April 24, 2026 5:04 am
ISLAMABAD (AP) — President Donald Trump is sending his envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Pakistan to meet with Iran’s foreign minister as officials in the South Asian nation push to revive ceasefire talks. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News that the two would meet with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Saturday. Arachchi arrived in Islamabad late Friday. Leavitt says the White House hopes the talks will “move the ball forward to a deal.” She says Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the president’s national security team will fly to Pakistan “if necessary.”
April 24, 2026 5:05 am
Washington (AP) — President Donald Trump says Israel and Lebanon have agreed to extend a ceasefire between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group by three weeks after talks at the White House. Trump said the meeting Thursday between the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors, the second in the past week, went “very well.” They were the first direct diplomatic talks in decades between the two countries. The initial 10-day ceasefire took effect last Friday and had been due to expire Monday. Trump says he expects to meet at the White House with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun in the next couple of weeks.
April 24, 2026 5:01 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. soldier involved in the military operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has been charged with using classified information about the mission to win more than $400,000 in an online betting market. Federal officials unsealed the indictment Thursday. Gannon Ken Van Dyke was part of the work to capture Maduro in January and used his access to classified information to make money on the prediction market site Polymarket, the federal prosecutor’s office in New York said. He has been charged with unlawful use of confidential government information for personal gain, theft of nonpublic government information, commodities fraud, wire fraud, and making an unlawful monetary transaction.
April 23, 2026 5:11 am
NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump says he is weighing a taxpayer takeover of Spirit Airlines and would aim to resell the troubled carrier after oil prices drop. The president confirmed his continued interest in offering Spirit a financial lifeline after a lawyer told a U.S. Bankruptcy Court that the airline was in advanced talks with the U.S. government on a financing deal. Speaking at an unrelated Oval Office event, Trump said he had “a smart person” in mind who could potentially run Spirit and that he believed the could get back on solid financial footing and eventually be sold for a profit
April 23, 2026 5:08 am
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Police say one person died and five more were wounded after a shooting inside the food court at the Mall of Louisiana in Baton Rouge. Police have described it as a confrontation between two groups. Authorities had initially said as many as 10 people were injured, but the number was changed a few hours after the shooting. Lafayette Parish officials say at least three of the victims were high school seniors from a local school. Baton Rouge Police Chief TJ Morse says five people have been arrested, and there is no ongoing threat to the public. The chief has appealed to witnesses to provide any video of the shooting.
April 23, 2026 5:02 am
In the latest round of tech industry job cuts, Meta is laying off about 8,000 workers and Microsoft is offering buyouts to a similar number. Meta confirmed Thursday it plans to cut about 10% of its workforce in an effort to invest in other parts of its business and for efficiency, as first reported by Bloomberg. Microsoft is taking a different approach by offering voluntary buyouts to thousands of its U.S. employees.
April 23, 2026 12:32 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — A cannabis industry group calls President Donald Trump’s reclassification of state-licensed medical marijuana as a less-dangerous drug “the most significant federal advancement in cannabis policy” in decades. The American Trade Association for Cannabis and Hemp says the Trump administration action recognizes “cannabis is medicine.” The order the Republican president’s acting attorney general signed Thursday Iargely legitimizes medical marijuana programs in the 40 states that have adopted them and allows state-licensed medical marijuana companies for the first time to deduct business expenses on their federal taxes. Critics say marijuana is harmful and policy is being dictated by ”CEOs, psychedelics investors, and podcasters in active addiction.” (Photo: AP)
April 22, 2026 2:28 am
Last week, Washington County received a letter from the Republican Party of Pennsylvania requesting that the Washington County Board of Elections remove Al Buchtan from the ballot in the race for Republican State Committee. The request follows a ruling by a Commonwealth Court judge and was later affirmed by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court that determined Buchtan’s residency is in Greene County, not Washington County. Candidates for Republican State Committeeman must reside in the county they seek to represent. In light of that decision, the Republican Party of Pennsylvania is asking the Washington County Board of Elections to vote on removing Buchtan from the primary ballot for the position. The Board of Elections will convene for a hearing on Thursday, April 23, at 11 a.m. in the public meeting room. “This hearing will only determine whether he is removed as Republican State Committeeman and has no bearing on the Pennsylvania State Senate race,” said Washington County Board of Elections Chairman Nick Sherman. If the motion passes, Buchtan will be removed from the race for Republican State Committeeman in Washington County and will not appear on the May 19th ballot for the State Committee race.
April 23, 2026 2:29 am
AVON, OHIO – The Frontier League, a Professional Partner League of Major League Baseball, which includes the Washington Wild Things, and the longest-running independent baseball organization in North America, announced on Wednesday a comprehensive brand transformation. Beginning in the 2027 baseball season, the league will compete as the National Association of Professional Baseball (NAPB). Officials say the re-branding process began in the fall of 2024 when the Frontier League’s Board of Directors formed a Strategic Planning Committee to evaluate their current position and future opportunities in the professional baseball structure. “With the tremendous growth over the past five years, highlighted by our expansion into Canada along with the Northeast and Southeast in the United States, our Board felt that it was the appropriate time for a detailed study of both our current role and future opportunities,” commented league commissioner Steve Tahsler. “Working with an outside facilitator, the committee determined that we had outgrown the Frontier League brand, and that National Association of Professional Baseball better identified our current structure and future goals.” The transition follows a landmark 2025 season where the league set its fourth consecutive attendance record and led the four Partner Leagues in player contracts transferred to MLB organizations. The league’s 34-year history, statistics, and records, along with those of the individual teams, will still remain.
April 23, 2026 4:59 am
Another teacher in the Laurel Highlands School District is now under investigation. State police confirmed they’re looking into allegations of inappropriate behavior involving a former student in 2009. Police arrested two teachers in the district last month. Martin Gatti is accused of making sexual comments to a high school student. Daniel Cervone is accused of having a sexual relationship with a student back in 2020. At this time, no charges have been filed against the third teacher.
