March 13, 2025 5:24 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate finds itself in a familiar position, working to avoid a partial government shutdown with just hours to spare. Democrats confront two painful options Friday as a midnight deadline looms. They can allow passage of a bill they believe gives President Donald Trump vast discretion on spending decisions. Or they can vote no and let funding lapse. The top Democrat in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, said Democrats really didn’t have a choice because a shutdown would have far worse consequences for Americans. The legislation would fund the federal government through the end of September.
March 13, 2025 5:22 am
A sweeping storm system moving across the U.S. threatens to bring tornadoes, blizzards and possibly wildfires to different regions of the country. The National Weather Service says an outbreak of severe storms ramping up Friday afternoon could spawn tornadoes, with the greatest risk in Missouri and Illinois as well as portions of Iowa, Kentucky, Tennessee and Arkansas. Heavy snow and high winds in the Great Plains could make travel treacherous in the Dakotas and parts of Minnesota. Forecasters say strong winds and warm, dry weather farther south pose a critical risk of wildfires in northwest Texas, Oklahoma and a portion of southeast Kansas. Severe weather threats are expected to persist into the weekend.
March 13, 2025 4:51 am
LA MALBAIE, Canada (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio may be walking into unusually unfriendly territory this week when he meets his counterparts from the Group of 7 industrialized democracies. The strong American allies have been stunned by President Donald Trump’s actions against them. Just hours after Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs kicked in against close U.S. partners, Rubio arrived in Canada for two days of talks with the top diplomats of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan. Rubio will likely be hearing a litany of complaints starting Thursday about Trump’s decisions from once-friendly, like-minded countries in the G7, notably host Canada. Still, Rubio can expect cautiously optimistic responses after Ukraine accepted a proposed 30-day ceasefire with Russia.
March 13, 2025 4:49 am
BRUSSELS (AP) — Canada and the European Union swiftly hit back at increased steel and aluminum tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump. Canada matched Trump’s 25% increase on steel and aluminum and raised tariffs – that is, import taxes – on a slew of other U.S. goods. Across the Atlantic, the European Union will raise tariffs on American beef, poultry, bourbon and motorcycles, bourbon, peanut butter and jeans. Combined, the new taxes will cost American companies billions of dollars. Companies will either take the losses and earn fewer profits, or, more likely, pass costs along to consumers in the form of higher prices.
March 13, 2025 4:46 am
(AP) – Russian President Vladimir Putin said he agrees in principle with a U.S. proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine. But he emphasized that the terms are yet to be worked out and noted that any truce should pave the way to lasting peace. Putin spoke Thursday at a news conference in Moscow. He said more discussions are needed with the U.S., including President Donald Trump. In Washington, Trump offered guarded optimism about Putin’s statement and reiterated that he stood ready to speak with him. The Russian leader made the remarks just hours after the arrival of Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, in Moscow for talks.
March 13, 2025 4:44 am
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A launch pad problem has forced a flight delay to replace NASA’s two stuck astronauts. The new crew needs to get to the International Space Station before Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams can head home after nine months in orbit. Concerns over a critical hydraulic system arose less than four hours before the Falcon rocket’s planned evening liftoff from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center. The decision to cancel finally came down with less than an hour remaining in the countdown. Officials say the launch is off until at least Friday.
March 13, 2025 4:41 am
ROME (AP) — Pope Francis marked the 12th anniversary of his papacy Thursday with increasingly positive medical updates four weeks into his hospitalization for double pneumonia. The pope spent another tranquil night, the Vatican said in its brief morning statement. A chest X-ray confirmed improvements, the Vatican said on Wednesday, just two days after days after doctors declared he’s no longer in imminent danger of death. The latest medical bulletin said that the 88-year-old pope’s condition remained stable, but indicated a complex picture considering his overall fragility.
March 13, 2025 4:28 am
City of Washington frefighters were called out to a structure fire at 2:35 Wednesday morning. The fire was located in the 400 block of Second Street. When firefighters arrived they found an active fire. According to 9-1-1 officials, the fire was brought under control in about 30 minutes. Two adults and a dog were affected by the fire, one of the adults was treated for smoke inhalation at the scene. The fire marshal will arrive later today to determine the cause of the fire.
March 13, 2025 4:24 am
Washington County held its first annual Real Estate Expo on Wednesday. Part of the event was the State of the County address. Commissioners Nick Sherman and Electra Janis detailed a number of projects that the county is involved with. They also made one big announcement about a big box store coming to the site of the soon to be demolished Washington Mall. Costco will be moving in. According to Commissioner Nick Sherman, bids to demolish the old Washington Mall will go out soon. Other projects include the construction of the new Public Safety Building on the site of the Courthouse Square Building, the addition of thirty cabins and RV sites at Cross Creek county park. Also, the construction of the new AHN Canonsburg Hospital, continued support for the UPMC Washington Hospital merger and welcoming a new medical partner WVU Medicine that will be moving into Southpointe.
March 13, 2025 2:51 am
A Washington County Court Jury deliberated for just a few hours Thursday before returning a not guilty verdict in the trial of 81-year-old Anthony Ardeno of Canton Township. Ardeno was facing multiple charges related to the alleged rape of a girl over a period of several years, from the time she was five-years-old until she was eleven. Prosecutors laid out their case during the trial by calling on the victim’s divorced parents who had entrusted the care of the victim and her brother to Ardeno several days a week when the mother had to work at night during her days of custody. Testimony revealed that Ardeno told the girl not to say anything to anyone regarding the assaults. Finally, a school counselor was told of the assaults while they were trying to figure out the victim’s chronic absenteeism at school and failing grades. Victim testimony described the assaults that started as inappropriate touching all the way to full acts of intercourse. Defense attorneys tried to poke holes in the victim’s testimony – pointing to differences in a forensic interview and direct testimony on the stand regarding the timeline of events. Ardeno’s attorney, Lane Turturice told WJPA that the verdict gives him hope for our system of justice and that things went the way for someone whom he thinks is a good man. Ardeno remains in the Washington County jail on unrelated charges.
