October 16, 2026 3:48 am
Washington Mayor JoJo Burgess met with the city’s administrator, engineer, representatives from the DEP, and a representative from Senator Camera Bartolotta’s office Thursday morning for a walking tour of problem areas that are causing consistent flooding in the city. Burgess says the meeting produced some answers to questions on flood mitigation in the city moving forward – which were either unknown at the time or misunderstood. He says in the next several weeks, steps will be taken to address some of the problems, which may include working with other municipalities and business and property owners.
October 16, 2026 3:51 am
Representative Tim O’Neal announced he is spearheading a six-bill legislative package that will address the state’s growing property tax burden, improve school district accountability, and give homeowners greater control over the taxes they pay. Representatives Marc Anderson, Jack Rader, Ryan Warner, and Ann Flood joined him in introducing these bills. The bills are designed to provide relief and strengthen taxpayer protections. The package would give taxpayers a say in property tax increases, establish annual limits on county property tax increases, require voter approval for major school construction debt, close loopholes in school district borrowing, encourage responsible education spending, and provide counties with a new property tax relief option. O’Neal emphasized that meaningful reforms like these should not be delayed.
October 16, 2026 4:10 am
(AP) — Authorities say a 16-year-old opened fire at an elementary school in Bend, Oregon, killing three children and a teacher. He was shot by a person at the scene who pursued him into the school. Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz says authorities found the suspect dead inside the school minutes after the shooting Thursday was first reported. Krantz says the three children killed were aged 5, 8 and 11. A 7-year-old child and a teacher were injured and taken to a hospital in critical condition. Police say the attacker forced his way into the school by shooting at locked doors. A Bend police spokesperson says he was shot and went down inside the school shortly after officers arrived.
October 16, 2026 4:16 am
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine attacked a Russian oil refinery, abandoning a brief truce involving energy-related targets that it said Moscow did not heed. The strike happened Thursday as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he felt betrayed by President Donald Trump. The drone strike started a fire at the refinery about 300 kilometers (180 miles) southeast of Moscow. The attack could further complicate Kyiv’s relations with Trump, which have soured again in recent days. Zelenskyy said he was outraged by Russia’s continuing aerial bombardment of his country’s energy infrastructure in apparent defiance of Trump’s demand on Sunday for both sides to halt those attacks. On Thursday, Trump openly declared his dislike of Zelenskyy in an interview with Newsmax.
October 16, 2026 10:18 am
(AP) — The United States is making an unprecedented attempt to revive three shuttered nuclear plants to meet growing demand, especially from data centers. No commercial nuclear reactor is known to have resumed generating electricity after beginning the decommissioning process that removes one from service. However, some reactors have restarted after long outages. The federal government is lending as much as $4.4 billion to restart power plants in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Iowa. The plants all closed before their licenses expired, largely because their electricity was considered too expensive. Two of the plants have contracts to power data centers. The Trump administration is pushing hard to deploy nuclear power.
October 16, 2026 4:13 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — FBI employees fired for their roles in the investigation of President Donald Trump’s retention of classified documents at his Florida estate are suing to get their jobs back, calling their terminations unlawful acts of “political retribution.” Thursday’s complaint adds to the legal challenges to mass terminations under FBI Director Kash Patel of agents who participated in investigations of the Republican president or are seen as opposed to Trump administration interests. The suit was filed in federal court in Washington on behalf of nine agents, intelligence analysts and staff operations specialists fired in February. Patel says employees he has fired had “weaponized” the FBI.
October 16, 2026 4:11 am
MIAMI (AP) — Hurricane Trudy has strengthened as it approaches the Pacific coast of Mexico. The U.S. National Hurricane Center reports Thursday that Trudy was about 230 miles southwest of Acapulco, with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph. The hurricane was moving north-northwest at 7 miles per hour and is expected to approach southwestern and west-central Mexico this weekend. The center says Trudy is on track to become a major hurricane on Friday, bringing rainfall of 4 to 8 inches across Colima and Jalisco states through the weekend.
October 16, 2026 4:15 am
SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Drone attacks on cargo ships in the Black Sea this month have raised concerns among NATO members. The attacks, near Romania and Bulgaria, threaten global shipping routes and have resulted in deaths and missing crew members. Russia is suspected, but evidence is lacking. NATO members fear these incidents could draw other countries into the war for Ukraine. Romanian airspace has been repeatedly violated by Russian drones. NATO is discussing security measures, but its defense clause may not cover these attacks. The situation highlights the growing threat and the need for increased counter-drone capabilities in the region.
October 15, 2026 10:30 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has announced the Pentagon will no longer livestream the execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan. The decision comes after bipartisan criticism and Vice President JD Vance’s comments that he would not watch it. Trump says in a social media post that airing the execution might deter terrorism but acknowledges many prefer not to see it. The Pentagon has scheduled Hasan’s execution for Dec. 3. Trump states victims’ families can attend in person if they choose. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s initial announcement of a public execution faced backlash, with concerns about potential radicalization from the images. (Photo: AP)
October 15, 2026 8:52 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Wholesale inflation rose more quickly than expected last month on a big jump in fuel costs, a sign that stubbornly rising prices remain an economic challenge for consumers and a political problem for Republicans in the midterm elections. The Labor Department’s producer price index — which captures inflation before it reaches consumers — soared 6.3% in September from a year ago, up from 5.6% in August and the biggest increase since December 2022, the government said Thursday. Thursday’s data amplifies the better-known consumer price index, released Wednesday, which also accelerated in September as gas prices jumped. Both inflation reports raise pressure on the inflation-fighters at the Federal Reserve to hike their key interest rate.
