lower-risk people the choice in getting a shot. But Kennedy decided not to wait.
May 28, 2025 5:00 am
WASHINGTON COUNTY, Pa. — (WPXI) – The drowning death of 12-year-old Rontae Lester has sent shockwaves through Washington County after the young boy lost his life while swimming with friends in the Monongahela River near Donora in May. State Sen. Camera Bartolotta, R-Washington, is leading a multi-level conversation with state, county and local leaders on how to make the area safer and prevent future tragedies. One key focus is improving education about water safety. Washington County Commissioner Electra Janis emphasized that although Pennsylvania doesn’t have oceans for drownings, the risks in local rivers and parks are real. Leaders are hoping to provide water safety education in schools, teaching students about hidden dangers like water temperatures, currents and drop-offs. Another immediate step being taken is signage. Bartolotta said she personally ordered warning signs online while visiting the site. Beyond signage and education, Bartolotta is seeking grant funding to build a proper launch point for water rescue operations in Donora, as the site where Lester drowned is also where local emergency crews access the river and right now it’s just a clearing.
May 28, 2025 4:56 am
The South Strabane Township Board of Supervisors voted to add a discussion item regarding sidewalks in the Burkett Manor development to a future meeting agenda, following concerns raised about safety and compliance with township codes. Supervisor Jeff Bull, joined by other board members, led the push to address the issue, citing that sidewalks in Burkett Manor do not meet the minimum width requirement of 5 feet as mandated by the Township’s Subdivision and Land Development Code. Currently, the sidewalks measure only 4 feet in width and also lack required structural reinforcement as outlined in township construction specifications. Bull emphasized the importance of addressing these inadequacies for the safety of residents. If the sidewalks are rebuilt to meet compliance standards, the cost will be covered by the developers, meaning there would be no financial impact on taxpayers. In other business, Vice-Chairman Mark Murphy and Supervisor Bull motioned to table the approval of the final land development plan from the Washington County Transit Authority (Freedom Transit) for its proposed operations facility at 375 Berry Road. Bull cited the need for further review due to ongoing changes in the project’s details. The board also approved, by a 4-1 vote, the annual resolution for the destruction of specific public records. Supervisor Bull cast the lone dissenting vote, expressing concern over the permanent loss of potentially important documentation.
May 28, 2025 4:55 am
ROUNDUP, Mont. (AP) — Mining company Signal Peak Energy sits atop a billion-ton coal reserve beneath Montana’s rugged Bull Mountains and ships 98% of the fuel it mines to Japan and South Korea. Congressional Republicans last week advanced a plan to approve a long-stalled permit for the mine, just as President Donald Trump looks to further boost coal exports. Yet Trump’s own tariffs make more exports an iffy proposition for most U.S. coal. Countries retaliating against tariffs might price U.S. coal out of competition altogether. In effect, an escalating trade war could undermine Trump’s goal of saving coal.
May 28, 2025 4:52 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal court is blocking President Donald Trump from imposing sweeping tariffs on imports under an emergency-powers law. The ruling from a three-judge panel came after several lawsuits arguing Trump has exceeded his authority, leaving U.S. trade policy dependent on his whims. At least seven lawsuits are challenging the levies, the centerpiece of Trump’s trade policy. Trump says he has the power to act because the country’s trade deficits amount to a national emergency. The court found the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act does not authorize the use of tariffs. The plaintiffs argued that the trade deficit is not an emergency because the U.S. has run a trade deficit with the rest of the world for 49 consecutive years.
May 27, 2025 6:07 pm
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says COVID-19 vaccines are no longer recommended for healthy children and pregnant women. In a 58-second video posted on the social media site X, Kennedy said he removed COVID-19 shots from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendations for those groups. No one from the CDC was in the video. U.S. health officials, following recommendations by infectious disease experts, have been urging annual COVID-19 boosters for all Americans ages 6 months and older. A CDC scientific advisory panel is set to meets in June and will consider recommending vaccination for high-risk groups but still giving lower-risk people the choice in getting a shot. But Kennedy decided not to wait. (Photo: AP)
May 27, 2025 5:18 pm
(AP) – Guitarist and singer Rick Derringer has died. The musician who shot to fame at 17 when his band The McCoys recorded “Hang On Sloopy” died Monday in Ormond Beach, Florida. He was 77. Derringer had a hit with “Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo” and earned a Grammy Award for producing “Weird Al” Yankovic’s debut album. Derringer’s decades in the music industry spanned teen stardom, session work for bands like Steely Dan, supplying the guitar solo on Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart” and producing Cyndi Lauper. In 1985, he produced the World Wrestling Federation’s “The Wrestling Album,” which would give Hulk Hogan his theme song, “Real American.” (Photo: AP)
May 27, 2025 5:16 pm
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — U.S. Sen. David McCormick says an arrangement for Japan-based Nippon Steel to invest in U.S. Steel will guarantee an American CEO, a majority of U.S. board members and U.S. government approval over certain corporate functions. McCormick spoke Tuesday on CNBC, four days after President Donald Trump suggested that an agreement on a “partnership” was at hand to resolve Nippon Steel’s nearly $15 billion bid to buy U.S. Steel that has been blocked on national security grounds. Trump said Sunday that U.S. Steel will be “controlled by the United States.” Many aspects outlined by McCormick and Trump have been floated previously by Nippon Steel, but Nippon Steel isn’t saying if it’s agreed to this deal.
May 27, 2025 12:31 pm
FAIRMONT, W.Va. (AP) — American gymnastics icon Mary Lou Retton faces a misdemeanor charge of driving under the influence following her arrest in her West Virginia hometown. Fairmont police stopped Retton on May 17 following a report about a person in a Porsche driving erratically. According to the criminal complaint, Retton smelled of alcohol and was slurring her words, and she failed a field sobriety test. Officers also reported observing a container of wine in the passenger seat. Retton, 57, refused a roadside breath test and a blood test. She was released from custody after paying a $1,500 personal recognizance bond. Her attorney listed in court records, Edmund J. Rollo of Morgantown, did not immediately respond to phone and email requests from The Associated Press seeking comment. Retton was 16 when she became the first American female gymnast to win the all-around at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. She also won two silver and two bronze medals to help bring gymnastics into the mainstream in the United States. (Photo: AP)
May 27, 2025 12:08 pm
(WPXI) DARLINGTON, Pa. — A Beaver County drug task force recovered large quantities of drugs while executing a search warrant at the home of a suspected drug trafficker on Tuesday. According to information from Pennsylvania State Police, the multi-agency task force began investigating Cedric Fitzgerald Turner, 55, for suspected narcotic distribution in November 2024. On Tuesday, investigators obtained an arrest warrant and surveilled his Darlington Borough home. He was later arrested during a traffic stop. PSP says during a subsequent search of Turner’s home, investigators found two kilograms of cocaine, one kilogram of fentanyl, five pounds of marijuana, over $13,000 in cash and a revolver. Turner, who was previously convicted of second-degree murder and robbery, is not allowed to possess a firearm. He is being held at the Beaver County Jail with a $25,000 bond on several drug charges pending the federal adoption and prosecution of the case.
