March 20, 2025 2:13 am
A driver at the Hollywood Casino at the Meadows has died after a crash on the track Wednesday afternoon. 27-year-old driver Hunter Myers was injured in an accident involving six horses during the 11th race. He was flown to a Pittsburgh area hospital where family members said he was being treated for a brain injury. According to a post on DRF (Daily Racing Form), Myers was thrown from the bike after leader Uptown Callie, driven by Dave Palone, made a break before three-quarters and triggered a chain reaction spill impacting several horses. Myers was reportedly thrown backward, apparently hitting his head on the track. According to the DRF post, the other drivers involved suffered no serious injuries. Officials with the Meadows Standardbred Owners Association say that out of respect to the Meadows Racing Community, the Meadows has cancelled racing for the remainder of the week. (Photo: Hollywood Casino at the Meadows)
March 19, 2025 5:21 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged Wednesday and signaled that it still expects to cut rates twice this year, though more policymakers forecast fewer cuts. The Fed also now expects the economy to grow more slowly this year and next than it did three months ago, according to a set of quarterly economic projections also released Wednesday. It also expects the unemployment rate to tick higher, to 4.4%. Policymakers also expect inflation will pick up slightly by the end of this year, to 2.7% from its current level of 2.5%. Bother are above the central bank’s 2% target.
March 19, 2025 5:18 pm
ROME (AP) — Pope Francis’s condition has continued to improve and he no longer needs to use noninvasive mechanical ventilation to help him breathe at night. The Vatican said 88-year-old pontiff is also reducing his reliance on high-flow supplemental oxygen during the day. His double pneumonia infection, while not completely eliminated, is under control, the Holy See press office said. Francis celebrated Mass on Wednesday, which is an important feast day for the Catholic Church and is the anniversary of his installation as pope 12 years ago. Francis has been at Rome’s Gemelli hospital since Feb. 14 for a complex lung infection that turned into pneumonia in both lungs. (Photo: AP)
March 19, 2025 5:17 pm
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — President Donald Trump has suggested to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that the U.S. should take ownership of Ukrainian power plants to ensure the critical facilities’ security. According to a White House statement, Trump told Zelenskyy during a call Wednesday that the U.S could be “very helpful in running those plants with its electricity and utility expertise.” Trump added that “American ownership of those plants could be the best protection for that infrastructure.” The idea was floated even as the Trump administration looks to finalize an agreement to gain access to Ukraine’s critical minerals as partial repayment for U.S. support for Ukraine during the war. Wednesday’s call, which both sides say went well, comes weeks after Zelenskyy’s disastrous White House visit.
March 19, 2025 5:07 am
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have returned to Earth after being stuck in space for more than nine months. Their SpaceX capsule parachuted into the Gulf of Mexico early Tuesday evening, just hours after departing the International Space Station. The splashdown brought their space saga to an end. It all began with a bungled Boeing test flight last year. The two expected to be gone a week or so after launching on Boeing’s new Starliner capsule. So many problems cropped up that NASA ordered Starliner back empty and reassigned Williams and Wilmore to SpaceX for the ride home.
March 19, 2025 5:03 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge has blocked enforcement of President Donald Trump’s executive order banning transgender people from serving in the U.S. military. Judge Ana Reyes in Washington, D.C., ruled Tuesday that Trump’s order to exclude transgender troops from military service likely violates their constitutional rights. The judge issued a preliminary injunction requested by attorneys for six transgender people who are active-duty service members and two others seeking to join the military. She delayed her order until Friday to give the administration time to appeal.
March 19, 2025 5:02 am
SEATTLE (AP) — Attacks on property carrying the logo of Elon Musk’s electric-car company are cropping up from coast to coast and even overseas. Tesla showrooms, vehicle lots, charging stations and even privately owned cars have been targeted. Not all of the incidents have been definitively linked to politics, but there has been a clear uptick since President Donald Trump took office and empowered Musk to oversee a new Department of Government Efficiency that is slashing government spending. Experts on domestic extremism say Tesla is a predictable target for left-wing anarchist violence, even if it’s impossible to know yet if the spate of violence is a passing fad or the beginning of a worrisome trend.
March 19, 2025 5:01 am
DALLAS (AP) — Unredacted documents related to the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy have been released following an order by President Donald Trump shortly after he took office. The documents were posted on the website of the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration on Tuesday evening. The vast majority of the National Archives’ collection of over 6 million pages of records, photographs, motion pictures, sound recordings and artifacts related to the assassination have previously been released.
March 19, 2025 4:48 am
A Washington woman has been charged with stealing from the Wash High Football Boosters Club. According to the Criminal Complaint, on January 13, police were dispatched to Washington High School, where Head Football Coach Mike Bosnic, and Booster club leaders reported a significant amount of money had been taken from the club. City Detectives began an investigation. Officials identified 38-year-old Nicole Cook, the Vice President of the Wash High football boosters, as someone who used the group’s bank card for multiple unauthorized transactions. All told, there were more than 18 unauthorized uses totaling more than 43-hundred dollars. In early February she told investigators that she was struggling for money. Purchases were allegedly made at Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club and Dick’s and used for rent. Cook reportedly paid some of the money back. Cook is charged with Theft by Unlawful Taking and other charges at District Judge Kelly Stewart’s court.
March 19, 2025 4:43 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Voters in a western Pennsylvania state House district will be filling a vacancy next week and deciding which party will hold the speakership. The district at stake in a special election on Tuesday includes towns along the Mon Valley steel region southeast of Pittsburgh. The race pits McKeesport Police Officer Dan Goughnour, the Democrat, against longtime volunteer firefighter and current White Oak Borough Council President Chuck Davis, the Republican. Since Democratic state Rep. Matt Gergely died in January, the House has been deadlocked at 101 to 101. Democrats hope to keep the seat and maintain Democratic Speaker Joanna McClinton as the chamber’s presiding officer.
