April 9, 2025 4:47 am
Shares of U.S. Steel are hitting a 52-week high after President Donald Trump ordered a new national security review of Nippon Steel’s proposed bid to buy U.S. Steel for nearly $15 billion. President Joe Biden blocked the deal just before leaving office and Trump had vowed to do the same in previous months. Late Monday Trump ordered the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States to review the transaction “to assist me in determining whether further action in this matter may be appropriate.” Shares soared 16% Monday and they are up modestly Tuesday.
April 9, 2025 4:45 am
North Franklin Township Board of Supervisors took action to improve infrastructure and community development in the region. One of the highlights of the meeting was the board’s award of a $771,305.25 contract to Tresco Paving for the construction of the 2025 Road Project. Phase one of the project, which is set to begin this summer, will involve roadwork on several streets, including Vankirk Road, Cleveland Road, Harrison Street, Wilson Street, McKinley Street, Oak Street, Taft Street, Roosevelt Street, Kadon Drive, Milbeck Drive, West Canyon Drive, and Roselawn Drive. Residents impacted by the roadwork will receive a notification letter from the township ahead of the project’s start. Further advancing the township’s plans for recreational improvements, the board also awarded a $670,050.00 contract to Lutterman Excavating, LLC for the construction of the Waterside Park Greenway Project, Phase 1. This project, which is contingent upon final approval from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), is expected to begin this summer. Chairman of the Board of Supervisors Bob Sabot emphasized that the project will greatly benefit the community by enhancing the township’s parks and green spaces. In other business, there was a $20,000 investment for the installation of overview cameras equipped with license plate readers at two key intersections: West Chestnut Street and Franklin Farms Road, and West Chestnut Street and North Ring Road. This initiative, made possible through a joint agreement between the Pennsylvania State Police and the Washington County District Attorney’s Office, is designed to assist law enforcement in criminal investigations, including burglaries and vehicle crashes. Additionally, the board appointed Michael Hilderbrand to the Township Zoning Hearing Board, filling the vacancy left by George Gillo, who resigned due to personal reasons.
April 9, 2025 2:55 am
A federal judge has ordered the White House to restore The Associated Press’ full access to cover presidential events. He ruled on a case that touched at the heart of the First Amendment and affirmed that the government cannot punish the news organization for the content of its speech. U.S.. District Judge Trevor N. McFadden, an appointee of Donald Trump, ruled that the government can’t retaliate against the AP’s decision not to follow the president’s executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico. The decision handed the AP a major victory at a time the White House has been challenging the press on several levels.
April 9, 2025 1:16 am
Canonsburg, PA-(WPXI)-Viatris will spend as much as $335 million to settle opioid-related claims against the Canonsburg-based pharmaceutical company. The proposed settlement over nine years would come in the form of nine annual payments of between $27.5 million and $40 million to states and local governments that would support opioid-related treatment and other efforts. “While the company’s presence in the U.S. opioids market is very small, the company has agreed to this settlement to provide closure on these matters,” Viatris (Nasdaq: VTRS) said in a statement released Monday. “This settlement is in no way an admission of wrongdoing or liability.” Viatris becomes the latest pharmaceutical company to reach a settlement with states, local governments and others over the opioid crisis. There have been about $50 billion in settlements over the past several years, with the most recent being the $7.4 billion announced in January by Purdue Pharma and its owners, the Sackler family. In the Purdue Pharma/Sackler settlement, Pennsylvania will receive $212 million.
April 8, 2025 1:22 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has signed four executive orders aimed at boosting coal, a reliable but polluting energy source that’s long been in decline. Under the orders, Trump will use his emergency authority to allow some older coal-fired power plants set for retirement to keep producing electricity to meet rising U.S. power demand amid growth in data centers, artificial intelligence and electric cars. Trump has long promised to boost what he calls “beautiful” coal to fire power plants and for other uses, but the industry has been declining for decades.
April 8, 2025 1:20 pm
Public health officials say a day care facility in a Texas county that’s part of the measles outbreak has multiple cases, including children too young to be fully vaccinated. West Texas is in the middle of a still-growing measles outbreak with 505 cases as of Tuesday and the state expanding the number of counties in the outbreak area this week to 10. The highly contagious virus began to spread in late January. Three people who were unvaccinated have died from measles-related illnesses this year, including two elementary school-aged children in Texas. Lubbock Public Health director Katherine Wells says day care there had seven cases as of Friday.
April 8, 2025 10:57 am
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks dove following another stunning reversal. The S&P 500 dropped 1.6% Tuesday after wiping out an early gain of 4.1%, which had it on track for its best day in years That brought the index nearly 19% below its record set in February. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 320 points after giving up an earlier surge of 1,460, while the Nasdaq composite lost 2.1%. Uncertainty is still high about what President Donald Trump will do with his trade war. The latest set of tariffs, including a massive 104% levy on Chinese imports, are scheduled to kick in after midnight.
April 8, 2025 10:15 am
Crashes snarled traffic on several major area roadways Tuesday morning after icy conditions were reported across the region. State police said they worked with PennDOT to clear crashes on I-79 and I-376. A crash along the outbound Parkway West near the Carnegie exit involved 13 vehicles. Washington County 911 dispatchers told WJPA News that there we no accidents reported during that time along Interstate 79 here in Washington County.
April 8, 2025 9:19 am
A big energy announcement for Washington County. Liberty Energy, Inc, Imperial Land Corporation, and Range Resources have announced a strategic alliance to support development of a “state-of-the-art power generation facility within the Fort Cherry Development District in Robinson Township.” According to the release, “the strategic collaboration between Liberty, ILC, and Range will focus on a dedicated power generation facility tailored to meet the energy demands of data centers, industrial facilities, and other high-energy-use businesses in Pennsylvania. This initiative, which is being advanced by companies with proven experience in the region, aligns with Pennsylvania’s commitment to fostering innovation and investment in the energy sector.” Brian Temple, President at Imperial Land Corporation says “This collaboration represents an exciting opportunity to foster industrial growth in the region while leveraging Pennsylvania’s vast natural resources for innovative, reliable, energy solutions”. “By working with Liberty and Range we are positioning the Fort Cherry Development District as a prime location for future industrial demand growth. This initiative is a testament to the region’s potential as an energy, technology and data center hub.” Alan Engberg, Range’s VP Marketing & Midstream commented: “Range is excited to power this growing wave of technology and manufacturing opportunities. This initiative with Imperial Land and Liberty provides an attractive site for a scalable data center or large industrial tenant by virtue of being ideally situated adjacent to the heart of Range’s existing natural gas production, in close proximity to the Ohio River, the City of Pittsburgh and a newly renovated international airport.”
April 8, 2025 5:04 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is allowing the Trump administration to use an 18th century wartime law to deport Venezuelan migrants, but says they must get a court hearing before they are taken from the United States. In a bitterly divided decision Monday, the court said the administration must give Venezuelans who it claims are gang members “reasonable time” to go to court. But the conservative majority says the legal challenges must take place in Texas, instead of a Washington courtroom. In dissent, the three liberal justices say the administration has sought to avoid judicial review in this case and the court “now rewards the government for its behavior.”
