December 17, 2025 5:07 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Four centrist Republicans have broken with their party’s leadership over health care. They’ve signed onto a Democratic-led petition that will force a House vote on extending for three years an enhanced pandemic-era subsidy that lowers health insurance costs for millions of Americans. The stunning move Wednesday comes the same day House Republican leaders pushed to passage a health care bill that doesn’t address the soaring monthly premiums coming for those with insurance through the Affordable Care Act. A House vote on the subsidies could come as soon as early January. Even if it passed, it would face an arduous climb in the Republican-led Senate.
December 18, 2025 5:04 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino says he’ll resign from the bureau next month, ending a brief tenure in which he clashed with the Justice Department over the handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files and was forced to reconcile the realities of his law enforcement job with provocative claims he made in his prior role as a popular podcast host. The departure, which had been expected, would be among the highest-profile resignations of the Trump administration. It comes as FBI leadership has been buffeted by criticism over Director Kash Patel’s use of a government plane for personal purposes and social media posts about active investigations.
December 18, 2025 2:25 am
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The proposed $85 billion merger of the Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern railroads has lost the support of two unions that represent more than half their workers. The unions representing engineers and maintenance workers worry the deal will jeopardize safety and jobs, and lead to higher shipping rates and consumer prices. They are now among the most prominent critics of this deal. But the deal does have the support of the nation’s largest rail union that represents conductors and hundreds of individual shippers. The U.S. Surface Transportation Board will weigh the opinions of all stakeholders to determine if the merger is in the public interest.
December 17, 2025 4:52 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Four centrist Republicans have broken with their party’s leadership over health care. They’ve signed onto a Democratic-led petition that will force a House vote on extending for three years an enhanced pandemic-era subsidy that lowers health insurance costs for millions of Americans. The stunning move Wednesday comes after House Republican leaders pushed ahead with a health bill that doesn’t address the soaring monthly premiums coming for those with insurance through the Affordable Care Act. A House vote on the subsidies could come as soon as January. Even if it passed, it would face an arduous climb in the Republican-led Senate.
December 17, 2025 5:42 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith has told lawmakers in a closed-door interview his team “developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt” President Donald Trump criminally conspired to overturn his 2020 election loss. That’s according to portions of Smith’s opening statement obtained by The Associated Press on Wednesday. Smith says investigators had “powerful evidence” Trump broke the law by hoarding classified documents at his Florida estate from his first term as president and by obstructing government efforts to recover the records. Smith says decisions in the investigations were made without regard to consideration of Trump’s Republican candidacy in 2024. Trump has said he’d rather see Smith testify publicly. (Photo: AP)
December 17, 2025 4:54 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States gained a decent 64,000 jobs in November but lost 105,000 in October as federal workers departed after cutbacks by the Trump administration, the government said in delayed reports. The unemployment rate rose to 4.6%, highest since 2021. Both the October and November job creation numbers, released Tuesday by the Labor Department, came in late because of the 43-day federal government shutdown. Hiring has clearly lost momentum, hobbled by uncertainty over President Donald Trump’s tariffs and the lingering effects of the high interest rates the Federal Reserve engineered in 2022 and 2023 to rein in an outburst of inflation.
December 17, 2025 4:49 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Nick Reiner, son of Rob Reiner, appeared in court as he faces charges of first-degree murder in the killing of his parents. The 32-year-old did not enter a plea as he appeared Wednesday from behind the glass wall of a custody area. He was in shackles and wearing a jail suicide prevention smock. The 78-year-old actor and director Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, were found dead from stab wounds in their Los Angeles home Sunday. The couple’s other two children, Jake and Romy Reiner, released a statement saying they are feeling unimaginable pain at the loss of parents who were also their best friends.
December 17, 2025 2:20 am
South Strabane Township wrapped up 2025 with a packed agenda and a meeting that lasted two and a half hours. Supervisors approved the hiring of Peter Stefansky as the township’s new township manager. Stefansky says he has worked in several capacities in municipal government over the years and is looking forward to working in South Strabane Township. Stefansky, who begins work on January 5th, served as the Main Street Manager in the city of Washington. Supervisors also held two public hearings on projects concerning power. In the first hearing supervisors were considering a draft ordinance for solar energy systems. Linda Rumbaugh voiced her concerns about property setbacks and how chemicals used in solar farms can be harmful. She also was concerned about other environmental issues such as noise. In a second public hearing supervisors were considering a draft ordinance governing battery storage systems. Jorgan and Jocelyn Liberatore raised similar concerns about setbacks and questioned whether the light industrial zone is appropriate for such a project. They live near the light industrial zone and feel the industrial zone is better suited for the use. They also are concerned about fire safety in case any of the lithium ion batteries were to catch fire. Both meetings were continued to an undetermined date so supervisors may review and possibly incorporate some of the issues raised at the meeting. Despite announcements regarding a data center ordinance not being on the agenda, approximately a dozen residents spoke for 50 minutes about that ordinance. A public hearing about data centers could be held in January.
December 17, 2025 2:44 am
Washington County Commissioners will vote on a measure directing the County Solicitor to draft an amended Hotel Tax Ordinance that would change fees and distributions of tax monies collected from hotels and motels in Washington County. The initial ordinance from 2001 called for the County Treasurer to receive a 2% administration fee, The Washington County Tourism Promotion Agency (TPA) to receive 25% for salaries and administration, and the remainder to be deposited in a joint account controlled by the TPA and County Commissioners. In 2017 the ordinance was amended to read that the County Treasurer would receive a 4% administrative fee and the remaining 96% would go to the Washington County Tourism Promotion Agency. In a statement released by the county, The County Treasurer stated that a joint account was never established to comply with the original agreement. Commissioner Chairman Nick Sherman stated that they just want to go back to the original agreement allowing input from the county on how hotel taxes are spent. One of the things that Sherman would like to see is a sports complex built in Washington County. He feels that people attending sporting events in a sports complex would spur additional spending in area restaurants, stores, and the casinos. Commissioner Larry Maggi says that he is not sure that the county has the legal authority to amend the ordinance. He wants Commissioners Sherman and Janis to be transparent on what plans they have for the tax revenue. Commissioners will vote on the measure on Thursday.
December 16, 2025 2:37 am
The Washington County Tourism Promotion Agency (WCTPA) is advising the Washington County Board of Commissioners that their proposed change to strip funding from the WCTPA by amending the county ordinance will violate Pennsylvania County Code if enacted. “We were disappointed that the commissioners did not contact us to discuss their intention to modify the ordinance before they presented it today at their Public Agenda Meeting. We would have advised them that the changes they are seeking will violate state law and could end up in litigation against the county,” stated Jeff Kotula, President of the WCTPA. Mr. Kotula pointed to Pennsylvania County Code Title 16, Section 17507 which permits counties to enact a hotel tax and provides the manner it is used. “Our legal counsel informed us that the County Code is clear on how the hotel tax is to be collected, distributed, and used. The code states that the hotel tax is collected by the County Treasurer-who retains four percent in an administrative fee-and the remaining amount goes directly to the county tourism promotion agency to market the county to leisure and business visitors. The County Code does not permit the county commissioners to retain, redirect, or allocate those funds for other purposes. The commissioners do not have the authority to change state law by county ordinance,” Kotula said. “We are certain that when the county solicitor performs his legal due diligence, he will advise the commissioners that their proposed ordinance violates state law and enacting it may result in legal action,” Kotula stated.
