March 7, 2026 4:27 am
DORAL, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump is set to gather with Latin American leaders at his Miami-area golf club on Saturday. The gathering comes as his administration is trying to demonstrate it remains committed to sharpening its focus on the Western Hemisphere even as it deals with five-alarm crises elsewhere. The gathering, dubbed the “Shield of the Americas” summit, comes just two months after Trump ordered a military operation to capture Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro. Looming even larger is Trump’s decision to join with Israel to launch a war on Iran one week ago. The leaders of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guyana, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay, and Trinidad and Tobago are set to attend.
March 7, 2026 4:22 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Newly released videos showing the fatal shooting of a U.S. citizen by a federal immigration agent in Texas last year call into question assertions by the Department of Homeland Security that a driver intentionally rammed an agent with his car. The footage released Friday comes nearly a year after the death of 23-year-old Ruben Ray Martinez. His death was the earliest of at least six fatal shootings by federal agents since a nationwide immigration crackdown was launched in President Donald Trump’s second term. A friend who was riding in the car with Martinez told investigators the driver had not intended to harm federal officers but panicked because he feared getting arrested for driving while intoxicated.
March 7, 2026 4:19 am
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian officials say that at least seven people have been killed and 10 others, including three children, have been wounded by a Russian missile strike on a five-story residential building in Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned Saturday’s attack and called for an international response. He said that Russia struck Ukraine overnight with 29 missiles and 480 drones, targeting energy facilities in Kyiv and other central regions and damage reported in at least seven other locations across the country. In Kharkiv, in Ukraine’s northeast, emergency workers were still combing the rubble in the morning, looking for survivors.
March 7, 2026 6:56 am
HONG KONG (AP) — A subsidiary of a Hong Kong-based company that has lost control of two critical ports on the Panama Canal says it is seeking $2 billion of compensation in damages from Panama over its “illegal” takeover of the ports. Panama Ports Company, a unit of Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison Holdings, said in a statement it is demanding the sum under international arbitration proceedings that it had already started. Panama’s government last week seized control of the Balboa and Cristobal ports on each end of the Panama Canal, after the country’s Supreme Court declared earlier that a concession allowing the Panama Ports Company to run the pair of ports was unconstitutional.
March 7, 2026 1:37 am
It is almost time to spring forward. This weekend will once again mark Daylight Saving Time when we lose an hour of sleep but there will be more sunlight. The time change occurs on March 8th at two a.m. in most areas of the U.S. You’ll need to re-set any manual clocks, most microwaves, ovens, car radios, or anything not connected to the internet before you go to bed on Saturday night. Otherwise, when you wake up, your phone won’t match those devices. It isn’t anything in nature that sets the date of Daylight Saving Time. Instead, it was set by law. The government first instituted standard and daylight saving times as part of the Standard Time Act of 1918. “Federal oversight of time zones began in 1918 with the enactment of the Standard Time Act, which vested the Interstate Commerce Commission with the responsibility for establishing boundaries between the standard time zones in the U.S.,” the U.S. Department of Transportation said. “This responsibility was transferred from the Interstate Commerce Commission to DOT when Congress created DOT in 1966.”
March 8, 2026 3:50 am
The South Strabane Township Planning Commission has once again opted not to take action on recommending a zoning ordinance to township supervisors that would regulate data centers in the township. At a meeting Thursday night, solicitor Dennis Makel indicated that members wanted to take a more thorough look at the ordianance and consider community feedback. He said the ordinance also contained spelling errors. Township supervisors initially wanted to hold a public hearing on the ordinance on March 19, but that will not take place. A March 31 date is available if a meeting venue can be secured. According to the Observer-Reporter, one change in the ordinance expanded the building setbacks from residential properties from 850 feet to 1000 feet. An attorney representing CNX, who owns a 1400 acre tract of land on Zediker Station Road, being marketed as a data center site, sent a letter to the township calling the ordinance exclusionary. He cited the setback requirements, building size restrictions and power and water declarations as irrational and discriminatory. The ordinance may be viewed on the South Strabane Township website.
March 7, 2026 3:55 am
People are asked to stay out of Allegheny County waterways for the next 48 hours after a power outage caused a sewage overflow. The Allegheny County Sanitary Authority issued a statement Friday night saying the wastewater treatment plant on Preble Avenue in Marshall-Shadeland experienced a full power loss between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. During those two hours, the plant was unable to process wastewater, which caused its wet well to fill up and overflow. “As with other overflow events, this resulted in a discharge into the river,” ALCOSAN said. As a result, people are encouraged to limit their contact with river water for recreational use, including boating, fishing and water skiing for the next two days. Duquesne Light has since restored power to the facility. ALCOSAN said it will monitor the situation and provide updates as they are made available.
March 6, 2026 5:39 pm
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump appeared to rule out talks with Iran absent its “unconditional surrender.” Israeli warplanes pounded Beirut and Tehran on Friday as Iran launched another wave of retaliatory strikes against Israel and Gulf countries on the seventh day of the war. The strikes in Lebanon were the heaviest since a 2024 ceasefire ended the last war between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah, who fired rockets at Israel in the opening days of the latest conflict. More than 95,000 people have fled Beirut’s suburbs and southern Lebanon after sweeping Israeli evacuation warnings. The U.S. and Israel have battered Iran with strikes, targeting their military capabilities, leadership and nuclear program. The stated goals and timelines for the war have repeatedly shifted. (Photo: AP)
March 6, 2026 5:41 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — American employers unexpectedly cut 92,000 jobs last month, a sign that the labor market remains under strain. The unemployment rate blipped up to 4.4%. The Labor Department reported Friday that hiring deteriorated from January, when companies, nonprofits and government agencies added a healthy 126,000 jobs. Economists had expected 60,000 new jobs in February. Revisions also cut 69,000 jobs from December and January payrolls. The surprisingly weak employment picture in February adds to the economic uncertainty over the war with Iran, which has caused oil prices to surge and saddled business and consumers with unforeseen costs.
March 6, 2026 1:38 am
Washington County Commissioners met for the first time since an excavator fell into a hole at the demolition site of the Courthouse Square building on Tuesday. Commissioner Chairman Nick Sherman expressed relief that the operator of the excavator is fine. In the days since the accident the office of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has opened an investigation into the accident. Sherman says that the site was turned over to the ADAMO Demolition Company and they assume all responsibility. Sherman says that he does not expect any repercussions from the accident as the county solicitor had a hold harmless clause included in the contract. Commissioners received a letter Thursday from ADAMO saying that they accept responsibility for the accident. Sherman says they are waiting for all of the inspections to be completed so they can restart the project. He says that the current work stoppage will not cause the overall project to be delayed. When asked about any cost overruns due to the accident, Sherman says that there is no worry for that, and the accident will not cost taxpayers any money. Courthouse Square is being demolished to make room for the county’s new Public Safety Building.
