October 31, 2025 4:43 am
BUSAN, South Korea (AP) — President Donald Trump has appeared to suggest on social media that the U.S. resume testing nuclear weapons for the first time in three decades. There was no indication that the U.S. would start detonating warheads, but the president offered few details about what seemed to be a significant shift in U.S. policy. He made the announcement on social media minutes before meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Thursday in South Korea. The U.S. military already regularly tests its missiles that are capable of delivering a warhead, but it has not detonated the weapons since 1992 because of a test ban.
October 31, 2025 4:41 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department is investigating whether leaders in the Black Lives Matter movement defrauded donors who contributed millions of dollars during racial justice protests in 2020. That’s according to multiple people familiar with the matter. In recent weeks, federal law enforcement officials have issued subpoenas and warrants as part of an investigation into the Black-led organizations that helped spark a national reckoning on systemic racism. The investigation invites fresh scrutiny to a foundation whose leaders in recent years have faced criticism about their public accounting of donations. But the recent burst of investigative activity is also unfolding at a time when civil rights groups have raised concerns about the Trump administration targeting left-leaning groups.
October 31, 2025 4:19 am
Attorneys representing Jordan Clarke of Peters Township filed a motion in Washington County court and are asking that his capital homicide case be dismissed. They claim that the prosecution has been “contaminated” by a bogus death certificate filed by the Washington County Coroner, allegedly, at the behest of the District Attorney. According to the Observer-Reporter, the 271 page extraordinary relief filing offers several options for the case ranging from dismissal to holding a new preliminary hearing to possibly subpoenaing District Attorney Jason Walsh to testify if the case goes to trial. Clarke is accused of shaking his 11 week old son in their Peters Township home in May of 2022, causing fatal injuries. The infant died in a Pittsburgh hospital. The filing makes claims of prosecutorial misconduct by Walsh with him misleading a judge to believe the child died in Washington County. No hearing date has been set for the motion. Clarke is also involved in a case brought by the Atlantic Center for Capital Representation asking for a “kings bench” ruling from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to restrict Walsh’s ability to seek the death penalty.
November 1, 2025 3:56 am
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration unveiled a virtual plans display for feedback on a Washington County bridge replacement project. The public is invited to offer feedback on the Route 519 Over Branch of Chartiers Run Bridge Project that will occur in Chartiers Township. The project will replace the existing structure with a precast reinforced box culvert. Participants may offer feedback here. The public comment period is from October 30 through November 13.
October 31, 2025 3:58 am
LANCASTER, Pa. (AP) — Democrats and their allied groups are pouring in more money and sending in the national party chairman in the final week of campaigning for a Pennsylvania Supreme Court election. The race could reshape the highest court in the largest presidential battleground as Democrats try to blunt a late-emerging Republican campaign to oust three Democratic justices. At issue in Tuesday’s election is whether the justices will each serve another term. The state’s politically divided government has left disputes over election laws and other major issues to the courts in recent years.
October 30, 2025 5:57 pm
BOSTON (AP) — A federal judge in Boston seemed skeptical of the Trump administration’s plan to stop funding the SNAP food aid program amid the government shutdown. The hearing Thursday in front of U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani came two days before the day the U.S. Department of Agriculture planned to stop replenishing accounts in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Talwani says she expects to issue her ruling later Thursday. SNAP is used by 1 in 8 Americans to buy groceries and is a major piece of the nation’s social safety net. Democratic state officials challenged the Trump administration’s plan to freeze SNAP payments starting Nov. 1, saying the federal government has a legal obligation to keep providing the assistance.
October 30, 2025 5:58 pm
PARIS (AP) — Authorities have tightened the dragnet around the Louvre thieves, arresting five more people in connection with the recent crown-jewels heist. The Paris prosecutor says three of the four alleged members of the “commando” team are now in custody. The late-night operations in Paris and nearby areas have increased the total number of arrests to seven. Despite the arrests, the stolen loot, valued at around $102 million, remains missing. The heist, which took place in broad daylight, has sparked a national reckoning over how France protects its treasures. Security gaps at the Louvre have been acknowledged.
October 29, 2025 3:59 am
ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (AP) — President Donald Trump said he has decided to lower his combined tariff rates on imports of Chinese goods to 47% after talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on curbing fentanyl trafficking. Trump’s aggressive use of tariffs since returning to the White House for a second term combined with China’s retaliatory limits on exports of rare earth elements gave the meeting newfound urgency. There is a mutual recognition that neither side wants to risk blowing up the world economy in ways that could jeopardize their own country’s fortunes. Trump told reporters he decided to reduce the current rate from 57% after the talks. China did not provide immediate comment on the meeting or any outcomes.
October 30, 2025 4:01 am
SANTIAGO DE CUBA, Cuba (AP) — People across the northern Caribbean are digging out from the destruction caused by Hurricane Melissa as deaths from the storm climbed. Emergency relief flights began landing at Jamaica’s main international airport as crews worked to reach communities still isolated after they were directly hit by the Category 5 storm. Catastrophic flooding occurred in Haiti, where dozens were dead or missing. Eastern Cuba had blown-off roofs, downed power lines and crop damage. Hurricane conditions were forecast to continue in the Bahamas into the morning and were expected to affect Bermuda later Thursday as the storm passes.
October 30, 2025 4:05 am
GYEONGJU, South Korea (AP) — The United States will share closely held technology to allow South Korea to build a nuclear-powered submarine. President Donald Trump made the announcement on social media Thursday after meeting with the country’s president. President Lee Jae Myung stressed to Trump in their Wednesday meeting that the goal was to modernize the alliance with the U.S., noting plans to increase military spending to reduce the financial burden on America. The South Korean leader said there might have been a misunderstanding when they last spoke in August about nuclear-powered submarines, saying that his government was looking for nuclear fuel rather than weapons. Lee said that if South Korea was equipped with nuclear-powered submarines, that it could help U.S. activities in the region.
