February 19, 2026 1:47 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has announced at the inaugural Board of Peace meeting that nine members have agreed to pledge $7 billion toward a Gaza relief package. The president said at Thursday’s meeting that five countries have also agreed to deploy troops as part of an international stabilization force for the war-battered Palestinian territory. Indonesia, Morocco, Kazakhstan, Kosovo and Albania have pledged to send troops for a Gaza stabilization force, while Egypt and Jordan have committed to train police. Troops will initially be deployed to Rafah, a major population center where the U.S. administration hopes to first focus reconstruction efforts. (Photo: AP)
February 19, 2026 1:46 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. applications for unemployment benefits fell last week as layoffs remain at historically low levels. The number of Americans filing for jobless aid for the week ending Feb. 14 fell by 23,000 to 206,000 from the previous week, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That’s significantly fewer than the 225,000 new applications that analysts had forecast. Filings for unemployment benefits are viewed as representative of U.S. layoffs. The total number of Americans filing for jobless benefits for the previous week ending Feb. 7 increased to 1.87 million, up 17,000 from the previous week, the government said.
February 19, 2026 6:53 am
State Police in Summerhill Township, Cambria County have charged a McDonald woman with theft by deception and financial exploitation after they say she led her mother to believe she was being held against her will and needed the money to be released. Troopers say 42 year old Erica Bardell later admitted that she was not in danger and was “just trying to get money”. According to the criminal complaint, Bardell received $1,400 through electronic transfers from her 70 year old mother who lives in Portage, Pa.
February 19, 2026 4:51 am
No injuries are reported after a crash knock down several poles and wires in Canton Township early Thursday morning. It happened around 12:30 a.m. at Jefferson Avenue and Brush Run Road. Crews from West Penn Power were called in to make repairs and the crash reportedly did knock out power to some customers. West Penn Power’s Outage map showed more than one-hundred customers without service in Canton Township as well as 82 in Buffalo Township and 28 in Blaine Township.
February 18, 2026 2:04 am
Washington County Commissioners will vote this morning on an Opioid Settlement Review Committee. The board will consist of seven appointees that will serve one year terms. According to Commissioner Nick Sherman, the board is made up of addiction counselors, a school district superintendent, and law enforcement professionals among others. Commissioner Larry Maggi says that he is pleased with the make up of the board. He calls it a good blend of people from all over Washington County. He says that the board will now bring transparency to the award process that is much clearer that having a few county employees offering recommendations. Appointed to the committee; Dr. John Tamiggi, Director of Washington County Human Services, Dan Buzzard, Washington County Court Administrator, Teresa Cypher, a licensed professional counselor and operator of Turning Point II, Ed Zelich, Superintendent of Charleroi School District, Amy Podgurski-Gough, Community Coordinator of Teen Outreach, Joe Glover, Chief of Peters Township Police, and Aliesha Walz, Executive Director of the Washington County Community Foundation. Sherman says that the board will serve one year terms. The formation of the committee is a result of 17 recommended programs by Washington County being called into question by the Pennsylvania Opioid Misuse And Abatement Trust late last year. That board rejected 8 grants outright and called another 9 grants still under consideration. There has been no update on the status of those decisions.
February 19, 2026 2:40 am
The Pennsylvania Trolley Museum (PTM) has been voted the Best Small Town Museum in the USA Today 10 Best Readers Choice Awards. After weeks of voting, readers have selected the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum as the Best Small Town Museum in America. Proudly representing the transportation museum community, PTM has garnered national attention by their inclusion in the Best Small Town Museum category. “We are deeply honored to receive this national recognition along with so many other prestigious, small town museums,” said Jeanine DeBor, Executive Director/CEO. “This distinction acknowledges the importance of transportation history in our country, specifically the important mission of preserving the Trolley Era. We are thankful to everyone who voted for us.” This national award recognizes excellence in small town museums and the nomination highlights PTM’s commitment to preserving streetcars and their impact on our communities for generations to come. Winners were announced on February 18, 2026. This is the first year PTM was selected for inclusion in this list.
February 19, 2026 5:05 am
TRUCKEE, Calif. (AP) — Authorities in California say it will be at least another day before crews can attempt to recover the bodies of eight people killed in an avalanche and one other who remains missing. Crews say there’s still heavy snow and a high risk of more avalanches Thursday in the Sierra Nevada near Lake Tahoe. The victims include a group connected to an area skiing academy. Six others were found alive by rescuers Tuesday hours after the avalanche hit on Tuesday. A mayor near San Francisco says the group included moms from the Bay Area. Authorities said Wednesday that among the survivors are one of four professional guides on the trip.
February 18, 2026 5:06 am
Experts say a weeks-long “snow drought” in Northern California’s Sierra Nevada helped set the stage for Tuesday’s deadly avalanche, after several feet of new snow fell on an earlier layer that had hardened. The new snow didn’t bond to the earlier layer before the avalanche near Lake Tahoe killed at least eight back country skiers, said San Jose State University meteorology professor Craig Clements. Six skiers survived and rescuers were searching for another who was still missing. The group was on a three-day back country trek when they were trapped by the avalanche as a winter storm pummeled the West Coast.
February 18, 2026 5:07 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Governors are arriving in Washington for an annual gathering that has traditionally been a show of bipartisanship. But President Donald Trump has disrupted norms by not inviting all governors to meetings at the White House. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat, joined Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt and Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, both Republicans, in opening this year’s National Governors Association on a panel where they emphasized bipartisanship regardless of Trump’s actions. The break with tradition reflects Trump’s broader approach in his second term. He has taken a confrontational stance toward some state leaders, withholding federal funds from states that draw his ire and deploying federal troops to cities over the objections of local officials.
February 19, 2026 5:03 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s top economist on Wednesday urged that Federal Reserve economists be punished for research last week that showed American companies and consumers paying for nearly all the new tariffs imposed by the White House last year. Hassett’s comments represent the latest attack from the Trump administration on the Fed, which has traditionally been independent of day-to-day politics. It also suggests the White House remains sensitive to concerns about rising costs for groceries, housing, and big-ticket items such as furniture and cars, as surveys show Americans remain disgruntled about the economy.
