January 2, 2026 5:02 am
PITTSBURGH — The flu is surging nationwide. For the next several weeks, Dr. Amesh Adalja expects to see an increase in flu cases locally, with illnesses not leveling off until after February. “It’s finding a population that has little immunity. It’s able to spread very quickly and rapidly through that population because of this new variant that is dominant,” said Infectious Disease Doctor Amesh Adalja. He recommends still getting a flu shot if you haven’t yet. “It’s not too late to get the flu shot because the flu peaks in February traditionally and remember the flu vaccine covers three different strains of flu. Later in the season, other types of flu might dominate,” Adalja said. According to the CDC, Pennsylvania is currently in the “moderate” activity level for the flu, with some of the highest states being New York, South Carolina, and Louisiana. “Cases are increasing in the Pittsburgh area. They don’t seem to be translating into more ICU or severe cases, but there are people hospitalized,” Adalja said. Even though there have been hospitalizations, the good news is, Dr. Adalja doesn’t predict a major strain on hospitals, like there was with COVID. His biggest advice is to stay home if you get it.
January 2, 2026 5:05 am
CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland (AP) — Investigators say they believe sparkling candles atop Champagne bottles ignited the fatal fire at a Swiss ski resort when they came too close to the ceiling of a bar crowded with New Year’s Eve revelers. Investigators said Friday that they planned to look into whether the material on the ceiling that was designed to muffle sound conformed with regulations. The candles, which give off a stream of upward-shooting sparks, are a type that are commonly available for parties, officials said. Forty people were killed and another 119 injured in the blaze as it ripped through the busy Le Constellation bar at the ski resort of Crans-Montana.
January 1, 2026 5:04 am
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump and a top Iranian security official have exchanged dueling threats as widening economic protests swept across parts of the Islamic Republic. Trump initially wrote on his Truth Social platform, warning Iran that if it “violently kills peaceful protesters,” the United States “will come to their rescue.” At least seven people have been killed so far in violence surrounding demonstrations. Trump wrote that “We are locked and loaded and ready to go.” Shortly after, Ali Larijani, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said U.S. intervention will lead to “chaos in the entire region and the destruction of the U.S. interests.”
January 1, 2026 5:07 am
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela is open to reaching an agreement with the United States to combat drug trafficking, according to President Nicolás Maduro. In a pretaped interview aired Thursday, Maduro expressed readiness to discuss serious agreements with the U.S. He also mentioned that Venezuela is open to U.S. investment in its oil industry. The interview was recorded on New Year’s Eve, the same day the U.S. military announced strikes against several alleged drug-smuggling boats. The CIA was reportedly behind a recent drone strike at a Venezuelan docking area. Maduro declined to comment on that operation, stating he could discuss it later.
January 2, 2026 5:06 am
A woman was killed in a suspected mountain lion attack while she was hiking alone in the mountains of northern Colorado. Authorities said the woman’s body was found late Thursday morning by other hikers along a remote section of a trail south of the small community of Glen Haven. Two mountain lions were later located in the area and shot by wildlife officials. A Colorado Parks and Wildlife spokesperson says it’s unknown if one or both of the lions that were killed were involved in the attack. If confirmed, it would mark the first fatal attack by a mountain lion in Colorado in more than 25 years.
January 1, 2026 11:38 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump defended his energy and health in an interview with The Wall Street Journal and disclosed that he had a CT scan, not an MRI scan, during an October examination about which he and the White House delayed offering details. Trump, in the interview, said he regretted undergoing the advanced imaging on his heart and abdomen during an October visit to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center because it raised public questions about his health. His physician said in a memo the White House released in December that he had “advanced imaging” as a preventative screening for men his age.
January 1, 2026 4:59 am
NEW YORK (AP) — From Sydney to Paris to New York City, crowds have rung in the new year with exuberant celebrations filled with thunderous fireworks, while others have taken a more subdued approach. A countdown to midnight was projected onto the Arc de Triomphe in Paris and Russians celebrated in snowy Moscow. A light show with somersaulting jet skis twinkled in Dubai and in Japan, temple bells rang. Events were more subdued in Hong Kong, Australia and Indonesia after recent mass shootings or disasters. Palestinians wished for an end to war. There was disaster in the Swiss resort town of Crans-Montana, where a fire at a bar in the early hours of the new year killed multiple people.
January 1, 2026 5:01 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former special counsel Jack Smith told lawmakers that the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol “does not happen” without President Donald Trump. That’s according to a transcript released Wednesday of Smith’s closed-door interview with the House Judiciary Committee. Smith also described the Republican president as the “most culpable and most responsible person” in the criminal conspiracy to overturn the results of the 2020 election. The Dec. 17 deposition was held privately despite Smith’s request to testify publicly. The release of the transcript and video of the interview adds to the public understanding of the decision-making behind two of the most consequential Justice Department investigations in recent history.
January 1, 2026 5:07 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Chief Justice John Roberts says that the Constitution remains a sturdy pillar for the country, a message that comes after a tumultuous year in the nation’s judicial system with pivotal Supreme Court decisions on the horizon. Roberts released his annual letter to the judiciary on Wednesday and said the nation’s founding documents remain firm and unshaken, a reference to a century-old quote from President Calvin Coolidge. It comes after a year in which some raised fears of a possible constitutional crisis amid legal pushback to President Donald Trump’s agenda. The Republican administration has scored wins at the Supreme Court, though major rulings on birthright citizenship and tariffs are yet to come.
January 1, 2026 5:04 am
The Trump administration has frozen child care funds to all states after allegations of fraud at Minnesota day care centers run by Somali residents. A Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson said states will have to provide more verification for the child care centers that receive funds from the Child Care and Development Fund. In addition, Minnesota will have to provide additional verification on top of the new requirements for centers that are suspected of fraud. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has accused President Donald Trump of weaponizing the allegations for political gains. Trump has targeted the Somali diaspora in the state.
