April 16, 2025 5:05 am
TORONTO (AP) — Prime Minister Mark Carney says who will go up against U.S. President Donald Trump is the key question in Canada’s election while his Conservative rival argued Carney doesn’t represent change after 10 years of Liberal Party rule. Opposition Conservative Pierre Poilievre says during the French-language leaders’ debate Canada needs change and Carney is just like his predecessor Justin Trudeau. Trump’s frequent attacks on Canada’s economy and sovereignty have infuriated Canadians and led to a surge in nationalism that has bolstered Liberal Party poll numbers ahead of the April 28 vote. Poilievre is imploring Canadians not to give the Liberals a fourth term.
April 17, 2025 5:09 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration plans to eliminate the IRS’ Direct File program. That’s the electronic system for filing tax returns directly to the agency for free. Word about the decision comes from two people familiar with the move who weren’t authorized to publicly discuss the plans and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.. The program was developed during Joe Biden’s presidency. Users credited it with making tax filing easy, fast and economical. But Republican lawmakers and commercial tax preparation companies complained the program was a waste of taxpayer money because free filing programs already exist, although they’re hard to use.
April 17, 2025 5:07 am
Federal databases show Head Start centers across the U.S. have received nearly $1 billion less in federal funding compared with this time last year. This week, the lag in funding caused some preschool classrooms for 400 low-income children to close in central Washington state. Head Start is a child development program for more than half a million of the nation’s neediest kids. The preschools are deeply reliant on the federal money they receive. Senator Patty Murray, a Washington Democrat, accused President Donald Trump’s administration of having “slow-walked” money appropriated by Congress. The administration didn’t respond to a request for comment.
April 17, 2025 5:12 am
The White House has put forward a new media policy that sharply curtails access to Donald Trump by the news agencies that serve media outlets around the world. It was the latest attempt by the administration to control press coverage. The move would block the AP and other wire services that serve billions of readers. It comes after a judge ruled the White House had violated the organization’s free speech by banning it because it disagreed with the outlet’s decision not to rename the Gulf of Mexico. The White House also said it will ultimately give press secretary Karoline Leavitt the final say over who gets to question her boss.
April 17, 2025 5:02 am
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Crews are working to restore power to Puerto Rico after a blackout across the entire island that affected the main airport, several hospitals and hotels filled with Easter vacationers. The blackout left 1.4 million customers without electricity and 328,000 without water. About 12% had power back at the end of the day Wednesday. The blackout snarled traffic, forced businesses to close and left those unable to afford generators scrambling to buy ice and candles. It’s the second islandwide blackout in less than four months. The cause wasn’t yet known, but Puerto Rico has had chronic outages due to hurricane damage and a lack of maintenance and investment in its power grid.
April 16, 2025 1:50 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge says he’s found probable cause to hold the Trump administration in criminal contempt of court for violating his orders to turn around planes carrying deportees to El Salvador. U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg said Wednesday he could refer the matter for prosecution if the administration does not “purge” its contempt. Boasberg said the administration could do so by returning to U.S. custody those who were sent to the El Salvador prison in violation of his order so that they “might avail themselves of their right to challenge their removability.” If the Justice Department declines to prosecute, Boasberg said he will appoint another attorney to prosecute the contempt matter.
April 16, 2025 8:52 am
President Donald Trump’s administration announced a lawsuit Wednesday against Maine’s education department for not complying with the government’s push to ban transgender athletes in girls sports, escalating a dispute over whether the state is abiding by a federal law that bars discrimination in education based on sex. Also, a federal judge has said she’ll order sworn testimony by Trump administration officials to determine if they complied with her orders to facilitate the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly deported to a notorious El Salvador prison.
April 16, 2025 2:47 am
The Washington County Republican Party kicked off the primary election season by hosting a Meet the Candidates Forum. Nearly 60 people listened to the unopposed row office candidates, Sheriff Tony Andronas and Recorder of Deeds Carrie Perrell join the four candidates vying for the position of County Controller for a panel discussion. Current Acting Controller Heather Sheatler, Pat Phillips, Tony DeLost and Brenda Davis are all seeking nomination for the controller seat in the May 20 primary election. The four answered prepared questions regarding their desire for the office, their qualifications for the office and what accomplishments they would like to have if they became controller. Office transparency, integrity, efficiency, and a removal of politics from the office were all goals of each candidate. Audience questions ranged from how long have you been a republican, to have you ever taken campaign contributions from a democrat? In a more serious note, people did want to know how all candidates would keep political influence out of their offices. Each candidate emphasized the importance of voters to get out and vote on Election Day.
April 16, 2025 4:47 am
Plans were announced in North Strabane Township to apply for Pennsylvania Small Water and Sewerage Grants to help fund stormwater improvement projects on McGregor Drive and Curry Avenue. The proposed project on McGregor Drive is expected to cost approximately $47,902, while the Curry Avenue project is estimated at $250,596.Vince Seyko Project Manager of Gibson-Thomas Engineering for North Strabane Township states that part of Curry Avenue is sinking and is a safety issue. The higher cost of the Curry project compared to McGregor is due to the sinking road needing to be repaved with asphalt. Since the projects will be funded by the state, Seyko says that residents will not face a tax increase. The timeline of the project has not been determined. In addition to stormwater work, the township is preparing to move forward with repairs to the Vandale Bridge. The board discussed authorizing the preparation and advertisement of bids for the bridge project, signaling the next step in securing a contractor to handle the repairs. Also on the agenda was a request from the Canonsburg-Houston-Strabane Veterans Council on a proposed donation to support the council’s annual Memorial Day Program.
April 16, 2025 2:56 am
Washington City Police and State Police are investigating an accident involving a pedestrian Monday evening in the city. Police Chief Steve Devenney tells WJPA News that a juvenile, who was believed to be operating a motorized scooter, was struck a vehicle along W. Chestnut Street at Washington Street near the Post Office. Devenney says the unidentified juvenile was then flown by medical helicopter to UPMC Childrens’ Hospital with life-threatening injuries. There has been no update on their condition. Devenney says the driver of the vehicle remained and the scene and has been fully cooperative. A State Police accident reconstruction team was brought in. Devenney says there were multiple witnesses to the accident but police are asking anyone who may have additional information to contact the police department.
