March 9, 2026 10:58 am
PAOLI, Pa. (AP) — Authorities say a Pennsylvania State Police trooper is dead after he was shot and killed by a suspect he had pulled over in a traffic stop. The state’s acting police commissioner, Lt. Col. George Bivens, told a late Sunday night news conference that Cpl. Tim O’Connor was killed as he approached the car when the driver fired from inside the vehicle. Bivens says the shooter then got out of the car and shot and killed himself with a pistol. Authorities say O’Connor was married and had a daughter. Bivens says O’Connor had been on patrol when a call came in for an erratic driver in Chester County, about 45 miles west of Philadelphia.
March 9, 2026 5:17 am
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran has named Mojtaba Khamenei, a son of Iran’s late supreme leader, to succeed him as the Islamic Republic’s next ruler. Monday’s announcement puts a hard-line cleric in charge as the war spreading across the Mideast sent oil prices skyrocketing. Iran has been launching new attacks on regional energy infrastructure, prompting sharp warnings from Saudi Arabia. A stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz has all but stopped tankers from using the shipping lane between the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman through which a fifth of the world’s oil is carried. Brent crude oil, the international standard, is up some 60% since Israel and the United States attacked Iran on Feb. 28.
March 8, 2026 5:15 am
CHICAGO (AP) — Oil prices have briefly spiked near $120 a barrel as the Iran war disrupts oil production and shipping in the Middle East. Crude prices fell back Monday after the Financial Times reported that members of the Group of Seven industrial nations were considering releasing some strategic oil reserves to ease pressures on supplies. U.S. benchmark crude was trading at about $103 per barrel while Brent crude was near $108 per barrel. Supply concerns have driven crude and gasoline higher prices as the war ensnares major oil-producing countries and hinders exports from the Persian Gulf. Surging oil prices jolted other financial markets, as share benchmarks in Japan and South Korea plunged more than 5%.
March 9, 2026 5:16 am
NEW YORK (AP) — A court complaint says two men who brought explosives to a protest outside New York City’s mayoral mansion said they were inspired by the Islamic State extremist group. Emir Balat and Ibrahim Kayumi are being held without bail. They appeared in court Monday on charges that include attempting to provide material support to a terrorist organization and using a weapon of mass destruction. The complaint says Kayumi blurted out as he was being arrested Saturday that “ISIS” was the reason for his conduct. The homemade devices did not explode. They were hurled Saturday during raucous counter-protests against an anti-Islamic demonstration led by far-right activist Jake Lang.
March 9, 2026 5:19 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military says it has killed six men in a strike on an alleged drug-smuggling vessel in the eastern Pacific Ocean as part of the Trump administration’s campaign against alleged traffickers. Sunday’s attack brought the death toll to at least 157 people since the Trump administration began targeting those it calls “narcoterrorists” in small vessels in early September. As with most of the military’s statements on the more than 40 known strikes, U.S. Southern Command said it targeted alleged drug traffickers along known smuggling routes. The military did not provide evidence that the vessel was ferrying drugs. It posted a video on X that showed a small boat floating on the water and then being blown up.
March 9, 2026 12:45 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department says it’s reached a settlement in its antitrust lawsuit against Ticketmaster and its parent company, California-based Live Nation Entertainment that will benefit consumers by letting competitors play a role in ticket sales and force Live Nation to sell 13 amphitheaters. Some states, though, are not joining the deal and say they’ll continue a trial in New York federal court. The case alleged there was an illegal monopoly over live events in America. The announcement angered a judge who said he was kept out of the loop. The government has said Live Nation’s monopoly costs consumers. Live Nation has maintained that artists and teams set prices and decide how tickets are sold.
March 8, 2026 5:11 am
Court officials are warning of another Pennsylvania Turnpike toll text scam. The Philadelphia Courts warned residents on Saturday of texts with an image of a document that appears to be from the Traffic Division of Philadelphia Municipal Court, NBC News affiliate WCAU reports. That document claims that the person who received the text failed to pay a toll and must either appear in court or pay a fine. Residents in the Pittsburgh area have reported that they’ve received the scam texts. WCAU reports that officials are urging anyone who got the text to ignore it and not scan the QR code included in the message. Court officials stressed they would never send any kind of demand for payment via text.
March 8, 2026 7:09 am
State Police are investigating a fatal accident early Sunday morning around four o’clock on Interstate 70 East at the Chestnut Street on-ramp in North Franklin Township. Washington County Coroner Tim Warco says a tractor-trailer operator called 911 to report what appeared to be a person lying in the road in the Eastbound lane of Interstate 70, about two-hundred feet from the on ramp. Warco says the individual, who was presumed to be a pedestrian, appeared to have been struck multiple times by multiple vehicles. The interstate was closed for a brief time. Authorities are asking anyone with information, particularly about the individual’s identity, to call State Police at 724-223-5200 or the coroner’s office at 724-228-6785.
March 8, 2026 6:53 am
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. (AP) — President Donald Trump joined grieving families at Dover Air Force Base for the dignified transfer of six U.S. Army Reserve soldiers killed in Kuwait. On Saturday, Trump and Vice President JD Vance attended the dignified transfer with their spouses and top administration officials. Trump spoke earlier in Miami, calling the troops heroes. He says their return is heartbreaking and he wants to limit U.S. war deaths. Trump stayed silent during the transfer, as protocol requires. He saluted as flag-draped transfer cases moved from the military aircraft to waiting vehicles. He later told reporters that it’s a “very sad day” and that he was “glad we paid our respects.” The six U.S. soldiers were killed in a drone strike at a command center.
March 8, 2026 6:57 am
U.S. President Donald Trump warned in a Truth Social post that more Iranian officials will be targets, saying, “Today Iran will be hit very hard!,” while noting an apology by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian earlier in the day to neighboring nations over Tehran’s attacks. Saudi Arabia says it intercepted drones aimed at its Shaybah oil field. Dubai International Airport halted flights after alerts, blasts and passengers sheltering in train tunnels. Israel is striking Beirut, southern Lebanon and Tehran. Officials report rising deaths in Iran, Lebanon and Israel, plus six U.S. troops killed.
