April 19, 2025 11:44 am
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — After a deadly shooting at Florida State University, questions are emerging about how the stepson of a beloved sheriff’s deputy tasked with school safety at a middle school became the accused gunman. Political science student Phoenix Ikner was a long-standing member of a sheriff’s office youth advisory council. But when officers rushed to the university’s student union on reports of gunfire, authorities say it was the 20-year-old who used his stepmother’s former service weapon to open fire, killing two men and wounding six others. The chief of safety for Leon County Schools said the allegations underscore that “none of us are immune to tragedy.”
April 19, 2025 9:42 am
VATICAN CITY (AP) — U.S. Vice President JD Vance has met with the Vatican’s No. 2 official as they the sides spar over the U.S. crackdown on migrants. A Vatican statement reaffirmed good relations but noted there was “an exchange of opinions” over current international conflicts and humanitarian situations involving migrants, refugees and prisoners. There was no immediate word if Vance stopped by to greet Pope Francis, who has been resuming some official duties during his recovery from pneumonia. The Holy See has expressed alarm over the administration’s crackdown on migrants and cuts in international aid while insisting on peaceful resolutions to the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.
April 19, 2025 4:48 am
ROME (AP) — Iran and the United States are preparing for a second round of negotiations over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program in Rome. The talks Saturday in Italy over Easter weekend again will hinge on U.S. billionaire Steve Witkoff, the U.S. Mideast envoy of President Donald Trump, and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. Whether the two men find common ground in the high-stakes negotiations could mean success or failure in the talks. At risk is a possible American or Israeli military strike on Iran’s nuclear sites, or the Iranians following through on their threats to pursue an atomic weapon.
April 19, 2025 4:43 am
PARIS (AP) — President Donald Trump says negotiations between Ukraine and Russia are “coming to a head” and insists that neither side is “playing” him in his push to end the grinding war. The comments from Trump came after Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned earlier Friday that the U.S. may “move on” from trying to secure a Russia-Ukraine peace deal if there is no progress in the coming days, after months of efforts have failed to bring an end to the fighting.
April 19, 2025 4:43 am
The Supreme Court has blocked, for now, the deportations of any Venezuelans held in northern Texas under an 18th century wartime law. In a brief order early Saturday, the court directed the Trump administration not to remove Venezuelans held in the Bluebonnet Detention Center “until further order of this court.” Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented. The high court acted in an emergency appeal from the American Civil Liberties Union contending that immigration authorities appeared to be moving to restart removals under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798.
April 18, 2025 1:40 pm
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Yemen’s Houthi rebels say U.S. airstrikes targeting oil port killed at least 74 people and injured at least 171 others. The overnight strikes on the Ras Isa port sent massive fireballs billowing skyward and left mangled fuel trucks burning. It was the deadliest known American attack yet in U.S. President Donald Trump’s military campaign against the Houthis, which began March 15. The U.S. military’s Central Command declined to comment when asked about civilian casualties. Satellite images of the port provided by Planet Labs PBC and analyzed Friday by The Associated Press showed destroyed tanks and vehicles as oil leaked into the Red Sea.
April 18, 2025 9:14 am
Washington County Acting Controller Heather Sheatler has released an audit her office conducted into last months Real Estate Expo hosted by County Commissioners at Washington and Jefferson College. According to Sheatler, the report and its findings are to “identify the areas of deficiency and/or non-compliance that we fell must be addressed”. The audit presents a detailed breakdown of receipts totalling more than $67,000. It also shows credit card receipts of $4,000 putting total receipts at more than $71,000. There were total disbursements of nearly $123,000 putting the event more than $51,000 over budget. Democratic Commissioner Larry Maggi says American Rescue Plan Act money was used to pay for the event, along with $30,000 that was used from the county’s blight fund. Maggi told WJPA News that he does believe the audit and the letter sent to Sheatler claiming non-payment of bills are connected and called it “politics at its worst”. Sheatler says she does believe the letter and accusations were to discredit her before the primary election. She says the audit has been sent to the State Auditor Generals Office.
April 18, 2025 5:11 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The arsonist who broke into the Pennsylvania governor’s residence while Gov. Josh Shapiro and his family slept upstairs faced little resistance as he smashed windows, ignited Molotov cocktails and crawled inside. A security expert who is retired from the FBI wonders how that happened. State police who protect the governor have pledged to hire an outside firm to review the breach. And it has happened before around the world — at the White House, at Buckingham Palace and at the California home of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Pennsylvania suspect Cody Balmer is being held without bail pending a competency evaluation.
April 18, 2025 5:10 am
JENA, La. (AP) — The world’s largest immigration detention system is on the cusp of explosive growth as President Donald Trump pursues his signature campaign promise of mass deportations. The deportations represent a potential bonanza for private prison companies and a challenge to the government agencies responsible for the orderly expulsion of immigrants. Some critics say the administration’s plans also include a deliberate attempt to isolate detainees by locking them up and holding court proceedings far from their attorneys and support systems. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency is starting to scale up from its current budget for about 41,000 beds to 100,000 beds.
April 18, 2025 5:08 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal appeals court says it is “shocking” that The Trump administration claims it can’t do anything to free Kilmar Abrego Garcia from an El Salvador prison and return him to the U.S. A three-judge panel from the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday unanimously refused to suspend a judge’s decision to order sworn testimony by Trump administration officials to determine if they complied with her instruction to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return. Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III, who was nominated by Republican President Ronald Reagan, wrote that he and his two colleagues “cling to the hope that it is not naïve to believe our good brethren in the Executive Branch perceive the rule of law as vital to the American ethos.”
