March 20, 2025 2:37 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration has suspended approximately $175 million in federal funding for the University of Pennsylvania over the participation of a transgender athlete in its swimming program. That word comes Wednesday from the White House. The Ivy League university has been facing an Education Department investigation focusing on in its swimming program. That inquiry was announced last month immediately after President Donald Trump signed an executive order intended to ban transgender athletes from competing in girls and women’s sports. But the federal funding was suspended in a separate review of discretionary federal money going to universities.
March 20, 2025 4:56 am
CHAMPAGNE, France (AP) — The number 200 is top of mind across wine country in France, Italy and Spain, Europe’s top producers of wine. That’s because last week, U.S. President Donald Trump threatened a tariff of 200% on European wines, Champagne and other spirits if the European Union didn’t back down from imposing retaliatory tariffs on some U.S. products. Europe’s wine industry is the latest to find itself in the crosshairs of a possible trade spat with the U.S. For now, many producers are hoping that Trump’s threat doesn’t come to fruition.
March 19, 2025 5:21 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged Wednesday and signaled that it still expects to cut rates twice this year, though more policymakers forecast fewer cuts. The Fed also now expects the economy to grow more slowly this year and next than it did three months ago, according to a set of quarterly economic projections also released Wednesday. It also expects the unemployment rate to tick higher, to 4.4%. Policymakers also expect inflation will pick up slightly by the end of this year, to 2.7% from its current level of 2.5%. Bother are above the central bank’s 2% target.
March 19, 2025 5:17 pm
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — President Donald Trump has suggested to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that the U.S. should take ownership of Ukrainian power plants to ensure the critical facilities’ security. According to a White House statement, Trump told Zelenskyy during a call Wednesday that the U.S could be “very helpful in running those plants with its electricity and utility expertise.” Trump added that “American ownership of those plants could be the best protection for that infrastructure.” The idea was floated even as the Trump administration looks to finalize an agreement to gain access to Ukraine’s critical minerals as partial repayment for U.S. support for Ukraine during the war. Wednesday’s call, which both sides say went well, comes weeks after Zelenskyy’s disastrous White House visit.
March 19, 2025 4:48 am
A Washington woman has been charged with stealing from the Wash High Football Boosters Club. According to the Criminal Complaint, on January 13, police were dispatched to Washington High School, where Head Football Coach Mike Bosnic, and Booster club leaders reported a significant amount of money had been taken from the club. City Detectives began an investigation. Officials identified 38-year-old Nicole Cook, the Vice President of the Wash High football boosters, as someone who used the group’s bank card for multiple unauthorized transactions. All told, there were more than 18 unauthorized uses totaling more than 43-hundred dollars. In early February she told investigators that she was struggling for money. Purchases were allegedly made at Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club and Dick’s and used for rent. Cook reportedly paid some of the money back. Cook is charged with Theft by Unlawful Taking and other charges at District Judge Kelly Stewart’s court.
March 19, 2025 2:49 am
A Canonsburg man received probation for a drug delivery resulting in death charge. John Backner, 58 pleaded guilty for selling a fatal dose of fentanyl to Sean Caldwell, 41 of Hickory, in October of 2023. The negotiated plea is for five years probation with one year of electronic home monitoring. The sentence also included 180 days of time served in the Washington County Jail before Backner was released on $500,000 bond. The judge reluctantly accepted the plea after prosecutors explained that Backner admitted responsibility very early on at his preliminary hearing. They also indicated that Backner has been particularly instrumental in the investigations of other unrelated cases. Backner could have been sentenced to more than six years in prison. Charges of possession with intent to deliver and criminal use of a communications facility were dropped.
March 18, 2025 4:53 am
The National Weather Service has issued an Elevated Fire Weather threat for Wednesday. As a result, fire chiefs from Amwell, Bentleyville, Canton, Carroll, Cecil, Chartiers, Fallowfield, North Franklin, McDonald, Mount Pleasant, North Strabane, South Strabane and the City of Washington are urging residents to refrain from burning. The combination of dry conditions, low humidity and breezy winds will result in favorable conditions for rapid spread of fires. Residents are urged to avoid open burning, properly dispose of smoking materials, grill with caution and be mindful of sparks. If you see an uncontrolled fire you are asked to call 911 immediately.
March 18, 2025 5:08 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House says President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have agreed to an immediate pause in strikes against energy infrastructure in the Ukraine war. The White House described it as the first step in a “movement to peace” that it hopes will eventually include a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea and a full and lasting end to the fighting. The White House said negotiations would begin immediately on those steps. But there’s no indication Putin has backed away from his conditions, fiercely opposed by Kyiv, to consider a broader peace deal. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters that Ukraine is open to any proposals that lead to a sustainable and just peace, but stressed the need for full transparency in discussions.
March 19, 2025 5:03 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge has blocked enforcement of President Donald Trump’s executive order banning transgender people from serving in the U.S. military. Judge Ana Reyes in Washington, D.C., ruled Tuesday that Trump’s order to exclude transgender troops from military service likely violates their constitutional rights. The judge issued a preliminary injunction requested by attorneys for six transgender people who are active-duty service members and two others seeking to join the military. She delayed her order until Friday to give the administration time to appeal.
March 19, 2025 4:43 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Voters in a western Pennsylvania state House district will be filling a vacancy next week and deciding which party will hold the speakership. The district at stake in a special election on Tuesday includes towns along the Mon Valley steel region southeast of Pittsburgh. The race pits McKeesport Police Officer Dan Goughnour, the Democrat, against longtime volunteer firefighter and current White Oak Borough Council President Chuck Davis, the Republican. Since Democratic state Rep. Matt Gergely died in January, the House has been deadlocked at 101 to 101. Democrats hope to keep the seat and maintain Democratic Speaker Joanna McClinton as the chamber’s presiding officer.
