February 27, 2025 5:00 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is using a visit to Washington to press President Donald Trump not to abandon Ukraine as he looks to find a quick endgame to Russia’s bloody invasion of its neighbor. With a mix of flattery and frank talk, the center-left Starmer made the case to the Republican president to remain cautious as he goes about ending the biggest conflict in Europe since World War II. The British premier started the visit by delivering an invitation from King Charles III to come to Scotland for a “historic” state visit — noting it was an “unprecedented” honor since Trump already had been given the royal treatment by Queen Elizabeth II during his first term.
February 27, 2025 4:59 am
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico has sent infamous drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero to the United States along with 28 other prisoners requested by the U.S. government. Caro Quintero was behind the killing of a U.S. DEA agent in 1985. Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office said in a statement that the 29 prisoners removed to the U.S. Thursday faced charges related to drug trafficking among other crimes. The unprecedented show of security cooperation comes as top Mexican officials are in Washington trying to head off the Trump administration’s threat of imposing 25% tariffs on all Mexican imports.
February 27, 2025 4:59 am
Washington and Jefferson College has announced that all in-person activities will resume today and all students are expected to attend classes. In a release, President Elizabeth MacLeod Walls said “I am very happy to share with you that, thanks to outstanding and collaborative work across departments, we identified the individual who posted threatening remarks on Yik Yak. This individual already has a binding agreement with W&J not to be on campus; all evidence we have gathered indicates that he is not on campus and points to him being several hours away. Law enforcement will be recommending that prosecutors pursue legal recourse to ensure that the individual is held accountable for his actions. Our Student Life staff and others will take further disciplinary action regarding the student’s violation of our Code of Conduct and other policies.” The identity of the individual was not released. Yik Yak is an anonymous online platform that is used by college students. The anonymous threat reportedly asked, “How many people you think I can kill if I shoot the joint up?” And an anonymous response saying “30-50”. She thanked the “outstanding and collaborative work across departments”. As a result of the incident, she says they will be arranging for active shooter training again this spring.
February 26, 2025 5:47 pm
LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — A child who was not vaccinated has died from measles in West Texas. It’s the first death in an outbreak that began late last month and the first from measles in the U.S. since 2015. The Texas Department of State Health Services said Wednesday in a statement that the death was a “school-aged child who was not vaccinated” and had been hospitalized last week. Covenant Children’s Hospital in Lubbock didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment, nor did Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s office. There are 124 cases of measles across nine Texas counties.
February 26, 2025 5:45 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s administration says federal agencies should begin planning to eliminate employee positions. The process is known as a reduction in force. Agency leaders must submit their plans by March 13. Trump is setting the stage for what could become a dramatic realignment of the federal government. He’s already downsized the workforce by laying off probationary employees. Now the administration is turning its attention to career officials with civil service protection. Trump foreshadowed this goal in an executive order that he signed with Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur who’s advising the Republican president on overhauling the government.
February 26, 2025 1:44 pm
NEW YORK (AP) — Michelle Trachtenberg, the actor known for “Gossip Girl,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Harriet the Spy” died Wednesday. She was 39. New York City police say they responded to a call at a residential high-rise building in Manhattan where they found Trachtenberg unresponsive and emergency medical services pronounced her dead at the scene. No criminal involvement is suspected and the investigation remains ongoing. Trachtenberg rose to fame at just 10, as the plucky titular snoop in the 1996 film “Harriet the Spy.” Representatives for Trachtenberg did not immediately respond to a request for comment. (Photo: AP)
February 26, 2025 9:08 am
Following a threat on Yik Yak, an anonymous platform used by college students, officials at Washington & Jefferson College say law enforcement from Washington, East Washington, South Strabane, and State Police have sent or will be sending officers to campus and there will continue to be a police presence at large events and gathering times. School officials say they are taking the threat seriously and are aggressively investigating the post, including specifically the identity of the individual who posted the threat. Officials say Yik Yak has received a Magistrate-approved warrant to submit information on the individual and the school is exercising its internal systems to uncover this person’s identity as well. They say they will take action immediately when the perpetrator is known. Officials say that because this person is affiliated with W&J, and because the campus is integrated into downtown and residential Washington, they do not have a way to keep the perpetrator from entering campus, but will take steps to enhance safety on campus. Between now and end-of-business Friday, faculty who wish to do so, are encouraged to move their classes online; staff who wish to work remotely may do so with their supervisor’s permission; students may choose not to attend in-person classes or activities, but should they choose to do so they must inform faculty in advance. Officials say they hope to resume all in-person activity on Monday.
February 26, 2025 5:01 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — More than 20 civil service employees resigned Tuesday from billionaire Trump adviser Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, saying they were refusing to use their technical expertise to “dismantle critical public services.” “We swore to serve the American people and uphold our oath to the Constitution across presidential administrations,” the 21 staffers wrote in a joint resignation letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press. “However, it has become clear that we can no longer honor those commitments.” The employees also warned that many of those enlisted by Musk to help him slash the size of the federal government under President Donald Trump’s administration were political ideologues who did not have the necessary skills or experience for the task ahead of them. The mass resignation of engineers, data scientists, designers and product managers is a temporary setback for Musk and the Republican president’s tech-driven purge of the federal workforce. It comes amid a flurry of court challenges that have sought to stall, stop or unwind their efforts to fire or coerce thousands of government workers out of jobs.
February 26, 2025 4:57 am
CHICAGO (AP) — Pilots on a Southwest Airlines flight attempting to land at Chicago’s Midway Airport were forced to climb back into the sky to avoid another aircraft crossing the runway. Airport webcam video posted to X shows the Southwest plane approaching a runway just before 9 a.m. Tuesday before its nose abruptly pulls up. A smaller jet is seen crossing the runway that the passenger plane was set to use. Southwest Airlines says Flight 2504 from Omaha, Nebraska, safely landed after the crew performed a precautionary go-around to avoid a possible conflict with another aircraft that entered the runway. The Federal Aviation Administration says the second plane, a business jet, entered the runway without authorization.
February 26, 2025 4:55 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans have muscled their budget blueprint to passage, with a push from President Donald Trump. The vote late Tuesday evening is a crucial step toward delivering what he’s called his “big, beautiful bill,” with $4.5 trillion in tax breaks and $2 trillion in spending cuts. It kickstarts a weeks-long process to draft the details and merge it with the Senate’s package. The vote was 217-215 with all Democrats opposed. But even some Republicans are uneasy. As Elon Musk is tearing through the federal government, Republicans are being hammered at town halls back home. It’s a familiar GOP problem that slashing federal spending is easier said than done, as constituents rely on Medicaid and other programs and services.
