March 24, 2025 4:52 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Top national security officials for President Donald Trump, including his defense secretary, texted war plans for upcoming military strikes in Yemen to a group chat in a secure messaging app that included the editor-in-chief for The Atlantic. This was reported by the magazine in a story posted online Monday. The National Security Council said the text chain “appears to be authentic.” Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg said the material in the text chain “contained operational details of forthcoming strikes on Iran-backed Houthi-rebels in Yemen, including information about targets, weapons the U.S. would be deploying, and attack sequencing.” Just two hours after Goldberg received the details of the attack on March 15, the U.S. began launching a series of airstrikes.
March 25, 2025 4:48 am
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. negotiators are working with Russian representatives on a proposed partial ceasefire in Ukraine. Monday’s meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, came a day after the U.S. held separate talks with the Ukrainian team. Moscow and Kyiv have accused each other of undermining efforts to reach a pause in the 3-year-old war. Both countries agreed in principle Wednesday to a limited ceasefire after U.S. President Donald Trump spoke with their leaders. A major sticking point is what targets would be off-limits to strike. While the White House said “energy and infrastructure” would be covered, the Kremlin declared the agreement referred more narrowly to “energy infrastructure.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he wants to see railways and ports protected.
March 25, 2025 4:54 am
Postmaster General Louis DeJoy has resigned after nearly five years in the position. He’s leaving as President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency have floated the idea of privatizing mail service. DeJoy said in a statement that Monday would be his last day on the job. The head of the U.S. Postal Service had said in February that he had intended to step down but hadn’t set a date. DeJoy’s tenure was marked by the COVID-19 pandemic, surges in mail-in election ballots and efforts to stem losses through cost and service cuts.
March 25, 2025 4:47 am
TOKYO (AP) — The Unification Church in Japan was ordered dissolved by a court after a government request spurred by the investigation into the 2022 assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The church said it was considering an appeal of the revocation order, which would take away its tax-exempt privilege and require liquidation of its assets. The order followed a request by the Education Ministry in 2023 to dissolve the sect, citing manipulative fundraising and recruitment tactics that hurt followers and their families. The church called the court order regrettable and unjust. The investigation into Abe’s assassination revealed cozy ties between the South Korea-based church and Japan’s government. The man accused of killing Abe blamed the church for his family’s troubles.
March 24, 2025 5:52 pm
(WPXI) – High winds blew off a small portion of a Duquesne University building’s roof on Monday. A university spokesperson says the wind pushed a metal cap onto Mendel Hall, then the stucco facade fell onto the sidewalk and street below and exposing some of the building’s wood frame and insulation. No one was on the sidewalk when this happened, nor was anyone in the building. The sidewalk is now surrounded by caution tape. The spokesperson says the building was already slated for demolition in April. “Now the University is having its demolition contractor assess the structure for any other possible dangers before it is removed,” Ken Walters said.
March 24, 2025 5:44 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — Top national security officials for President Donald Trump, including his defense secretary, texted war plans for upcoming military strikes in Yemen to a group chat in a secure messaging app that included the editor-in-chief for The Atlantic. This was reported by the magazine in a story posted online Monday. The National Security Council said the text chain “appears to be authentic.” Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg said the material in the text chain “contained operational details of forthcoming strikes on Iran-backed Houthi-rebels in Yemen, including information about targets, weapons the U.S. would be deploying, and attack sequencing.” Just two hours after Goldberg received the details of the attack on March 15, the U.S. began launching a series of airstrikes.
March 24, 2025 5:06 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Mass layoffs and resignations at the federal government are prompting concerns that a disgruntled former employee may seek to sell secrets to a foreign power. National security experts say that while the overwhelming majority of federal workers are conscientious patriots who would never sell out their country, it would only take one or two informants to cause a significant national security crisis. Counterespionage is a concern even when the federal workforce is stable. But in recent weeks President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency have slashed thousands of jobs. National security and intelligence experts say Russia, China and other adversaries will seek to take advantage of the opportunity.
March 24, 2025 5:46 pm
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) — Lawyers hired by the Venezuelan government have filed a legal action in El Salvador aimed at freeing 238 Venezuelans deported by the United States. They are being held in a Salvadoran maximum-security prison. Jaime Ortega, who says he represents 30 of the imprisoned Venezuelans, says they filed the habeas corpus petition with the Supreme Court’s Constitutional Chamber. He said that by extension they requested that it be applied to all Venezuelans detained in El Salvador. The maneuver essentially compels the government to prove someone’s detention was justified. The Salvadoran government has been silent about the status of the Venezuelan prisoners.
March 24, 2025 2:28 am
SOUTH STRABANE, Pa. — Power has been restored to all customers in South Strabane Township after a crash early Sunday morning. South Strabane Fire Chief Jordan Cramer says it happened around 3 a.m. when a vehicle crashed into a utility pole, an unoccupied vehicle and the porch of a home. The damaged power lines also caused a minor fire in a tree. West Penn Power worked to restore service to some 40 customers along Locust Avenue and Country Club Road. Cramer said the home was to be evaluated on Sunday, but he doesn’t believe there’s any major structural damage. The occupants of the home were unharmed in the crash. An investigation into the crash continues. A short time after the crash, crews were called to the 16-hundred block of North Main Street were a vehicle struck a home. No significant injuries were reported in that crash. (PHOTO; South Stabane Fire Department Facebook)
March 24, 2025 4:46 am
SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP, Pa. — (WPXI) – A teen is dead after a motorcycle crash in Fayette County. The crash happened on Jim Mountain Road at 4:17 p.m. on Sunday. Coroner Dr. Bob Barker said Nicholas Herman, 17, of Springfield Township, was pronounced dead at the scene. The motorcycle was the only vehicle involved in the crash.
