February 10, 2025 5:06 am
WASHINGTON — (AP) — President Donald Trump said he will announce today that the United States will impose 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports, including from Canada and Mexico, as well as other import duties later in the week. “Any steel coming into the United States is going to have a 25% tariff,” he told reporters Sunday on Air Force One as he flew from Florida to New Orleans to attend the Super Bowl. When asked about aluminum, he responded, “aluminum, too” will be subject to the trade penalties. Trump also reaffirmed that he would announce “reciprocal tariffs” — “probably Tuesday or Wednesday” — meaning that the U.S. would impose import duties on products in cases where another country has levied duties on U.S. goods. Trump on Sunday did not offer any details about the steel and aluminum duties, or the reciprocal tariffs. Trump previously threatened 25% import taxes on all goods from Canada and Mexico, though he paused them for 30 days barely a week ago. At the same time, he proceeded to add 10% duties on imports from China.
February 10, 2025 5:02 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said he is serious about wanting Canada to become the 51st state in an interview that aired Sunday during the Super Bowl preshow. “Yeah it is,” Trump told Fox News Channel’s Bret Baier when asked whether his talk of annexing Canada is “a real thing” — as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recently warned. In the interview, Trump also said he has not seen enough action from Canada and Mexico to stave off the tariffs he has threatened to impose. “No, it’s not good enough,” he said of the United States’ two largest trading partners. “Something has to happen. It’s not sustainable. And I’m changing it.”
February 10, 2025 4:59 am
The U.S. winter virus season is in full force, and by one measure is the most intense in 15 years. One indicator of flu activity is the percentage of doctor’s office visits driven by flu-like symptoms. Last week, that number was clearly higher than the peak of any winter flu season since 2009-2010, when a swine flu pandemic hit the nation, according to data posted Friday morning by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of course, other viral infections can be mistaken for flu. But COVID-19 appears to be on the decline, according to hospital data and to CDC modeling projections. Available data also suggests another respiratory illness, RSV, has been fading nationally. The flu has forced schools to shut down in some states. So far this season, the CDC estimates, there have been at least 24 million flu illnesses, 310,000 hospitalizations and 13,000 deaths — including at least 57 children. Traditionally, flu season peaks around February. Overall, 43 states reported high or very high flu activity last week. Flu was most intense in the South, Southwest and western states.
February 10, 2025 4:56 am
Hamas has brushed off President Donald Trump’s threat that “all hell” will break out if it does not release the remaining hostages held in Gaza by Saturday. A Hamas spokesman said Tuesday that the dozens of hostages would only be returned if all parties remain committed to a ceasefire deal reached last month. Hamas has threatened to delay the next release of three Israeli hostages, due Saturday, accusing Israel of violating the ceasefire agreement, including by not allowing a surge of tents and shelters into Gaza. Hamas and Israel have carried out five swaps of hostages and prisoners in the first phase of the ceasefire. The war could resume in March if no agreement is reached on the second phase.
February 10, 2025 4:54 am
Canonsburg resident Pat Phillips has announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for Washington County Controller in the May primary election. A lifelong resident of the county, Phillips is a graduate of Washington and Jefferson College and has more than thirty years experience in banking, finance , regulatory compliance, and auditing. He has worked for three Fortune 500 companies during his career. Phillips says he “will uphold business ethics, provide a safe work environment, maintain moral standards, improve efficiencies and promote open communication”. Phillips says his “business background, proven communication skills and strong ethics will make this office run efficiently as we lead those involved with the Controllership of Washington County by following business standards and provide accurate and sensible results.”
February 10, 2025 2:45 am
MOUNT PLEASANT —(WPXI)-Mount Pleasant Township Police officers will now begin responding to calls outside of their community. The Mt. Pleasant Township Police Department announced on Facebook on Saturday that they will be offering services in McDonald and Midway Boroughs over the next 30 to 60 days. The department signed a part-time contract to help fill coverage in those boroughs. The post said McDonald is currently experiencing a shortage that officials are working to fix. “While they work to provide the best services and make the best decisions for their communities we are doing our best to also be here and available to help,” the post said. Anyone with additional questions was asked to contact Chief Matthew Tharp, McDonald Borough Mayor David Cooper, or Director of Public Safety Tim Motte.
February 9, 2025 6:00 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump keeps cranking out executive orders designed to remake the government while his ally and adviser, billionaire Elon Musk, hunts for more ways to upend the federal workforce. In his third week, Trump also provoked and then called off trade wars with Canada and Mexico but allowed one with China to move forward. He seemingly made light of potentially thorny political issues while insisting he was serious about the United States seizing Gaza, emptying out its residents and redeveloping the area into “the Riviera of the Middle East.” It was an idea that friend and foe alike around the world rejected.
February 9, 2025 5:57 am
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Hamas-led militants have released three gaunt, frail-looking Israeli hostages and Israel has freed 183 Palestinian prisoners in the fifth exchange of a ceasefire that has paused the war in Gaza. The hostages’ condition and scenes of Hamas forcing them to speak in the handover sparked outrage in Israel. Families again feared for the dozens of others still held in Gaza. Not all are alive. It could increase pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to extend the ceasefire. Up next are talks on the truce’s more difficult second phase, when Hamas is to release dozens more hostages in return for a lasting ceasefire.
February 9, 2025 5:53 am
LONDON (AP) — Ever since Winston Churchill coined the phrase, politicians have extolled the “special relationship” between the United States and Britain. Under President Donald Trump’s second administration, Britain will settle for a merely functional relationship with its former colony turned most important ally. Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government is racing to bolster its diplomatic and economic defenses for a turbulent new trans-Atlantic era. University College London historian Kathleen Burk, who is an expert on U.S.-U.K. relations, says the relationship is in uncharted waters. British officials say Starmer hopes to visit Washington in the coming weeks, but he has yet to receive an invitation from Trump.
February 9, 2025 5:50 am
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has said an elevated U.S. security partnership with South Korea and Japan poses a grave threat to his country and vowed to further bolster his nuclear weapons program. Kim has previously made similar warnings, but his latest statement implies again that he won’t likely embrace President Donald Trump’s overture to meet him and revive diplomacy anytime soon. State media said Sunday that Kim called a U.S. push to boost a trilateral military partnership with Japan and South Korea a “grave” security challenge. Kim was cited as reaffirming “the unshakable policy of more highly developing the nuclear forces.”
